"same please" he said, breaking the waiter's reverie. the waiter grimaced at his day dream being broken. working since the late afternoon, all he had been accustomed to were grimy men with stubby fingers making love to the dog ear-ed menu card as they ordered drink after drink to douse the vision of the plastic dog-tag that hung snugly and almost harmless looking from their necks. he asked "thats all?" arching his eyelids, challenging him, almost tingling all over for him to take the day's frustration out on him. he flickered, for maybe a second. then slumped. she looked over at him and then at the waiter and then flicked her wrist and said "thats all. please be quick".
she couldnt help smiling. "it's not that bad you know. kind of fitting. us both rejected off by everyone, coming to drink at a place which we earlier used to scoff and reject". he looked at her incredulously. was she enjoying this? did she like being alone and sad on christmas? looking at his puzzled expression she asked softly "so what's your christmas reject story?". he felt his face burning. her call saying she cant make it, A cancelling on him the very last moment, his boss shouting at him and threatening him, his empty flat...all flashed by. "you can't say your feelings until you have the guts to face them" she had said, just before she hung up for one last time. he felt a sudden desire to slap her sitting in front of him. all women now looked like her in the dim light. maybe slapping her now would make her sitting three thousand miles away smart a little bit, his palm imprinted on her ivory skin, cold and distant. "no, i dont have a story" he said instead, "what are you doing in a bar like this on a night like this? i am sure your boyfriend or husband wont approve" he countered. he wanted her to burst into shades of red as she made him when she wouldnt stop staring at him with her inane questions.
instead she turned grey, just like the stain that licked at her elbow on the table. "he doesnt know. rather he doesnt care." she said picking at a scab on her arm ferociously. he couldnt help but guffaw. "lover's tiff and you are here to punish him?" he asked. she had looked strong, now he saw only a stubborn woman who craved attention. she looked up for a moment from her wound and strangely whimpered, "no...me" she started laughing. the calls, the fights, "i will have time for you tomorrow baby", the empty promises, the begging, the screaming and the stillness flashed on her eyes. he shivered just a bit. quickly she lowered them and intently began to work on her scab again. it was almost ready to bleed, but just about.
the golden liquid tried to shine through the dirty glass. the clock droned on. they sat there together. huddled, alone, both drowning somewhere in their memories, together. somewhere the t.v on the counter chimed "we wish you a merry Christmas" jingling merrily like a death toll. the room reeked of loneliness as it swirled in dirty pints of forgetfulness.
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