The Bartender: The Chronicles Of John Doe

 Introduction

While other people are content with whatever it is that they usually do in order to survive, which may sometimes include serving people food at a restaurant. For instance, driving that heavy truck or bus, transporting heavy goods and other people to and from work on a daily basis, or maybe even being a police officer. Serving people drinks is John Doe’s preferred line of work and one that he doesn’t mind waking up for each and every day. For him, it is not about how much bartenders make. John is a bartender at a local bar. He's been a bartender for years and he has seen it all. From the good, the bad, and the ugly, trust me when I say, he's seen it all. And he's got some stories to tell, whether it's the disgruntled customers or a crazy wild night like this one.

 

Chapter One

It was a cold rainy Saturday night, just after 10 pm to be precise, and it hadn’t been too long since the bar had opened its doors; when suddenly everyone was greeted by a cold breeze. A young and interesting couple came in… At least they sure looked like they were in love with one another! Perhaps it was not even a heavy rain at all. In fact, it was just drizzling, but the drizzle was also enough to get you wet if you just carelessly decided to walk in it without a raincoat or an umbrella.

Meanwhile, inside John Doe's Lounge, it was pretty warm and everybody was not in their coats, all thanks to the newly installed powerful air conditioner. Smart man! Who knows that in order to be successful as a businessman, you also need to take care of your customers and not only take their hard-earned cash from them. The bar has a total of fifteen tables and five booths. This meant that even if it was a full house, everybody would still be in a comfortable space. Only tables one, three, five, six, and table seven out of fifteen tables were occupied, while only three booths were vacant. It seemed as though the place was spooky with the lights dimmed. Since the weather was not so inviting John decided that it would be best he played contemporary music to help emphasize the mood inside the bar. However, though, almost everyone had fixed their eyes on the young couple that had just walked in at an incredibly alarming pace; you could almost feel the invisible tension that oozed from the cold air.

Nothing was amiss; it was just that Brandon and Zoey were in a rush because, between the two of them, Zoey was the one feeling much colder. She was wearing a shirt and a jacket with no buttons. And as for Brandon, it was as if he knew when he woke up in the morning that later on the weather would suddenly change. For a very brief moment, there was an awkward silence, while Zoey was contemplating, and thinking to herself that she was the only woman inside the bar, since it was late at night and, as the bar is usually frequently visited by men during those late night hours. But only to realize that there was yet another couple occupying booth number five.

“A bottle of champagne, please” Brandon said as John approached their booth.

“Coming right up, I welcome you to John Doe’s Lounge by the way. Can I get you anything else while at it?”

 “No thank you, I think that will be all we need for now”. At that moment Brandon was undecided so then Zoey answered.

“Alright, celebrating I see?”

“Yes, my girlfriend just got her college results back and she passed with flying colors. And besides we haven’t been going out that much lately, so she deserves to celebrate”. Brandon replied!

Without wasting any more time. John then immediately proceeded to the back of the bar for that bottle of champagne that Brandon had just ordered. As he returned he remembered how he had always wanted to go back to college for those two Modules he couldn’t finish on time. But that did not worry him a lot because he is happy where he is right now as a bartender and running his very own small, vibrant, and intimate business. This line of work is also not cut out for everybody because it requires its own level of discipline.

Chapter Two

Being a bartender requires a lot because some customers expect you to be an all-rounder. And trust me, they don’t barge. You have to know your way around the bar and how to demonstrate a few performances such as flaring. John is an expert when it comes to these kinds of demonstrations. Sometimes you would think that he was an octopus when he would cast three different bottles which by the way would be full, into the air and they’d fall right back onto his hands with pure ease. Even though that was the case it never really crossed John’s mind to enter such competitions, because he thought they were merely just a waste of time. Nonetheless, his most frequent customers such as Mr. Smith and Mr. Edwards would always poke him until he succumbs and gives in to their relentless convincing. But today Mr. Smith decided to stay home; only Mr. Edwards is present occupying his favorite spot, booth number three. He seemed a bit lonely because his friend was not around to keep him company.

It continued to drizzle until around 2:30 am in the morning, but that didn’t stop more people from flocking into the bar. Maybe perhaps some were running away from something, who knows? This is one of those rare nights when the bar is full of unfamiliar faces. Some faces were outright dodgy while there was also an equal amount of innocent-looking faces as well, while some looked utterly confused and lost. Nonetheless, again, this meant more business for John. It had been too long since he had an audience this large. To make sure that he retained some of these new faces, he decided to put on a show and performed a few flair routines. But of course and as always Mr. Edwards was there to give him a little push in the right direction. Mr. Edwards really likes it here because this place gives him peace. He always says he’s at rehab sitting at a bar when asked why he liked it there. Competition is fierce, and that’s not the problem. But the problem is if John was to attend these events, then exactly who would be there to take care of his beloved business?

Chapter Three

John was certainly not in the mood to hire a stand-in bartender at the current moment. However, his friend Mr. Edwards again convinced him to compete. He reluctantly agreed, but I guess we shall wait and see if he ever attends and competes.

It said that if you're looking for a cozy place to enjoy a few drinks with friends, you should definitely check out John Doe’s Lounge. Without a doubt, the atmosphere inside was pretty nice, and the drinks were reasonably priced. Most loyal customers definitely recommend giving it a try next time when you're in the mood for a night out. Throughout the night, everybody seemed to be having the time of their lives. No one was misbehaving or anything like that in fact, the crowd was incredibly respectful and basically in party mode. As the night progressed into the early hours of the morning and as everybody would have thought, most elderly folks like Mr. Edwards had already left the scene of the party. Now the place was for the young ones to have it all to themselves.

The End

Thank you for reading till the end. If you loved what you just read please have a look at this short story "Brewing Dreams" which is also published on this site.