Bar Girl

This story is a 750 word Halloween themed story with Bazzle interpretation.

Beyond this point there are exactly 750 words

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I got to the Fox and Hounds early. I was meant to meet my mate Tom at eight for a drink.

I should've put my glasses on. I had misread the text and got there slightly late for seven. I only realised this when I sat down in the corner next to the hot burning fire and noticed that he wasn't there. Only an hour to nurse a pint and look at my phone. An easy task. I was hopeful that Tom might get to the pub a little early anyway.

For a Thursday night the place was humming with drinkers and customers eating food. The steak and ale pies looked popular, and as the waitress brought them out from the kitchen, they smelt delicious too. There was a nod to the season, a freshly carved pumpkin on the bar with a tea light flickering away showing off the eyes and mouth.

The pub was the standard décor for a traditional drinking establishment: the low wooden beams, the collection of brass knick-knacks securely bolted to the walls so that no one could pinch them. Importantly the local ale was nice to drink, and the cushion comfortable as I settled into the seat.

A moment of calm, of people watching. The swirl of drinkers in front of me. A middle-aged couple sat at the bar, her middle-aged spread hanging over her jeans, his beer belly equally protruding as they discussed immigration with the Polish bar maid. Two businessmen all dressed in suits and ties having a beer before going home were standing by the bar too. A group of twenty-somethings opposite the bar, heads down, all on their phones, laughing at videos they had seen. Their beers were sitting undrunk in front of them.

Other couples chose the easy option, to eat pub food over cooking at home.

The other side of the fireplace was a beautiful blonde woman, her make-up exquisitely done. She was dressed all in white. A short skirt that only covered her buttocks and low-cut top showing off either the work of a Wonderbra or her enhanced breasts. A thick black belt around her slim waist completed the outfit. She looked as if she was going to a Halloween party. She was sitting there alone drinking a large glass of white wine. I naturally tried to make eye contact but failed. I had to assume she was waiting for a boyfriend or partner who had popped to the toilet. But what confused me was that there was no drink where he would be sitting.

I picked up my phone and started reading the sports news. There was little else to do. Wait out the time. Fair to the BBC, it was informative as I was killing time and drinking my pint. By the time I had got to cricket news my nose was tickled by the acrid smell of smoke. My first thought was the fireplace beside me.

No, the woman at the table opposite was brazenly smoking a cigarette. No one else in the pub took a blind bit of notice of the smoke. I couldn't help but watch as the orange filter landed between her red lips and she tilted her head back and swiftly surrounded herself in a cloud. The haze started to spread out across the pub ceiling, and again nobody seemed to see or care. I hadn't spotted the second fresh glass of wine; she tapped the cigarette ash into the empty one.

I was waiting for the people eating to complain, but no, they sat there chatting and chewing on their food. I was half expecting the Polish barmaid to shout at her, but no. Cigarette after cigarette was lit and consumed. I didn't want to say a thing.

I was saved from sitting there completely open-mouthed all night by Tom marching into the pub. He saw my empty pint and went to the bar to get us both a drink.

"All good mate?"

"Oh, I am fine, I just got here far too early."

"John, you're a lawyer, you are the one for fine details."

"True, do you want to sit outside?"

"Why?"

I whispered, "Can you believe the short skirted woman beside me is smoking inside with no complaints?"

He laughed, "John, there is no one there?"

We both turned our heads and looked at the empty table. There was no one sitting there and nothing on the table.

"I know what I saw."

Tom just raised his eyebrow.

The End