Press play for some mood music
Aggie slipped into Nunzio's Tavern at about half past ten. The bar was one of those dark daytime joints where lost souls came to meet, greet and get behind that cork with a blinding vengeance. It all reeked of regret and shame.
During this early hour there wasn't much going on except for a morning poker game buried under the neon fizzle of a Lowenbrau sign. Aggie's heels on the linoleum floor seemed to wake the place up for a moment until they realized she was there to make her own act of contrition.
At the bar, she ordered a rye. When Smitty asked what kind, Aggie replied, "The kind that'll do the trick." Then she smiled politely before placing down her purse and heading to the jukebox. No sense in drowning your sorrows if there's no song, she thought.
* * *
She thought of her three men and how they each weren't worth a squirt of piss between them. She also wondered which one was responsible. Dickie, a Salvation Army Santa, was good and honest enough but only seemed to show up when the gettin' was good. Then there was Louie, whose good looks and padded wallet didn't make up for the left hook and apology Aggie sometimes received. And Pete? He was her boss, a stoic leader who unfortunately came with a wife.
More rye. More quarters. More songs.
Lunch came in the form of a BLT ordered from the greasy spoon up the block that delivered. It was better than she expected -- as was her day at Nunzio's.
She marveled at the wisdom but wondered, though, at the same time. How could these dampened men give such great advice when they've made such poor decisions in their own life? By three o' clock she pretty much understood what was so very unspoken in that dark bar to begin with and through everyone's help, Aggie knew what she needed to do.
She kissed the men goodbye, thanked them and stumbled home.
Music: Sam Taylor - Harlem Nocturne
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I loved the atmosphere of this piece, the mood music was perfect. Poor Aggie, I hope she knows where she's heading this time.
ReplyDeleteNatch, the music backgrounded the mood, Aggie's mood ... my mood when I let her story read into my psyche -- kinda like a cork with a blinding vengeance. Oh how I love the swerve you pour with your phrases Mr V, be it at Nunzio's or the Atomic.
ReplyDeleteYou're the writer of the barstool, you are. So very much here in depth and muse, and of course her own act of contrition. What descrip, what wondering wisdom and what rye that will do the trick.
*soft applause over here by the juke* ~ Absolutely*Kate
Kate pulled them out of the story, the truly great lines. Those are some expert turns of phrase.
ReplyDeleteLove the mood and wish I were playing in the poker game there, witnessing Aggie first hand.
ReplyDeleteGreat scene. Well written. Another trophy piece, Anthony. I enjoyed it - as I have all of your pieces!! And to think you took the time ON YOUR BIRTHDAY to get this accomplished. Bravo! Well done!! :-) You're extremely talented; you know that?!
ReplyDeleteVery gritty, raw and contemplative. I want to know what they told her.
ReplyDeleteI think it was Twain who used to say to follow his advice, not his example. The latter was horrible and informed the former.
ReplyDeletei always love the atmosphere and especially the names - like Nunzio. you got class ant, real class..
ReplyDeleteYes, those who seemingly give the best advice don't seem to have taken it themselves. That certainly seems to be the usual case. Another excellent story!
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