Tarot, The Lesbian Bar, and Fun Times For Me and Thee

29 May, 2026

Saturday

My friend's waiting in their car to grab me up from work. And of course there's a man at her window chatting her ear off. The man in question is a coworker from another department. Eccentric and has too many books that he doesn't even know what to really do with. He asked me to smile once. Though I'm sure it was probably him trying to be funny, I still hold a low-level grudge about it.

I don't even bother eavesdropping onto their one-sided conversation, as I sidle up, smile something sacchrine, and quietly pull open the passenger door, forcing my older coworker to step aside as I get in. He's still chatting, and peeks back in through the passenger window. At least a handful of seconds pass after I've buckled my seatbelt before he decides to let us go from his conversation and walk away.

Thank goodness.

Me and my friend look at eachother with exasperated expressions and sigh.

"So, how's your day been Lisbet?"

"He acted shocked about my clothes. I told him I dress goth outside of work and he still doesn't listen to me! It's not like I wear khakis all the time, that's forced on me! Who the hell wants to wear them of their own free will???"

I nod and listen as she drives.

Lisbet's agreed to hang out and do some tarot readings with me, and to maybe come along to the bar later so we can celebrate my other friend's football team being hosted at and sponsored¹ by them.

She is also one of my best friends at work.

I remember managing to strike up conversation while she was checking out the alarm settings for one of the artworks. I was just glad to see someone else close to my age who also looked alt. I figure she was glad that someone was speaking to her like she was just a normal person. Or maybe she just thought I was funny and entertaining enough to bother having anything to do with. Who am I to complain?

It's been history since.

Now I get to send her stupid texts like this with zero context.

We drop by the McDonalds close to my place for a to-go lunch, then make a quick stop at mine so I can grab up a phone charger that actually works for me.²

As we leave my apartment's lot, we nearly get hit by a guy refusing to stop his car at all while Lisbet's trying to make a left turn. He damn well could've crashed head first into the passenger side if he'd been going just that bit faster.

Thankfully we leave unscathed, and complain about "drivers these days." I've never even been in a driver's seat myself, but I sure don't pass up the chance for shit-talking. I carefully grab up the McDonald's bag just to be sure it isn't in their way, and notice a discrepency.

"Holy shit, you ate all the fries?!"

"AH-AH! Only mine, see? Not all of them-"

"No, of course, I'm just shocked you scarfed yours down so quick. L-M-A-O."

The arrival to Lisbet's place is sudden and jarring. I hadn't even percieved her building as a place at all. Somewhere small off the side of a busy six lane stroad. A place that feels too transient to be properly fit for habitation.

Despite the location, Lisbet's actual apartment is unbelievably homey. We enter and I'm immediately relaxed by the low-light and the comfy nook of a carved out living room spot, full of soft blankets and surfaces. Her cat gleefally chatters at me from the top of the couch while I set down our food and my bag full of personal bullshit. I immediately start scratching his little head.

"Hey Roman! Oooh little man, I've missed you!"

I make sure to give Roman plenty of attention while Lisbet goes about putting away whatever they had, and taking out the remaining bit of their food from the "Mcbag."

We don't set to ""work"" right away.

Eating comes first.

Lisbet makes sure to turn on some entertainment for us both.

One of her favorite twitch streamers is Caseoh. He sure screams a lot. I like pretending that he streams outside of his house because for some reason, the room he streams in looks like it has windows that view into the rest of his house? It's a bit hard to tell when I'm watching from a good eight feet away from the television. It's probably just a weird reflection in a much too dark room. I don't care, I think my headcanon is much more entertaining.

I like when he plays odd indie horror games, because he truly freaks and geeks like no other. I'm more than glad to sit and watch this guy as we eat.

Lisbet's cat makes sure to steal plenty of attention though. He loves chittering up a storm, especially when food is around. I tease him gently by pinching at his heels. He hates it. Lisbet and I laugh at how much 'tude he's got.

Once we've fully settled, and after I give Lisbet ample chance to try picking at my phone's charger port to see if they could miraculously fix it, we decide to finally fiddle with some cards. (Of course my phone never got fixed.)

I brought my own too. I figured she might like peeking at the Klimt cards, even if I didn't expect her to use them for any readings. I certainly know how Tarot decks seem to have their own personalities, so I don't begrudge when someone who reads doesn't want to mess with unfamiliar cards. Still, it's a beautiful set that demands to be used more often. I'll have to change that. It's only a shame it's been beaten up a bit over the years.

Lisbet's presented a pink, ""millenial"" deck, and a crow themed deck to me. They're both kept in sturdier boxes than what I'm used to handling. I can't help feeling a tinge of envy.

Immediately I'm fascinated by the crows and want to hear their thoughts.

I ask questions, mostly about strained relationships. Not romantic that is - more platonic and within the workplace.

I ask about the one coworker I dislike a great deal, who asks odd favors from me and who can't Google words to save his life. I want to know if he's gonna go at some point. Lisbet wants to know the same thing. We both just don't like this guy.

The cards seem to indicate it's going to be a long process that takes a lot of effort, but will yield high rewards. Possibly someone who makes some serious work decisions will be involved. 9 appeared multiple times, so I suppose we'll see what September brings. In the meantime, we keep trucking along.

We both ask about the bar, excited to see what to expect.

The cards start with Temperance. Essentially, all things in moderation. Nothing too wild, so no overindulging.

We also get a surprise warning hidden underneath the six of wands.³ The reversed ten of pentacles, meaning the potential for a loss of some kind of material wealth. We're extra sure to try being mindful with our cards and our cash for the evening.

But the six and the three of cups make appearences as well, so despite some kind of material loss, we'd certainly be having a good time and enjoying ourselves.

The readings where both me and Lisbet were interested in what would happen seemed to give us more in-depth results.

I decided to try my hand at reading myself, though it's been a long time. It was nice how laid back it all felt, and how Lisbet was sure to check up on the reference guides for her cards, so I wasn't too self-conscious when I ended up doing the same.

When I pulled the five of wands from my Klimt deck however, and the basic single word descriptors didn't seem to match at all with the imagery of the card, we decided that maybe the reference booklet that came with mine may have been poorly printed, poorly edited, poorly translated, restrained by its choice of artstyle based off of Gustav's existing artworks, or some frankenstein combination of these possibilities.

Sorry Golden Tarot deck. You're beautiful! But your reference book isn't the most helpful.

It seems like my summer's going to be a bit of an intoverted, stuck-in-my-own-head kind of time, and Lisbet's going to be... having an odd and difficult one, to say the least - with a bit of help from a mentor figure. Maybe we'll ask about it again with a different deck at different time...

The next thing I know, it's nearly 6pm. Time melted away between playing around with Roman, 2nd-hand absorbing some Mo1stCrit1kal video I'd never watch of my own volition, and finally trying a canned Baja Blast after years of hearing about it. I don't see the hype, I'm just not a Mountain Dew fan...

I always feel a bit weird being alone with a friend for an extended period of time, strictly in the sense that I'm married and there's a whole lot of... Weird, unspoken expectations that people hold for married folks? People get shocked if you haven't really been with anyone else. They start thinking that you must get "antsy" sometimes - That you must want to fool around with other people sometimes.

Sure, I get "antsy"... Antsy to leave the fucking conversation, and to avoid it altogether. I'm happy, and I don't dream of hurting my partner. Still, even though I know there's nobody to weirdly judge my presence with my own friends, the anxiety tickles at my brain like a stowed away spider. I can't help that something's always pestering me about what other people might think.

It's the voice in my mind that's been instilled by years of judgement and societal expectations. It's a voice I do my damndest not to listen to.

I internally shake it off and I tell Lisbet the gameplan. We should head over to mine to do actual pregaming with my wife if we want to try mitigating the costs of a night out. I'll pay for the pregaming drinks. The least I could do after Lisbet graciously bought food for me, and hosted me at theirs.

I make sure I have everything of mine gathered as Lisbet touches up their makeup for a night out. I scritch Roman's lil butt as we leave.

We complain more about how fucking awful driving is. The point is accentuated when the driver in front of us - just a block away from my place - refuses to move for a solid 5 seconds while figuring out which way they need to turn. Lisbet screams dramatically. I laugh hysterically.

My wife's mostly quiet around other people. She's had some difficulty knowing how to talk to others - almost ever since covid had stunted everyone back in 2020. Sometimes I wonder if it's partially because I'm like her get-out-of-jail-free card. I happily lead conversations. I ask questions. I sit comfortably with silences. But I also know this must be a matter of practice. So I try my best to insist on bringing my friends over, so she can try her hand at socializing again outside of a workplace setting.

The results are mixed. But everyone is kind and patient. My wife and Lisbet get on very well, and it makes me happy beyond measure. I excuse myself to the bathroom, and I'm elated when I can hear them both talking with eachother after I've left the room.

I'm certain that tonight's going to be a wonderful time. We've even agreed that we have to put on the insane music from a coworker of mine and Lisbet's. He talks and awkwardly flirts with Lisbet sometimes (despite himself being married...) and one day gave her his originally made music... The first track is absolutely bonkers - all instrumental of course.

We all listened to it together after my football friend's game, and we were screaming, laughing, and crying, all in that order. I've taken to calling it "Penis Pop" music, in relation to Cbat. (Sorry penises, I promise this isn't anything personal, blame that one reddit story)

If you must find the infamous First Track, well. You've read this far. Search up black shox. You'll find it, and you'll understand how it literally made us cry in a car at 9:30pm.

Well we loaded it up again, with similar results as that first time. It's a miracle we didn't crash the fucking car into the river on the way to the bar. Fun times all around.

My wife pipes up from the backseat and warns us that Aurora's going to be there. She won't be aware that we're arriving. You'll be a bit familiar with Aurora if you read this other post. I've given her a sincere fake name for your reading pleasure. Hope that helps.

I sigh, shrug, and say we're still going to have a fun time. This is about one of my friend's accomplishments, not about trying to start anything. We'll do our own thing, and Aurora can do her own thing too.

Parking is a nightmare like we expected, but Lisbet insists they'll figure it out. We grab cash from a nearby ATM for the bars cover charge, enough for all three of us. We wait outside and I can already see Aurora standing next to Frankie (football friend) inside by the bar. I roll my eyes and don't try bringing attention to myself.

Me and my wife wait outside for a few minutes, until Lisbet finally comes back. She makes an exasperated gesture at the open parking spaces that had appeared in front of the bar. My wife and I shrug. Not much to be done about that now.

We nearly get in without having to pay any cover, but as soon as we huddle in, the bouncer(?? unsure if that's really her position?) silently walks up, notices we just got in, and makes us fork over the cash. The material losses begin.

Aurora is awkwardly huddled up with Frankie towards the center of the dancefloor - along with the football team scattered all around - their backs turned to us as we enter the bar. The football players all chit-chat casually and effortlessly. Frankie's having a wonderful time from what I can tell, talking excitedly with her team. Aurora looks like a wallflower who doesn't know what to really do with herself.

I sneak up directly behind Frankie, and clap my hands aggressively onto her shoulders.

"THERE SHE IS! HOW YOU BEEN LOCA?!?"

Frankie is shaken but turns to me, grinning.

"Hello sunshine!"

I can tell Aurora looks mortified to actually see me somewhere - especially after my whole "I kinda enjoy my time not being your friend, I think I'd like for that to be permanent" type thing. Not very personal, but people don't exactly like it when you tell them you don't like them very much, in no uncertain terms.

I distinctly recall Aurora's face looking like she'd really like to melt away into a nearby wall if she could...

I decide it doesn't matter, because this is about Frankie after all. I boisterously ask how she's been and how everyone's doing, and she begins introducing me to her other teammates, telling me their team positions - like I'd understand a lick of football by now. I nod and smile, and make sure to rib on Frankie any opportunity I can.

"You're the one hitting her in practice? Make sure you beat her up more for me, okay?"

I got myself a themed drink to help support the team, and payed $5 for their raffle to possibly get ahold of a signed helmet and football. It's really more about supporting the team than thinking I'm going to win this stuff. Besides, Frankie keeps telling me I need to join the team... But the idea of me becoming a football player is overwhelming and scary. I think I'd much rather play field hockey, tbh.

Eventually I settle on drinking beer and stealing big swigs of cider from my wife in order to prevent her from drinking overzealously. The music they play is mediocre at best. My wife escapes for the roof to get some fresh air and vape a bit, leaving with Frankie's roommate/ex/still good friend.

We've been getting on better with roommate/ex/still good friend btw! She's actually put in effort to respect boundaries, and to try being friendly with us. Despite the really tumultuous past stuff... They're on the way to being a pretty chill friend, which I massively respect. Aside over.

A man comes up to me with that signature inflection in his tone that all gay people recognize and relax into. He's tall and lanky, with a clean haircut and a well-groomed goatee. I immediately recognize him as friend shaped.

He compliments my neon yellow cyberpunk sweater, and compliments Lisbet's homemade Lucifer shirt too. I notice he's wearing a Frida Kahlo shirt that looks like it came from the museum we work at, and ask him if he enjoyed that exhibit. He went at least five times and has been greatly influenced by Frida's work. He loves her, essentially.

We proceed to look at eachother's art on our phones, though my art isn't as plentiful and I'm a bit hesitant to share things that I haven't made very recently. Lisbet's phone essentially shits out on her in the middle of our conversation. We all laugh while she tries to find connection by the window of the bar.⁴

I do take the chance to show my old "cat-clown" painting.

We decide that outside would be better for talking, since the music is so loud, we can hardly hear eachother. We pass by my wife and Frankie's roommate/ex/good friend. We exchange pleasantries and do introductions. Sadly I end up not remembering the name of the guy we ran into.

But he was new to living in our city - insisted he was well aware of the area and things to do, due to family and friends living here before him. He might've chatted a bit much about himself, but it wasn't something I minded too much. I honestly just wanted to enjoy my drink more than anything.

Lisbet says something funny - I don't even remember what. Her hands gesticulate wildly as me and our gentleman friend laugh. I feel my hand get accidentally bumped by someone, and my grip loosens.

I accidentally dropped the rest of my drink...

Another material loss.

Oh, well. Thankfully Lisbet hated their amaretto sour (too sour) so I had a backup drink. No harm, no foul. We're all smiles and joke about how it's at least been raining, so nobody will even notice my spill. Silver linings.

Eventually we part ways as our bar friend runs into someone he definitely knows outside of this setting. They hug and they chat happily. Lisbet and I decide to head back in and possibly dance. At least get another round of drinks.

I'm immediately icked all the fuck out when I see Aurora essentially cuddled up next to Frankie by the pool table... caressing Frankie's cheek and jaw awkwardly??? It's worsened by the fact that Aurora's fingers seem to be getting waaaay too close to Frankie's eyes.

It looks so uncomfortable. I am viscerally uncomfortable.

Eugh.

My wife makes a big point to ask if I'm seeing this shit. I shake my head and turn away, yelling over the music to her, "She really does treat Frankie like her backburner butch, what the fuck?"

It's something I've critiqued before, and that Frankie also isn't a big fan of. My wife sighs.

"Maybe it's fine...? Frankie does get touchy-feely when she's drunk, so maybe this is okay by her standards? Still..."

We both share an incredulous look. It's something we'll have to ask about later...⁵

My wife asks me to grab a drink for herself and instructs me to get mozzarella sticks for Frankie. They're apparently really good here. I do exactly as I'm told - albeit, I drink a good portion of the cider as I wait for her food. Partially to get my own buzz, mostly so my wife isn't feeling too awful by the end of the night.

I stand at the bar, choosing not to sit in the seat closest to me. I notice someone behind me also waiting to order. I offer her the chair since it makes no difference to me. She thanks me, but refuses. I shrug and smile. It's the thought that counts. She decides to compliment my snake earrings. I'm completely honest when I tell her they're from Claires. We chuckle and wait at the bar silently, as the music from the dancefloor echoes throughout the small building, and people laugh and chatter loudly with eachother.

Maybe I'm not as good at socalizing as I think either. Or maybe this is just fine? I at least feel more then content when my order of food arrives and when I dutifully snake my way through a thick, bustling crowd of people, avoiding elbows and chests and asses.

My wife is happy at my return until her eyes land on her drink. She furrows her brows at me, mocking annoyance. I smile my big goofy smile and am rewarded with instant forgiveness.

I doublecheck that these indeed all go to Frankie. Wife yells "Yes!" I find an opening past the other football players who are playing their fun, drunken game of pool. I scooch past Aurora to give Frankie the sticks. Frankie's mouth drops open and she asks if these are really for her. I nod vigorously, since I don't think it's neccessary for me to be yelling "YES!"

I walk back to my wife, happy to have completed my task. I don't even remember where Lisbet had ran off to. I think she must be at the bathroom. Frankie's having the time of her life. I don't even know about Aurora, she just looks like multiple people have pissed in her cereal all throughout the night.

Wifey excuses herself again, Lisbet rotates back into my space. Me and Lisbet end up dancing because what else are we really gonna do. We sure aren't trying to go to the bar again. It was way too crowded by this point to easily get ahold of drinks. I certainly don't wanna bother. Dancing it is. Even with the subpar music, we have fun.

We actively avoid an older woman on the dancefloor who seems to be roaming around our area, searching for anybody to give her the time of night. Personally I'd rather not, because the last time I gave benefit-of-the-doubt for one of our lesbian elders, she very quickly asked me and my roommate at the time how long we had been fucking. I really don't need an older woman asking me that same shit again but with my coworker...

Wifey comes back and looks exhausted. I'm honestly getting exhausted myself, so I know our night's getting close to over.

We dance a bit more together, until my wife speaks in my ear. Frankies's planning on heading out soon, and just needs to wait for Aurora's lyft. We should make sure to walk Frankie safely back home. I ask if I oughta close out our tab now. My wife nods affirmatively.

I vaguely notice someone has taken to sitting next to Lisbet, talking into their ear. They're young, I can tell that much. Cute, sure, but too fresh from the college campus if anybody asked me. I shrug. Not my business. I check in with Lisbet.

"Just text me if you end up taking an uber or a lyft, I can send over cash to offset it. You'll be fine, right?"

"Yeah, I'll be good, don't worry about me!"

That's enough reassurance for me. It takes a while for me to close out the tab; at this point, the bar is in full swing.

People from all walks of life can be found here, the goths, the girlies, the gays - we even have a few furries roaming around. (I saw them!!!) It's doubtful any of them know or care about the football team I came here to support. I find it all funny, more than anything else.

We really are just one small square amongst the greater quilt of The Community.

We left - aside from Lisbet.⁶

We shadowed Aurora and Frankie outside of the bar. Two men are arguing, clearly in a relationship of some kind. One's angry because they wanted to stay longer and he doesn't want to pay the cover charge again. The other seems too drunk to really formulate a coherent thought. Probably needed to get away from the bar. They do kiss and makeup a little.

Aurora doesn't even realize we're there right along with them, though me and my wife make sure to stick to the wall. We just follow the lead she's set for our future interactions. She awkwardly looks all around for the car that's supposed to pick her up. Frankie barely moves from her spot, keeping within our sight, as Aurora wanders around the corner, and seemingly gets into a car.

A great sigh of relief overcomes each of us.

"Thank goodness... You ready to roll Frankie? Going straight to your place, right?"

Frankie perks up, like she just had 5 tons lifted off of her shoulders.

"Hell yeah brother! Let's go!"

As soon as we've crossed the street, a man starts following beside us, trying his damndest to get us to buy.... Who-knows-what from a big box he's lugging around. Frankie tries to gently decline him, letting him down easy. My wife refuses to acknowledge his presence and tries walking faster. He's still following us for a good few paces, and I don't like it one bit.

I fish out the $5 bill that was left over from paying three cover fees. I explicitly shoo him away, saying it's all I have on me and he finally backs off.

We all grumble once he's left, but we just as quickly move on to other pressing subjects.

"God, I still can't believe she was all up on you like that Frankie."

My wife proceeds to mimic what Aurora was doing with my own face as we walk. It gives me massive heebie jeebies, even when it's my own wife doing it - the action is so absurd and unnatural. A gross shiver runs down my spine and I swat my wife's hand away.

"Ewww, awful! I don't get how anyone could like that, honestly."

"Yeah, that was... definitely weird! I don't wanna think about it..."

"Careful Frankie, god forbid you end up with pink eye, the way she was touching so close to your eye-"

"DON'T WANNA THINK ABOUT IT-!!"

"Where are her hands going where Frankie's getting pink eye?!"

"I dunno, but you can't be too careful!"

We laugh and we joke the nearly 10 blocks it takes us to bring Frankie home. There's a lot of ribbing. Lisbet texts that they're already home, well before us. Thank goodness, I'm glad to know she's fine!

We finally get Frankie home without further issue. Her ex/roommate/good friend had long gone home, so we knew they were alright too.

Me and my wife handled getting our own ride home, and that was the end of our shenanigans.

Why write about all this? Well, for one, my memory is atrocious, and this was an especially good day I'd like to keep stored somewhere, even when my mind fails me more often than I'd like. For another, I believe it's fun to give people a window into the casual chaos that goes on for most queer friend groups. It's a fun treat!

Lastly, you all needed ample context for this photograph from the end of our night. It just isn't as good if you don't know everything else that had to lead up to it.

This really was an elaborate setup just to share a silly photo and talk about myself and my friends - because I love myself and my friends!

At the very least, you got to enjoy a ride too.

Thoughts?

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