The bartender handed Sonia the drinks, with his usual grin on his tanned face. The young woman thanked Sean with a playful wink and walked cheerfully towards the table she had reserved for her and her friend.

           It was a quiet day followed by a very quiet night; work went smoothly for both of them. On Teo’s side, he was able to finish his to-do list faster, walk through a very satisfactory test on the code without anyone annoying him too much, and have no unpleasant surprises whatsoever! He even got to spend his break eating his favorite sammich and drinking his iced coffee with a huge smile on his face for no reason. It was a good day, the sun was shining quite brightly and the best of it? The temperature had already started to fall and while the rest of the world was enjoying summer, Teo couldn’t wait for the cold days of winter.

 Sonia, being in a much more difficult position than him, had to work on a small copywriting case and as always no one ever dared bother her. It was like one of the unspoken rules of the company. If anyone needed the slightest thing from her, they had to wait for her to step out of her office at the end of the day; not earlier and certainly not too much after. She did work a full hour of overtime, yet she felt rather refreshed the moment she walked away from the building. Having the cool breeze caress her pale face, was like a deep breath of life, after being stuck at the bottom of the sea. Thus, she texted her friend for a nice drink at a nearby bar to share their news and have a little fun as both of them needed that.

           Of course, Sonia had another ulterior motive. She was aware of Teo’s parents coming over for a second round and she knew very well how bad his mood was only moments before their arrival. Just a phone chat wouldn’t be enough to satisfy her well-intended curiosity. Plus, Teo mentioned something about a miracle happening out of the blue that Saturday night. She had to know e v e r y t h I n g and she would make him talk. If her kind and sweet friendly words were not enough, then she’d use alcohol to make his tongue spit out every tiny detail of that disastrous dinner. It wouldn’t be an easy task, that was a given. Working with Theodore for at least four years taught her a lot about his introverted character. His words were always as few as they could be. Sometimes even, waving was his way of saying ‘hi’ to anyone entering, and sometimes just a nod of the head. He was never trying to be rude, it was just himself being all so modest and quiet, a fact that she later found out by being his friend. Also, through their friendship, Sonia found out how bad that boy was at handling important and delicate situations. Lying was never his best skill, even if it was a matter of death, and of course, saying “no” was out of the question or reacting to very unfair treatment by higher-ups and sometimes not.

           So, knowing that he had flipped out, pulling his hair, and screaming internally was one thing, but having him across her, in flesh and bones, forcing him to describe every little event that had occurred, was very exciting.

           “There you go.”

           Teo nodded a ‘thank you and as soon as he took a hold of the glass, he gulped down the tequila as if it was some fruit juice.

            “Easy there, cowboy. The night is still young. I doubt you want to start feeling tipsy so soon.” She chuckled and rubbed his back as she flipped her hair to the back, letting the flowery scent travel around through the air.

           Sonia was always very serious about her image and it wasn’t about due to the nature of her job. Her mother had taught her how important it was for a woman’s self-confidence to look after her own body and looks. It didn’t have to do with boys and society’s expectations, but according to her “Empresses never ruled men and empires without looking fierce and beautiful at the same time”. It was a family philosophy and it made sense in a very bizarre way. And that’s why her morning and night routine were taking hours with all the makeup, face creams, and choosing the right attire. Yet, no one could ever deny it; Sonia was an expert at looking like a queen, ready to slay anyone who’d go up against her and favor those who’d stand by her side.

            “I guess you are right. But I needed that so much! The only alcohol I keep back home is a couple of beers and those are nothing compared to this” he exclaimed with a much better mood and turned to look at her with a light smile “So, tell me about that new friend of yours. His name is Lukka. Am I saying it right?”

            Sonia nodded with the tip of the glass in between her red lips. “Yes, and he lives nearby our workplace. I mean, that’s almost how we met each other for the second time.”

           “Ok, ok. But I need to know all about your first meeting at least. I mean, there must have been some kind of an impact to make that kind of change on you.” He raised his hand, showing Sean his empty glass, and the bartender responded immediately to his call with a nod.

           “Change? I am not sure I follow you…”

           “Come on, the last time we went out you were devastated after your breakup. And it’s only natural since it’s been how long? 2-3 years of a relationship? And here we are, having drinks and me begging you to tell me about some Russian guy you met by accident. Who are you and what have you done to my friend Sonia?” he was on a roll and the tequila was only making it worse.

           Sean approached them, placed a bottle and two smaller glasses in front of them, and walked back to the bar, while Teo was almost drooling at that wonderful gesture.

           “Alright…I mean, yeah, the break-up is not easy and mostly changing your routine entirely. There is no one at home when you wake up or return in the evening. You only cook for one – yourself- and you have to swallow the fact that there is no one sitting across you to listen to your blabbering about work, or when a good movie is up, you have to watch it alone on the couch, petting your hand just to fill the freaking void. But yes. I try to find reasons to keep going.”

           Teo could get her. He knew what struggle was to move on and the loneliness sometimes was unbearable. He reached out for his friend’s hand and held it softly with a bittersweet expression saying silently, wordlessly, “I understand”. And Sonia appreciated that by filling those shot glasses and inviting him to drink together, gulping their sorrows down.

           The bottle was already halfway down when they breathed out semi-satisfied.

            “I was going back home from here,” she began saying out of the blue. Teo adjusted himself on the couch and listened carefully while holding his empty glass loosely. “And I think I might have had more than I could handle and everything was a mess.” She paused and chuckled. “So, I was walking, or at least trying to and I heard some ruckus from the street and watched a couple of guys beating up someone…like really badly.”

           “Please tell me you didn’t get involved.”

           “Well, how could I not?”

           “Sonia! What if they had killed you?!”

           She shrugged “I held my phone and told them that I had already called the cops and they’d better scatter away.”

           “And they bought it?”

           “No. I wouldn’t either. So, they sought the opportunity and charged towards me.”

           “Oh my gosh, Sonia. How stupid can you be?” he grunted, rubbing his face desperately.

           “Well, when no one acts, someone has to do it, even if it doesn't work in the end. Anyways, I ran as fast as I could, and…” Sonia lifted her shoulders and smiled cunningly. “He appeared, on his motorbike, stopping between me and those cunts, and he was intimidating enough to chase them away with just one look. Just. One. Look” she repeated the final words and giggled like a schoolgirl.

           “Sounds like a freaking movie.”

           “I know right? Well, I thanked him and he said the same thing as you did; how foolish of me to go up against them. And long story short, we stood outside my front door for about half an hour, talking, and…it felt so real. The most real I have ever felt after her” she filled the glasses with more tequila and emptied it into her mouth. “Teo?” she waved her hand in front of his face, but no response. His eyes were gazing far beyond the bar and a bit back in time as well.

           “The most real after her…” he wondered in a sneaky whisper and tried to recall when he last said that.

When a simple conversation with a simple acquaintance made more sense than the entirety of his marriage.