Hoping
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Chris Lyth
- Posts: 4
- Joined: 01 Mar 2025, 05:26
- Bookshelf Size: 0
Hoping
Hoping
Graham sits where he can see the door of The Red Lion and takes a sip from his pint. It is cheap and harsh on his palate, but it gives him a reason for being here. He watches the door.
Waiting
He isn’t expecting to meet anyone; he hadn’t made an arrangement to do so before coming here, but someone he knows might come in. If he’s lucky that blond from work might pop in on her way home. Her shift is due to end soon. This time a couple of weeks ago Graham would have been sitting at the opposite side of the office from her. Occasionally he would summon up the courage to nod and smile at her on his way to the coffee machine. She would always smile back if she noticed.
He imagines her coming in through that door over there and seeing him. Struck by curiosity, she will come over to ask why she hasn’t seen him lately. He’ll buy her a drink as he tells her how Boris in HR is a complete wanker and deserved to have a cup of coffee thrown at him, and how Graham is hoping to take the company to a tribunal. She will laugh at his impression of Boris and sympathise with his dilemma. She will tell him how she hates Boris too, finds him creepy. She’ll suggest that she accuse Boris of pinching her backside> Boris will be sacked and Graham can return to work. They have all been missing him.
He raises his glass to his lips. Here’s hoping. He’s surprised to find it’s already empty. He wanders casually to the bar.
“Same again, luv?” Marie is wearing a low cut top behind the bar tonight. She always smiles at him and calls him love. Graham wonders idly if she likes him.
“Yes please, and could I have the French Burger as well?” The French Burger is topped with camembert and garlic. It is absolutely delicious, heavenly to eat. On second thoughts, if he gets lucky, the garlic might not be the best idea. “Actually, could we make that a Diablo?” The Diablo has a habanero and scotch bonnet sauce on it. Anyone who sees him eating it will be impressed by his ability to take the heat.
“Do you want this on your tab as well, luv? It’s just it is getting a bit big. Will you be paying it today?”
I get paid in two weeks. I’ll settle it then if that’s OK.” He heads back to his seat before she can reply, taking his new pint with him. He takes a deep swallow, followed by several more.
The door opens . And androgynous young man walks in and heads to the bar, scanning the pub as he goes. If Graham could catch his eye, he might come over to chat. They’ll probably get on like a house on fire. And stumble out at closing time nicely lubricated. They might even be in the mood to experiment with homosexuality. Hell, Graham has heard that most men have at least one gay relationship after a long term straight one breaks up. This guy at the bar looks like he wouldn’t be experimenting. It would be interesting to find out.
Marie finishes serving the androgyne who walks over to join his friends about four tables down. As he sits down, he hugs and kisses one of the short skirted, big mouth slappers already there. They’ve been deliberately ignoring Graham for the last couple of hours.
The Diablo burger gets passed through the hatch from the kitchen. As Marie picks it up, Graham catches here eye and taps his now empty glass meaningfully. She rolls her eyes and draws him another pint. It comes across with his burger.
He bites into it. His tongue and lips burst into flame and his forehead glows crimson from the fire inside. Sweat rolls down his face. He doesn’t choke. It’s close, but he doesn’t.
“Delicious.” He gasps and downs half his pint to quench the blaze. Marie gets on with serving other customers.
Maybe when he takes his plate back, he should strike up a conversation with her about the recipe they use for the sauce. He could talk about his own cooking; tell her about the chilli jam that he makes. It isn’t quite as hot as this, but it tastes really good. Perhaps he’ll even be able to persuade her to buy some for the pub. It could even be the start of a mini business where he sells condiments. It might not make him millions, but he could cover the bills and have a little left over for luxuries.
He surreptitiously scrapes some of the excess sauce off the burger. They didn’t need to use quite so much. This allows him to finish the burger with only one more pint to quench the burning. Even so, his head is numb by the time the plate is empty. He looks around to see if anyone is impressed by his feat of endurance. Nobody has noticed. He goes up to the bar for another pint. He brings the plate back to be helpful. Marie takes it off him and glances knowingly at the red pool of liquid inferno left on the plate. It isn’t quite as red as Graham’s forehead. She smiles sympathetically and hands him another drink before serving one of the slappers. The bar is too busy tonight for her to have casual conversation.
Graham heads back to his eat. The blond from work would have had time to have her own meal by now and get changed out of work clothes. He pictures her showering. If she’s going to come out, she’ll show up soon.
He watches the door, lifts the tankard to his lips, and hopes.
Graham sits where he can see the door of The Red Lion and takes a sip from his pint. It is cheap and harsh on his palate, but it gives him a reason for being here. He watches the door.
Waiting
He isn’t expecting to meet anyone; he hadn’t made an arrangement to do so before coming here, but someone he knows might come in. If he’s lucky that blond from work might pop in on her way home. Her shift is due to end soon. This time a couple of weeks ago Graham would have been sitting at the opposite side of the office from her. Occasionally he would summon up the courage to nod and smile at her on his way to the coffee machine. She would always smile back if she noticed.
He imagines her coming in through that door over there and seeing him. Struck by curiosity, she will come over to ask why she hasn’t seen him lately. He’ll buy her a drink as he tells her how Boris in HR is a complete wanker and deserved to have a cup of coffee thrown at him, and how Graham is hoping to take the company to a tribunal. She will laugh at his impression of Boris and sympathise with his dilemma. She will tell him how she hates Boris too, finds him creepy. She’ll suggest that she accuse Boris of pinching her backside> Boris will be sacked and Graham can return to work. They have all been missing him.
He raises his glass to his lips. Here’s hoping. He’s surprised to find it’s already empty. He wanders casually to the bar.
“Same again, luv?” Marie is wearing a low cut top behind the bar tonight. She always smiles at him and calls him love. Graham wonders idly if she likes him.
“Yes please, and could I have the French Burger as well?” The French Burger is topped with camembert and garlic. It is absolutely delicious, heavenly to eat. On second thoughts, if he gets lucky, the garlic might not be the best idea. “Actually, could we make that a Diablo?” The Diablo has a habanero and scotch bonnet sauce on it. Anyone who sees him eating it will be impressed by his ability to take the heat.
“Do you want this on your tab as well, luv? It’s just it is getting a bit big. Will you be paying it today?”
I get paid in two weeks. I’ll settle it then if that’s OK.” He heads back to his seat before she can reply, taking his new pint with him. He takes a deep swallow, followed by several more.
The door opens . And androgynous young man walks in and heads to the bar, scanning the pub as he goes. If Graham could catch his eye, he might come over to chat. They’ll probably get on like a house on fire. And stumble out at closing time nicely lubricated. They might even be in the mood to experiment with homosexuality. Hell, Graham has heard that most men have at least one gay relationship after a long term straight one breaks up. This guy at the bar looks like he wouldn’t be experimenting. It would be interesting to find out.
Marie finishes serving the androgyne who walks over to join his friends about four tables down. As he sits down, he hugs and kisses one of the short skirted, big mouth slappers already there. They’ve been deliberately ignoring Graham for the last couple of hours.
The Diablo burger gets passed through the hatch from the kitchen. As Marie picks it up, Graham catches here eye and taps his now empty glass meaningfully. She rolls her eyes and draws him another pint. It comes across with his burger.
He bites into it. His tongue and lips burst into flame and his forehead glows crimson from the fire inside. Sweat rolls down his face. He doesn’t choke. It’s close, but he doesn’t.
“Delicious.” He gasps and downs half his pint to quench the blaze. Marie gets on with serving other customers.
Maybe when he takes his plate back, he should strike up a conversation with her about the recipe they use for the sauce. He could talk about his own cooking; tell her about the chilli jam that he makes. It isn’t quite as hot as this, but it tastes really good. Perhaps he’ll even be able to persuade her to buy some for the pub. It could even be the start of a mini business where he sells condiments. It might not make him millions, but he could cover the bills and have a little left over for luxuries.
He surreptitiously scrapes some of the excess sauce off the burger. They didn’t need to use quite so much. This allows him to finish the burger with only one more pint to quench the burning. Even so, his head is numb by the time the plate is empty. He looks around to see if anyone is impressed by his feat of endurance. Nobody has noticed. He goes up to the bar for another pint. He brings the plate back to be helpful. Marie takes it off him and glances knowingly at the red pool of liquid inferno left on the plate. It isn’t quite as red as Graham’s forehead. She smiles sympathetically and hands him another drink before serving one of the slappers. The bar is too busy tonight for her to have casual conversation.
Graham heads back to his eat. The blond from work would have had time to have her own meal by now and get changed out of work clothes. He pictures her showering. If she’s going to come out, she’ll show up soon.
He watches the door, lifts the tankard to his lips, and hopes.
