There I stood, standing in a strange bookstore, open late, in Grande Prairie AB. It was around 10:00pm, and I was bored with strippers and beer, so I wanted to go for a walk. When I stumbled upon this establishment, I was unsure of what to make of it. It was a small store in a somewhat run-down strip mall in Downtown GP, books about UFO’s and Vegetarianism dotted the window display, beaded curtains hung above the door and the unmistakeable odour of incense wafted through the air. It brought tears to my eyes… mostly because I was somewhat sensitive to the incense.
When I entered the store, I expected to find a woman in a tye-dye t-shirt and sweatpants greet me, wish me well, ask about my karma, comment on my aura, offer to take my dogma for a walk…something along those lines. Instead, I was greeted by a young woman wearing a very nice looking chic outfit. I was immediately thrown off balance by the complete unexpected nature of what was unfolding before my eyes. I couldn’t have been browsing for more then 2 minutes when she offered me a cup of tea, and we struck up a conversation about Hemmingway. She commented that I was far too well read to be a rig hand, and I said that she looked nothing like a hippie. She asked what I was doing out so late, so I told her about the drunken debauchery taking place just down the street. We laughed about how neither of us fit. We talked for almost an hour until the store closed and my colleagues decided they wanted to move on to the local meat market for more drinking and partying. She and I parted ways, a cordial kiss on the cheek, exchanging of pleasantries about the evening and then we went our separate ways. There were no names, no expectations, no guilt and no regrets.
As the evening progressed, we went to the local “nightclub” known as the Corral. A large warehouse with overinflated drinks, loud music, flashing lights and far too much testosterone. I was most certainly out of my element. As the pack “Dispersed” to go find mates for the evening, once again I found myself in a strange and awkward place. I was sitting at a table off in a relatively quiet corner when a woman came up to me. She was maybe in her early thirties, nicely dressed and thankfully sober. She said she thought I looked like a bourbon drinker and offered to buy me a drink. I always found it hard to turn down a free drink. She sat down beside me and introduced herself. She was an office administrator and the “Girls” decided that they wanted to go out for the night and have some fun. I mentioned that I was in the same boat with my co-workers and that I really wasn’t in my element. We drank to shared feelings and got to talking. She said that she wasn’t interested in “hooking up” or anything, but she thought I looked like I would rather be elsewhere and that misery loved company. Once again I seemed to have stumbled upon an excellent partner for passing some time. My conversations with her were less intellectual then those at the bookstore, but they didn’t need to be. We chatted about whatever came up, work, personal lives, etc… It was somewhat of a joint therapy session. As the night went on, we shared stories of home and our reasons for searching out better opportunity in the green pastures of the oilfield. She remarked that this was the first time she had a chance to just sit and talk with a stranger for the sake of talking. Once again, we drank to shared feelings.
As the night wound to a close, the bar began to empty and I was reunited with 2 of my colleagues. They asked where our other comrade was, and I remarked that I was unsure, I hadn’t seen him since they went out hunting. We decided to wait outside until the bar closed to find him in the crowd of people leaving. Much to our dismay, as the bar emptied, we were unable to find him. After waiting another fifteen minutes, we decided to leave, assuming he had found alternate transportation to an alternate bedroom. When we returned to the crew house, we found him, sleeping face down on the sofa in the living room. The next morning he asked what time we got home, we told him that we waited for him until after 2:30, and he was nowhere to be found. He seemed shocked and surprised, and briefly glanced underneath his blanket. He didn’t know what time he got home, or for that matter, how he got home either.
