RP with taste4freedom | Not-so-Happy New Year
Jason sat at one of the small bar tables in the dimmed piano lounge just a few blocks from his work. New Year was supposed to be spent with a guy from work at some party he had invited Jason to a few weeks ago. Being a typical family man, though, when the guy got a call earlier in the day to say his eldest daughter had broken her arm ice skating in Central Park, he dropped everything to take her to the ER. Jason got a phone call later in the evening to say he was still waiting and would have to take a raincheck on the party, but that Jason should still go and enjoy himself.
Yeah, right. There was no way he was going to show up at a party where he didn't know anyone and try to avoid those awkward stranger looks he often got being in a wheelchair. The plan had even been that he would spend the night at his friend's place, getting a lift back to Jersey the next day. The bed was still on offer, but Jason didn't even want to sit around the guy's empty house alone. It just didn't feel right, and now he was high and dry in Manhattan on New Year's Eve night, sitting in a bar with only a handful of people and trying to pretend the empty Scotch glass in front of him didn't signal he was a sad, lonely excuse for a New Year celebration.
He screwed his nose up and rested his head on his hand. He was only half listening to the woman at the back of the smoky bar playing the piano. She was good, and it was a nice tune, but not really to his taste. The barman came over to him to collect his empty glass. "Want another, pal?" he asked Jason, the accent thick Scottish or Irish... Jason hadn't ever been able to really tell the difference.
He nodded. "Yeah, why not. It's New Years. Same again and thanks." The barman nodded and rounded his bar to fetch the refill. Jason went back to staring into space, letting out a slow, bored breath as he pushed the coaster back and forth across the tabletop.
Yeah, right. There was no way he was going to show up at a party where he didn't know anyone and try to avoid those awkward stranger looks he often got being in a wheelchair. The plan had even been that he would spend the night at his friend's place, getting a lift back to Jersey the next day. The bed was still on offer, but Jason didn't even want to sit around the guy's empty house alone. It just didn't feel right, and now he was high and dry in Manhattan on New Year's Eve night, sitting in a bar with only a handful of people and trying to pretend the empty Scotch glass in front of him didn't signal he was a sad, lonely excuse for a New Year celebration.
He screwed his nose up and rested his head on his hand. He was only half listening to the woman at the back of the smoky bar playing the piano. She was good, and it was a nice tune, but not really to his taste. The barman came over to him to collect his empty glass. "Want another, pal?" he asked Jason, the accent thick Scottish or Irish... Jason hadn't ever been able to really tell the difference.
He nodded. "Yeah, why not. It's New Years. Same again and thanks." The barman nodded and rounded his bar to fetch the refill. Jason went back to staring into space, letting out a slow, bored breath as he pushed the coaster back and forth across the tabletop.