Twice Twenty-one

Sitting at the bar in Tavernier’s Pub, Arlene stared at the glass of ice that had held her drink. The place was nearly deserted. She wished she was elsewhere.

‘What am I going to do?’

Wiping glasses, Ken, the bartender eyed her. She signaled for another.

‘What can I do? What happened? Too much to wish for a second chance?’ She thought about her twenty-year marriage to Charlie. ‘So much promise gone south… What did I miss?’

Ken replaced her empty with a fresh drink. He wiped the bar top.

Arlene said, “Thanks, Ken.”

Returning her look he cocked his head to the far end of the bar. She saw a man sitting several stools away. His suit and tie contrasted with the casual dress code. He raised his drink, smiled and nodded.

She nodded and asked Ken, “You know that guy?”

Ken said, “Bradley. He’s okay. Been coming here for years. Always takes that stool.”

“What’s he want?”

“Conversation. Never got any complaints…”

“Huh… never noticed him.”

“You’re not a regular. He’s a fixture.”

Arlene nursed her drink and mulled her dwindling options.

Bradley stepped beside her. “You’re lost in thought. Want company?”

Arlene sized him up. She couldn’t guess his age. Fifty? A hundred-fifty? He appeared healthy, almost athletic. But his skin looked fragile, crepe like, as if a strong breeze might shred it. Bradley’s smile displayed gleaming teeth which Arlene decided couldn’t be real. 

His suit looked tailored.

He took her lack of response as a ‘yes’ and sat.

“Whatcha drinking?”

She swirled her glass and chimed the ice. “Rum and coke.”

“Ahh, Cuba Libre.”

“Whatever…”

“Ken knows I take scotch and soda.”

Arlene shrugged.

Bradley asked, “Where’s Charlie?”

The question startled Arlene. ‘Who is this guy?’ “You know Charlie?”

Bradley chuckled. “I know everyone. Known you since you were kids.”

Being observed unawares felt creepy. Is he creepy? Or was that her stance on men?

“You know so much, why don’t you tell me where he is.” He held her gaze. “My guess, he’s getting another tat.”

Bradley smiled. “Yeah… Good time Charlie.”

“Right… Still waiting for those good times. Should-a, could-a, would-a…”

“You were quite the party girl, Arlene. What happened to you?”

Curious, she looked at him hard. ‘How’s he know me?’ He seemed vaguely familiar. ‘From my childhood?’

“You stalking me?”

“No… Of course not. I can leave if you’re uncomfortable. Call me curious.”

“How d’you know me? You writing a book on me?”

“You think it’s already written?”

That stopped her. ‘What does that mean?’

Bradley pressed her. “Where’s Charlie?”

“Out for a good time. Where else? More to the point, why do you care?”

He didn’t answer. She watched his face.

“People interest me. I’ve followed your story, and Charlie’s, for a long time.”

“But why?”

“It’s what I do. I offer solutions. I saw you tonight and sensed you’d reached a crisis point. If there’s something I can do…?”

Arlene looked at Ken pretending to be busy. His glance assured her she was not alone.

They spoke at once. “Back to my question…”

Bradley smiled.

Arlene giggled nervously. “Really… I can call you Bradley?” He nodded. “How could you, or anyone do anything? Charlie and I barely speak… I wish…” She shook her head and looked away.

Bradley offered, “You could turn back the clock?”

She nodded. “If I knew then…”

He said, “That’s where I come in.”

Arlene continued her rant. “…What went wrong? I’ve failed. But how?” She stopped and stared. “Wait… This a joke? You? Turn the clock back?”

Bradley shrugged. “In a manner of speaking…”

“Like daylight savings?”

“More like rewinding. Or a reboot. A decade or two… An hour wouldn’t matter…”

“If only…”

“You could though. With my help.”

Arlene scoffed. “Good joke. And what would that cost?”

“I don’t take compensation. It’s not a commercial enterprise. I’m not selling anything. But it’s not for everyone.”

The conversation had gone far off the expected path. She saw Ken pretending he wasn’t listening.

She said, “Are you high? No one can do that.”

Bradley leaned in. “You need to know this can’t be done lightly. You’re talking major changes. Why would you want a redo? What happened?”             

“Bad choices. I guess… Been asking myself, ‘what if…?’”

“What if? If you could do it all again?”

Intrigued, Arlene wanted answers.

“But must be different.”

“That’s your call. You need to know your purpose…”

“Don’t worry. I know what I want. No reruns. Been there. Done that. Gotta be different. But…”

Arlene signaled for another drink. Ken looked at Bradley, who nodded.

Arlene continued. “Look… I don’t mean to slam Charlie. He’s a decent guy. It isn’t the absence of ‘good times Charlie,’ so much as ‘no time Charlie.’ He’s not violent. Not a cheater…”

“I get it. I know what he’s not, but what is he?”

 “Unavailable.”

“Because of work? Too busy?”

“Partly… But he’s changed. I don’t recognize him anymore.”

“You mean his behavior?”

Arlene rolled her eyes. “Uhm… Let me take a step back. Let’s see… Years ago. Fifteen… or more… Charlie wanted us to get tattoos. I didn’t care. Thought it’d be cute. A rose, or a smiley face. You know?”

Bradley nodded.

“So we went and each got one. Look…”

She pulled her sleeve to reveal a smiling moon covering the vaccination scar on her shoulder.

Bradley chuckled. “That is cute.”

“Right? But it didn’t stop there. Not for Charlie. He got addicted to tattoos. Or actually, the endorphins getting stuck with a needle generates. He got obsessed.”

“Must be expensive…”

“Yeah, but there was more. No. He carried so much ink, I couldn’t see my Charlie under it. He sank under oceans of ink. His body. His face… And the images… skulls, tentacles, grotesque, tortured faces… I didn’t know that part of him, or why… And I don’t want to…”

Bradley sat back. “So, if you went back and took a different path… Found someone to share your life with…”

“Who are you? Father Time?”

“Been called worse.” He glanced at Ken. “I’ll just say I’m from the future.”

“But you mean it, Bradley? You can do that for me?”

“You’ve invested your life to end up feeling alone. What d’you have to lose?”

“A new start? If I knew then what…”

“Exactly.”

~

Lost in a reverie, Arlene sat alone. The club crowd churned to the loud music. Shaking her head, she snapped into the present. Straddling two worlds, she struggled to discern dream from reality.

She pulled at her blouse to see the vaccination scar on her shoulder. That settled, now she knew where she was.

Three young women approached. Holding nachos and margaritas, Britney, Gretchen and Inez threaded through the crowd. Arlene smiled and they cheered as they set everything on the table before her.

Britney shouted, “You’re finally legal. Drink up birthday girl! Plenty more where that came from.”

Arlene laughed.

Gretchen said, “Here’s drink number one. Twenty to go!”

Arlene said, “I said twenty-one sips. Not drinks!”

Inez said, “Either way, time’s wasting. Slurp! Slurp! You’ve got some catching up to do.”

They sat around the table and toasted Arlene. “Cheers! Happy birthday!”

Glasses clinked and tipped back.

Arlene’s eyes bugged. “Whooo-oww! You give me straight tequila?”

Everyone laughed. Gretchen pounded the table.

Looking about, Arlene said, “You seen Skip? He said he’d come.”

The others made silent glances.

Britney said, “He might be late. Think he’s caught up in something.”

Inez covered her laugh with her hand. Gretchen elbowed her. They cracked up.

Hugh, Steve and Charlie, approached the birthday table.

Hugh said, “Someone having a birthday?”

The women pointed at Arlene.

Inez said, “Twenty-one tonight!”

The guys bowed in unison and the women cracked up. They introduced themselves.

Steve pointed at their glasses. “Looks like you’re getting low. Got to keep the festivities going. Margies all around?”

Everyone but Arlene nodded. Steve disappeared into the crowd toward the bar.

Hugh crouched by Inez and offered his hand. “There’s no place to sit. We could talk while dancing.”

Inez jumped up. “Okay!”

They joined the throng.

Charlie, now solo, basked in the attention of the remaining women.

He leaned in to ask Arlene, “Happy birthday… Will you dance with me?”

Her friends nodded encouragement.

“Thank you. I’m Arlene.”

“A pleasure. I’m Charlie.”

She caught her balance, and he took her hand. “Guess I’m a little tipsy. Don’t let me fall.”

He steadied her. “Only for me…”

Finding the dance floor, Charlie proved himself. He danced well but didn’t showboat. He made sure Arlene always looked good. The song ended with the two sharing a breathless, close embrace. She smiled up at him.

In a moment, everything changed. She saw Skip across the dancefloor, embracing another woman. Arlene’s face fell. Charlie tried to distract her but she broke away.

She strode up to Skip.  Charlie followed. Seeing them coming, Skip stepped forward.

“Happy Birthday, Arlene…”

“Two timing bastard.”

Charlie stood behind her.

Laughing, Skip said, “You gonna introduce me to your friend?”

“You’re clueless. Never mind.”

The music resumed. Arlene took Charlie’s hand. They returned to the dance floor, but her heart wasn’t in it.

Charlie said, “You okay? Something I should know?”

She feigned a smile. “No… nothing important. You know… Putzes will be putzes…”

“Wise words from a twenty-one-year-old. Shake it off. I’ll show you a good time.”

They shared a deep look that lasted until other dancers bumped into them. They laughed, recovered and let the music guide them back into the dance.

Several songs later, Arlene and Charlie returned to the birthday table. They were greeted by cheers and a largely unintelligible rap rendition of the Birthday song from the guys.

Well over a dozen empty glasses and beer bottles covered the table. The party had roared on without them.

Someone nudged Gretchen. She emerged from her stupor and said, “There you are! We thought we lost you.”

Arlene laughed. “Not lost. Charlie’s been showing me his dance moves.” Visualizing, she held her hands up, “He should get a tattoo saying ‘Best Dancer!’”

Smiles and glances made the rounds.

Arlene froze for a moment. She shook it off and said, “Or, wait. Not a tattoo. How about…”

Hugh raised his hand. “I know! A badge!”

Britney yelled, “T-shirt!”

Steve shook his head. “Sky writing…”

Gretchen said, “Wait… He had a hat!”

Arlene let it go. “You’re all right! Anyway… He’s a great dancer.”

Inez pointed to their drinks, the only full glasses on the crowded table. “These are yours. Watered down by now, but…”

Steve said, “Britney wouldn’t let us drink them…”

Everyone laughed.

Britney handed the drinks to Arlene and Charlie. “You must be thirsty after all the dancing.”

Arlene touched Charlie’s glass with hers. They smiled.

“Cheers!”

“And happy birthday!”

They drank deeply and embraced.