lock & key*

heather & i slowly walked past the see sound lounge. it was dark inside & i would have thought it closed had i not caught the flicker of a few candles. we both peered into the window and tried to gauge any goings on. i caught 3 heads at the bar, & one on the couch. it looked completely empty otherwise.

it's 15 minutes past check-in.

heather suggests we head inside as there's a back room, & the party might be held there. once we step in, it is obvious that there is nothing going on. there is the guy on the couch, 5 guys spread across the bar, and a co-ed group of 6 in a corner near the front. there are no signs of revelry, no obvious organizers of any sort of event.

she & i stand awkwardly in the middle of the club, when the guy on the couch speaks up. his voice surprises me; it's much higher than i was anticipating.

"are you two here for the lock & key? it's usually pretty crowded....& i spoke with the bartender...the event sponsor never showed up or made contact. maybe the venue changed? but there wasn't an email sent out or a notice on the website."

"man, i could be knitting right now!", i exclaim. "i even put on make-up for the first time in weeks for this thing!"

this answers our questions. we both decide to have a drink at the very least. we order our orange vodkas & sodas. we briefly chit-chat with the two guys sitting next to us, joe & jeff, also there for the lock & key. we are snarky in our usual way.

the man on the couch comes over to us at the bar & continues the small talk.
"there's supposed to be another lock & key next month."
"oh yeah...isn't that supposed to be for the 30s-40s set though?" questions heather.
"are you showing your age, sir?" i ask jokingly.
he looked slightly perturbed with this question & promptly left the club a few moments after.

30 minutes later, as we're finishing our drinks & getting ready to leave, couch guy is back & at our sides again.
"i went to get some food", he states factually with bit of surprise, as though he had informed us of his actions before leaving & that there was some sort of agreement made that we were going to wait for his return.

we ended the evening with a drink & some food, no numbers, & some new inside jokes at matador in ballard.

note: prior to the non-existent lock & key, i was at a knitting group happy hour & had extended the invitation to one of the girls i met there since she was new to the area & looking to meet new people. i'm really glad she had other plans set for the evening.

*lock & key party: 1/2 the attendees get a lock, the other 1/2 a key. you then spend the evening trying to find your corresponding lock or key. once your match is found, your names get thrown into a raffle for prizes & you receive a new lock or key & repeat.