The Bar clock cheats me

Work in progress

I awoke to a bright ,promising dawn,then a dog was licking my face.

It's balls taken care of first.

Got your priorities right I see? Goddamn mutt!

My gaze,fixed and determined,trails down at my legs,my trouser caked in mud .S**t and christ knows what else.

The dog whimpered,wagged it's tail lazy fashion,cocked its leg and pissed on my shoe. Steam rising in the cold morning. I didn't shout,kick,I lay,turned slightly and threw up. I grunted,wiped my mouth and tried to find some balance to attack the day.

I can't remember the night before or the day before..or last week .I was sick,I needed medication. The bar was always open.I walked gently and with caution.I could shower' at the station and it didn't cost too much and I would be clean for another week at least.

The attendant looked me up and down and flicked his head like a spasm,to usher me through.As I walked by him,he let out a cough,gagged as he caught a gentle reminder of who I was,a nostril full of my 7 day scent.

I showered as long as I could manage to stand,washed my clothes as best I could,they would dry in the afternoon sun and left with my head slung low.The sun was beating down hard and I felt like an ant under a spy glass.I couldn't escape the heat.I wandered towards Stoogies bar and stood for a moment outside the door. Hand an inch from the handle,hand shaking with a tremor. I took a deep breath and swallowed.I took a step back from the door and looked around,slipped my hand in my pocket and pulled out a roll of Franklins et al.I counted the roll,smiled to myself and took a deep breath and opened the door.

It was dark and some blues crap was squawking like a parrot on downers,filling the air with more misery.Cigarette smoke swirled and filled and floated and hung like ghosts.It was only 11 a.m. It was perminant decor and reminder to the world I belonged too.

"Bobby! Your still alive!" I shot him a glare. He was Brooks the owner.I'll get to him later.I mumble something,I can't remember what.

There was an old woman,who lived on a stool,she waited around for another old fool,Failing to find,one of her kind,she finished her drink and put a shine on her pink...lipstick.

There was a new knight in her midst though.Another saviour,withered and almost hollow.Hands like twigs but a lust for life that would cost you a quart of beer and chasers to match.

I couldn't find my stick.I use a stick,my right knee gave way a few years back and I don't function too good without it.My mouth works though.Improving with glimmer and guttered every day.I would give you history but that will all come out on the proverbial wash.

First beer and house mouthwash gone,life was bursting like a flower,dragging my soul back up like a wet blanket and full of lingering s**t.

"A beer please",I sneered. One was placed in front of me with trepidation.I drank it one.Brooks doesn't need to be asked again.Brooks placed another in front of me.Brooks felt sorry for me.I didn't need sympathy from the devil,or the others.

The heavy bar door creaked open and in shuffled old Ronnie.Old Ronnie,built delicately like a Lowry matchstick man but had a mouth like a sailor with tourettes.

Old Ronnie wasn't an old sailor though,the closest he got to liquid is when he drank his bourbon and pissed his pants.Old Ronnie was an ex jockey,bladder ruptured after a horse stamped on him,many operations and plastics pants later...

"Set me up ya lazy b*****d!"

Brooks stopped,cocked his head,and a small smile crept over his face.He poured old Ronnie a double,just to see what was going to happen.He served,flicked the bar cloth over his left shoulder,folded his arms and leaned against the gantry,waiting to see the piss surround the stool from which old Ronnie would fall.

It didn't come.

Old Ronnie was a clever dog,he had pissed him self on entrance and was wearing black pants.No one noticed the smell as the whole bar had a distinct smell of piss anyhow.

"You dirty old b*****d!" Brooks went crimson from the neck up."Ronnie cant help his condition",I glided across the bar and clasped my hands and bowed my head in mock prayer. Everyone laughed but felt a momentary sadness for Ronnie.We didn't want him to feel like he was the only lost cause.We all were.We were concerned that he felt he was singled out.

He wasn't. Nobody was.We were all singularly downtrodden.Downtrodden is what kept the pulse in this place.Whisky was the blood,we were the pulse.

I stared around.It was too quiet for a Friday.No racing today?No. Ronnie didn't look so great.It was hot though,but he looked on edge.Almost panicked,lost.Sometimes moments of recognition.

I siddled up towards him."Hey Ronnie,you alright?You don't look so good".He turned his head slowly,"I feel fine", he said with a gentle smile.He patted my hand softly but his fingers felt like ice.i cleared my throat a little,"You want me to take you home,you have a lay down?","Maybe,we'll see,thank you Bobby,your a kind man".

That was a f*****g lie,I was a horrible b*****d,a real s**t.

Author's Note

Ignore grammar and spelling for now

Reviews

[EloisaWrites]

I feel like this isn't finish yet (or just maybe, I wanted to read more. haha.). I smell, hear and witness everything! The cold day, the water when he showered, the way he walked to the counter and all. You're my favorite pub writer. Haha. And I mean that because I don't usually like pub settings when I read. But I like it when you write it. :)

[Jay Steitler]

I think anyone can relate to things going wrong the minute you start your day. I like the camaraderie expressed between patrons in a dark spot, and the self-deprecation at the end is even heart-warming.

[Bob Sherunkle]

Hey Jay! Many thanks for reading,much apprecaited

[Bob Sherunkle]

...ignore my spelling...please

[Jay Steitler]

Of course! :D

[N. Tripper]

The atmosphere is dark and smells like whiskey. Can't help but to notice the grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes even though you told me to ignore it. It's easy to go in there and fix some of these things - taking about 5 minutes at most.

[Bob Sherunkle]

I know and I will.I write fast.Just wanted to see what people made of it.I'll fix it up pretty in the next few days.Thanks for reading though,much appreciated.

[Gio S.P.]

This was indeed an entertaining chapter you've written. Oh, the pub memories.

[Bob Sherunkle]

Ha!Thank you sir! Working on the 2nd

[Cody Williams]

A very entertaining first chapter! I'll be waiting for more!

-CW

[Bob Sherunkle]

Working on it!Thanks

[ZackOfBridge]

A great first chapter. Reminds me of Bukowski

[Bob Sherunkle]

Just keeping him alive man!Thanks

[Daniel Sala]

Besides the odd typo, this is a well-written piece, capturing the atmosphere of some pubs well, the regulars, the protagonist's lifestyle in sketches which cover the details. Very realistic, nice pathos.

[Bob Sherunkle]

Hey Daniel,thanks for reading,yeah there area few but just wanted to put it out there.Thanks for reading