Aaron sat on the hard bar stool at the bar, nursing the sole shot glass of Jamesons while the crowd around him started coming in. It was a Friday evening, and work for the day was just completed. He could have gone home, but why should he? There was nothing there waiting for him anyway---Lucille had just passed on a couple of weeks ago, and he had cremated the only living creature other than his mother who had loved him unconditionally. She was an old dog who had been with him since his late teens, when it was not quite the age that was popular for holding on to pets, let alone getting a brand new one.
He was lonely then. He and his mother lived together in a small one room apartment that was left behind by his father, who had died about ten years earlier. It was the one good thing that he could remember him by, the leaving of the apartment. It was small, no doubt, but at least it was home. His father was always out working at odd hours of the day, so Aaron never really had a chance to know him. Even on weekends, he would barely see his father at all.
Aaron took another sip from his shot glass, feeling a little sorry for himself for no real reason at all.
In many ways, he was lucky. He was middle-aged, but he still had the one room apartment to call home, especially during this time when the economy was tanking due to the global recession that came from the trade wars between China and the US. His mother had gone two years prior and left the apartment to him---he had cried himself ugly at her wake, but he didn't expect to be crying himself to sleep that night after he got back from the cremation. Lucille had snuggled up to him for the whole night, being extra tender, as though she knew that something terrible had happened.
But now Lucille was gone too.
Aaron stared numbly ahead. At least he still had a job. Sure, they had given him a pay cut as part of their overall cost control measures, but he still had a net income after all---the same thing could not be said for quite a few people.
But what's the point money in a job when there's almost nothing to look forward to after it all?
When Lucille was around, he'd happily spend money on getting treats for her, and for getting toys for her. He would do his job in the office, then when he was done for the day, would quickly grab dinner before rushing home to meet Lucille, who would always great him with the most enthusiastic of reactions. She would literally brighten up his day---no matter how bad the day was, there was always Lucille to look forward to at the end of the day. He would play with her, take her out to the park for a long walk, sometimes bring a frisbee or a ball to play catch with her.
It was the happiest days of his life.
But she's gone. And everything was just different.
Aaron didn't have many friends to begin with. It wasn't so much of him being antisocial, but more that he found little in common with most people. He preferred reading over everything else, spending a lot of his free time not playing with Lucille being deeply engaged with a book, sometimes with Lucille in his lap, or more often, napping at his feet. It became more and more of a problem as time went by when people he knew slowly drifted off along their own paths when they found that they could not really click with him that well---most of those whom he knew had given up on reading in general ever since they were done with school.
A pity.
Aaron took another sip from his shot glass, stared at it forgetfully, before just downing the whole shot. The fierce fire from the concentrated alcohol burned in a pleasant way as it went down his gullet and into his belly, where a satisfying warmth spread its way throughout his body, tingling his senses. He savoured the fleeting moment, and contemplated getting another shot.
It was tempting to do so.
But he decided against it---it just wasn't worth it. He had to face reality eventually, and it was better to face it on his terms than to be forced to.
Aaron signalled to the bartender to close his tab. The latter came by with the bill. Aaron gave a quick glance at it before passing him his credit card. The transaction was quickly concluded and Aaron left the bar for home.
It was going to be a long night again.
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