The Book Club

Shelly had no luck expressing her love in the three dimensional realm. Social media encounters with single men online had become a hobby for her to study the dating game, opening herself up to discovering what she had been longing for. Nights alone at her loft were spent with her only companion, a black and grey bengal cat named Alfalfa. Sitting in solitude at her desk contemplating life, Alfalfa would chirp at the door insistent on taking council with some other creature looming in the outside world. After a failed love attempt, Shelly would turn to her books and a glass of wine, immersing herself into characters who could achieve what she could not. When she wasn’t reading she was meditating, working to manifest the true things she wanted out of life. On the rare event that she took a break from functioning at a higher consciousness, she would venture out with acquaintances to a bar or two, but they never amounted to more than that. She was ready for her true significant other to enter her world. He would be likened to a martini, love shaken with tranquility, no ice.

Alfalfa had resigned his begging and rubbed forcefully against her leg. “How are you, my handsome boy?” He rolled lazily onto his side, his gut hanging out. “You are too cute.” Shelly affectionately gave him a quick scratch on his head before she stood and went to her meditation mat, assuming the lotus position, trying to manifest her future into fruition. After ten minutes of mindfulness she felt better about herself and the longing for a companion passed.

One Friday evening Shelly’s gums thirsted for a glass of merlot to go along with her new book that she had just purchased, “Love Realms”. It was a fascinating tale about the never ending struggle of lust versus love that humans continually suffer from due to the lack of differentiation between the two.

Excited to dive into the depths of her recent purchase, she decided to go to her local wine bar to purchase a bottle and enjoy her evening. Upon arrival she ordered a bottle from the bar, which the kindly bartender then told her she could seat herself wherever she liked, someone would bring her the bottle shortly. Accepting this, Shelly settled into a chair in the corner of the west next to the window so she could watch the sunset and dove nose first into her book.

“It’s cool to see people immersed in a book instead of on their phones.” observed the server in his all black uniform. He presented her with the bottle, Mount Tabor Merlot, pouring until her glass was roughly three-quarters full, twisted his wrist to stop the flow and wiped the top of the bottle smiling.

Despite herself, Shelly couldn’t help but feel a looming attraction for him, the server, most likely three years her junior. “You like to read”?

“More than most I suppose, it’s better than sitting in front of the T.V all day.”

“I only watch films or T.V shows with purpose. To me, in order to unlock the visual aspect of a story I have to read the book first. I feel like I couldn’t continue in life without my stories.” Shelly blushed, smiling to herself while looking down at her hands.

The server smiled again. “That’s a good code to keep” he nodded to her before he continued, “You seem so much more alive than others I see. Normally I serve the same people just with different faces.”

Shelly blushed again despite herself. “I know exactly what you mean.” Nervously she glanced at her bottle and decided to be bold. “What time do you get off this evening? Would you possibly like to share a glass or two with me?” she gestured to the bottle, eyebrows raised in invitation.

“Truth be told, I already did my checkout. With me still in uniform I thought I would come serve you anyway.. It’s so rare to see someone out with a physical copy of a book anymore you caught my eye. Management left a little early today so there’s no issue with it. And even if they had stayed they’re very relaxed and cool about different types of hospitality when it comes to serving people.. Very anti-corporate”.

With a quick gesture motioning for her to wait a moment the server went to get another glass from the bar rack before sitting down. The two like minded souls fell deep into conversation, like twin flames soaring through the nebulas. Shelly and the server surprisingly had a lot in common and chemistry flowed as easily as the merlot. Feeling like the evening was progressing nicely they ordered another bottle. As the hours passed and their connection grew the server suddenly became quiet.

“So, I’m running a book club tonight. It’s kind of like an after hours session in the basement, which is like the employee lounge. My coworkers invite their friends or lovers and we discuss our addicting escapes from reality. I would like for you to attend.. And if I am not being too forward, for you to be my date for the evening.” The server posed the question to Shelly while maintaining perfect eye contact.

When she had set out this evening she had had no intentions of the night becoming a date but apparently fate had other plans. “And exactly how many women do you ask out to this so-called ‘book club’ of yours?” Shelly rotated her pointer finger around the wine glass, looking down briefly before seductively watching the server through her eyelashes. The wine had given her more of a buzz than she had bargained for but she was having a good time and no red flags had alerted her to abort the conversation. Normally the idea of entering a basement with a man she had just met would have filled her with dread but she had been casually watching as people disappeared down a staircase barely seen in the back of the restaurant the whole evening, qualming any fears she initially had and certifying the servers validity in his claims.

Ther server tried to suppress a smirk, “You would be the first. Officially. I’ve been hosting solo for too long I’m afraid. It’s good to mix it up every now and then, but it would seem that my patience has rewarded me,” he chuckled, “again, if I’m not being too forthcoming.”

Smiling to herself Shelly stood and offered her hand to the server and grabbed the rest of the remaining bottle with the other. The server smiled and turned, leading them both to the back of the restaurant and down the aforementioned staircase. Littering the walls down the stairs were works of art and poetry. Trying to take in as much as she could around her she barely noticed the man and woman standing at the bottom of the stairs guarding a secondary door. Suddenly filled with a nervous dread, Shelly began to pull away from the server, only for him to turn to her and reward her with a smile before uttering “On the Road” to the two gatekeepers. With the password accepted, the female guard lifted a rectangular box that was filled with an assortment of cellphones. The server obliged and dropped his phone easily, then turned with his hand out to take Shelly’s. “I didn’t even bring mine with me.” she responded, the gatekeepers nodding in approval, opened the door to the two.

Inside, the basement opened into a casual setting, a couple of pool tables were surrounded by people waiting their turn and placing bets. In a corner, people relaxed on love seats. Next to a single black wall in the rear an assortment of additional wines littered a small table that looked like it had once been used for beer pong. Every person in the room had a glass in hand. Shelly had to give the server credit, it seemed to her that the coolest cats in town occupied this small after hours space.

As she was quietly and quickly led about the room, the server introduced her to a variety of people. Before she knew it, Shelly had been dissolved into a conversation regarding their favorite novels. The conversation flowed as easily as the wine they kept their cups filled with and they spoke of numerous topics like who their favorite characters were, the impact of character development, the authors lifestyle, and what books they most anticipated to be released in the coming years. Shelly liked the server even more because although he had invited her and this was their first date, he wasn’t clingy. He played the part of the host well, floating from group to group effortlessly before returning to her and jumping straight into their conversation.

At some point during the evening, attention was called to a back corner of the room. A raffle had begun. It was explained that the winners of the raffle would have a moment to pitch the audience on the books they were currently reading to attempt to sway others into taking the same journey. Surprising her completely, Shelly’s name was called quickly. Swallowing her nervousness, she pitched the crowd of “Love Realms”. As her monologue came to a close she knew she had done her job well as the crowd clapped in applause, a few members coming to her to solidify that they had heard the name correctly. After a while, the books had been shared and everyone resumed their previous positions. Slowly the server made his way to Shelly, who was growing more tired by the second. Exchanging numbers, Shelly vowed she would give the server a call in the coming days and retired to her apartment at roughly 2 AM.

Exhausted from the spontaneous evening she couldn’t help but maintain the magical buzz the evening had given her. Despite her initial thoughts, she had had a blast. Making new acquaintances that could possibly evolve into true friendships and possibly change her cynical perspective on life gave her hope for what was to come. Riding the high from the evening, she showered, changed into her pajamas that barely covered her and chased her little Alfalfa around the house. He bounded through the bedroom, jumped over the bed and out the door into the living room. Crossing past Shelly quicker than she thought he would, she gave up and flopped on the bed. Shelly closed her eyes and thought about the server and what their friendship could become.

Unable to calm herself for bed, she began her evening meditation and focused intently on her vision, for she was still conscious and aware of her surroundings. Slowly she could feel a pressure growing between her eyes and energy began to pulse behind the black veil of sight. Her vision made emerald shapes in her subconscious as she focused to open her third eye. The small emerald diamond slowly grew, expanding like an echo in the void. After what felt like hours, the third eye of Shelly opened and she could no longer feel the presence of her body. Inside her consciousness she found the server’s soul and he smiled expectantly at her as if waiting for their souls to connect for ages. All sense of time was lost to her and she reveled in the peace and tranquility that only love can make you feel. Without her noticing, she drifted into a peaceful sleep, Alfalfa curled protectively in the crook of her arm.

When she woke in the morning, she called the server, no doubt in her mind. For the first time in her life she was excited for where this could go. And to think it all started over a book and a glass of merlot.