The other day I got invited to a party but I stayed home instead

[latexspectre]

WHO: Laurie Juspeczyk & You!
WHERE: A drinking establishment with jazz music!
WHEN: December 2nd, throughout the night
WARNINGS: Language, possibly
SUMMARY: It's Laurie's birthday again and she's celebrating by drinking.
FORMAT: Your choice!

Comments

[shotyoudeadbang]

She's not the only one drinking by herself tonight. There's some guy with a stache at the other end of the bar with some kind of whiskey.

[latexspectre]

It takes her a moment or two before she recognized Floyd at the end of the bar. She narrows her eyes, certain she must be seeing things, laughing softly when she realized she wasn't. She cleared her throat, raised an eyebrow, "Hey, you."

[shotyoudeadbang]

Floyd's eyes shift, not expecting to be approached.

"Hey."

She's drinking alone. Huh.

"Bad day?"

[latexspectre]

She shakes her head, managing something of a smile. "You could say that. It's not everyday a gal turns thirty-seven."

[shotyoudeadbang]

An eyebrow lifts, then he gives her a nod.

"Drinks are on me, then."

There's your present and your 'well-wishing.'

"Good to see you're not one of those women feels the need to bullshit about it, though. If it helps, I would've put you at 30, tops."

[latexspectre]

"Thanks," she shakes her head, obviously not quite convinced, but still grateful for the complement. "It's all the scotch and cigarettes. They're preserving me for forever."

[shotyoudeadbang]

A slight smirk and a shrug to that.

"What brings you here? Did you bail out of your party or somethin'? Some friend try to pull the 'jumping out of a cake' crap on you?"

[latexspectre]

"I'm here on my own, actually." She sighed, staring at her glass. "My mother was ported out recently. And most of my friends. But I'm tired of moping, so here I am."

[shotyoudeadbang]

"Sorry 'bout your luck," he offers, in a tone that might imply that 'luck' isn't something most people should bother hoping for.

"Bright side, a lot of people would be glad to get their mom outta their hair."

A beat.

"And don't you have any cop friends? That Bauer guy seems all right."

[latexspectre]

It was actually a relief to be rid of Sally in someways, but it was too fresh for Laurie to consider all of that now. She liked feeling sorry about it, for awhile still anyway.

"Bauer's a good man. And he's my boss. I'm not sure asking him out for drinks would go over well."

[shotyoudeadbang]

Floyd shrugs, as if he's ready to argue the point, but then decides to avoid harping on how piddly shit like that doesn't matter for once.

"Oh yeah. You're married to a nuke or something anyway, aren't you?"

[latexspectre]

"Just as good as." She managed to say that with absolutely no enthusiasm in her voice. "Nineteen years we've been together. An entire fucking lifetime."

[shotyoudeadbang]

"It can take a lot less than 19 years to make a lifetime," he responds, darkly, in a slightly quieter tone.

"Sounds like you want out."

[latexspectre]

Laurie frowned, crossing her arms. Floyd's assessment was fair, even if she wasn't too keen on verbalizing it herself. After a long moment, she exhaled, slowly nodding her head in agreement. Small steps, baby steps. Acknowledging it out loud was the first step to fixing the problem. "Maybe I do. We all want a change sometimes, don't we?"

[shotyoudeadbang]

"Yeah."

He stubs out a cigarette in an ash tray, a look crossing his face that speaks of experience in that area.

"Really easy for the whole thing to just stop workin'. Gotta put it down, or things'll just get worse."

[latexspectre]

She nods, she knows that look all too well. She's seen it in the mirror on more than one occasion. "Time goes by and things just aren't like they used to be. It's no one's fault, but that's how it is."