Good morning and welcome to Monday morning. I hope everyone had a fantastic one. For me, there was much sneezing. Tree pollen and Grass pollen were sky high this weekend. So itchy eyes and sneezing abounded. Tis the season huh? But with an allergy tab I slept well last night, breathing easily and am now ready to tackle the week. so, Let’s get started worth out first prompt of the week. Ready? Fabulous. Let’s go.
I like the set up of this. One person having a secret that could completely change a difficult dynamic. I’ll need to sit down and figure out not only the secret but the inciting incident before I work on this but it is something that will sit in the back of my mind until I figure it out. Not bad for a Monday morning.
Monday, April 11th: “I will never forget that day.”
“I will never forget that day,” she said. Her face was stone hard, inviting no further commentary. “How could you even think that I would?”
It wasn’t a question and it wasn’t meant to be answered. She turned and walked away, spine stiff, steps tilted. She reminded me of a giraffe that was just learning to walk, unsteady but determined not to let anything stop it’s forward momentum. I watched his face. He looked after her, his eyes fading from warm concern to chips of black ice. I watched his face fold in on itself and wondered how long it would take before he stopped trying to reach out.
I knew better than to say anything. Anyone who tried had been treated to a verbal tirade and then been cut from their lives. At this point I was the last family member either of them had who was still considered acceptable. I watched my cousin turn away and pick up a clean rag and wipe it over the already spotless section of bar he had been cleaning earlier. His wife stalked over to the other corner and collapsed into the chair one of her friends set out by their habitual table.
There she received the consoling comments she felt she deserved. The bar was not busy yet. In another hour or so more customers would filter in as they were released from their shifts and prepared for the weekend. The bar was never really empty. They were positioned in a food and beverage dead spot at the epicenter of several factories and processing plants. While they would always be known as a bar, they did a mean and hearty set of breakfast dishes and quick and easy lunches. Both breakfast and lunch were served all day, as were a select number of items that could be called dinner fare.
While there were always a few who had a beer with their meals, many simply came for the food either coming of going from work. It was only after hours when beer and liquor outsold the food.
When had about an hour before the Friday night crowd descended. I had hoped to catch my cousin on his own. I should have known that was a mistake. It seemed Bryan and Denise only managed to hold things together when they were both so busy they couldn’t stop to think. Arguments were only held when they wouldn’t affect the business. They may have cut the family out of their lives but the bar was still professional and operating smoothly.
I shook my head and took a sip of my beer. I hadn’t wanted it. Hadn’t wanted to come here. But I promised my aunt. I was the only family allowed through the doors so I promised I would do nothing to rock the boat, nothing to sever that line. Unfortunately I had one piece of information that could bring everything crashing down.
Ten til Midnight 