"Gulp."
"Thud."
"Phew."
Elena finished her drink and signaled the bartender with her index finger. The bartender nodded and prepared Elena's order again. Ethan glanced at the table in front of Elena; there were already four empty glasses in front of her.
"Ms. Elena, are you sure you're not drinking too much?" Ethan asked gently.
"Sorry, sir, I'm really stressed tonight," Elena replied, already drunk.
"If you want to talk, I'm here to listen," Ethan replied, inviting her.
Elena immediately turned around. "Hic," she looked at Ethan with her red face and a wide smile.
"Imagine, Mr. Ethan! He came home earlier than usual, but he went straight to sleep because he has to leave town tomorrow! He didn't even look at me, even though I wore his favorite sexy outfit! How is that fair, sir? Just because I once talked about wanting a child, he hasn't touched me in over two years! I'm so stressed!" Elena said, talking like a leaking faucet.
"Is that so?" Ethan said, trying to respond, as he was also half-drunk.
"Yes, sir! And we keep moving constantly! I want to settle down, have a child, take my child to school, and wait for them to come home. Aren't my dreams just normal, sir? Why does my dream feel so far away? He won't even touch me anymore, all because he's afraid I'll get pregnant. What the heck is that about?" Elena shouted, venting her frustration and disappointment.
"So your problem is more or less the same as mine, huh? Now my wife even wants to sell the house I worked so hard to get, just because it's far from her office. I was preparing that house in case my family grew. I'm also still not allowed to touch her because she's afraid of getting pregnant since she just got a promotion. The excuse is funny enough—she hasn't bought contraceptives, even though we haven't bought any for three years, and do husband and wife even need that stuff? Aren't those just excuses, hahaha," Ethan replied, pouring out his pent-up feelings.
Elena immediately turned to look at Ethan, who was staring sadly at the glass in his hand. Her hand immediately reached up and held Ethan's back, a smile on her red, drunken face.
"Haha, that's so true, sir! Your wife is just like my husband, always wanting contraception. What's the big deal if I get pregnant? He's still scared, like when we were dating, even though he's my husband now. Besides, it's perfectly normal if I get pregnant; it's with my own husband," Elena said.
"That's how it is, ma'am. My wife is the same. She even once wanted to get her tubes tied so she couldn't have children at all. Of course, I didn't agree. I'd rather just abstain," Ethan said.
"That's rough, Mr. Ethan. Why don't you look for another outlet?" Elena asked.
"No, ma'am. To me, marriage is sacred. I can't just sleep with another woman, even if that woman is a professional," Ethan replied immediately.
"Hmm, I think so too, sir. That's why I also choose to just stay home, but I've made up my mind. It looks like we'll be settling down for a while in the next city. I'm going back to work to redirect my focus," Elena replied.
"Oh, really, ma'am? That's good. I support you one hundred percent," Ethan replied, smiling.
"Hehe, thank you, sir. (She raised her glass.) Let's toast, sir," Elena said.
"To our respective futures," Ethan said, also raising his glass.
"Clink," they immediately drank their beverages and continued their conversation. Finally,
"Um... you're easy to talk to. How about we be friends? We don't have to be so formal with each other," Ethan said.
"Agreed, sir... uh, um... Ethan, hehe," Elena replied.
"Alright, Elena, thank you for being my friend," Ethan replied.
"You're welcome, Ethan. I'm happy to be your friend too," Elena replied.
"It's a shame this is only in a dream," Ethan and Elena said in their hearts, looking at each other.
Even though they considered all of this just a dream, they began to be attracted to each other. They continued to chat excitedly and ordered drinks as they pleased, hoping they wouldn't wake up quickly from their dream.
***
[Side Ethan]
Morning turned to noon. "Ugh," Ethan woke up on the sofa and opened his eyes, only to immediately close them again because of the sunlight streaming in through the window. Seeing the sun already high, Ethan's eyes instantly widened. He immediately sat up and grabbed his smartphone.
"Oh... Saturday. I thought I was late,"
His heart felt relieved when he read "Saturday" on his smartphone screen. The headache from last night's drinking started to hit him. With a slightly blurred vision due to the headache, he saw a few incoming messages on his screen. He immediately opened them. There were three incoming messages: two from a work group and one from Diana. He immediately opened the message from Diana:
"Honey, sorry, I got called into the office because something urgent came up. We'll look at the apartment tomorrow, okay? It looks like I'll be home late tonight. Sorry again, I love you, mwah."
"Haha... that's normal,"
"Clatter." Ethan tossed his smartphone onto the table. He lay back on the sofa with his arm covering his eyes. Then he turned to look at his book on the table. He reached for it and opened it. Ethan immediately smiled when he saw the drawing documenting him and Elena sitting at the bar, chatting cheerfully while enjoying their drinks. He also read the detailed record of their conversation, neatly arranged like a novel.
"I wish my wife was Elena, hahaha.... impossible, she's just a character in my dream," Ethan said in his heart.
Ethan closed his eyes again, hugging his book. Unconsciously, he fell asleep again, and his eyes started twitching.
***
[Side Elena]
"Chirp... chirp,"
The smartphone alarm went off. "Ugh," Elena woke up, but she was immediately startled because she was in her bed. She remembered that she had fallen asleep on the dining table after collapsing from drinking. She saw her body was tightly covered with a blanket, and her clothes were changed into pajamas. She turned to see the spot next to her was empty.
"Oh... he's gone. James must have moved me here. He's already left, huh? Why didn't he wake me up?" Elena asked in her heart, feeling disappointed.
Elena reached for her smartphone to turn off the alarm. Then she looked at the time on her smartphone, and her eyes widened instantly because the time was already 10:00 a.m.
"Oh no... I really overslept. It must be because of the drink last night. (She held her head.) Ah... it's still a little dizzy," Elena replied.
She lay back down in bed, taking in the painful feeling, like a drum slowly being beaten in her head. Suddenly, she sat straight up.
"My book!"
Elena immediately got out of bed, then ran out of the room. She looked toward the dining table. Her book was on the dining table, in the exact same position as yesterday.
"Thank goodness James didn't read it," she said in her heart.
Elena walked over to her dining table and sat down. She started opening her book and looked at the documented drawing of her and Ethan sitting in front of the bar counter with a bartender in the background smiling while wiping a glass with a cloth. She then read her conversation with Ethan, which was fully documented like reading a story.
"It's a shame Ethan only exists in a dream. If only he were my husband.... I definitely wouldn't feel this way," she said in her heart.
Elena stood up. "Hooaam, I'm going back to sleep," Elena stretched her body, then walked into her room, bringing her book with her. "Clap," she closed the door again.