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Northside Tavern, Atlanta, Georgia, late December….

Josh walked past the girl sitting and leaning against the bar and smirked. Even if he wasn’t engaged, she didn’t appeal to him. She looked cheap; not down and out cheap, but that apathetic place where nicer clothes and a makeover would have made all the difference had she actually cared. He glanced at his watch and smiled. Plenty of time to meet his fiancé at ten and still schmooze at the bar. He would play it cool and nonchalant; it didn’t really matter since he wasn’t starting something anyway.

“Excuse me? Do you have the time?” The girl spoke tentatively; like a come-on in practice. He noticed she had a watch adorning her right wrist. He shook his head and smiled; not warm and friendly, but the kind of smile that says, ‘there you go, go away.’

“Six-twenty.” He didn’t notice that her watch was broken. But then he didn’t really care.

“Thanks,” she nodded before putting her head down slightly. That would have been enough except he had to go ahead with his assumptions. He was a flirt and nothing else, as if being mean-spirited would be an adequate compensation for not cheating. He nodded again with a teasing smile.

“I don’t have to be anywhere until ten….” He grinned and she shook her head as her face glowed red even in the poorly lit tavern.

“I’m sorry. I’m with my sister.” The look on her face showed a needless embarrassing shame; as if she was the one who was being forward.

“Yeah, okay…sure….” Josh pursed his lips and nodded slightly. His tone might as well have said, “YEAH, SURE….” The girl lowered her head slightly.

“Excuse me….I …” She turned and walked away quickly toward the ladies room in the hallway on the other end of the bar. He watched her go, paying close attention to her figure as her hips seemed intentionally provocative. A second later, an older woman, elegantly dressed, spoke to him.

“Excuse me, Josh, do you have the time?” He nodded and looked at his watch, failing to notice the dim glow growing brighter around the woman’s face. She smiled and nodded.

“Yes, I do believe you do.” At her words, things seemed to fade and sounds and shapes and colors and touch and smell all melded into a sensory miasma until he found himself looking in a mirror. The image that stared back at him looked vaguely familiar and the image over his shoulder looked very familiar.

“You about done? We have to get over to the clinic….” The girl over his shoulder spoke; the same girl he only a few minutes ago dismissed with a grin. She smiled at other image in the mirror. It was only then that he realized the image was a girl of about the same age; very close in size and height but for the harder features. The girl was a near-twin, but fraternal instead of identical. The idea seemed ironic for some reason that he couldn’t identify.

“I’m sorry…I don’t want to make you cry,” the girl whispered haltingly. He found himself nodding; still weeping even as things began to fade once again.. …

“Thanks for your time, Josh,” he heard the elegant looking woman say; her hand touching his arm softly. She stared into his eyes, and something spoke wordlessly. He nodded without thought as he felt himself pivoting at the urge of the woman’s hand. Standing at the other end of the bar were two women; nearly identical.

“It’s all about perspective, don’t you agree?” The older woman asked as she squeezed his wrist; sending a shock of numbness mixed with pain up his arm. He looked at his arm and then back at the two women standing closer. One was only a bit taller than the other, even though they looked to be nearly alike in every way except that the taller girl’s neck was adorned with a thin black kerchief. She wore matching black earrings and her face seemed to be striking as opposed to how pretty her sister looked. Stronger if still similar features; both girls seemed a bit cheap; the dark eyeliner and poorly applied eye-shadow that speaks not of status so much as haste and economy. He shook his head, but not in usual dismissal, but in an odd alignment with the two young women who actually now appeared out of place in the dark shadows of the tavern. The two walked around him, but the older woman stepped forward, barring their path to the exit.

“It will be alright, dear child,” she said, kissing the taller girl. Turning to the other girl, she gripped the girl’s hands with hers.”

“You’re a blessing to her and she to you. It’s going to be okay.” With that, she stepped closer and repeated her hug, kissing the girl on both cheeks.

“Be well!”

With that the girls nodded politely if in a bit of confusion. Josh watched the two walk out of the tavern; his eyes following their every move. But instead of lust or judgment, he felt something he never really understood…. compassion. In a moment, both girls had walked through the door into the cool of the evening. He turned, feeling somehow that he needed to thank the older woman, but when he looked, she was nowhere to be found....