Jacob wasn't prepared for being forty and living alone all over again. He knew his marriage was on a rocky road for some time, but being told in no uncertain terms that he was no longer loved hit him harder than any pain he'd felt before. In the weeks that followed, he drank a lot. Months followed, and he'd go to work, masturbate to internet porn, drink some more, sleep until noon, and repeat that monotonous and familiar pattern until he no longer knew what he was waking up for at all.
It wasn't until one of the girls at work asked him out to her birthday night out that he decided to break the mould and try to be single again, at least try to enjoy his knew found situation without all the self-loathing and pitying. He'd always found Cara quite cute, and he was sure she was just being nice in asking him out, but something inside Jakob woke up. He imagined buying her a drink, spending time talking to her about any old bullshit he could think of, potentially charming her, and then maybe kissing her if he was lucky.
When the night finally arrived, he had drank a couple of shots of bourbon before leaving his house, if only to calm his nerves, then headed for the bar where she'd asked him to meet her. As he arrived, Cara was there, sitting at a table all by herself. He assumed it was more of a get together with others, and now, knowing she was alone, he felt more nervous than before, wishing he'd drank a few more glasses of his cheap liquor.
