Invisible String

C.1: drunk on something stronger than the drinks in the bar

Madison quickly got dressed from the small collection of professional clothes that she'd thrown into the wardrobe that she'd once called her own on the rare occasion that the family stayed in country long enough to get unpacked.

With the most amount of effort that Madison could muster, she left the house not too long after she stole coffee and lunch from her mother as Connie drove her into the city, as Madison hadn't gotten around to buying herself a car yet.

She didn't have any reason to buy a vehicle yet.

No job, meant no need to drive anywhere yet.  

*~*~*~*

Without thinking, Madison ducked off the crowded street and into the closest bar, Better Days, in order to avoid those who were leaving their jobs and beginning their journey back to their warm homes. Something Madison couldn't do. She knew that there was a time limit as to how much longer she could stay with her mother in that cold and unfamiliar home, and that was just a few more short weeks at most, as no one was aware when her father would be arriving home for his biyearly visit of the capital, before he'd leave once more.

Madison and George never got along, ever since she was a child, there was just something different about how he treated Madison compared to Adam, her older brother and Peter, her younger brother, or with Meredith, the youngest in the family. 

Not out of malice. He didn't hate his eldest daughter, he just never got along with her.

In fact, George loved his daughter, but he didn't always like her.

This was something that Madison could never figure out. To her there was no logical behind it, she was the perfect daughter, played piano, always top of her academics and a held a high level of proficiency in a number of languages. But still it wasn't enough to please her father.

Nothing ever was.

Letting go off the shaky breath, she took in the bar that she'd escaped into. A small number of people, slowly drinking their drinks, at one of the tables dotted around the bar. It only just turned six pm, the sun was barely beginning to set. As the night went on, and more people left work, the crowd should increase.

What drew Madison's attention away from her thoughts was the soft music coming from the piano in the middle of the bar. A grand piano.

A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. A small smile, but a smile. Something that she hasn't done in weeks.

"What's the deal with the piano?" Madison asked the bartender who came down to serve her before she'd even managed to pull up a pew.

"Anyone can play it..." The bartender placed down a coaster and napkin in front of Madison, waiting for her to order a drink, "You might get tips if you're half decent. Honestly that more depending on how drunk everyone else is."

"There a mic?" She asked, completely ignoring the prompting to order.

"Not tonight," the bartender replied, a little short compared to the last time.

"Okay," Madison nodded before she ordered her usual drink, a whiskey sour. And paid with the little bit of cash that she had left after a long afternoon of informal coffee chats with potential employers, ones who'd turn her down in a matter of days for being too overqualified. The old familiar song and dance routine.

The bartender, who she'd later learn was named Rosa, quickly made her drink with ease, as they spoke about the events of the day and a little about themselves. Madison learnt that Rosa was a second year Ph.D. student at Georgetown University. They spoke out their own experiences as Ph.D. students and how they'd managed to cope with the lack of direction from bad supervisors and working, while people took turns playing the piano, many weren't that bad but clearly a lot of them hadn't played much beforehand or they were just drunk, which was likely the case.