« yesterday | Main | my website »
Tue | August 09, 2005
Flight
Kat Galette sat on the barstool with resolve. It was not her habit to note the décor of a place, but she now noted the plush red couches and the tulips of light cast by the lamps on the wall. Thus the name Fire Bar and Lounge, she thought to herself. She counted the bottles of liquor on the wall in front of her. I know too many of those names, she thought. She could not think of much else as she focused on simply sitting in that seat.
"Excuse me," the man had said. "There’s a private party here at 10, so you’ll have to leave in about a half an hour."
"Where am I supposed to go?" she said. "I paid for this drink and I should be able to sit here all night if I like."
She surprised herself with that response. It’s because I’m here alone, she thought to herself. It’s because I’m alone and no one will catch me. She had called her friend Tara, but Tara wanted to hang out with her boyfriend. Then she had called Erica.
"Why are you still working at 8:00?" asked Erica.
"Lena came by at 5:00 with a three-hundred page document for me to photocopy and proofread," said Kat.
"Just say no. It’s like drugs. People telling you to do bad unhealthy things."
"I can’t say no. I’ll get fired."
"They won’t fire you."
"Yes they will. There are five billion people in New York who want to be paralegals. Just say you’ll come with me. I’ll have so much more motivation to finish this if I know I’m meeting up with someone afterwards."
"I can’t, Kat. I want to, but I can’t. I’m in my pajamas and I have to clean my room and do all this stuff."
"Oh fine." Kat had drawn a square with her red pen and was diligently filling it in.
"Kat—"
"Yeah?"
"I just said no just now, and you didn’t fire me."
"Well, I should fire you."
"But you didn’t. You understand, and we’re still friends."
So Kat faced the last hour with the document alone. When she reached the last page she decided that if she could face the document alone she could face a bar alone. She walked into Fire, and did her best not to note how many people were there, with their friends and colleagues, boyfriends, girlfriends and dates. She sat at the bar, ordered a mudslide, and thought, I have no friends and my job is eating me alive. Then the man in the suit told her she had to leave in a half hour, and she snapped back at him.
Kat was 24 and three years ago she would have said, "oh, okay," and left immediately. Three years ago she moved to New York City and got a job as a paralegal. Every day thereafter six attorneys and New York City drained her good will. It was a miraculous fountain that refilled fresh every day. Over time, she started to realize that she got very little back for her efforts.
Three years ago she would have said, "oh, okay." Tonight she had said something else, something confrontational, almost ferocious. She savored the words like a new dish. The minute hand moved quickly towards 9:30, the appointed time of departure, and she did not budge. She was bent on occupying that space.
She saw the man look in her direction, then again a few minutes later. She could see his shadowy eyes from across the room, and noticed his gelled spiked hair and dark suit. She observed again the lights on the wall. When she saw him walk in her direction she steeled herself for the confrontation.
He was soon next to her.
"Hi," he said.
"Hi," she said.
"You want to stay?"
"Excuse me?"
He held out his hand. "I’m Max. I’m the manager. You can stay if you like. It’s okay for me to have one guest."
« Previous | Posted by Lily in Histoires | on August 9, 2005 12:11 PM | Next »