Flash Fiction for #WAG18 - A Familiar Friend

I've restarted with The Writers' Adventure Group after a long break. This week's challenge is... Look around your workspace, favourite chair, back yard, etc, and notice the objects around you. Choose one that is so familiar that you no longer notice it, even though it’s right next to you. Describe it as though you’re seeing it for the first time and particularly any feelings you have about it, past or present. Would you miss it if it was gone? No rules! Just write!

I never did believe in sticking exactly to rules so this is my entry.

A Familiar Friend

Jamie stared at the bottle with sad eyes. It was almost empty and sat on their dining table in front of him. Although it was burgundy-shaped the contents had travelled much further. The orange label had one or two dribbles of red wine where he'd been careless with the drips. One of them had lengthened the 'L' in Malbec and dissected the label in half. It was organically-grown Fairtrade from the Co-op round the corner.

Slowly he reached out and picked it up. Tilting his head he squinted at the small print at the foot of the label. Produced in Argentina, bottled in Manchester. Thirteen and a half percent NBV from the cellars of La Riojana. He poured the last few drops into his empty glass and plucked her picture from the table. As he held it up his eyes drooped, his face dropped and he sat for a few seconds far away in his thoughts. He let the photo slide though his fingers and reached for his glass. He sank the last few dregs before he slumped forward onto the table in tears.