Reduced to Ruin

Chapter 3

"You need a night out. A night to unwind, girl," Lisa concluded that night after hearing about my rough day at work.

Lisa was always consoling me. It was usually a CPS case that had gotten too close to my heart. Or, she was listening to me bitch about a recent relationship gone awry. Even though I was a social worker, I wasn't known to pick the best men for myself.

No matter what the case, I wanted to let go of all of my troubles and have a good time at the Piano Bar with Lisa that night. This was just what the doctor ordered—"A margarita," Lisa would joke.

"I don't know. I feel wiped."

"Come on. Just a couple hours to loosen up will do you good. You're too serious, especially after the break-in. You haven't been the same since."

"I can't help it. I know it's been a week, but I can't get over it."

"You know, it's so weird they'd just steal your things, Corrine," she said. "I mean, no one was here all night. Why didn't they ransack the rest of the apartment? They didn't take the TV, my jewelry, nothing but your stuff. . . So weird."

She certainly wasn't cheering me up. It was definitely strange, something I worked hard to forget. Maybe something spooked them off. They only took my iPod, some clothing from my closet, and a few knickknacks.

They also took my most precious possession—my mom's wedding ring she gave me before she passed away two years ago. I felt sick to my stomach thinking about it, thinking about her, thinking of anyone touching my mom's ring. I didn't care about anything else—just that.

"Gee, you're doing a great job getting my mind off my troubles, Lisa."

"You're right. I'm sorry. It's all the more reason to go out, right?"

I reluctantly agreed, as always.

* * *

The bar wasn't very busy that night, only seven or eight different groups of people. But the piano player was pretty good, and the song requests were upbeat. He played a lot of retro eighties and nineties hits, which had some of the people dancing.

"Don't look now, but the guy at the end of the bar keeps looking over here," Lisa said. I looked over my shoulder toward the bar.

"Don't be so obvious!"

"What? I thought that was pretty casual."

I glanced again, pretending to need something out of my purse. He was smiling at us, so I turned back toward Lisa. I wasn't sure who he was checking out, Lisa or me. But they usually went for Lisa first. Not that I wasn't pretty, but Lisa was prettier and the more outgoing type. Men gravitated to her first. I was the more reserved and serious type, which didn't usually mesh well with the bar scene.

My positive features were my blue eyes and long, wavy light brown hair, or so I'd been told by exes. My one negative feature was I could've lost a pound or two (or maybe ten of those twos). Truth be told, once I graduated high school and stopped playing sports, I kind of let myself go. I tried so hard to keep up my studies in college and didn't focus on exercise. But I still had the gym membership I never used. There was always tomorrow, and that made me feel better that the option for improvement was always there.

"I think he's checking you out," I said.

"Uh, no, he's definitely looking at you."

"You're just being nice. That's okay. I'm swearing off men for a while. You can have him."

Someone requested "Tainted Love" by Soft Cell. I didn't grow up in the 80s, but I loved the decade's music just the same. Their fashion may have been less than desirable, but the music rocked.

"Oh, I love this song. Let's dance," Lisa said as she pulled my arm, tugging my unwilling body in motion. Her statement was an order more than a question. That's how she rolled—she took charge of things.

We danced the entire song, which gave us a chance to check out the guy at the bar. He was really handsome, but I wrote him off as a bit too old for me, maybe in his early thirties. Lisa, however, had a thing for older guys, and she kept making eye contact with him. If I could've ordered him five to ten years younger, he would've been my dream man—tall, slim, and stylish.

After the song was over, we took our seats again. And with that cue the man headed over to our table. My heart skipped a beat, as it always did when a new man potentially came into the picture.

"Hello, ladies. My name is James."

Lisa's eyes lit up as she scoped him out, giving her flirtatious smile. He was about six feet and the typical dark and handsome type—just what Lisa was attracted to. He was dressed conservatively in a button down shirt and work slacks and had wire-rimmed glasses on that gave him a mature, educated edge. A metrosexual. There was something about a man who took pride in his appearance. Maybe he had just gotten off work. Whatever the case, he was out of my league. Definitely.

We introduced ourselves to James, and I avoided eye contact, an unspoken rule among friends when one was more interested in the new catch than the other.

The odd thing, though, was that any time I looked at him, he was staring at me, not Lisa. I felt flushed.

She seemed to pick up on his vibe and became deflated.

"I think I'll go to the ladies' room," Lisa announced.

I shot her the stink eye for leaving me alone with him, but she seemed too absorbed with licking her wounds.

"So, tell me, Corrine, would you be interested in getting together sometime?"

"Well, I'm not really on the market," I lied.

"Oh? I thought you were single." James said.

How the hell would he know?

"What, you don't think I could have a boyfriend?"

"I didn't mean it like that. It's just that I thought you were single."

"And you would know this, how?" I said, uncomfortably.

"Hey, I'm sorry. I guess it was just wishful thinking." He gave me a warm, flirtatious smile. Something about him was mysterious and appealing that sent an alarm blaring inside.

"Well, I'm taken, but Lisa's not. I'm sure she'd be interested in exchanging phone numbers with you."

Just then, Lisa returned from the restroom.

"Well, ladies, it has been a pleasure talking to you. I hope you have a lovely evening. Corrine, I hope to see you again real soon."

With that, he winked at me, and strolled off. We both watched him head all the way to the exit of the Piano Bar, catching up with another man who was bigger than the club's bouncer.

They left and didn't return, leaving me with Lisa's bruised ego.

* * *

I hope to see you again real soon. And James did. The next morning . . .

I didn't have any time to process this revelation, though. Dan back-handed me so hard across the face I fell back onto the road.

That's the last I remembered clearly. I felt Dan pick me up off the asphalt, like he was scooping up road kill, and carried me in his arms back to the van. 

Thanks for reading! I hope you've enjoyed chapter 3, and please vote for my work and follow me if you feel so inclined. :) Make comments. I'd love to receive your feedback. Thank you for your time.