Free Personal Possessions by Tracy Lee Page B

to where I could wash the
shitty day down my throat, and forget it ever happened.
    Entering O’Malley’s, I
noticed immediately it was busier than usual. As you walk in, there
were seven or eight tables with chairs scattered around a small
area. You could smell the cigarette smoke even before you opened
the door. The lights are dim, but every other table had the
standard stained glass chandelier that hung down over the table,
which fed light out from beyond the seating area.
    The walls were lined with
red and black wallpaper, which made the place even darker. In the
middle of the small area is a rectangular bar, which seats around
fifteen people, stocked fairly well with the best bourbons,
scotches and beers.
    Over in the left corner,
on one side of the bar was a pool table, which always was taken, on
the other side was an electronic dart board. That was my game of
choice. Many drunk, arrogant assholes lost hundreds of dollars to
me playing on that very dart board.
    I had to stop inside the
door to let my eyes adjust to the darkness. Mikey called my name
from behind the bar, so I began walking towards him. By the time I
reached the stool, I saw Greg playing a game of pool with a girl
that looked like she had just stepped off the bus from Mayberry. He
liked the innocent type, always wanting to teach them a few
things.
    “Hey Mikey, give me a
double bourbon, on the rocks. Please,” I ordered as I found a stool
to sit on.
    “Hard day, Trev?” Mikey
asked as he filled my glass with ice.
    “ Busy, that’s all. Just
flew back in from out of town.”
    I apprised him of my day’s
activities as I wiped my hand over my face. I looked down at my
watch, seven-thirty. I hadn’t even eaten since I had lunch with
Rachel, that could’ve been why I was feeling drained.
    “Well, glad you’re back,”
Mikey said with a smile, as he handed me my drink.
    “ Greg, has been here since
about four. He’s just about made his St. Patty’s day tab look like
a drop in the bucket compared to tonight’s,” concern lacing Mikey’s
voice.
    I gave Mikey a look, that
wasn’t like Greg.
    He knew that we would meet
in the morning to discuss everything about the meeting, and what
the next move would be. We had to decide how to get that business
off, and making a profit. Never did he drink like it was a weekend
during the workweek. I could hear him over in the corner
encouraging the girl to go for the other shot, since he probably
bet her some piece of her clothing would have to come off if she
missed.
    “Shit,” I spoke aloud to
nobody in particular.
    I didn’t think Mikey could
hear me, but apparently he did.
    “Yeah, ya bett’ah git ya
boy before I half ta cut ‘em awff.” Mikey’s strong Boston accent
ringing though.
    I didn’t say a word, just
nodding. Fuck him, he was cut off now. I wasn’t going to babysit
his ass tonight, I had places to go, a person to see.
    “Yo, Greg!” I yelled as I
turned around in the stool to look for a table.
    He wasn’t turning around,
he was ignoring me.
    “Hey Mikey, order me a
pizza, loaded. And a water for Greg,” I requested.
    I was going to have to
sober Greg up. Mikey nodded, grabbing the receiver off the wall to
call Pizza Palace.
    “Greg!” I yelled again,
but this time my voice was different, he knew it when he heard
it.
    He turned around this
time. I nodded my head in the direction of the table and carried my
drink with me as I walked that way. I saw him kiss the girl on the
cheek, and head my way. He made his way to the table, and I
thrusted the glass of water at him. He was done drinking, we were
going to talk. Whatever he wanted to do after was up to him, but he
called this fuckin’ meeting we were going to get it over
with.
    “Hey?” I questioned hoping
to spur the conversation forward.
    Greg didn’t speak, just
stared off over my shoulder.
    “What the fuck is going
on, Greg? Whatever it is, we can fix it,” I reassured him thinking
maybe he was in some kind of trouble. He