"Nah,” she said, waving me away, “I'm not hungry. I just want to spend the evening with Charlie Daniels."
"Charlie Daniels? The country music singer?” I asked.
"I mean Jack Daniels.” She hugged her glass. “My three best friends, Jack Daniels, Jim Beam, and Jose Quarvo."
I chuckled to myself. I could see that I was going to have to pour her into a cab before the night was over.
* * * *
I waited on other customers, but kept an eye on her. She was an attractive woman, and several men hit on her during the evening, but they struck out. All she wanted to do was to drink and forget whatshisname.
"Hey, bartender,” she called, motioning for me to come to her.
"Yes ma'am?” I asked.
"I think my glass has a leak in it. It's empty again."
"Hmm, maybe we could stop the leak with these pretzels,” I told her.
She looked at the bowl of pretzels and smiled at me.
"You're trying to keep me from getting drunk."
"Yes ma'am."
She sat back and looked me over for a moment.
"You know,” she summarized, “you're kind of cute. I like big guys. How tall are you?"
"Six foot seven inches."
A sly grin crossed her face.
"Let's forget about the six foot and talk about the seven inches,” she quoted Mae West.
I laughed. She had a delightful sense of humor.
"Jeez, you should be a wrestler,” she commented.
I laughed again.
"No, I'm not the violent type."
She reached over the counter and grabbed my left bicep.
"My god, your arms are as big as my legs."
Her hand was warm and I could feel a slight stirring in my groin. I shook it off quickly and tried to remain professional.
"Having a little muscle comes in handy when throwing out the obnoxious drunks,” I told her.
She put her hand down and looked solemn.
"Am I being an obnoxious drunk?” she asked.
I shook my head.
"No, you are being a delightful drunk."
She grinned.
"So, what's your name, Paul Bunyan?"
I chuckled at her jesting of my size.
"Jerry,” I told her.
She reached over the counter to shake my hand, and then popped another pretzel in her mouth.
"It's nice to meet you, Jerry,” she said, “I'm Renee."
"Nice to meet you too, Renee. Now, can I get you some coffee?"
The corner of her mouth turned up and she pushed the empty glass away.
"Yeah, black with a little cream."
"Coming up."
I handed her the cup of coffee and pulled a stool up behind the bar. The locals had begun to leave and the place was beginning to empty out, so I could take a little time with my new friend. She wasn't a beauty contest winner by any means, but she was attractive and listened contentedly as I told her my life's story.
"You know,” I told her, “being a bartender, I'm a pretty good listener."
"I wouldn't want to bore you."
I looked around. There were only three other people in the place and two of them had passed out. I'd already called them a cab.
"Well, if you don't talk to me, I'm going to fall asleep and then I'll get fired. You don't want that on your conscience, do you?"
A slight smile curled at the left side of her lip.
"No, I wouldn't want that to happen."
"Good, so tell me why this Jeff person is such an asshole."
She sipped her coffee, then put the cup down and ran her finger around the rim.