Woman Walks into a Bar by Rowan Coleman Read Free Book Online

I mean,” she replied quickly. “Because if he knew you he’d ask you out face-to-face!”
    I walked up to the bar, but there was no one around. I fished in my pocket for the tenner I’d brought out. Wrapped up inside it was a joke from Beth.
    Why are ghosts invisible?
    They wear see-through clothes!
    Right now I felt like I was invisible. Even Old Joe’s ghostly drinking pals were getting more attention than me.
    Then Brendan came out from the back.
    â€œHi, Sam,” he said, smiling. I felt my stomach bubble and wished I hadn’t rushed my tea. “Wow, you look great!”
    â€œThanks,” I said, examining the money in my hand so that my hair fell over my face. “Um, a glass of wine please?” I asked him from underneath my fringe. He raised an eyebrow.
    â€œNot your usual, then?” he asked.
    I shook my head. I don’t know why, but a Bacardi Breezer didn’t seem like the right thing to be drinking on a first date.
    â€œDon’t usually see you here on a Tuesday,” Brendan said. “It’s nice to have a pretty face to brighten the place up.” I didn’t say anything for a moment but looked at the polished wood of the bar top through the yellow wine. It wobbled and wavered. That was how I felt just then.
    â€œNo, well . . .” I paused. For some reason I didn’t want to tell Brendan that I was waiting for a date. But I had to because when John Smith turned up he’d know anyway. “I’ve got a date,” I said, taking a reluctant sip of the wine. I really didn’t like drinking wine much.
    I expected Brendan to laugh or be surprised when I told him about my date, but his face didn’t move.
    â€œYeah?” he said after a second.
    â€œYeah,” I said. There was a long time when he seemed like he was going to say something else, but then Janet waved her pint glass at him from the other end of the bar. He smiled at me and winked.
    â€œDon’t move,” he told me, before going off to serve her. I realized I was hoping that John Smith would not be coming into the bar before Brendan had finished serving Janet.
    I looked at the clock behind the bar. It was gone eight. John Smith was twelve minutes late. That was all right, twelve minutes. That didn’t mean anything except traffic, or not being able to find your front door keys. Brendan came back to where I was standing and punched some numbers into the till, before dropping in the coins Janet had given him.
    â€œThanks for the drink, Jan,” he called out to her. “I’ll take half a lager with you.” I watched him as he poured himself a drink. I noticed he had nice arms.
    â€œYou know,” he said in a low voice, as he poured his own drink, “it takes a special kind of man to love a woman like Janet. I’m not saying she’s not a wonderful lady—but, still, that Frank must have balls the size of boulders.” He made me laugh just as I took a mouthful of wine, so I spurted a bit out. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and hoped Brendan hadn’t noticed me dribble.
    â€œNot here then yet? Your date?” Brendan asked me, looking around the bar.
    â€œNo,” I said with a shrug. “He’s running a bit late, I expect. But I reckon he’ll get here. He didn’t sound like the arsehole type.”
    â€œNo?” Brendan said, smiling. “I’m glad.” When he was behind the bar, the raised floor made him look about two inches taller than me. When he’d come out from behind the bar to collect glasses or something I’d noticed that he was almost exactly the same height as me, so that when he talked to me I was looking straight into his eyes. He was the first person I’d met in my life who had properly green eyes. Not hazel or gray but proper green, like the glass in a beer bottle. He had lovely eyes.
    â€œDo you want another?” Brendan asked me. I looked