The woman in the pub

It was a cold evening in the city, the kind that does not see people on the streets. The temperature was -20, there was a chilly howling wind outside which made a soft shrieking noise.It was the kind of evening in which people would like to find reasons indoors.

Jay sat at home wondering about the life outside. Should he go out to the bar in the corner of his street for a quick drink ? He had a long day at work & needed to unwind a bit. There was no alcohol in the house & if he wanted a drink , stepping out was the only option. Jay debated this thought in his head for some time & finally muttering a big curse, he decided to go out for a drink. He called a couple of his friends but everyone seemed to busy. Well, its not a country for spontenous planning, he muttered to himself while wearing his coat.

He stepped out of the house in warm clothes & icy chilly winds greeted him with full gusto. It was a particularly windy evening & Jay thought for a second to step back into the warmth of his house. Yet, he could visualize the glass of whisky which would give him the much needed relief. So he let out a grunt & started walking towards the bar. He could not find anyone else on the street, it was eeriely devoid of human civilization.The light snowfall had made the city hazy & combined with the strong winds visibility was at its minimum.

Jay finally managed to make to to the bar, huffing & puffing through the knee deep show. To his utter dismay there was not a single soul in the bar except the barman Mike. Jay had known Mike since the time he moved into his new apartment & they both had stuck up a friendship instantly. They both had the same kind of interest in sports, women & life's philosophy in particular so the friendship seemed natural development of things.

Mike was from Australia & his jovial nature combined with strong accent made him stand out in a crowd of people. He was a swarthy fella, weighing a little over two hundred pounds with a body radius few people could boast of. Yet, it was his warm happy smile which made people take notice of him instantly in a group of people.

He said hi to Mike who seemed happy to see his first customer in form of his friend & waved at him. Jay took a chair by the bar & ordered his drink, a large whisky on the rocks. Mike handed him the drink & went inside to do some inventory checking. He was not expecting too many customers in this horrible night. Business is not going to be good tonight, he thought to himself which ticking off the list of items in his checklist

Jay was having his drink & thinking about his life. He had been going through a rough patch in life . He got divorced an year back with his wife Julia & they were having a custody battle for their son Damian. He had been married for ten years & the last three of those was pure hell for them. He met Julia at the architecture school where she was one year his junior. They had an unmistakeable chemistry & before they knew marriage had bought them together for life. Or so they thought, chuckled Jay bitterly. Damian was the source of happiness in his life & he was looking forward to having him in the house next week. Jay & Julia had joint custody of Damian & the kid spent his time equally between both his parents.

His work has also not been going on well with the recession hitting the overall market sentiments & the spending levels of people. He was hoping that business would come back to normal & so would his life. Jay was an architect in a prominent firm in the city & his job was to individual houses. He preferred modernity to his design with an element of individuality which some people found to be too stark. Jay did not care & most of his clients liked his work, so the firm also let him experiment.

He was lost so deep in his thoughts that he did not hear the soft footsteps behind him. He suddenly heard a soft voice say - "Hi, is this place open ?" He turned back to see a woman standing, looking at him enquringly. She was not from here, he thought as he replied to her "Yes it is, why don't you take a seat" ? She nodded with a smile & walked towards a table right across the bar. While she walked away, Jay looked at her carefully. Her clothes looks classy without being ostentatious. She had a dark blue jacket with a pair of black denims & long beige boots & a pink scarf. She walked with a sense of purpose but not in long strides but rather a slow languid walk, the kind of walk which you have after having a long day. She took off her jacket & settled down on the chair facing him. Her table was around 15 meters away from the bar stool where was perched & with the dim lighting, he could not completely make out how she looked but he was sure that she got second glances from most men on the street. "Must be waiting for her date", he thought wistfully & hollered for Mike.

She walked over to the bar when Mike's jolly face appeared across. Jay could not help but watch her walk. She deftly made her way past the various tables & leaned across the bar & smiled at Mike. She did not lean across a lot like he has seen girls do in a bar, she did not stand across taut like some women do pretending confidence but she just leaned a bit. It was like she was sure of what she wanted as a drink & maybe in life too. When she stood across the bar, he had a chance to look at her closely. She had dark long hair which was tied up in a ponytail

Part two to follow soon !