advantage?
Lily could certainly think of one. She looked down at her top, one of her tried and tested tip-bringers; a skin-hugging affair with short sleeves which was made of a kind of iridescent material that somehow reflected two different colours, and whose collar revealed just enough cleavage to pique the imagination.
"But when I use my clothes for work, I'm still being myself", she said. "It's not like I lie to people".
"Still, maybe it's unavoidable to be putting on some kind of character", remarked Edwin. "There's nothing wrong with that, of course - it's fun – as long as we remember that whichever role we play, we’re always much more than that."
He sipped his tea, smiling in a way which seemed to say, 'but what do I know, anyway?' and fell silent again.
Lily considered this. "I don't know if everyone feels that way", she remarked.
"No," agreed Edwin, "many people are playing games very seriously when they are really only games. Sometimes it can get overwhelming, especially in this city. That's why I love coming here!" he gestured around at the delightful little bar. "It's so rare to find a place in London to come and relax. A place for the reflection of what people feel deeply, inside. Not just"-
"Not just a dingy room where the only thing people care about is getting drunk and looking at girls", finished Lily, thinking about her own place of work. If The Corner was a reflection of someone's deeper self, that person could probably do with some kind of counselling.
"Indeed", nodded Edwin. "Or maybe even worse are the brightly lit, shiny places filled with phony decorations. Do you notice that people there seem to have this uneasy sense that something is…missing in their lives?"
Lily nodded, shuddering. He was speaking her deepest feelings; feelings which she had not thought about for a long time, too engrossed had she been in just working to try and make a living.
One of the reasons why she had chosen to find bar work when she first moved to London rather than something with higher pay was her conviction that she did not want to be another dreary person in a suit, slowly losing her soul as she spent every day surrounded by grey. At least in a bar she was constantly interacting with people. True, sometimes she deeply resented this interaction, but it was real, in a way that she could not imagine with a nine to five office job.
"Do you feel this sense that something is missing?" she asked him across the table, her eyes roving around his muscular frame. He certainly gave an air of being generally satisfied with life, and he confirmed this by smiling,
"Me? Not anymore."
Yet his eyes twinkled at her playfully, and she got the impression that he felt she knew what she should be asking next. Unsure, however, she sat lost in thought. This was certainly one of the most unusual conversations she could ever remember having. Edwin did not seem to want to talk just for the sake of talking; they had had none of the usual social exchanges and she realised that she had not found out anything about his life; how he lived or where he was from.
‘Who knows?’ she thought. Maybe underneath this talk he was just a ruthless businessman, who kicks people to get them out of his way.
But, she wasn't sure she could believe that. She did feel she was getting to know him and was enjoying the sensation of not feeling like she had to talk. They sat together in silence, comfortable, content to be without words for now. A huge mixture of emotions were being provoked inside Lily which she did not want to consider now; however, she felt tantalisingly close to…well, to something.
"And you?" Edwin asked gently, after some minutes of simply sitting and drinking their tea.
"Huh?" asked Lily, "what about me?"
"Do you feel that something is missing?"
"Umm…" Lily looked down and then glanced up, wondering what to tell him. "Well, sometimes. I
Lily could certainly think of one. She looked down at her top, one of her tried and tested tip-bringers; a skin-hugging affair with short sleeves which was made of a kind of iridescent material that somehow reflected two different colours, and whose collar revealed just enough cleavage to pique the imagination.
"But when I use my clothes for work, I'm still being myself", she said. "It's not like I lie to people".
"Still, maybe it's unavoidable to be putting on some kind of character", remarked Edwin. "There's nothing wrong with that, of course - it's fun – as long as we remember that whichever role we play, we’re always much more than that."
He sipped his tea, smiling in a way which seemed to say, 'but what do I know, anyway?' and fell silent again.
Lily considered this. "I don't know if everyone feels that way", she remarked.
"No," agreed Edwin, "many people are playing games very seriously when they are really only games. Sometimes it can get overwhelming, especially in this city. That's why I love coming here!" he gestured around at the delightful little bar. "It's so rare to find a place in London to come and relax. A place for the reflection of what people feel deeply, inside. Not just"-
"Not just a dingy room where the only thing people care about is getting drunk and looking at girls", finished Lily, thinking about her own place of work. If The Corner was a reflection of someone's deeper self, that person could probably do with some kind of counselling.
"Indeed", nodded Edwin. "Or maybe even worse are the brightly lit, shiny places filled with phony decorations. Do you notice that people there seem to have this uneasy sense that something is…missing in their lives?"
Lily nodded, shuddering. He was speaking her deepest feelings; feelings which she had not thought about for a long time, too engrossed had she been in just working to try and make a living.
One of the reasons why she had chosen to find bar work when she first moved to London rather than something with higher pay was her conviction that she did not want to be another dreary person in a suit, slowly losing her soul as she spent every day surrounded by grey. At least in a bar she was constantly interacting with people. True, sometimes she deeply resented this interaction, but it was real, in a way that she could not imagine with a nine to five office job.
"Do you feel this sense that something is missing?" she asked him across the table, her eyes roving around his muscular frame. He certainly gave an air of being generally satisfied with life, and he confirmed this by smiling,
"Me? Not anymore."
Yet his eyes twinkled at her playfully, and she got the impression that he felt she knew what she should be asking next. Unsure, however, she sat lost in thought. This was certainly one of the most unusual conversations she could ever remember having. Edwin did not seem to want to talk just for the sake of talking; they had had none of the usual social exchanges and she realised that she had not found out anything about his life; how he lived or where he was from.
‘Who knows?’ she thought. Maybe underneath this talk he was just a ruthless businessman, who kicks people to get them out of his way.
But, she wasn't sure she could believe that. She did feel she was getting to know him and was enjoying the sensation of not feeling like she had to talk. They sat together in silence, comfortable, content to be without words for now. A huge mixture of emotions were being provoked inside Lily which she did not want to consider now; however, she felt tantalisingly close to…well, to something.
"And you?" Edwin asked gently, after some minutes of simply sitting and drinking their tea.
"Huh?" asked Lily, "what about me?"
"Do you feel that something is missing?"
"Umm…" Lily looked down and then glanced up, wondering what to tell him. "Well, sometimes. I
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