I held my whiskey, smiling to myself. I love a bartender that knows my drink and has it in front of me before I have a chance to order, and Paul is the best. I brought the drink to my lips as I looked around the bar. It was a quiet night compared to some of the other nights I've swung by. I had no problem getting my usual spot at the curve of the bar. It had a great view of the place. I could watch people come and go, dream of maybe approaching them, pure fantasy though for an introvert like me.
So here I am; fifty-nine, almost divorced, living in a one-bedroom apartment on the fringe of a rustic city on the edge of endless grasslands. Life looked a lot different than it did before and it could be depressing if I thought about it. Think about it I did and was not surprised in the least that I wasn't depressed, I felt, good.
The separation was my idea. Ironic since I was the one who stepped out on our marriage. It was a long time ago. We thought we could work through it but infidelity is a tricky thing. My wife, despite what she claimed, was never able to forgive or forget but she clung to our wedding vows as Leo DiCaprio clung to that floating door. The crack between us grew wider as we grew older. Because of the fidelity issue, we had different views on erotica. I rarely watched porn but felt reading erotic literature was an acceptable activity. She felt it was disgusting and if I did it, I was cheating.
Other issues contributed and everything compounded until we co-existed in a sexless marriage for over a decade. It's hard to get aroused when you resent the person sleeping in your bed.
There were a plethora of reasons to justify staying together, money being chief among them. We had finally achieved the comfortable life we'd wanted and neither of us relished the idea of struggling again, but sometimes you have to rip off the Band-Aid. So that's what I did. I left her pretty much everything, packed a few suitcases, and hit the road. Cowardly? Maybe. But so is staying in a barren marriage because you're comfortable in your pain.
It was time for me... to be me.
It didn't take me too long to find a place to live, albeit temporary, and the job was an easy transfer and promotion with the company which I've worked for nearly ten years now. Most people might think Wyoming is a weird place to run off to, but Cheyenne always spoke to me. I longed for wide-open spaces where I could sit on my porch in the morning, with a hot cup of coffee, and look out over the landscape for miles and miles. Nothing but me, a good book, and peace.
I spot a couple walking in. They look somewhat familiar and I fruitlessly dig around in my brain trying to place them. He looks to be in his mid-thirties. A little shorter than my five-nine and dressed cute in polo and trousers. He looked average, in good shape without trying, nice jaw, and a sexy nose.
She was probably five-three, freckled, and curvy. She carried the extra weight well in the low-cut burgundy dress that would flow nicely on the dance floor. Her medium-length brown hair was held back with barrettes.
She was not model material, but she was cute as heck. She looked like the Girl Next Door out on a date with the Boy Next Door. The thing about me though, I like cute, I like the girl next door type, a lot. I'll take Rene Zellweger over one of the Kardashians any day of the week.
They found a booth, settled in, and looked around the bar. She saw me and flashed me a gentle smile. I nodded back and turned back to my drink. I had acknowledged them, which was the polite thing to do, but for fear of coming off like a creepy old man so I turned my attention to other parts of the room. My brain still hadn't figured out why they seemed familiar so I just chalked it up to déj� vu and contented myself with a few dirty thoughts about the Boy and Girl Next Door. Hell, fantasies and self-pleasure had been my life for the last 20 years so why stop now?
The bar was getting a little busy, the half dozen booths filling up, the bar getting a bit more activity, from folks out to imbibe on their midweek respite. A trio of guys at the other end of the bar were having a good time. They were rowdier than I preferred, which suggested that it was time for me to be on my way home. I set about finishing my drink and the Boy Next Door walked past me going, I assumed, to the men's room.
I sipped my bourbon and watched one of the trio of guys walk over to the Girl Next Door and say something to her. She shakes her head; I could easily read her lips saying "No thank you." The guy leaned in closer with his hands on the table and said something else, she leaned back, shook her head again, held up her left hand clearly showing him her wedding ring, and told him "No." He stayed leaning over the table, talking, and now he had my full attention. She was looking around the bar, and he was still pressing her. The Boy Next Door walked past me and returned to their table, he lightly tapped the guy on the shoulder and spoke to him.
The guy stood up, turned, and replied to the Boy Next Door. This guy was pretty big, 6'1' or so, and looked to outweigh Boy Next Door by 30 pounds or more. He turned away from the Boy Next Door and said something else to her, motioning his head to the direction where his friends were. She looked very uncomfortable and the Boy Next Door once again tapped the guy on the shoulder and said something.
The big guy stood up, his hands clenched into fists at his side, and he turned to Boy Next Door. I was sure the big guy preparing to start a fight and I was pretty sure Boy Next Door would not fare well when that happened. Chiding myself for being an idiot, I got up and walked over to their table.
"Hey, you guys! Sorry, I'm late!" I said as I reached their table, gently insinuating myself between the two men, I set my drink on their table. "I didn't see y'all come in. It is so good to see you again!" I said as I looked between Boy and Girl Next Door with my back to the big guy.
Girl Next Door looked up at me a look of confusion flashed across her face, and was quickly replaced with a smile. "Oh! I'm so glad you made it! Come on and sit down, we have so much to catch up on!"
She caught on so quickly that I looked at the Boy Next Door, darting my eyes to the booth, hoping he'd get the hint and sit down. Thankfully he took the hint. I turned to the big guy, smiling, "Hey, my friends and I haven't seen each other in a long time and we having a night out to reconnect. So, if you'll excuse us, we'll get on with our evening."
The big guy looked down at me and sort of sneered, "As a matter of fact, old man, I wasn't done..."
I looked up at him, looked him steadily in the eye, sighed, and very quietly said; "I don't want any trouble here, and she made it clear to you already that she is not interested, and
her husband
made it clear she's not interested so might I suggest you go back to your buddies and enjoy the rest of your evening. Rather than start something here"
He looked at me, eyes narrowing, and opened his mouth, I interrupted him put my hand on his shoulder, leaned in closer, speaking quietly I said; "Dude, I'm old and I don't want to get into something like this, but be assured, if you don't move on one of us will end up in the morgue and the other in jail. Not sure who'll end up where, but I promise you I'll do my best to make sure that you don't go to jail." I stepped back slightly and held my breath, trying to show confidence, and a little menace. "Can we just enjoy the rest of the evening, separately?" He looks disconcerted, shifting his eyes to the booth behind me and back to my eyes. He turned, muttered something, and walked back to his friends.
I turned to the table, grabbed my bourbon, downed the rest of it, and took a deep, calming breath. I looked at Boy and Girl Next Door and I realized I might have embarrassed him by stepping in like that. He was a little flushed and looking down at the table. "I'm sorry y'all," I said, "It looked like he was going to start a fight and his buddies over there certainly would've joined in making it an unfair three on one, I'm sorry if I overstepped." I turned to leave, look back "Y'all have a good night"
"Wait a minute. They think we're old friends catching up. If you leave now won't that look suspicious?"
"Yes, please stay a while." The Boy Next Door says.