6
Synopsis: Six years after meeting the woman he was made for, a young man plans to meet up with her again. Will she show up, or was their once-in-a-lifetime romance truly only meant to happen once?
"I'm sorry, ma'am. I don't mean to bother you, but is this seat taken?"
Patty Carlson looked up at the nervous-young white boy, immediately what could ave him so frazzled.
"Go 'head," she stated, pulling her bags over, to the seat on the side opposite of her.
He sat down and his leg began bouncing wildly, as the bartender came over to take his order.
After requesting an Old Fashioned, Patty looked down at her phone, her aged eyed straining for a moment before a sound of judgment came from the back of her throat as she read the time.
12:14 pm
"Something troubling you?" she asked the young man, not able to help as her nosey side got the best of her. She took a quick glance at him and from his defined jaw and full dark hair could imagine a young Patty giving this boy a run for his money.
"Did the early drinking give it away?" he asked, a bit sarcastically before turning to her, his blue eyes catching her attention as he grabbed a bar napkin and began fiddling with it.
"I suppose it did," she said shyly, not wanting him to know she had already passed judgment.
"Well if you must know... yes, I'm actually supposed to be meeting a girl here. Well, at least I think I am... I mean, I hope she shows..." he rambled.
"Oh?"Patty asked, internally begging for him to continue.
"Yeah. Her name's Maya," he said breathlessly, scooting over to the barstool next to Patty's. She was taken aback for a moment by the stranger's sudden movement but quickly regained composure as he began retelling his story.
"We met six years ago, here in this bar. I was on leave and--"
"Marine?" she asked.
"Yes, Ma'am," he said, nodding his head proudly. "Anywho, I was out here for a wicked, and man...she blew me away. I learned more about her in those two days than anyone I'd know my whole life and--"
"You fell in love."
"I did... more than I thought I would. I tried to keep in touch, and as much as I want to say I didn't cause her pain... I know I did. Which is why I'm doubting she'll even show today..." he said as the bartender set his drink down.
Removing the straw, he took a small sip, letting the sweet whiskey enter his blood system.
"What happened? If you don't mind me asking..." Patty said, but at this point, she didn't care if she was prying. This was a juicer story than anything she'd heard in her senior living complex in the last month.
"About seven months after I left, I ended up getting another girl pregnant..." he said hanging his head.
"Oh... Oh, no," was all Patty could say.
"Yeah, and the worst part of it all was she was so understanding that she didn't even hate me afterward. We're friends. I had to sit and watch from a distance over the past few years as some guy came in and took... took everything that's supposed to be mine."
The stranger's jaw clenched for a moment and Patty could've sworn she saw what looked like remorse flash across his face as he lifted his glass.
"So what's today?"
"Six years to the day I left. We made a promise to come back, no matter where we were in life, if only for a drink. She said five years was too cliche and six was her lucky number, so.... Here I am..." he shrugged, checking the clock behind the bar.
12:23 pm
"Seven minutes..." he said wistfully as he set his glass back down.
"Ya know she's the only girl I've ever truly loved besides my mom and my sister. And well... my daughter, of course," he smiled proudly.
"And are you with the mother?" Patty asked.
"Nahh... that never really worked out. A couple of months after Xiana (ZEE-ah-nuh) was born, we both decided co-parenting would be the best thing for her, and it's worked out great so far."
"Well, that's wonderful," Patty said, taking a small glance over the stranger's shoulder as she noticed someone approaching.
Gauging the situation Patty grabbed her bag and drink and stood from her seat, ready to head over to an empty booth so she could continue being nosey.
"Well... good luck," she said, passing him, giving a smile to the beautiful ebony-skinned girl approaching him, taking in her long locs and noticing the nervous way she was biting her lip.
Patty smiled to herself, thinking, she's happy she decided to step in for a quick brunch at her granddaughter Maya's hotel.
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