Page 89 of Whatever It Takes

He held out his hand. “Name’s Claude, I own this place.” I took notice of his tattooed arms, which I’m sure probably told his life story. There were faces, names, dates, and shit I couldn’t even make out. I squinted my eyes at the old man, trying to figure out what was so fascinating about him.

“What makes you think I’m looking to bare my soul tonight?”

He leaned his arms along the bar and studied me. “I can tell what you are looking for, you ain’t going to find in a bottle of whiskey.”

“Is that so?” I smirked at his obvious assumption.

“Take a look around you. Most of these people in here are my regulars. They come here every night, sit at the same barstool, order the same drink and tell the same stories. Some have families, and some don’t. The one thing they all have in common is that they are all here trying to forget their problems.”

“I take it your words of wisdom come from years of experience,” I said, letting my gaze trail across the worn-down bar that had seen better days. The wood was chipped, and the legs on my stool felt like they could give out at any second. Good thing I wasn’t here for the atmosphere.

“I opened this place over forty years ago.”

“Damn.” I squinted my eyes and tried to do the math in my head to figure out how old my parents were when he started the business. I gave up trying since I was already on my second drink.

He laughed as if he could read my mind. “Me and my Lottie, we bought this building back in the seventies when I was done with my tour of Vietnam.”

I raised my glass in the air. “Thank you for your service. What branch?”

He lifted up the sleeve of his navy-blue T-shirt to display a bald eagle with the words Semper Fidelis on the top and the USMC logo on the bottom.

“A Marine. Not surprised.” I finished off the rest of my drink. “You look like you were a badass back in the day.”

He lifted a challenging eyebrow. “Back in the day, huh?”

I raised my hands in mock surrender. “Hey, no offense. I’m sure you could kick my ass if you wanted to.”

He laughed again and reached behind the bar to the stock of liquor bottles that were lined neatly in rows. A black-and-white picture caught my stare. The lady was pretty with black puffed-out hair curling at her shoulders. She had on a white lace dress that reminded me of the doilies that my grandma used to put on her end tables. The woman had a set of pearls resting along her neckline. The photo looked to be as old as this bar.

“Is that your Lottie?” I asked as he poured the whiskey in my glass.

He pushed the amber liquid toward me. “That’s her. It was taken about a year after we got married.”

“Nice. How long have you been married?”

He paused, his silver eyes met mine. A sadness took over his features. “She passed away about five years ago.”

“Shit. I’m sorry, Claude.”

“Don’t be,” he said, surprising me. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. I got to spend forty-two years with that wonderful woman. I wouldn’t trade a single second spent with her. Even the years we were apart and with other people.” The wrinkled skin around his eyes deepened like he was getting lost in his thoughts. “You see, son, I almost didn’t get a second chance with her.”

“What happened?”

“I was young and stupid. I cheated on her when I was in the service. I thank the good Lord every day that she forgave my dumb ass.”

“Sounds like she was a good woman,” I said, curling my hands around my glass.

“She was the best.” His eyes went soft and he gave me a knowing smile. “Speaking of women, I’m assuming the reason you ended up here tonight is because of a woman.”

I nodded my head. “It’s complicated.”

“It always is,” he replied with a distant look on his face.

“I don’t even know how we ended up here.” I chucked softly.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning then?”

And so, I did. We sat and talked for over an hour, and before I knew it, the bar had filled in. We continued to talk and he still listened in between taking orders and pouring drinks for his customers. When I finished telling him about Charlotte and me, he grew silent. It was clear I had nothing left to say.

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