In the corner of listening and glass there lays a small bar called The Listener’s Glass. There are only two employees who work there. I run the bar and a part-time student who works so that he can pay for his college. Most of the time I’m in the bar all alone, and a lot of really sketchy people like to walk into the bar. Although they make for the best stories.

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“A rowdy young man has been causing trouble outside the bar.” My part-time employee informed me. “He has been yelling drunkenly at people who walk by for a few hours now. Should I chase him away?”

I looked at my employee and replied with the three words that he knew I would say, “Invite him in.” The young employee just shrugged with a smile. He knew what my answer would be yet he still asks me every time. The drunk ones are usually the funniest. That is until they start getting all deep on me... or violent.

“Thank you so much!” the stranger said while walking hand-in-hand with my part-timer. The stranger looked both happy and sad at the same time. His face smiled brightly, but something in his eyes made him look like the world had just ended. “I really need a drink, but no one is letting me in.” The stranger sat on a bench and I walked over to him. “I’ll have an appletini, no wait, a sangria, wait… wait, I change my mind again, I want a bottle of vodka. I grabbed a glass and proceeded to pour my special vodka bottle that was filled with water. Someone this drunk does not need another drink, and it’s not like I’ll make him pay for it. I’m just glad he didn’t order one of those girly drinks. Those are a lot harder to fake.

“Yay!” the stranger said while taking the glass and drinking it in one go. “Man that hits the spot. What kind of alcohol was that? It is very refreshing! I need another one of those.” The stranger said while holding his glass out to me.

I poured him some more water, and he continued to drink. He drank and he drank until at some point he was sober enough to realize that he was being served water. I knew he knew because his face showed recognition as his eyebrows lifted up and his eyes widened slightly. His lips moved into an upward motion, and he gave a small chuckle. “I hope this water is cheap because I sure had a lot of it.”

I chucked back at him, and replied with, “it’s on the house.”

“Hah, you’re a smart lady you know, but if I were any other person a stunt like this would not have worked out so well.” The man placed his head in his hands and I could tell that he was no longer happy. Sobering up could do that to you.

“Water tastes better when you don’t have enough to spare.”

“Tell me about it,” the man replied. “I’ve given away too much water, and she wasn’t even worth it. Well, thanks for sobering me up, but I really need to get back home.”

“Wait up!” I said while grabbing a cloth I keep under my counter. I ran some cold water on it and wiped his face with it. Some makeup came off and some clear bruising started to show. The stranger grabbed my hand in shock and pulled it away with a shamed face.

“How did you know?” the stranger asked while reaching up to touch his bruised face. “He wasn’t always violent. He used to be very sweet.”

I felt my eyes widen at the word ‘he’. Wasn’t he saying ‘she’ earlier?

“Sometimes I wonder if he even loves me? And I can’t help but make excuses for him every time he does something like this. Then I head back to the house, he apologizes and then we get into another fight the very next day.”

I walked around the bar table and lifted the divider. The young man looked at me as I walked over to him and took the stool beside him. “He doesn’t love you.” The young man looked at me shocked. “If he truly loved you; then he would not act this way. What you have with him is something shallow. You’ve been battling with what you had with him, and that is what makes you go back to him. Look at him for who he is, and then ask yourself if he truly makes you happy. If the answer is yes then you did not look deep enough. Happiness does not go hand-in-hand with fear. If he leaves his love in the shape of a bruise then what you have is on the outside, and not on the inside. You need to look deeply and find what you want, and not what he wants from you.”

The young man looked straight ahead of him. His lip quivered ever so slightly, and his eyes started to fill with liquid. At this point, I headed back around the bar once more, and I poured another glass of water. “Water tastes best when you have none to spare.” The young man said with a soft chuckle and a painful cry. “Maybe I should find some that won’t make me sick.”

I smiled at the young man as he got up and placed a twenty on the counter. “Keep the change.” He said as he walked away only to turn around and say, “You know, you’re a good listener.”