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Scribe
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Way Down South
Posts: 63
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The Halfway Normal Café
Not exactly normal, natch. I blame my obsession with dipsomania on my roots, same as Kerouac and old Edgar. What´s with those Newenglish pastures anyhow, they drive folks to the bottle don´t they?
Ah, wait, no! It´s the newenglish nymphs! Sho´nuff it eeiz!
So, just a scrap of writing set in the modern day world of madness...a mood piece more than anything...maybe we´ll see what come what may....
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It was Jekyll came in first that morning. Of course you know why we call him Jekyll, and you´re right. Usually it´s tired Hyde who rolls in before noon, but this was definitely Jekyll who sauntered in with a yawn at precisely 10:30 AM. Hyde would have been at the windows and the backdoor an hour earlier, Jekyll tries to show a nonchalance arriving half an hour after opening bell.
¨A tall, very Bloody Mary, Cap´n,¨ he said before coming full to rest in his seat, ¨And give Mary a kick, eh?¨ , then, in a comical stage-cockney accent, ¨She´s been naugh´y.¨
I don´t mind making Bloody Marys. I enjoyed making his that morning, Jekyll´s allright, and for a laugh I gave him just a little extra on the ´kick´, pretending not to notice his coughs, his eyes watering, the fidgeting.
¨How ´bout some ice-water, huh, Major?¨
Jekyll´s allright, and the old barn´s generally quiet till ´round noon, so I listened to him that morning. He complained that his body was aging, then he complained that all the political parties were in cahoots with each other, and after two Marys he switched to cider.
Princess was right on time, looking fresh and young, as always, as she is. Ten years ago thoughts of her would have consumed me day and night. She simply never looks tired.
¨You have sunlight beaming from your face, darling,¨ Jekyll grinned.
Princess pretended to be unhappy with her appearance. She really is adorable.
Freddy rolled in quickly around quarter past noon, dressed in his best sloppy formal and looking pretty rough and red.
¨Hey,¨ Freddy buzzed, ¨Hey, Jekyll. What has you up so early?¨
¨I think it´s the cider,¨ Jekyll´s esses were already starting to slide, ¨No. No, it were Bloody Mary herself.¨
¨Ah, yes,¨ Freddy said as if he understood, but I never, ever saw him drink one, ¨Great morning drink. Just a power juice for me, Waz.¨
Power juice, eh?
¨What got you in a suit?¨ Jekyll leaned around in his stool.
¨Huh?¨ Freddy was busy with his cellphone, fingers-to-buttons, ¨Oh, yeah. I got a meeting.¨
¨Oh yeah?¨ Jekyll grinned lopsided, straightened his spine, and with his head lolling around, ¨I got ´em eating out of my palm around here.¨
Freddy poked at his cellphone, I loudly opened the can of ´power juice´, and Jekyll, getting no reaction from us lads, saw Princess drying the glasses, and set to watching.
¨Hey, uh¨ Freddy flipped his phone shut and stared at me with the face he must wield at work, ¨You see Ralph in here last night?¨
I had to think that one over a minute. Ralph is a regular, and his presence nearly a given; so common that it goes un-noticed, seemingly constant. Was he there last night? Or wasn´t he?
¨I don´t think he was here last night, Freddy¨ I said honestly, ¨Not that I remember.¨
¨Yeah, no worries,¨ Freddy was practically chugging the can.
The lunch crowd -- a dirty joke -- started to come in. Steak sands all over the place, calamari salads. So simple, so good. This is a good little spot we got here, lunch and dinner really work out. The professionals, talking loudly like the babble of schoolchildren released at recess, free to speak out, speak over, laugh and flirt and play around, no referees. A regular hubbub for a couple hours, the boys in the kitchen are good, it smells good in here when they´re working, gently simmering down to the afternoon early birds.
Jekyll was still there at 2, he´d had two pretty long talks with some people who ate lunch at the bar, and was starting to look a little heavy in the eyelids.
¨You win the lottery or something?¨ I asked him.
¨Nah!¨ he was animated now, ¨I did a little job. Little painting up north. How about some fries, huh? Those fries look awful good. Yah, so I painted a little toolshed. I got robbed, really, but I needed some work...so I did it...weird little town, too, man I mean right out of bizarro TV. Crazy little town with nothing but retirees and schoolchildren. I swear, no one between sixty and seventeen, man, but the weather was nice...¨
I don´t know how he pulls it off, but most everybody likes Jekyll. When he gets ramblin´so, there´s only a few hours before Hyde, and most everybody hates Hyde. Usually does a ton of talking just before releasing the beast. I poured him a pint of stout-on-the-house.
Freddy came back just before three looking a lot more like himself, ordered fish and chips and whiskey and water, and asked about Ralph again. I told him Ralph never showed up before 7.
¨Howizer meetin´?¨ Jekyll asked him.
¨Hah? Ah, it was...nothing. Coffee and donuts and corporate...team building psychology whoknows. Pretty pathetic actually!¨ he laughed as though he´d heard a very funny joke.
Freddy´s allright, mostly. He can get worked up late nights, but he always settles his bill and rarely makes real trouble. Stooping John was in by three-thirty, his amber real twangy acoustic guitar with him. He´s always looking for gigs and I give ´em to him, just not so many on account of his short song list.
¨Good day, John,¨ I said to him.
¨It is a nice day,¨ Stooping John said brightly, ¨I´ll have a beer. How you doin´?¨
¨Not bad, not bad,¨ Freddy faced the tables and leaned back against the bar, ¨Done work for the week.¨
¨Stooping John!¨ Jekyll came alive, ¨Lemme buy you a drink!¨
¨All right!¨ Stooping John laughed and smiled, ¨Did somebody die and leave you money?¨
I thought that was a dodgy joke: potential for disastrous misfire. Luckily, no harm done.
¨Nah, nah¨ Jekyll sipping stout, ¨I did a little work. I´ll buy you a drink, kid...heeeeey, don´t worry, kid, I got you. Waz. A drink for my friend here. Put it on my bill.¨
Stooping John was grinning like a Cheshire Cat, ¨I´ll have a double of single malt scotch. And I´ll pay for that beer myself!¨
Now that wasn´t exactly a joke, but I thought it was pretty funny. Freddy and Stooping John did as well, and we three laughed. Jekyll said it was fine but looked concerned. That´s when Laurie came in with a new friend, a girl from out-of-state, and the afternoon stretched. I´m sure Laurie had beers in her purse, but she and her friend ordered some, and Stoopìng John was fast as lightning, talking music.
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