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Two
After we ate some of the finest food in town - no disrespect to the diner- the four of us went to the new part of the bar. We played some pool and overall had a good time. It was close to midnight before we notice the late hour and determine that it is time to end our evening.
I walk Madison home, as Cooper and Nydia head back to his place for the night. Since Madison lives on the way to my apartment, it works well for us to continue chatting as I make sure that she gets home safely. Besides, I do not want the night to end.
“So, where are you from?” Madison asks.
“I’m from Hollybrooke. So, I’m local, just not Mercy local,” I reply.
“What made you move to Mercy?” she asks.
“Honestly? I wanted to be by people.” I say while placing my hands in my pockets feeling a little embarrassed.
“In the city, there’s a lot more people than there are in Mercy,” she says.
“Oh, I know, but in a city, sometimes surrounded by a lot of people, you can still feel very much alone. I wanted to live somewhere like Mercy, where I felt at home. Where people know you and talk to you. You don’t get that in the city, at least in my experience, you don’t.”
“How long have you lived here then?” she asks.
“It’s been about six years now, I moved here right after graduating college.”
“That’s cool. I don’t think we ever got to what you did for a living. But it looks like we can add that to the next time that we hang out,” Madison says stopping at a small apartment building.
“Would you maybe, wanna hang out again?” I ask trying to convey that I’m not shocked.
“Sure, you seem nice enough,” she smiles placing her hand on my arm, trailing down to my palm and fitting her hand and fingers with mine.
“I would love to hang out again,” I reply.
“Good. Well, then come into the diner tomorrow for lunch, I have the morning shift and we can, I don’t know, grab a bite or something?” she asks with a tilt of her head in question.
“I can do that,” I reply.
“Good, I’m glad,” she takes a step closer to me and leans up on her tiptoes then places a kiss gently on my cheek. “I’ll see you tomorrow, thank you for walking me home.”
“My pleasure,” I say stunned with the turn of events of the night.
I watch her walk away and wait until she opens her front door, wave at me, then disappear inside her apartment. I turn around and walk the two additional blocks to my place and sit on the couch in darkness.
I’m not a loner by any means, I’m very friendly, and I talk to everyone at the bar. Especially since I work from home and don’t do much talking to others during the day. Occasionally, after a long and hectic day, I will go to the bar and take shots with the bartenders that work and own The Neighborhood.
After Madison’s earlier random comment about being surprised about not being an alcoholic, it didn’t occur to me that my hanging out at the bar would have anyone thinking that. But now, after an evening between friends, I have another chance to hang out with Madison and hopefully, I can get to know her better.
When Madison asked me about being lonely in the city, I was terrified that I would have divulged too much information and would have to tell her my life story and the real reasoning behind always being at the bar.
I make the mental note to thank Cooper for inviting them tomorrow and get ready for some sleep before I need to get my workday started in the morning.
I wakeup early and stretch as I roll out of bed. I stumble through the darkness of my apartment until I turn on the dim lights in the kitchen to get my computer started up quickly and begin my workday.
I work in computer engineering creating software for several large companies all around the world. I will sometimes spend hours of my day sitting at my desk without getting up as I get so engrossed in my work. I set up an alarm so that way I make sure to meet Madison at the diner and get to work.
I shower before heading to the diner and walk in looking for Madison. After a moment, she walks out from the back, while folding up her apron and shoving it into her purse. She looks up and our eyes meet, we smile at one another and I raise my hand in an awkward wave, likely with a goofy smile.
“Hey there,” she greets walking up to me, leaning up on her tip toes and kissing my cheek.
“Hey, how has your day been?” I ask her with a smile.
“It’s been a day, but now that you’re here, I’m excited.”
