The Pursuit

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"I see we dressed up tonight"  Maggie sarcastically said to her friend as she approached.  Jamie  shot her a death stare.

"Some of us have plans to not go home alone this evening, if you catch my drift Margaret" Jamie defined her intentions as she sauntered closer to the bar. Haha, if only you knew the old me, Jame.

"Oh, I see", Maggie chuckled as they came to the front  and towards the door. She pushed her Auburn around her own shoulders to primo herself up before she walked in.

"Let's just see where the night takes us" Jamie winked at her and then opened the massive oak door to the bar.

Sullivan's was a small pub in town. Been there for decades. Maggie had gone to it a handful of times whenever she was home from college on break. Her old high school friends would arrange to meet in the pub and catch up. The building sat sandwiched between a realty building and a hair salon. The last time Maggie had been here had to have been years ago.

They walked in to see the bar partially packed with a decent size crowd. The bar inhabitants  made Maggie feel calm and comfortable. The wooden bar lined with bar stools that were occupied by older men. She recognized a few who her dad had helped out in the past. As Jamie walked her way down the narrow path to the staircase the men turned their heads to watch the sashay of Jamie's hips. Maggie looked up to the ceiling, covered in national flags and sports teams memorabilia. The Irish Brigade flag sat in the center of the ceiling. Her favorite, as she remembered coming here on her twenty-first birthday. She made a spectacle of herself that night drinking so much the bartender switched her to water shots and she declared him a saint for his new invention. What a night, wish it could happen again. Maggie followed Jamie around the tight corner and stopped next to her at the bar.

A few younger guys sat upstairs on the next level. She recognized them immediately from high school. She averted her eyes away from the group playing darts. The bartender, Pete, turned and greeted them with the widest smile in the world. He was older, maybe late sixties, hair as white as snow and mustache that would make Tom Selleck envious. He towered over them and smacked his hands on the bar. She knew what he was about to say and she couldn't stop it.

"Margaret Roberts! My, oh my! What a sight to see! Shall I be gettin' you water tis evenin' or somethin' a wee bit stronger?" he laughed through his thick Irish accent and winked at her.

Maggie smiled and replied, " I'll take a stronger version of what I've had in the past, thank you very much" she laughed at him and gave him her order. Jamie looked at her suspiciously and then gave her order to Pete.

"There's no waitress tonight, so you ladies have to come find me when you're ready, alright?"  he stated it not looking for a response.

"What did you do,  sleep with the bartender?"  Jamie asked quietly looking back between  Pete and Maggie.

Maggie turned and guided her friend to the lower level staircase. The area was empty and she began her descent. She turned over her shoulder and looked at Jamie. "You'll never know" and winked at her. Jamie shook her head in disapproval and followed her down the stairs.

They settled at a high top. Maggie de-robed from her light windbreaker coat and settled in a  chair as Jamie adjusted herself and made her girls ever prominent.

"Why did you want to sit down here?"  she asked Maggie while taking in the decor of the empty room. "There are literally a boat load of men upstairs  and you want to be away from them?" she glared at Maggie suspiciously.

"I went to highschool with those guys, and they aren't my cup of tea" she affirmed.

"Well don't blame me if I get lost later looking for the bathroom" Jamie coyly stated as she flicked her blonde bob of hair.