Roses Are Blue

The Ghost

Henry checked his wristwatch."It's already 8 pm. We can't reach Annie Avenue before 9 pm with this traffic. "

Joshua was already dozing off beside him and Larry in the back seat was too engrossed in his phone to care about the traffic. Henry sighed and placed both hands on the steering wheel.

"Nothing is more annoying than being stuck in traffic." he thought aloud deeply regretting leaving the comfort of his house just to be trapped in this gridlock.

"When a friend has a function, courtesy demands you go," Joshua said and yawned tiredly.

"The housewarming was slated for 7 pm, it would also end at 9 pm. What's the point of getting there at 11 pm?" Henry replied.

"Be optimistic, the traffic won't be that bad."

"I was being optimistic... The line isn't even moving anymore. We've been in the same spot for close to an hour. There's a high probability of sleeping in this traffic. "

The last statement caught Larry's attention "Sleep where?"

Henry sighed again "We have to find a way to get out of this car, relax a bit and go back home, I'm so tired."

They all agreed and after a while, they were walking down a street in search of a place to have some drinks. They finally found one and sat down at one of the tables happy that they were able to recreate an old memory.

Henry and Joshua continued their light-hearted banter while Larry resumed his typing again.

"Larry, you haven't even touched your glass, what's it with that phone eh?" Joshua said and snatched the phone from Larry. A wild Laughter erupted from him as he looked at the screen. He faced Henry who was already infected with his laughter.

"He has been chatting with a girl Henry. You need to see all the many love emojis in her name."

He faced Larry "So all of that seriousness was for a girl?" he said and continued laughing.

Henry took the phone and stared at it and his laughter intensified too "I thought you were all work and no play. Have you been deceiving us, Larry?"

Larry snatched his phone "If I must settle down soon then I need to start from somewhere."

Joshua laughed again. He just couldn't contain the thought of Larry being in love "We should learn something from this Henry. If care is not taken in three years we'll be Thirty-six, unmarried and desperate like Larry. Desperate enough to spend hours on a chatting app sending stickers and heart emojis like a cheesy teenager."

Henry stopped laughing and stared down at his whiskey. Like a pendulum his heart swung into misery, Will he even be able to marry anyone at all? Will he ever be able to watch someone walk down the aisle again? He held the glass and twirled it gently.

Joshua excused himself to pick up a call and Larry signalled for the barman to come over.

"Mr Larry"

Larry turned to the direction the voice came from and flashed a smile at the lady who was already grinning broadly.

"Miss Mabel! What a pleasant surprise. It's so nice to see you again. Do you work here?"

She placed her pen and jotter on the table. "Today's my last day of work. My friend Sandra owns this place. I work for... I mean I work with her. Well not anymore, I finally secured another stable job."

"Congratulations once again, I must introduce you to my friend here. He's our boss but I've known him since my university days."

"our boss?" a puzzled expression plastered Mabel's face, she looked at the young man sitting with his head bowed, twirling his drink, totally uninterested in their conversation. His arrogance sure suits the title well. He didn't lift his head for once, even to have even a glimpse of her.