We chose a table next to one of the paintings on the wall. It was a stormy sea with a row boat in the middle of it. I took a glance over at Al as he pulled out his chair and sat down. The way he must be feeling right now reminded me of the painting. 

 

“Well if it isn’t Al and Red, what brings the two of you in?” Asked the bartender as he walked up to the table with a couple of drinks.

 

“Doing table service now?” I asked as I grabbed a drink from his hand. “Also, I don’t remember picking our drinks.”

 

He handed a glass of scotch on the rocks to Al and to me he handed the drink that made me so drunk the last time I was in here, I spent most of the night in the bathroom vomiting. 

 

“I remember your drink quite well, Ms. Red. It took you 20 minutes the last time you were here to find one you liked.”

 

“That was 10 years ago.”

 

“And I still remember. Doesn’t that just show how great I am?”

 

“It certainly shows that you pay attention to women’s drinks.”

 

“Someone has to. I take my profession quite seriously, I hope you know.”

 

“Well, then why did you get him a scotch?” I said in a huff.

 

He looked over at Al and back to me. 

 

“That’s what he has at our poker nights.”

 

I looked at Al incredulously. 

 

“Poker nights? And you ask about paying me too much and you have enough money for poker nights?”

 

Al took a sip from his glass and looked over.

 

“Thanks, Garrett.” Al said, now joining the conversation. 

 

“First one’s on the house.”

 

“That’s not a good business practice.”

 

“It is, tonight.” Garrett said as he walked back to the bar. 

 

I watched him walk back and then took a look over at Al. 

 

“I have to say, I never knew his name.” 

 

His eyes widened as he coughed a bit. He set down his glass on the table and reached for a napkin. 

 

“We live in a very small town, Red.”

 

“Yes, we do.”

 

I took a sip of my drink and smiled a little bit. There wasn’t any napkins at the table. I took off my jacket and set it on the back of my chair before getting up and going to the bar for a napkin. At the bar I did see two of our regulars. 

 

The name of the first man was, Fred. He would always stumble in just after coming off the boat and smelled of fish. Sometimes he would pass out at the table. He was so overworked, you could just see it in his eyes. We would always comp a desert for him every now and again to brighten his day. 

 

On his left was Parsons. Everyone calls him by his last name because no-one knows his first name. I’m actually not very sure if he knows his first name either. He comes in frequently enough. We’re the only real restaurant in town so it gets a little concerning when people don’t come in and some of us discuss if we need to send a wellness check to their home.

 

On the counter next to the little bowl of peanuts was a pile of napkins.

 

“I haven’t seen that since the pandemic.” I said. 

 

“The pandemic was a story created by the Democrats to cover up their involvement in Benghazi.” Garrett retorted as he started to head to the back room. 

 

In that single moment, I realized why I never bothered to learn Garrett’s name. I grabbed a couple of napkins from the counter and headed back to the table just as a couple more people came into the bar. 

 

“Be right with you!” Garrett shouted from the back. 

 

I sat down and handing one of the napkins to Al and setting the rest in a neat pile next to our drinks and took a sip. There was a slight moment of silence as we sat there.

 

“Did you know about the link between Covid and Benghazi?” I finally asked.

 

“You didn’t…” His eyes grew wider.

 

“Didn’t what?”

 

“You didn’t get him started on his entire theory.”

 

“Wait. There’s an entire theory? Like with paper and red string on a wall?”

 

“It’s not that extensive.”

 

“That’s not really a no.”

 

“We’d be in here for hours if you did.”

 

“Hours!?”

 

“You don’t know the half of it.”

 

A sinister idea came across my mind.

 

“I think I want to now.”

 

“No!”Garrett

 

He was beginning to look frantic and trying to drink his drink a little faster. I stuck my hand in the air to call Garrett over. The shock in Al’s face as he frantically was trying to escape the situation was priceless. Garrett walked over with his retail smile on his face. 

 

“What can I do for you?”

 

“It looks like he’s almost done with his drink so I was wondering if we could have another.”

 

The worry in Al’s face was dissipating as Garrett started to walk away.

 

“Thank you.” He said

 

“For what? We’re not done yet.”

 

Garrett came back with Al’s drink and my plan kicked into action. 

 

“Now, Garrett. You mentioned something about the epidemic. It caught my interest because I didn’t know anything who could have thought the same as me or had a similar position. The Democrats really are trying to take over the world aren’t they?”

 

There was a slight silence as his eyes slowly had gotten wider. The smile across his face grew and he turned to the room behind him.

 

“We have another believer, boys!” He shouted.

 

My eyes went wide as I looked over at Al. 

 

“Believer!?” I mouthed at him before looking back at Garrett. 

 

“You did this.” He mouthed back before taking a sip of his drink. 

 

“You have poker nights with him.” I argued back. 

 

He ran to the back and wheeled out a board with news paper articles, red string, post-it notes and pictures of different politians. Another of the patrons ran to the front door and locked it while turning off the open sign. I looked over at Al who was beginning to look even more miserable. The only thing that I could think of was to finish up my drink quickly. 

 

“Hey, Garrett? Can I have another?”