Chapter one

 
Welcome to my new story.  

I know I have kept you waiting, and as sorry as I am about this right now- I will most likely do it again.
So please, just read, hopefully enjoy... and prepare to wait again. For I am not planning on rushing this one. 

Thanks for your patience. 

Chapter One.

This is the city. It's not that important which city as, in a way, they are all the same. They are home to large numbers of living, breathing people. They look better from a distance. They have a characteristic smell of dirt and dust and gasoline that lingers between the buildings

Strangely, city streets tend to be rather empty after nightfall despite of all those people who live there

They seem to be hiding in their concrete and brick shelters, or in the subway... but enough philosophy here. Why not take a closer look

This is a subway exit. It is situated on the edge of the "in" quarters of our city, and admittingly it looks pretty nice and clean. Look, there even is a decorative flowersomething, can you believe it

A man exits into the night, aknowledges the light drizzle with a slightly annoyed sigh and fumbles for his umbrella

Note that there is a bit of a strange contrast between his outfit and the part of town that we are passing now, and that the rain is getting worse by the minute

Swiftly he moves on.... just as the downpour decides to develop into a full grown thunderstorm, he slows down

Reluctant to close his umbrella and expose himself to the weather even more, he awkwardly sidles into the bar, pushing the grimy door open with his gloved hand

The woman in the uniform that mimicks the look of a proper 1950's waitress appears to be glad to see him and right enough, she greets him with a medium sized smile

"Hey Baby"

"Oh... hey Kris"

The bartender, on the other hand, seems to be a little less delighted, judging by the way he rises an eybrow here

And this feeling is obviously mutual, as the only response is a less than friendly sneer on behalf of the man who has a name now: Kris. 

Kris takes off his parka, lights a cigarette and sits down at the piano on the far end of the bar. Without further ado, he starts to play

As there is not much talking here, let me introduce the other two...
This is Rachel, the waitress

And this is Xander, the bartender. 
If you should ask him, he will tell you that he really is a drummer and only has this job to pay the rent until his band hits the charts, but seriously... who ever asks the barkeep about his life?

You have most likely already assumed that this place is no hotspot, and you are absolutely right. Business is usually slow. Even on the weekends you will hardly see anyone but the regulars here

But Eddy, the owner still stubbornly sticks to his concept of running the place like he always has, employing three people to do a job one could easily do on his own.
Mind you, not that any of them will nag him about it. As I said before, if it pays the rent- it's good money... so they tend the bar, wait the tables, play the music

Xander steals a glance as the girl returns from storing the cleaning mop away and approaches the piano with caution
"Hey Baby, how about you play something nice for me, now that everybody´s gone home?"

Take a look at this- the grumpy piano guy can actually smile if he feels it. What a surprise
"Sugar how about I play some musical stuff now, and you give us a little taste of your talent? Like a private audition?"

And now see how she sqeals with delight
"Really? Awmygawd you know I´d love to! What should I sing? How about... ah... or... oh pick whatever you like best Baby!"

And he starts playing some musical tune, and she stands up in the middle of the bar and does a scene from the late show, singing and swinging as if she was some pro
And she keeps it up long after he finished playing, lost in her dream, then falls silent and starts to wipe the tables

He watches her for a bit until his shoulders suddenly sagg, and he then turns to the bar
"Hey X, one Pinky..."

"Oh really, a Pinky? Don´t think so man, ol´ man Eddy ´s always been pretty clear about this. No drinks for the staff during working hours"

Kris stares at him for a while as if he wonders if this is worth replying to at all... in the end, he must have decided that the answer is a yes
"Don´t shit with me Xander. The place is dead tonight, we will close within the hour anyway- now stop being an ass and pour me one, willya?"

Seemingly lost in thought, Kris nurses his drink. The deco catches his attention: A blue star on a stick... ol´ man Eddy must be out of his mind to cling to all those 1980s cocktails...
Someone has entered the bar. Crap. Better not turn around. Better not let it show that he should be at the piano right now

With undisguised sadness in her voice, Rachel greets the newcomer
"Oh, my. You know, you really shouldn´t have come, but... how have you been?"

"I know, I know... Rachy I know, and I am sorry, but... yanno..."
As soon as the man answers, Kris snaps to attention. He knows that voice all to well. His head shoots up, he turns around, teeth and fists clenched, ready

No doubt about it, those two are far from being friends. One might have thought that our piano player was on not so friendly terms with Xander, but the shere presence of this other man seriously pisses him off
"You! What the hell?! Are you suicidal or something? What did I tell you last time?!"

We will not find out what exacty Kris told him `last time´, at least not today, because the man turns on his heels and darts out the back, almost falling over in the process of leaving this place as fast as humanly possible

Rachel stares at the slamming door, stunned
"I can´t believe you made him run? Baby what on earth is it that makes you hate him so much, it´s not like he´s ever done any harm? I could at least have..."
"Nothing. You could have nothing, trust me. And if he has finally learned what´s good for him he stayes away from you now. He´s no good"

Another one of those creepy, dreamy smiles crawls up upon her face
"Aw you´re always so sweet Baby... I love it when you get all protective... let´s go home"

With a sigh, she turnes around and starts towards the so called staff room
"Xander I am getting changed, see ya tomorrow"

Kris watches her leave, mesmerized by the swing of her behind as she moves through the door
Blinking, he shakes it off and puts on his parka while he waits for her to return

She does not keep him waiting unduely. She never would
"Ready Baby?"
"Yeah... let´s go"

Upon a few steps out of the bar, neither of them could care less that the rain has finally stopped

As usual, those two barely make it home dressed
How neat that they live just around the corner

Is he pushing her down on the damp matress, or is she pulling him? It´s really hard to tell

Only one thing is for certain, for now the universe as we know it has stopped to exist for Kris the piano player and Rachel the waitress

For now, it´s only the two of them

Late at night, Kris wakes to find himself alone in the bed. Frowning, blinking, he switches on the light and scans the room, only to find his lover staring at a cheap framed photo print on the wall
This is not the first time. He forcedly supresses an annoyed sigh
"Sugar what are you doing, it´s like 4 am. Come back to bed"

Rachel is wide awake, but she could as well be sleepwalking. This picture shows another city, the city of her dreams. The city where they will all come true

"Baby, do you really think I am pretty? Do you really like the way I sing?
"Sure do. No come back to bed, huh? It´s late..."

"Yes I know... I am sorry, I didn´t mean to wake you. But, you know... I think I made up my mind. Next week I´m gonna go"
Kris head yanks up. Did she really say it, finally?
Yes, she did.






A few days later, the suitcases are packed.

Kris is in a remarkably good mood, and it shows. He has been starting to think that this day would never come, but now it´s  here- they will finally move on. Whistling, he pushes the door open and enters their rented place, hopefully for the last time

Still smiling he strokes Rachel´s cheek
"Ok Baby, let´s go. The cab will be here any minute now... what is it? Do you have the jitters?"

The woman squirmes visibly before she finally blurts out
"Kris I can not leave. Just can´t!"

No. No. NO not again
"What do you mean, you can´t? Sugar we have talked about it a hundred times, covered every eventuality... so what the HELL is it this time?"

Now see how fast squirm turns to flinch here
"I... I know... Baby I am so, so sorry, but..."
"But what!!" 
Kris falls short from yelling at her already


"Mama"

They both fall silent and turn to face the next room, where a tiny little girl just wakes up from some nice and peaceful dream, rubbing her little eyes
"Mama?"

Kris´ face looses all expression
Rachel forces a smile on her´s
"Yes doll, Mama is right here. Did we wake you, Bethany?"

"Dweam!" the toddler proclaims, waving her chubby arms, and the mother walks over to pick her up after only the shortest of hesitations
Kris starts to massage his bridge

When she turnes around, the child on her arm, he knows that this case is lost, again. And quiet obviously, Rachel knows it, too
"It´s to early, Baby. She´s too small. If only she was a little older, we could take the risk, but..."

Kris knows when it is time to accept defeat... or at least, when it´s time to weight your chances and wait for a better day
"I know. You are right. No problem"

Relieved by his understanding cooperation, she cuddles her daughter and smiles at him
"Next year, Baby. Next year we´ll go"
"Sure. Next year"