It’s amazing how the world keeps turning when your world stops
Nancy
hung up the pay phone and walked back inside The Heaven’s Door. The stark
transition in lighting blinded her as she walked into the dark bar. The bottom floor was a bar and the top was a
church. “So they can be closer to God,” Matin had joked when they arrived. It was in its own way a hub for the
town. But weeds that bled through the
wood planks made it seem like a hub for a ghost town. The noise
from above said otherwise. The wedding
minister used a floor amplifier that shook inaudible bass through to the bar
below.
She
watched the bartender serve two men each a tall opaque glass of beer. His short
hands and loose clothing did little to impede his graceful movement. He stepped back as if part of a dance. She returned to her drink where Matin sat on
her left and Ador on her right. They had
been waiting for a phone call like the one she just had. But Nancy had no idea what to tell them. Damn
them. Looking at me right now. She felt their stares. How do
I tell them it was all for nothing? So she said the most glaring concern on
her mind, “I have to go to Spain.”
“What
the-?” Matin began. And then she cried.
It was a hard sob and she felt Ador holding her. Nancy was trying to say that Seamus was safe
in Newtopia but the violent sobbing kept full words from forming. She saw Matin frowning at her one moment and
another she was weaping into Ador’s shoulder.
“I
can’t-” she said in between sobs. “I can’t, go to him!!” She cried some more.
When
the quiet rumble from the microphone above stopped clapping began and so did
hoots and cheers. The power of the
reception was evident the moment the first guest turned from the stairs towards
the open dance floor near the bar. The first
guest to reach the dance floor wore high black heels with a long green dress
and began stamping her foot. The man
behind her threw his black suit coat on a chair and began dancing with the
woman. Wedding goers filed down and into
the middle area dressed in yellows, whites, greens, and blacks.
The
whole bar soon smelled strong of cologne, perfume, and nonetheless sweat. She
wanted all of the smells, colors, and happy people to go away. But they wouldn’t
go. It’s
amazing how the world keeps turning when your world stops, she
thought. That spurred her to get ahead
of the next world-stopping collision.
She stood and fought her way through the mass of people ignoring Matin
and Ador shout for her.
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| © Andrew Taylor | Dreamstime Stock Photos |
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