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Sad Dolphin
It was Halloween, of course, but it wasn’t an invite-only type of event. The invite from Dan called “the Halloweeniest party this side of Wicker Park.” Dan managed a dive bar that his grandfather owns. His grandfather may or may not realize it’s still operational. Kobe didn’t have much else going on. He had a Halloween-themed wedding the night before, and wore the same dolphin costume. The bride and groom really liked dolphins. He figured he’d get the most of it by wearing it two nights in a row before putting into his apartment’s storage closet to never be retrieved again ever. It was getting hot in the bar. Sure, it was 40 degrees outside, but the full dolphin costume, coupled with a crowd of other full-body costumes, crammed into a bar with its heat turned up to 11, all created a bit of a cavern effect. Kobe wiped a bead of sweat from under his dolphin nose. A happy wolf walked over to him, carrying a half-finished whiskey drink of some kind—maybe straight whiskey. “Cheers,” the wolf said, raising his glass. “Cheers,” the dolphin clinked back. “How do you know Dan?” the wolf asked. “Friend of friends,” said Kobe. “See the fish and sexy Eskimo over there? I know them. They know Dan.” “So you guys are a set? The dolphin’s part of the fish and Eskimo shtick?” the wolf asked. “I didn’t realize Eskimos and dolphins lived together.” “Well, this isn’t a normal Eskimo; it’s a sexy Eskimo,” said Kobe, glancing at the Eskimo in her high-cut, sleeveless snowsuit. “She can’t really live anywhere cold. Because of all the exposed skin. You know, I’m not sure that costume works at all.” “Shots?” said the wolf, signaling for Kobe to join him and a group of other folks in long jackets and hunting knives standing a few feet away. “We’re The Grey. We could use a dolphin.” Kobe shrugged, and watched as the wolf ordered a round of shots for the group. Kobe helped him carry them over, got introduced to everyone, and downed some Wild Turkey. Kobe hated shots. Increasing drunkenness doesn’t help when you’re already tripping over a giant fluffy pair of fins. “So did you hear about the fire last night at Rock Top?” said one of the guys in the group. Kobe hadn’t, and clearly some of the others in the group were in the same boat, but the woman on that guy’s left turned away, grossed out. “Can we not talk about that?” she said. “It’s horrible.” “What happened?” asked the wolf. “Halloween party, and a fire broke out,” the guy said. “It was a dive bar just like this one, but no fire exit. Guess someone was having a 30th birthday party or something, so it was packed more than it ever should’ve been. Something fell behind the bar—a drink, I think—and started an electrical fire. I don’t know all the details. Two died. Something like 20 all got really bad burns.” “Debbie Downer over here, stop it,” said the grossed-out woman. “It’s horrible. The news kept showing folks being pulled out, wrapped up, taken to the hospital. Horrible.” Kobe glanced behind the group to spot a clear beeline to the fire exit, and then turned over his shoulder to see a more crowded, but maneuverable, path to the front door. If he needed to, he’d get out some way or another. “So how do you all know Dan?” asked Kobe. “I live in his building,” said the wolf. “And these losers had nowhere else to go.” Kobe nodded. The group chatted a little while longer, and Kobe caught out of the corner of his the fish and the Eskimo wandering out the front door, drunk, into the cold night. The wolf caught Kobe’s eye and followed it. “Aren’t those your friends leaving?” he asked. “Never met them in my life,” said Kobe. Kobe nodded, walked away from the group, and took the fire exit out to the alley.
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