A Night at Franks
July 27, 2008
He had been there with his pretty girlfriend for more than an hour. Talking, then drinking, then talking then drinking. At first there had not been many people there, but as the night went on it had become noisy and crowded. He was at the bar, and she was behind him, a hand on his hip. She was talking to a Mexican too, and smiling, looking engaged and happy. He had a cap and one of those new design heavy t-shirts people wear now, a silver necklace made of thick links. She almost always looked happy.
"What do you want?", her boyfriend said to her loud and close.
"Vodka cranberry."
He turned, and leaning over the bar shouted the drinks at the bartender, who nodded and scanned to meet another patrons eye. The girl was beautiful. I had known her and her boyfriend for more than half a year, and had seen them here at night a few times a week. She worked at a cafe a few blocks away, and sometimes I made a point to stop there before I opened my shop in the morning. She was always friendly, smiling and laughing. She wasn't talking to the Mexican now, and she leaned in close to her boyfriend for a moment, before she turned around and strode toward the ladies room. Her boyfriend was a good, decent, young guy. Some nights, I would buy him a drink, and then he would buy me one. I liked him pretty well. I walked up behind him, still waiting for his drinks, and put my hand on his shoulder.
"George!" His eyes lit up and he smiled a toothy smile when he greeted me.
"Hey." I grinned. "Where's your wife?"
"In the restroom I think, what are you drinking?"
"Just a coors is fine." He turned to signal the bartender, who knew us both well. Soon, I would buy him and his girlfriend shots.
Lane, his girlfriend, appeared next to us and swung her arms around me.
"George! How are you!?" She hugged quick. She was always cheery and warm. My coors had arrived on the bar, I took it, and winked at Lane's boyfriend. He was a lucky guy.
"Hey." I said again, drawn out. I grinned again. "How's school going? Your classes." I kept smiling and rocked forward a bit in my boots.
"Fine. Oooh, I had a test, an exam, yesterday that I was so worried about, but I aced it! I found out this morning." She spoke quickly and never stopped smiling. Her smiles turned into laughs and back again sometimes.
"Of course you did!" I said. "You're a real smart young lady." I winked at her boyfriend, Chris, again.
Chris looked at me, sipping from his drink with the little stirring straw bent over the rim of the glass, and tucked under one of his fingers. "You want to sit?" He said. "I think we're gonna grab a booth real quick."
"I'll be over in a minute." I nodded at both of them in turn. Then they made their way across the room. Chris put his arm around her, and kissed her lightly on the side of her face. Then they sat at opposite sides of a booth, and leaned in close towards each other to talk. I drank down my beer and turned back to the bar.
The barkeep looked past others to take my order. "A double whiskey and three oatmeal cookies, Frank."
"Getting a late start?" Frank smiled tersely and began pouring the drinks. He drew the bottle high in the air and back down again as he poured the whiskey. He handed it to me, and started mixing the others. I drank the whiskey and put the glass back on the bar as Frank was setting the other drinks down.
"Thanks, Frank." I held the three little shot glasses in a triangle with both hands, and went to Chris and Lane's booth.
"Oh George! You shouldn't have!" Lane said this, touching my arm. Chris had already been smiling, and he didn't stop. He laughed out a short "Ha!".
"Thanks George. You're the best."
"It's nothing." I said, a little sheepish, then looked at Lane, and sat down next to her, facing Chris.
"Congratulations on your test!" I said.
We all lifted our glasses and drank them down. The drinks were liquor mixed with cream and sugar and spices.
"That is so good!" Lane said, setting her glass down.
"So," Chris said, smiling and looking at me, "what's the good news, anything exciting?"
Chris asked if anything was exciting pretty often. He always seemed a little excited, so it kind of made sense. I was feeling warm and good.
"Well," I started. "Nothing new really. You know, I got to my shop this morning, all of five minutes late, and who should be there?"
"You came by Memories this morning!" Lane said. Memories was the cafe she worked at.
"Right.", I continued, "Right after I came by, I went straight to George's, my shop you know, and who should be there but Marcy."
Marcy was my sister. She owned half of my store, and a key to the front door. She also ran a little flower shop next door. She didn't know much about antiques, but she was always minding my business. Sometimes she would go to the shop early, before her flower shop opened, saying she had wanted to get an early start. What she wanted was to see when I would get in and open up, and that irked me.
"You know that old pinball machine I got in the store?" I kept on, looking at Chris now. "Well sir, she had chosen that as the first thing to drag on out to the porch and setup. It being heavy as a horse and all. God I hate it when she does that. You know how heavy it is!" I tipped my empty glass at Chris. He did know how heavy it was, he had helped me close shop a few times.
"Yeah," Chris said, "that thing's a bitch."
"And all to make me feel bad!" I said. "You know it? God I hate it when she does that."
"Aw, George. She probably wasn't trying to make you feel bad," Lane started, "she probably just wanted to see you, or open early or something. I don't know."
Lane tried to make people feel better, and it made her even prettier.
Chris started with a half spoken "Ha", as he often did.
"Maybe she was. That's crazy. That thing is heavy." Chris twirled his empty glass, and his other empty cup, on the table. I could tell he would get another soon. I thought about offering to buy.
"And then," I couldn't stop thinking about Marcy. "And then, she goes screwing around through all my stuff, and starts sorting things all different, different than my customers are used to. I know they'll be lost the moment they come in the store, you know? I was only five minutes late opening up, and there she is, dragging things around and dusting them off like she knows what she's doing. God I hate it." Chris stood up.
"Back in a sec." He looked at Lane. "What do you want?"
"Same."
"George?" He raised an eyebrow at me and smiled his toothy smile again.
"Im fine, I'll get another in a minute." I said.
I looked at Lane as Chris shouldered to the bar. It was noisy and getting noisier, and I had to lean in close to talk. She was a beautiful girl.
"So, how's Chris's work going?" I asked.
"I don't know. I think it's a good job." She stirred the ice in her empty cup with a straw. "He makes good money, and he's been promoted twice since he started just a few months ago." She was still smiling, but talking more intentionally, really thinking about it.
"He doesn't like it much though, and he works late, which sucks because I work early. Between work and school I feel like I barely get to see him."
"I'm sure he doesn't like it either." I started, "He probably does it so you guys can live more comfortable." I liked Chris alright. It felt good to talk well about other people.
"I know," Lane said, "It's just-"
Chris came back with two drinks and put them on the table, then he sat down across from us.
"Wow, it got real crowded in here." he said, gesturing towards the people standing, packed in tight around tables and chairs.
"Frank is doing well for himself." I said. "Seems like there's more people in here all the time." I looked at Chris. "You guys want a shot?"
"George! You just got us one!" Lane laughed and touched my arm again, gesturing me away jokingly. She stirred her drink and sipped through the straw. I looked at Chris again.
"Come on, what do you want?" I grinned sheepishly. "Anything you want."
Chris showed me his teeth again, laughing mildly. "Thanks George, you're a good one. If you'll buy, I'll drink." He smiled at Lane. "What do you want, Lane?"
"George you can't, you just bought us one! Don't you have to work in the morning?" This was normal for her, she would just refuse once or twice. I wasn't actually making her uncomfortable, and besides, I liked buying them drinks. I didn't respond except to grin and look at her.
"That's not gonna work and you know it, Lane." Chris said to her joking. He smiled and took her hand across the table, playing with her fingers. I stood up.
"What'll it be, Lane?"
"The oatmeal cookies were good." She said it slow and smiling.
I turned around and made for the bar. I never had trouble at the bar, they always served me as soon as I got there, and I always tipped them well for it. Frank saw me coming and looked into my eyes until I was in shouting range. I leaned in as I got close. "Same thing Frank, double whiskey and three of those oatmeal cookie things." Someone shifted to the side at the bar, smiling at me. I squeezed in and turned around, leaning my elbow against the wood. Chris was leaning in close to Lane. They were holding hands. He kissed her hand every once in awhile, casually. He was a good, decent guy. Never heard a bad thing about him. And she was beautiful. By God, she was pretty. And smart too, and a hard worker.
"George!" Frank called, and set the four glasses on the table. I motioned for him to put it on my tab. I drank the double whiskey. It was warm and I felt real good. I held the other glasses in a triangle in my hands, and went back to their table. Chris had just kissed her on the cheek as I walked up. He was joking with her and she was laughing brightly.
"Cheers!" I said, putting the drinks on the table. Chris and Lane took theirs.
"What do we drink to?" Asked Chris. He asked energetically and smiling, like a man momentarily distracted from merriment.
"I've drank to your health in the bar," I started, grinning giddily and hoping I remembered the words. "I've drank to your health at home." I squinted, and the words came. "I've drank to your health so goddamn much, I've nearly lost my own!" We drank the glasses down. Lane was laughing at my limerick.
"Where did you learn that? Say it again!" She demanded. She had really liked it, and I was happy.
"That was funny." Chris said. "Thanks a ton for the drink, George. You treat us too well." He was smiling and flushing just a bit from drink.
"Oh it's nothing." I said.
"Say it again, George! The rhyming thing, how did it go?" Lane was still interested, and had just stopped laughing about it. I smiled shyly because we both new I wouldn't repeat it. The crowd had peaked, and had begun to thin out. Chris looked at a clock on the wall and stretched. "I gotta beat it in a few, it's getting late."
"What time is it?" Lane asked, quickly.
"Almost twelve," I said, looking at the watch on my arm. "About ten till."
"Eww," said Lane, screwing her face up in mock sadness. "I have to work at like six in the morning." Chris sat up straight, and made to get up, he and Lane had both finished their other drinks.
"George," he said, "I'm taking a piss, buying us a shot, and going home. What do you want?" He said, standing.
"Whatever you're drinking." I replied.
"It'll be whiskey then," he said with a bit of apology in his voice. I smiled and nodded, and he headed to the bathroom. I looked at Lane, "I'll be right back." I said. I moved into the thinning crowd that separated us from the bar. Frank saw me coming, and saw me signal a 'one' with my finger. He poured a double, and set it on the bar. I motioned for him to put it on my tab, but he had already turned around. He knew, anyway. I drank the double, and stood with a few other regulars for a minute, listening to them. Then I headed back to the table. I saw Chris on my way, waiting at the bar. Frank knew him, but not like he knew me, it would take a second for him to order. I sat down next to Lane, grinning. She was drinking a big glass of a water that a bus boy must have gotten for her.
"Anything else new and exciting?" She asked. She was borrowing a phrase from Chris.
"I saw Mic and his girlfriend in here yesterday," I started.
"Eleanor?" She asked.
"Eleanor, that's it. The ballet dancer girl. She sure is sweet, isn't she?"
"I really like her, and Mic's pretty cool too." Lane liked pretty much everybody, and everybody liked her. That Chris really was a lucky guy.
"I was going to go to one of her recitals, a few weeks ago," she said, "I never made it though. I think Mic goes sometimes, thats nice."
"He'd better go." I said. I was feeling the whiskey.
"I wish that I could do something like that," she continued, "you know, be a ballet dancer. It must be great to be that good at something." She really was beautiful, looking at me, sipping at her water through a straw.
"You're great at a lot of stuff!" I said, leaning in close and talking loud. I was grinning.
"I know, but -", I cut her off.
"You're going to school, you're working, you make stuff, you know - knitting and all. You just aced your exam yesterday! You really make your own way in life! A beautiful girl like you, that everyone likes, that all the young men look at in a place like this!" I wanted her to see that I was serious.
"I know, I know." Lane said. I wanted her to know I was serious.
"I mean it!" I went on. "A pretty girl like you, that everyone likes." I leaned in close, put my hand firmly high on her bare thigh, under the table.
Chris put two shots on the table, and another cup of water.
"God, it really took me a minute." He said. I felt stunned. My hand was on Lane's thigh and she was looking at me, that smile all drained up, looking confused. My hand felt hot, and I could feel my face blushing.
"What are we drinking to?" Chris said, sitting down and pushing a glass in front of me. Lane took my hand softly by the wrist, and moved it off her thigh, onto the seat. She was still looking at me, blankly. She glanced at Chris.
"I don't know, I'm tired though." she said. "We should go."
I could feel my face hot and red, and I could feel the hollow sinking in my stomach, and I could feel the whiskey. I smelled the shot in front of me. Chris was smiling at me, expectant.
"I, uh..." I stammered for half a second. Chris was smiling big.
"Well," he started, "we gotta get. Lane has to work super early and I'm beat." I got up to let Lane out of the booth. Chris put his arm around her, drink still in hand. "To friends, then!", he said. Me and Chris drank the whiskey.
Tags for this piece: story slc relationships friends