Not Much of a Drinking Man
It was nine ‘o’clock on a Saturday and the customers, much like high tide, were coming in. Lenny’s had always been the local's hot spot for drinking, because it was cheap, and it wasn’t on any available travel guides making it relatively unknown. This was preferred, as it gave a quiet place (relatively speaking) away from the hustle and bustle of a tourist city.
Lenny the bartender was setting up for the night, busying himself in hopes of a busy night. As people began to filter in a new face came in. Lenny was sure that he was new because he was sure that he would remember such a tall young man coming into his bar.
Walking up to the bar the man spoke to Lenny:
“Give me something with tequila in it-a margarita please.”
Lenny obliged and the night went on.
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The young man began to introduce himself to the regulars who sat next to him, Brian was a teacher. A U.S history teacher to be exact. Or that is what Lenny was able to catch as he shuttled himself around as business began to pick up.
People begin to lose their inhibitions when it gets late enough in a bar. Lenny didn’t know whether it was the time, or people getting more comfortable with each other, but a definite factor was the alcohol. Lenny sometimes thought to himself the real reason he owned the bar was because of the stories he was able to hear on the job.
Happy stories, sad stories, stupid stories… Lenny’s mind strayed to the people he had served as their bartender.
It seemed that it would be sad stories tonight.
Everyone had gathered in a circle. Old drunks they were, a variety of regrets came out. Someone had cheated on his wife, someone had given up on a job that really should’ve taken, and a woman cried over the kid she could no longer contact.
Lenny just kept moving, cleaning off the bar of spilled drinks and making sure everyone was happy. He finished wiping and turned back to a mirror he had set up on the back wall and stopped for a moment. The conversation had moved to Brian.
“Do you have anything?” The leader of the group asked.
He was the youngest there, there wasn’t too much of an expectation from the group of old men and women.
Brian looked up from his glass; “I’m not much of a drinking man.”
He paused, took a large gulp of whatever concoction he had in his glass, and continued; “ But today I trusted someone I shouldn’t have and now I feel a little thirsty.”
That’s all that was said and the rest of the night a “not much of a drinking man” did a lot of drinking.