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The bar was your home on Friday nights. With another week of toiling away behind you, this Friday is no different. Walking in, you make your way to an open stool. You weren’t too picky on where to sit, so long as you’re not right next to the blaring music or bright televisions. The crowd is on the lighter side, especially for a Friday evening. Regardless, you make yourself comfortable and have a look at the drink menu. Occasionally there’s a special that catches your eye, but for tonight, you’re not that lucky. Instead, you simply opt for a glass of beer. The bartender on duty tonight, whom you had gotten to know over your continued patronage, fulfills your request. With a beer in hand, the night has officially begun.
Over time, it’s become a lulling routine. Get here just before the crowd, have a few glasses, maybe gaze at whatever’s on the television or eavesdrop on a nearby conversation. Watch on as faces come and go. You never pay much mind to who enters and leaves, so long as they don’t bother you too much. The door opens once more, diverting your attention to it. It was a fox, idling by the doorway just after walking in. She takes a moment to check something on her phone before taking a seat at the bar. As she’s sitting there, you can’t help but steal some occasional glances. Her orange-brown fur reflecting the lights above, her fluffed tail swaying gently as she reads through the menu. Her figure is adorned in a silky red dress, complimenting her already impressive coat. You go to catch another look, only this time your eyes meet. Two light green pearls glistening back at you. You swear you could see your own reflection.
“Hey, uh, excuse me,” the vixen lifts up her phone, revealing a picture of a man, “have you seen this guy here anywhere?” You don’t recognize whoever it is in the photo, and you certainly haven’t seen such a face here tonight.
“No, I don’t think I’ve seen him, sorry.” You reply. After some silence the fox offers some more information.
“He was supposed to meet me here around 6, and I’ve double checked this is the right place…” her tail begins swishing around faster and faster, tapping her fingers on the counter. You offer some assurance to the anxious woman.
“He’s probably just running late. At this time of evening, the traffic near the plaza is dreadful.”
“Oh, tell me about it! I’ve budgeted an extra fifteen minutes to get here and I’m still late!” she laughs to herself about this situation, before returning to a slightly annoyed tone.
“I’ll give him a little more time, maybe I’ll get some drinks started.” She calls over to the bartender, ordering a margarita.
In no time at all, she’s done with her second drink of the night. Her tail now swinging around faster, looking more annoyed with each passing minute. Another drink, and she’s looking angrily at her phone, furiously tapping away. When the clock reaches quarter to 7, she finally reaches her limit.
“God dammit!” she blurts out, drawing the attention of some of the other patrons. You also look back with some concern.
“Can’t believe that son of a bitch stood me up!” While her reaction was a bit over-the-top, you can’t really blame her. Taking the time to coordinate a rendezvous with someone, going through the effort of making yourself look nice and pretty, then being stuck to wait on a bar stool for nearly an hour, just for no one to show up. She’s still sitting grumpily at the counter when she suddenly pounds back the rest of her drink before slamming the empty glass back down. Any moment now, you expect her to storm out the door.
“You know what, screw this. I came here tonight to go on a date, and I’m not gonna let some uncoordinated asshole ruin that for me.” She looks over at you, and then towards the bartender.
“Hey, bartender,” she requests, “put him on my tab.” She’s pointing to you. Picking herself up from the stool, she takes up an empty seat right next to you.
“Also, I’ll have what he’s having.” she’s pointing at your nearly-empty glass. It all happened so fast, you could barely believe it. You had to take a moment to recollect exactly what had just happened. This woman gets all pissed off at being stood up by her initiate, so she ends up wanting to instead start with you?
“Hey, you,” now she’s up in your face, “what’s your name?”You take moment to compose yourself.
“My name’s… Anon.”
“Anon… that’s an interesting one. I’m Julie.” Julie. Julie was her name. Not even an hour ago, Julie walked into this bar expecting someone else. But now, Julie was with you.
From this point on, the night goes by faster than you could imagine. The two of you down two more glasses of beer each, sharing stories about yourselves. Julie worked as an attendant at a nearby resort, coming here not long after getting off her shift. You share some details about yourself with her, too. The two of you reminisce about the past and share hopes for the future. You chat about your daily lives, and how you go about them. You find similarities in music tastes while sharing a basket of chicken wings. For the first time in a while, you felt like you had truly connected with someone. Not just a passing conversation with a coworker, or discussing the weather with an old friend. You felt like you’ve found someone who not only understands you, but who you can understand as well.
With the sun having long since set and guests begin to leave, the bar starts to wind down for the night. It wasn’t one of those crazy nightclubs, a fact which you were thankful for. Despite some initial hesitation, Julie agreed to let you pay your half of the tab. You both pick up your belongings, leaving behind nothing but empty glasses and a tip for the bartender. In the parking lot, Julie waits for you just outside the doorway.
“You know, I had a really nice time with you tonight, Anon.” She admits, eliciting a slight blush from you. “I never expected the night to go down the way it did, but, in a way, I’m glad that it did.” You let her know that this experience tonight was shared between the two of you.
“I had a good time, too. I guess it’s nice to have someone to talk to.” She’s smiling back at you now, and you take it as a cue to continue. “About my day, about my interests, my career, my family. My wishes and regrets, my responsibilities. My life.” Upon hearing this, she’s barely able to contain her grin.
“Oh stop it, Anon! If you’re not careful, I might just fall for you.”
That stops you in your tracks. Does she want to take this further? What will you do next time? Where will you go? She briefly walks away before stopping to reach for something in her purse, before going right back to you.
“Oh, Anon, one more thing…” she extends her hand out, holding a small piece of paper. “I think you left this at the bar. Thought you might want it. See you soon~” She walks off into the parking lot, vanishing behind a sea of cars. You look down at the paper now sitting in your hand. What could this be? As you gently unfurl the paper, its contents are revealed.
