flash friday – better late than never

Based on prompts by Haredawg: a contingency plan for when things go fubar,
and amygdala – beer froth, maiden hair and maple leaves.

All I knew at the moment was that it had seemed like a good idea at the time. Not so much now, no – with the mess of the bar, the waitress who would no longer look at us, and an underlying feeling of overall badness, pervading the air and making it take on a lifeless, thick heavy feeling that left little to the imagination, but couldn’t be helped. Beef froth slopped over the bar from errant mugs that clinked together a little too hard. My t-shirt was splashed with some sort of hoppy liquid – not sure who’s beer spilled, or how I became the target, but I was. Jokesters, tricksters, trying to pull a practical joke that went a bit too far, but who’s to know these things ahead of time? It’s a mystery, sometimes the line is blurred in the dirt, like a string of maple leaves blown in the wind on the forest floor – it’s not crystal clear, it’s faded, smokey – blown to and fro in the slightest of breezes. I think the lesson in this was that life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans, and you never know which direction it’s taking you until you’re there. The waitress passed us, ignoring us completely – drunks at the bar in a pool of spilled beer and laughter, and I caught a whiff of her shampoo – fragrant maiden hair and a slight hint of perfume. It was strange, this. I sat there, detached in part from the others, the barstool corners digging into my less than plentiful ass, watching – always watching. Wondering what happened exactly, between half an hour ago and now – wondering where it all went wrong – wondering what would have happened if…but no. The plan failed, and it was now time for a backup, and escape hatch. I eyed the back door, hidden back out of the way – out of the line of site. I wondered, still. It was time to make an escape. I crawled off the barstool, room spinning slightly in my intoxication. I walked past the bathroom to the door, just knowing that everything would be okay, knowing the others would follow. As to where we would go from here…who knows. Anywhere. Everywhere. Somewhere where plans can be re-evaluated and made better for the next time. Next time.