When Margie entered the bar in her low cut red dress on Christmas Eve, the men smirked. They knew her. Laughter even erupted a bit as she walked gracefully across the room, her wild red brown hair framing her heart shaped face, eyes done up.
"Who wants to buy her a drink this time?," Benny cried out, and everyone laughed loudly, raising their glasses.
She sat down on a bar stool next to Johnny. He looked over at her. He was the nice one, of them all.
"Hey Johnny," she gushed.
Johnny hugged her around her shoulders. He had tied on a few already. He had been sitting at the bar since 1:00 that afternoon, drinking gin and tonics. It was six o'clock now.
"What are you drinking, Margie? Merlot, as usual," he asked her.
She nodded as he lit her cigarette.
She blew out the smoke into the misty blue air. "Yeah, that'd be great."
Rudy came over. He was a regular, an Italian guy, who did construction for a living. He had liked Margie in a romantic way when she first started coming, but when he saw how pathetic she was, he just began to pity her somehow. Everyone did, and yet some would say she was a person who just used everybody to buy her a drink, to flatter her, whatever it was she needed at the time.
"Hey, Margie, why aren't you home with your kids?," he asked. She had two teenagers.
"They're probably partying right now as we speak." She took another drag on her smoke. Truthfully, although that was usually the case, tonight she had promised to watch It's a Wonderful Life, their usual Christmas tradition, but somehow drinking had become her way of life, and the bar had become her haven, rather than home. She did not know why. She just felt alone sometimes with no man in her life, when the kids were partying with their friends, and she was by herself.
She had had men in her life, but they were always abusive in one way or the other. They either hit her, stole money from her, had a drug problem, or cheated on her. One was just completely berating and psychologically abusive. She was tired of it all. It seemed like this bar, The Oasis, was her only refuge these days. She did love her kids, and she would die for them. At forty-four she still wanted something. She just did not know what it was.
"You should go home, Margie," the very sober Rudy muttered.
"Oh, go sit down," Jamie, the bartender, told him. He did not want Rudy and Johnny getting into it, which they did from time to time. Rudy had a way of trying to tell everyone what to do, and how to live their life. Jamie knew that although Rudy could handle his liquor, never even got drunk, he could be a handful.
He did, and Margie continued to talk and laugh with Johnny.
People did not know what to make of Margie. She lived in her hometown, but the people who knew her longest even, did not know what to make of her. Some pitied her. Some loathed her. Some loved her out of some sort of noble idealism, but no one truly knew her or even took the time to.
To some she was a gypsy, even though she had lived in the same place longer than anyone else. To some she was a witch or a sorceress, a wiccan with her Stevie Nicks style clothing. To some she was a new age hippie free spirit, who had no rules in life, and therefore she threatened society, their view of it. The truth was she did have rules, she just did not play by their rules. That was the distinction they did not understand. She was a good person in many ways, but she was constantly judged as not a good person by her community, because few would take the time to really know her, as though she were beneath them all somehow.
She was not attracted to Johnny, but he was a friend, or a least she thought so. She was joking about going to a strip bar with him. She really had no intention, but she joked about it, and he did too. Where else could they go when the bar closed? She certainly was not going to go home with him or vice versa. She just did not see him that way. She truthfully, never really picked men up, anyway. He would have to be a serious boyfriend to even come to her home, and meet her kids, except that one cute young guy she met at her friend's party. She literally had walked into her house that night, holding his hand, saying to her teenage son, "this is my boyfriend, Brendon," like they were in a committed relationship already. It was really quite comical. Still, even then, she had gotten her wits about her and sent him on his way. Not to mention, she was a bit messed up and paranoid that night. That was not like her at all.
The bar closed. "Look, I'm going home to my kids," she slurred. Johnny lit her cigarette. They stood outside the bar.
"Oh, come on Margie. It'll be fun."
"No," she said, and stomped out her cigarette with her high heel boot. "Here's my cab. Merry Christmas, Johnny."
"Merry Christmas," he drawled as he watched her close the door and ride away in the passenger seat of her cab.
When she walked in her front door, the kids were still up watching television. "Hey, let's have some coco and watch It's a Wonderful Life," she said, throwing down her red woolen wrap.
Relieved to be home, safe and sound, she threw down her purse and kicked off her boots, while the kids got out the movie.
"I'm glad you didn't forget, Mom," Daniel, her younger son said. She smiled at him, still a bit tipsy, but glad she made the right choice. She put the water on to boil in the kettle. The Christmas tree lights sparkled, and everything was alright in the world for now, she thought. It was alright for now, and now was all there was.
The End
Author's note: I originally had a tragic ending, where she decides to drive drunk with Johnny in the car. She had decided to go home, but he came and got in the car anyway. I guess each moment is a chance to do the right thing. I guess I rewrote my own story in a way, but gave it another chance for her to do the right thing, but of course I have many times done the right thing. I have been watching lots of dark films with strange endings that make you wonder. I just did not want to depress everyone on Christmas. I did not want to depress my readers. Life can be hard enough for many of us. I hope you liked my story anyway, even if it was a bit unusual.
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