Up For Grabs

Short story about a woman sitting in a bar. Go to http://andrewhenleywriting.wordpress.com for more of my writing.

I’m lucky to have got such a good seat today. It’s nice and comfy, plus I’m in a much better position than most of the competition in here, so there’s more chance of getting picked up. Most people don’t stay long, then move on to some other more interesting temptation. I’ve never been picked up. Not that it’s my aim in life to find someone to take me home. Although I do have a feeling that I’ll be in someone’s arms by the end of the night.

 

That said, I won’t go home with just anybody. I’m quite picky really. Only about one in every five has a chance. Even then I won’t make it easy for them. Some will give it a shot once and move on. Others will spend their whole evening trying to get their hands on me, but I don’t give it up very easy. I’ll know when I find the one, or rather when they find me.

 

Take this guy from the other day. Talking to this pretty young thing right in front of my face, then he still tries his luck with me. Worse than that, once he drops me he goes after someone else. Sometimes people can get pretty grabby, but I'm always able to slip free from the limp grips of the cold fingers. Still I wish they wouldn't. A few times when they’ve lunged for me I’ve moved, usually to a worse position, just to avoid them. The ones who do go for a feel are often the ones who’ll spend the evening trying to win some sort of treat. Some get so desperate I wouldn’t be surprised if when they had no luck here they go out and bought a little something special, just to make them feel satisfied.

 

Tonight though, I do have a good feeling. Not that it starts very well. The first ones to try are a couple, believe it or not. Yeah, the guy says he wants me as a gift for his woman. The girl even cops a feel, but I ignore them and they soon get bored.

 

At least the next one’s a guy on his own, but he’s really not my type. He’s persistent, I’ll give him that, but that’s all I’ll give him. He keeps pouring his wallet out at the counter, hoping it’ll buy the magic token that means he gets to take me home. He’s a lot poorer by the time he leaves, and I’m still here on my nice comfy perch.

 

Then I see ‘The One’. Before he even notices me, I can just tell. An older, stout man, dressed in a Hawaiian shirt and jeans, with the friendly but protective look of John Goodman. Sure enough, he spots me looking at him. In the seat I’ve got, he couldn’t really miss me. With his wife and kids in tow, I know he’s the one. He tries to grab me a few times while his wife stands by willing him and on and the two kids cheer.

 

Then his little daughter, no more than ten asks her daddy if she can have a go. Blonde hair, blue eyes, sweet as pie. As soon as her dad gives her an approving nod, she grabs me straight away. The cold steel fingers grip me tight around my chest as the claw lifts me up. She pulls me closer and closer towards her while her brother dances with his arms in the air, her dad smiles proudly and her mother bends down to give her a kiss.

 

Finally the claw drops me down the chute and her dad holds the plastic cat flap open while the girl picks me out.

 

She whispers ‘You’re my new favourite teddy,’ into my ear as we all walk off together and she hugs me tight.

Reviews

[Shelina Shariff-Zia]

This was very intriguing. I thought it was some sort of strange bar where people get picked up and it turned out to be about a teddy bear. It plays with how readers make assumptions that turn out to be wrong. Great job.