Hello, Listeners #2
“Closing time yet?” Jace asks as I walk over to his end of the bar. There is a bit of a whine to his voice as he lays his head against my shoulder. His pink hair slowly disappears into a fade just along the back of his neck.
“Not until that fucker leaves.” He laughs as I place my hands on my hips.
“Just give in to the man, damn. Maybe he’ll leave you alone once he slides in between those legs of yours.”
“Ew. No, thanks. He’s not my type.”
“What? You into girls now?” Jace laughs jokingly.
“No, but his desperation just hangs off of him. Also, his long, unwashed hair makes me cringe.”
“Girl, it’s more than what you’ve been getting. When he whispers in your ear, just think of those men you listen to every night.” I gag at the thought. Kind of like those videos you see of cats gagging at the smell of broccoli. Just picture that.
“Jace, I can’t. I’m not settling. I’m better than that.”
“I know, but who said anything about settling? I’m not telling you to marry the guy.
I’m just telling you to get some of that…
” He pauses his thought, only to finish it off with a few grinding motions against the bar.
Making me let out a laugh that may or may not have echoed in the whole damn building, causing “neck tattoo guy” to look over in our direction.
“Sorry, Thalia’s only interested in the men in her headphones,” Jace yells over the music coming from the speakers. Oh, god. I hide my head in my hands with embarrassment. Luckily, he smiles and waves it off and proceeds to go back to whatever he was doing on his phone .
The night finally comes to an end as soon as he drinks the rest of the liquid in his glass.
Tonight, it seemed like he nursed his routinely Old Fashioned for nearly thirty minutes.
He slips me his damp twenty-dollar bill and doesn't forget the wink as he clumsily climbs out of his chair.
“See you next week, beautiful.” His words are slurred to match his stride and he moves backwards towards the door.
“Can't wait.” His bill feels as if it fell in a large puddle on the sidewalk. Knowing him it probably did, or it was money found on his way over here. Found being the inoperative word. Most likely, stole is the proper term.
Janice stands at the end of the bar and counts down the register. My eyes stare up at her while she counts the money in the tip jar. Big tips meant Thai food from my favorite place on the way home. The best thing about the city is that everything stays open late.
“It all looks accounted for. Good news, you two have to keep working for me.” She glances up at us with her friendly smirk once again. Janice's Latina accent peeks out from her snarky tone.
“Shit!” I say jokingly. She gives me her sly look in return.
“And now the time you’ve both been waiting for…
” She puts on her best announcer voice as Jace and I drum on the freshly cleaned tabletops.
“Your tips.” Janice hands me and Jace both of our shares.
Yes! Looks like Thai for dinner tonight.
Janice switches off the lights in the building.
One by one, sections of the room go dark, and we double-check around the bar, making sure the place is ready to close before she locks up.
She fishes out her keys from her purse. Jace and I follow one another out of the bar as she holds open one of the heavy doors for us .
“Be safe, you two,” she calls out. Janice tries to play the role of our bigger sister in this dysfunctional little family we have at work. It’s sweet.
“Oh, you know we’ll be safe. Thalia listens to enough true crime to protect us,” Jace smiles as he yells back towards her taxi. Her grin is wide and she climbs in. I notice her shaking her head while she quietly laughs. Never a dull moment with our little group.
“What are you about to do?” He asks as he takes my hand and swings it down the sidewalk. “No wait, I already know. Let me guess. Don’t tell me. Thai food?”
“Am I that predictable?” I ask, adding a little whine to the tone of the question.
“Girl, yes. Thai food, then let me guess…shower, podcast, buzz and then bed.” He moves each finger down, as if counting down my checklist.
“Maybe not the ‘buzz’ part…” I admit, while using finger quotes.
“Don’t lie to me and don’t lie to yourself,” he states matter-of-factly, with full confidence. Who am I kidding? He knows me.
I shrug. I’m not fooling anyone, especially my best friend. Jace climbs into another cab and waves as the car speeds off.
I continue walking in the cold breeze to my destination. First stop noodles, next stop, home.
The smell of the greasy delicacy hits my nose immediately as I open the clear bag, and it only makes my craving for takeout worse.
I turn the key in the door of my one-bedroom apartment, with my cat, Artemis, greeting me as I step in.
The sound of his purrs is like pure serotonin.
I carelessly throw my jacket onto my black couch.
Every light is off except for a single lamp on an ebony end table close to my window.
You could say it sits in what you would call my living room.
I flop myself down on my couch, my bag of takeout crinkling upon impact. I lay the styrofoam box on the small excuse for a coffee table that I have in the middle of the tiny area. Like a feral animal, I begin stuffing my face with the greasy noodles. It should be a sin how good these are.
I scan through Netflix on my TV, squinting to make out the letters on the monitor.
I spend about thirty minutes looking for something to mindlessly watch and end up settling on a true crime documentary that I have already seen multiple times.
At this point, it's just background noise while I scroll through social media apps on my phone.
I switch from different ones after getting bored with the different feeds.
In reality, I know how I want to end this night.
The leftovers are shut in the styrofoam box they came in, and the remaining noodles are a focal point in my mostly empty fridge.
My apartment goes dark after I switch off the lamp on my end table and turn off the TV.
Artemis quietly follows me into the tiny bathroom that is connected to my bedroom.
I squint my eyes again as bright light fills the space with one flip of my white plated light switch.
Sounds of the shower can be heard throughout my apartment once I step in under the scalding hot water.
I stand under the large drops for probably longer than needed, rinsing the smell of desperation and alcohol down the drain.
While turning off the shower and grabbing for the nearest towel, my stinging eyes beg me for some relief.
Only subduing the pain with one wipe of the gray cotton towel across both of my lids .
After stepping out, my towel is wrapped snug around my body, just above my chest. Like a routine, I flip off the switch to the bathroom light and switch on my bedroom light, which is only a few steps to the right.
It triggers another small lamp on my nightstand next to my bed in the corner of my room.
Artemis is already at the end of my full-size bed.
He stares up at me, as if to say he's been waiting on me to tuck myself in.
While reaching into my small dresser for a pair of charcoal cotton shorts and an oversized Ramones tee shirt, the thought of lying in my bed under my heavy comforter puts a smile on my face.
The climb into my bed is better than it should be. I like nothing more than lying down and scrolling through my phone after a tough night of making cocktails and listening to drunk people bitch about their lives. Well, almost nothing.
I turn over and reach inside my nightstand.
The drawer slides out in one smooth motion, as if it’s used to the nightly routine.
Without looking, my hand glides over the smooth rubber surface and I grip the hard, cylindrical device.
Don’t lie to me and don’t lie to yourself.
I mentally shrug as Jace’s words play in my head.
My fingers trace over the button that will help end this night with a smile on my exhausted face.
I shut the small drawer to the tiny nightstand as his words, “Hello, ladies and gentlemen,” play in the speakers of my earbuds.