Birthdays

The proposal

Adrian was just about to go home. It was almost one am, and he was sitting alone by the bar. The bartender looked sympatric at him, though he had no way of knowing what was bothering him. Then of course, any drunk man in a bar by himself at 1 am on a Wednesday night probably deserved some sympathy. He had tried to stay sober, but around 11 he had to take something for the nerves. At midnight he had given up and drowned himself in whiskey. She wasn't about to show up anyway, so he might as well get drunk to try and forget this night.

"This is the last round," the bartender informed him when he asked for another fill.

"Don't you close at six?" He tried to say but it was more of a slur. 

The bartender, however, was used to translating drunk people. "Yes, but for you, this is the last round," he told him, and Adrian didn't even have the energy to argue. He just took another slurp from his glass and looked at the bottles with blurry eyes. Soon he was finished, and he set the glass down harder than necessary. The bartender looked at him again and sighed. "Look, whoever she is, she isn't worth it," he told him seriously, figuring out around now that it was probably a girl that had caused the young man's misery, and Adrian couldn't help but laugh.

"You obviously haven't met her," he stated and slide from his chair almost falling over. The bartender reached for him, though he wouldn't have been able to catch him anyway. Two small warm arms did, however, pulling him up and keeping him and his feet.

"I am sorry miss, he was just about to go home. Should I call a cap for him?" The bartender asked as if asking for her opinion on whatever the drunk man's state required someone to drive him home. The person shook her head, so her long hair hit Adrian in the face, and she let out a short, friendly but humorless laugh.

"It is alright, I got him. We know each other." The bartender nodded but didn't move, sending her questioning eyes. She shifted Adrian's weight and sat him back in the chair. "A cap and some water while we wait would be nice. Has he paid yet?" She asked, smiling friendly while holding Adrian in his chair. The bartender started pouring up water while reaching for the phone.

"No, but we have his credit card information, so don't worry about it," he told her before handing her the water and talking to the taxi central.

"Adrian?" She asked carefully, trying to get a reaction from him. 

He hadn't stopped staring at her since she had put him in the chair. "Are you really here?" He asked, reaching for her face. She laughed and nodded, holding his hand to her cheek.

"Yes, Adrian, I am right here." 

He blinked a few times then told her sadly. "It is past midnight." 

Her smile disappeared and she took a hold of his hand, holding it in her own. "I know, I am so sorry… They surprised me and.. I fell asleep, Adrian. I woke up thirty minutes ago," she told him, biting her lip nervously. He blinked a few times, processing, then he fell over, landing on her first then falling to the floor. She grabbed him just as the bartender told her the cab was outside. She thanked him, pulling 10 dollars from her bra, and placed them on the counter.

"Thank you!" She called over her shoulder while pulling Adrian to the door. She practically purred him into the backseat of the cap, as if he was liquid, and then jumped in beside him. Finally, at his parents' townhouse, she realized she had no idea how to get in.

"Adrian, have you got a key?" She asked him, but he was too far gone to give her a response. She sighed and shifted him so his back was against the door, then clapped him down to feel for a key in his pockets. If anyone had seen them it would have looked very bad for them both, well mostly her, since his reputation was ruined already. Finally finding a knuckle of keys, she tried every single one before finally finding a fit. Adrian almost fell in the door when it opened, and she struggled with locking it behind them, then looked at the stairs with trepidation. Adrian was going to have bruises tomorrow.