Part 2
Chapter Ten
Gary used to spend his Saturdays at Forget About It. The Forget About It was a local town bar, one of those bars you could go to on any night and see about twenty people you went to high school with twenty years ago. Gary had a little routine going. He would show up around seven or eight o’clockish and have himself a cold beer. The bartender would slide him the remote controller down the length of the bar, and Gary would flip through the channels until he found the evening’s main sporting event on the large wall-hung flat screen.
When he finished his beer, dinner was served with a tall glass of either iced tea or ice water with a splash of lemon. Gary loved the food at the bar, but he usually stuck with the basic double cheeseburger, crispy curly fries, and maybe an appetizer. No rush. The night was young. After dinner, Gary got it going again with a shot of whiskey followed by another cold beer, and this was about the time when the night could go into one of two directions. Either he would leave the bar with some friends if someone had somewhere better to go, or if nothing special came up, he’d just stay and continue drinking. Maybe he would shoot a few games of pool or something.
On that particular evening, right around the time when he was finishing his second beer, Maureen came walking in passing by Gary unnoticed and finding a secluded seat in the back corner booth. Maureen took her coat off and made herself comfortable. She was in love with Gary, she could sit there and watch him all night giggling to herself at the way he cheered and celebrated for his favorite teams playing on the television. It was going to be a special evening because Maureen had plans. Gary was half way done with his beer when the bartender poured him another shot of whiskey.
“What’s this for,” Gary asked.
“I don’t know, it’s from that lady in the back,” replied the bartender.
Gary turned around and scanned the dark bar, but it didn’t take long to notice the gorgeous woman waving to him. Gary smiled, and there they were . Two lovers giggling at each other from opposite ends of the bar. Gary nodded his head in a gesture of appreciation as he lifted his glass and took down the whiskey.
“Well, it looks like I’m staying local tonight,” Gary said jokingly to the bartender.
They both laughed, and Gary ordered two more beers before getting up off his bar stool and making his way to the booth.
“Thank you for the whiskey,” said Gary.
“You’re welcome,” answered Maureen.
They hit it off immediately, and it wasn’t long before other patrons were looking in their direction. With a fun upbeat conversation, their booth was brimming with laughter, they were the main attraction. Neither were tired, and the good times continued well into the early morning hours. There were times when they just stared into each other’s eyes, they were the perfect remedy for each other, and Maureen made Gary feel good again.
Eventually she broke the news about what she did for a living, and slowly she revealed a little more about her responsibilities and how she was helping. She offered Gary a job, not that evening of course, and the rest was history. Maureen’s hunch about Gary was correct. She did love him, her feelings were accurate, and just think, there was always the possibility of brushing Gary off as an assignment.
Nooz Buffet 