A Change of Heart

A small sedan parked on the curb in front of a local bar called The Lava Lounge. Established in 2001 the bar has been booming since its grand opening. Thirteen years later and the bar is not only a home for the locals, but also the must go to bar when visiting this city. All ages, faces, shapes and all sizes fill this fashionable place up. “Stanley Craig!” he says as he glances at the front of a closed envelope. He turns the envelope around, and again reads out aloud, “The Lava Lounge, Stoke street, Caulfield 10:35 pm.” He then clicks the centre button on his iPhone to spot the time that reads 10:20 pm. With a letter opener sitting on his centre console, he slices the envelope open, and removes a little folded piece of paper. He then unfolds it to reveal a photo of a young man with dark wet styled brown hair, blue eyes with baby face features. He swipes his iPhone to bring up the camera, then places the paper on his lap to take a snap shot of the person’s face. The description underneath the photo reads, Name – Stanley Craig Gender – Male Age – 23 Confrontation: You must signal him with your index finger pointing up to the ceiling like you have created a relationship with a waitress that has been serving you all night. He will notice you as soon as you walk into the bar. Upon entering he should be sitting on your left. Keep your phone visible to match the photo you took with Stanley Craig’s face. Follow Stanley Craig’s orders once you are confronted by him. Good luck Wethers… A quick press of the menu button to have an updated time check. It reads 10:33 pm. “Ok that’s me; it’s time to do this.” He says exiting the vehicle in a composed manner. A quick glance at the name of the bar flashing in neon lights above the entrance door. He walks around the rear of the vehicle, then clicks a button on his remote to open the boot. As it opens, resting on its own in the centre of the boot was a black briefcase. He lowers his body to rest the palms of his hands over the briefcase momentarily, then closes the boot. A simple click of a button on his remote fully locks the vehicle. Removing the phone from out of his pocket, he brings up the picture of Stanley Craig. While still holding the phone in his palm, he walks to the entrance door. The security guard nods his head to greet him then allows entrance into the bar. Upon entering The Lava Lounge, his first view was of this large fountain, with orange lighting in the midst of the streaming water. It was a beauty to look at. It was something that everyone would notice as soon as they enter. The next view was of a blonde waitress around 165cm tall; very pretty face standing behind the bar mixing someone’s drink. She looked and smiled at him as he walked in, but Wethers swiftly placed his head down as she glanced at him. To his left, he spots Stanley sitting at the bar with a brunette who looked to be in her early 20’s; she seemed to be really enjoying Stanley’s company. “He was supposed to be alone!” he mutters under his breath. The brunette was resting her hand on top of Stanley’s. Stanley then removed the brunettes hand and reached for his phone inside his pocket. He clicked the menu button to note the time, then quickly looked to the entrance of the bar. Wethers’ index finger went up, Stanley acknowledged him, then replies with his index finger back. He whispers secretively into the brunette’s ear and hops off the stool he was occupying. Upon confrontation, Stanley offers his hand to Wethers, with Wethers happily accepting it. Swiftly, Stanley moves towards Wethers' ear, and says, “Mate, I’m not ready yet!” In aggravation, Wethers hurriedly pulls away from Stanley. Shaking his head, he moves in toward him to reply, “This is a one chance offer! When I’m gone, I won’t be back.” With a sense of determination, he responds, “I just met this beautiful girl at the bar mate,” he says whilst pointing his finger in her direction. “I just need a couple of hours, maybe three at the most... Come on friend, can you do this for me?” With an irritated look Wethers answers, “It seems to me, that you don’t really want to do this. I can walk away right now and never see you again. I’m totally ok with that. It’s better for me and a lot better for you. These things happen all the time. It’s great when my client has a change of heart.” Stanley places his hand on Wethers chest and replies. “You don’t understand; I really want this! I’ve thought over and over about it. I guess I just want this night of passion. No! Not passion... You see this girl relates to me, she is something I have needed in my life for so long now. She has been the missing link. The person I could open my heart up to. The person that actually cares about what I’m saying. She listens to me. I met her here last week, and we spoke all night, and that was it. We happened to meet again tonight, what are the odds right? And that was without any organization or exchange of phone numbers. But, I do still want this; I need you to do this for me...” Wethers looks to the brunette, “I really need to use the restroom man; can you give me like five minutes?” Stanley asks. Wethers nods in approval and makes his way towards the bar. He leans on the bar rail and looks down at the wet mat coaster running through the length of the bench. The brunette looks to him and places her hand on his bicep trying to get his attention. Wethers looks to her, and she moves in closer to him and says with a soft voice, “Is everything ok with Stanley?” irately he responds, “Yes fine.” “Are you a friend of his?” she continues, “Not quite” “Oh ok… Well you see Stanley and I have really connected; he intrigues me. I haven’t met anyone like him before.” Just by that short conversation, Wethers had a feeling that she was in need of someone as much as Stanley was. He then offers his hand to her, “My name is James.” She offers hers back and replies, “Hi James, I’m Danielle. I’m Pleased to meet you.” They shake hands and seconds later Stanley intrudes as he places his hand over Danielle’s shoulder. Wethers looks at Danielle, screaming over the loud music, “Danielle, It’s been a pleasure.” He then walks away to the entrance door. Stanley looks to Wethers as he heads toward the door, and says quickly to Danielle, “I’ll be back!” holding his index finger vertically he says, “One sec!” He walks hastily to Wethers and places his hand on his shoulder to stop him from walking out. “Are we still good for later on?” “Yeah we’re good! Just enjoy your night.” He walks out the entrance door toward his vehicle. Stanley watches him walk out then heads back to Danielle. “Is everything ok Stanley?” “Yeah everything is perfect.” He smiles “Is James a friend of yours? He came across as a very strange person. But friendly...” “James?” Stanley answers dumbfounded. “Your friend James, the man that was just in here talking to you?” “Oh... Jaaaames!” He smiles. “Yes he is strange, but a very nice person. He’s very supportive!”