@aviophobic
After spending nearly twenty-two years in Riverside, Jim knows just about every face, name, and piece of gossip there is to know. Working at Murphy’s Bar has only helped in his mission to be Riverside’s most informed citizen. When the stranger walks through those double doors on a dull, Tuesday night, Jim could just about cry from joy. The nearly-empty bar was starting to rot his brain, and working out his latest sudoku could only do so much to stave off the boredom.
Jim gives his best, most charming grin and straightens up, putting down the booklet of puzzles and the pen he’d been using. “Welcome to Murphy’s, stranger.” There’s no hiding in a small town.
The bar only has two other customers and a cook to keep Jim company. On a sleepy night like this, with no incoming transfers from the shipyard, there’s no need to staff Murphy’s with a waiter and a manager. Besides, after all the hours Jim’s put in here he knows the bar well enough to be a manager himself.
“What’s your poison?”