The buzz of conversation filled the room and drowned out the humming of the televisions at Gypsy’s bar. Yuki hadn’t expected the place to be so. Even for a weekend night it was packed which showed just how popular the place seemed to be.

She also wasn’t sure what to expect of the place when she decided on a whim to enter the restaurant. A bar named after a group of people who many considered scoundrels and thieves intrigued her. Having been in some of the finest establishments in the world this place was far from that, however, she would have been disappointed if that was something it had tried to be. Gypsy’s possessed a kind of unique earthy charm that was obviously the work of someone who took pride in what they did.

What was the proper word for this? She asked herself. Oh that’s right, character, it definitely has character.

Playing with her glass absentmindedly the Japanese woman watched the eclectic group of people around her. She did feel a little out of place for a number of reasons but the most obvious to her at the moment was that there weren’t a whole lot of single women here tonight. There were groups or couples but not many people alone, which meant that she was going to stand out even more than she already did.

As if on cue a young man approached and leaned against the bar as she looked down at her. Yuki could only assume the man’s untidy appearance was intentional. His hair was slightly tossed about, his shirt was partially unbuttoned, and he smelled strongly of something the man must believe made him smell good. Unfortunately for him he was sadly mistaken and Yuki was glad that her condition made breathing optional for her.
“Hey, girl. Can I buy you a drink?” He asked only with a slight slur. She was a little impressed. This one wasn’t completely plastered and only slightly smelled of alcohol.

Looks like my suitors are moving up in the world. At this rate I might have a sober unemployed failure by the end of the night…lucky me, she mentally cringed. Through sheer titanic force of will she avoided looking down at her glass to draw attention to the fact that it was still full. It would defeat the purpose of what was coming next.

Turning to the man with a confused and wide-eyed, apologetic look on her face she opened her mouth to speak.

“Gomen ne. Watashi wa eigo o hanasanai,” she said politely.
Translation

“Huh?” The man asked with the expected stupid and confused look on his face.

“Sumimasen ga, watashi wa anata ga hanarete itte kudasai to hanashi o shitakunai,” Yuki said with the same innocent confused look as she mentally chuckled at the situation.
Translation

Defeated the man turned away muttering something about learning English. A small smile crept to her lips as she watched him go.

So once again Yuki found herself free to continue her people watching. It was something she took seriously and felt that it might help her further her understanding these people, or at least she was free until someone interesting came along. The world wasn’t going to go anywhere just because she avoided it so the least she could do it try to make the best of it.

That was when she spotted him. A large and unattractive man approached with what appeared to be great effort on his part. She should have seen this coming sooner when his ears perked up when she spoke to the previous man.

“Konbanwa,” he nervously stammered as he introduced himself as Jerry in broken and badly spoken Japanese. Unable to restrain herself a slight shiver ran up her spine as it felt like her skin was crawling.

Just my luck, this would happen to me wouldn’t it? She mentally cursed her misfortune.

“That’s good,” she lied with a forced smile. “But I speak your language. Please, if we could continue in English,” she pleaded for the sake of sanity. “My name’s Yuki,” she threw on like an after thought as if tossing a dog a bone.

No matter how many times she introduced herself this American custom of using first name made her uncomfortable. It was so vulgar and forward to just assume anyone had the right to speak to her in that way. However, if she wanted to fit in she had to learn to accept differences and overcome it.

“Oh, ok.” The man replied with a look of disappointment on his face, but he quickly recovered. “That’s a lovely name. Do you live here or are you visiting?”

“Oh I’m just here visiting family for now...”

They spoke for several minutes and despite her first impressions she was surprised that she rather enjoyed their conversation. Yet when he asked for her number she politely turned him down stating that she was leaving the next day and that she didn’t have a number. His disappointment was clear, but she didn’t really care, because he was far too young and not nearly interesting enough for her anyway. Deciding it was time to leave she stood up and said her goodbyes.
Some nights are just a bust and there isn’t really much you can do about it. Besides she was bored again…

If there is one certainty it appears that men are the same in just about every era, she thought as she made her way to her vehicle. But for some reason that both comforted and disappointed her at the same time.