Madam Anne:
Oh great, just the tool I was talking about, I thought to myself as I watched the man reach across in front of me to steal the change on the bar.
He smelled good, sure, but he had made eye contact with me for the briefest moment when he had first entered, and I had seen all I needed: All flowers and carefully coiffed curled on the outside, all rotten at the core.
Clare froze for a moment, unsure whether to take the stolen money. Poor girl. She was more fun to go back and forth with.
Alexis seemed more intent on listening than she was gossiping, and my urge to go on about the problems with the opposite sex had faded as quickly as they had come.
Alexis waved her hand, permitting Clare to unfreeze and take the cash. She began pouring the beer but her eyes were still bulging out of her head, darting between the three of us.
I curved, just a bit, and peered up at the man still standing beside me. A faint smirk tainted his lips. He was enjoying this uncomfortable air.
He felt my eyes on him and turned the smirk toward me. “Hiya. I imagine this girly has been asking you all sorts of questions, huh?” He snorted and slunk into the seat. “Let me guess. She’s as dull as a chalkboard? Talking to her feels like scratching nails?”
Definitely a tool. But fine, I’ll bite. “What’re you, her stalker, pretty boy?”
He laughed, a hollow, forced thing. “Oh no, quite the opposite, sweetheart. But that’s not important now. Let’s hear it; I’m just as interested. What’s your take on the whole love question?”
All the while Alexis remained silent. All I could hear were the rhythmic, heavy breaths she cautiously forced in and out. I didn’t turn but I could picture the glare burning over my shoulder. Despite the young woman’s oddness, I was inclined to protect her. Girls had to stick together after all.
“Funny you should ask actually,” I started, laying a smile across my face. “I was just telling her about guys like you: All lustful puppies who see a cute girl-puppy and work themselves up into thinking they’re some sort of knight in shining armour.”
He took the words in turn, looking more amused than offended. His eyes traced my figure while he thought of a response. Anger flashed through me, but I paused as his eyes caught on my thigh. I followed his gaze and found my wedding ring twinkling where my hand rested, refracting a ray of light that pierced through the clouds and window.
“Really?” he said slowly. “Is that how you feel about everyone?”
I raised the hand and gave him a perfect view of the profile of my ring as I offered another finger in response. “Well she’s dead,” I snapped. “Recently. So you’ll have to forgive me for struggling to imagine finding something as wonderful.”
“Ah,” he backpedalled, blinking awkwardly. “Well…”
“Uh huh,” I interrupted, his mouth still agape. “Oh, you didn’t know. Oh, you’re sorry for my loss. Save the breath, pretty boy. I’ll still bite the topic, and…” I turned toward Alexis. Her eyes were tiny slits, analysing the man’s every movement and expression. “You can take notes on this too.
“Yeah, I’m fairly pessimistic. You can thank my life for that. But don’t mistake that for me believing love doesn’t exist.”
I turned back to the pretty boy while Clare finished pouring his Beamish and placed it on the bar.
“I know you kids love your Google. Why don’t you take your little phone out and look up where we get the word ‘pandemonium’ from. That’s what I think of love. Everyone has this insatiable chaos brewing inside them. The result is lust. But there are some – the few golden nuggets – who can control that chaos. Those are the ones who manage to actually love, with a soul and conscience as clear as the skies.”
His brow furrowed together as he absorbed what I had said. Behind me, I could hear the scratching of Alexis writing in her notebook. Sweet girl. Faintly, I could hear the rustling of someone in the other room. Aoife.
“Oh I wasn’t joking, pretty boy,” I continued. “Go ahead and Google it.”
He remained silent, but complied and slipped his phone from his pocket.
And in turn, Aoife finished whatever she had been up to in the other room and strode back into the pub. “Hey!” she shouted, eyes falling on the phone. “Didn’t you read the…” She exhaled for a moment, vainly trying to stifle her anger. “You know what? Nope, no. Up! Out! Get out!”
She flew around the bar and tugged on his sleeve until the young man begrudgingly stood. She led him to the entrance. “Keep going, and next time try reading!” She closed the door behind him before turning to the three of us. “Wow, kids these days.”
I gave a lipless smile and slid his untouched beer toward Alexis. “Like Beamish?”
