"Hi, how are you, hun?" she asked April, whilst lining up a row of shots along the bar.
"I'm fine thanks, just popped in to get a drink - David's away holiday and I wanted to get out of the house for a while, be a bit more sociable."
The woman threw her a sympathetic look as she tapped away at the till, before turning and pouring April a double measure of whisky.
"Thanks" said April, relieved, and pressed a note into the woman's hand.
"I'll catch up with you later, after this rush has died down."
April half-turned in her seat to survey the pub. Several women were dancing in the centre of the room; eyes closed, arms in the air, swaying vaguely in time to the beat of the music. She sipped her drink and smiled to herself as the smoky liquid ran down her throat, warming her stomach and brightening her mood. She glanced again at the dancing women, wondering how they could balance in those sky-high stilettos, and how they avoided being freezing cold with their bare legs. Around the edges of the room, lounging on chairs and leaning on pillars were several men, also watching the women. They had a predatory air to them, clustered in groups and staring intently at the bodies of the dancers. Suddenly, someone knocked into her elbow, splashing some of her drink onto her hand.
April frowned and wiped it off on her jeans, whilst the man who had bumped into her apologised profusely, offering to buy her another drink and dabbing haplessly at her arm with a paper towel from the bar. He was clearly rather drunk, his eyes slightly unfocused and his black hair ruffled up - but he wasn't unattractive. In fact, he reminded her of David, the same good-natured smile and tall, but broad frame. He smiled at her.
"Are you sure I can't buy you a drink?"
April shook her head, "No thank you, there's plenty left in here" she replied, gesturing to the glass.
Suddenly, it all seemed too loud, too busy inside. Excusing herself, she slipped off her bar stool and headed out to the beer garden at the rear of the pub. It was freezing outside, and she hadn't brought a jacket because she could see the pub from her front door. Groups of laughing, chatting people were gathered around the picnic benches in the dark, lit by the glow of pink fairy lights draped from the trees. April headed to a darker corner of the garden, sat on top of one of the benches and clutched her glass, watching the revellers in the semi-darkness, feeling more alone than she had at home. The group closest to her was made up of an even mix of young men and women, all talking away enthusiastically. Some of them looked painfully cool, young men with full sleeve tattoos and beautiful women with no makeup wearing dungarees and drinking white wine.
On the far side of the bench sat a dark-haired woman, sandwiched between two men with moustaches who were clearly engaged in a conversation she had no interest in. Her pale skin glowed softly under the pink of the fairy lights. As April watched, she pushed her hair away from her face, revealing a scattering of freckles and a pair of delicate but full lips. April found herself watching this woman as she pulled out a packet of cigarettes and lit one, blowing the smoke towards one of the men who coughed dramatically and shifted away slightly. She was fascinated by the way her lips ever so softly gripped the cigarette as she drew in the smoke, by the way her elegant fingers rested it between puffs, and tapped out the ash into the ashtray.
David had never smoked, and was completely against the idea, and therefore April only smoked socially when offered cigarettes by other people - always feeling that every cigarette was a tiny act of rebellion against her health-conscious boyfriend. As she watched, the rest of the group drifted off inside, leaving the woman with the dark hair alone to finish her cigarette. Without the distractions of the group, she started to look around the beer garden, and her eyes met Aprils. She smiled. April smiled back.
