Paid in full.
Face cradled in hand, looking down on a swarm of ants crawling over the scuz on the bar-top left from who-knows-when or what. She's tired.
She thinks: suffer.
Ants dancing like white noise on the beige countertop suddenly looked pained, a mass of 500 tiny broken knees with a heavy burden.
She thinks: die.
The swarm stops writhing, minus a few twitching limbs. Now stuck in and one with the skuz.
"Can I get you another?" a barkeep offers, pointing at her empty glass.
"Call me Lucy." She says, like she's sharing a secret.
The barkeep blushes. He makes Lucy another drink.
"On the house." he says.
Lucy offers a wink as a thank you while she plays with the ant carcasses. She stabs them with toothpicks, careful to keep her hands clean. Then she creates a sculpture with them. A shrine.
Lucy thinks: nothing is for free.
"Barkeep." Lucy sings.
"Yea?" startled, he is blushing again.
"You should call your mother." she says.
"What?" he asked.
"You just reminded me, she owes me a favor. Call your mom?" she asks.
"Miss, er, Lucy, I'm working." he hesitates. "You know my mother?"
"Please, it's important to call now." Lucy insists.
"This is well weird. But hey, why not? She'll probably get a kick out of it." he says. "You don't have a phone?" he asks. Lucy shrugs. The barkeep uses the landline behind the bar and dials a number he knows by heart.
"You're student of hers?" he asks over his shoulder.
Lucy thinks: vice versa.
Lucy overhears the barkeep's conversation, "Hey mom! Yeah, fine, and you? I was just calling because-" The bartender stops speaking.
Lucy thinks: confusion. denial.
"What the-Hello? Hello?! Mom!" He shouts into the receiver again. "MOM!" His face is red but not because he is blushing. Lucy can hear a faint horn honking through the other end of the receiver. The barkeep slides down the wall to the floor, still holding onto the phone, he listens to the long horn honk while crying.
"Say goodbye to mommy, barkeep." Lucy says. She takes a sip of her drink and leaves.
© S. Legendre . All rights reserved.
Permission granted for all written material to be shared but not for profit.