"Thanks man." Grant shook the hand of Jason the man who had just finished installing the cooler along with all the other kitchen type equipment in the bar. Grant watched as the man picked up his tools and equipment and headed out the door. Turning on his heel Grant took it all in, the bar was much larger now and on top of that it was now a prime place for food, drinks and merriment. Though a small laugh escaped his lips as he realized the bar was still without any chairs.
Having chairs being the only thing missing from the establishment wasn't a big chip off Grant's shoulder by any means, he knew they were to arrive within the week along with the 6 giant flatscreens that were to be strategically placed around the room. Grant sighed out as he walked over to the brand new bar that had been set up, it was at least ten feet longer than the last one and Grant was pleased. He turned and leaned against it still taking in all of his surroundings.
It was perfect. As much as Grant had grown to love the look of his old bar, this one was everything he'd ever dreamed of and more. Each table, each cushion, just as if someone had taken a picture of what he'd seen in his head and brought it to life here in front of him.
Besides the lack of chairs and TV screens, there was something else that was nonexistent in the spanse before him. For a moment he thought, running through all the possibilities of why this place didn't feel right, why something was indeed missing, until it hit him.
There was no way the bar would feel like home until there was beer. Of course the thought of the bar being empty, and little to no atmosphere had crossed his mind, but he was often at the bar without many other people around, it was the alcohol. It had to be. At that moment almost as if on cue, the Try-It distribution truck pulled up in front of his house. Grant sped to the door and held it open wide as he waited for his usual deliveryman to unload his truck.
"Todd!" Grant exclaimed as the man began wheeling the liquor into the doorway. "Your timing is perfection my friend." He laughed. Todd wheeled the cases of beer through the door. "It's good to see this place up and running again Grant." Todd smiled. "Well it's not running yet, but it's definitely up."Grant said with a laugh. "You going to have some huge grand opening party soon?" Todd questioned as he wheeled into the bar and froze to take in the grandeur of what Grant's Bar had become. "Wow" Todd exclaimed. "I don't even know what to say, or where to take this stuff. Lead the way boss man." Todd smiled.
The two laughed together as they made their way towards the large store room that had been situated in the back of the building opposite the kitchen. "So empty." Grant frowned. "Not for long my friend" Todd said wheeling the cart into the store room and handing Grant a large box, "Let's fill 'er up." The smile on Grant's face grew as he piled the boxes in the store room. A few trips from the truck back into the building and slowly the room was filled. "Much better." Grant said taking a step back and smiling wide at his new stash. "Thanks again Todd." Grant shook the man's hand before Todd went on his way. And there Grant stood taking in the vast amount of alcohol that was set before him. He chewed his lip for a moment before giving in and plucking a silver and green colored case from the top of a pile.
Case of Heineken in tow, Grant made his way to the front of the bar. Plopping the large box down atop the wooden shelf before ripping it open and pulling three bottles out with one swoop. Quickly popping off the tops and downing one after the other without taking a moment to stop. Finally taking a breath after spying the green bottom of the third bottle, Grant smiled and wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. He knew that quite a few people might be angry with him if they knew he were planning on getting completely wasted on a tuesday night, but he didn't care.
More often than not he had been doing things quite similar to this since the bar had burned down. At first it had been because he was trying to not get angry about the bar but it turned into being the one thing he'd enjoyed doing. When he was drunk there were no problems, sure it usually happened when he was alone late at night, but it wasn't late now. It was barely even 6:00 on a Tuesday night.
"Shit." Grant muttered under his breath. Was his drinking becoming a problem. He stood tall and looked into the box once again. "Nah." He laughed pulling out two more green bottles and quickly emptying them into his stomach. "Ahh." he breathed out. But something still didn't feel right. Grant pulled out his phone and called the one person he knew wouldn't scold him for being drunk at such an early time on a Tuesday night.
"Mandssssss." He smiled into the phone, though he knew he was leaving a voicemail. "Come here and christen the bar with meeeee. So much alcohol, so little time, and no body to serveeeee." Grant laughed and then hung up before grabbing another green bottle.
