Flash Fiction Friday - Overheard Over Beers

"Well, that sucks," Zoe commented, then finished her beer. She set the opaque brown bottle down on the old lacquered wood table.

"These things happen, it was your first time, don't worry," Rick comforted her, sort of. "We'll try again tomorrow night."

Zoe let out a heavy sigh, surreptitiously slipping a burp in underneath it. She fiddled with the tattered remnants of the label she had peeled off of her beer bottle; she spread it out flat on the table with her hand and then let it go, watching as it slowly rose and curled back up on itself.

"Don't be discouraged," Rick added. Zoe dismissed his encouragement as an attempt to break the awkward silence between them.

"I don't know what the fuck I did wrong...I did everything exactly like I was supposed to!"

Rick bristled at her language. Zoe sensed his discomfort and felt a little surge of something - passion, adrenaline, anxiety - she didn't know what, but it kind of excited her. Maybe it was the beer. With her long fingers, she picked at the amorphous blob sitting on the table. She brought a bit up to her lips - a little salty, too gooey.

"Don't get upset. It happens to me all the time - I follow the recipe exactly, double check everything, but sometimes..." he trailed off, looking out the big picture window at the dark city outside. They sat in silence for a while before Zoe got up and fetched a couple more beers from the fridge in the back. She sat down hard on the padded stool. She was never good at concealing her emotions. She even sat angry.

Rick grabbed the opener out of his apron pocket and pulled the caps off of the beers. "Sometimes," he continued where he had left off earlier, "sometimes the bread just doesn't turn out right."

Zoe took a long swig, and Rick took the opportunity to continue.

"I'm worried about you," he stated.

Zoe pulled the bottle from her thin, strawberry lips and swallowed. "Worried about me why?" she asked, short of breath from her drink.

"You know why," he replied. "You should really come with me this Sunday."

"Oh, Jesus, Rick. Not this again..."

"It would mean a lot to me. And it could really help you; help you make a difference in your life." Zoe's big eyes rolled like fat summer moons as she turned her head to the side. "Look, I know what I'm talking about here. I used to be just like you. I went through all the same things: the doubt, the depression, the anger..." Rick trailed off, watching her face to see if he had hit his mark. She turned back and stared at him, poker-faced, for a moment before slowly bringing the beer back up to her lips.

"It doesn't have to be like this for you," Rick implored. "Sometimes things aren't as bad as they seem."

Zoe held her stare, gradually making Rick uncomfortable enough to look away. An old fan droned in the background.

"Sometimes," she paused to drain her beer before continuing, "sometimes things just don't turn out right, Rick."



----------------
Listening to: Warpaint - Billie Holiday
via FoxyTunes