The Bar.

9:15pm

Tick-tock

The giant grandfather clock ticked along as Mocair worked the bar floor. He rushed from booth to booth as the bar that had been quiet for the past few days had come alive today. Sangrias, pints of beer, rum, and alcohol of all sorts were being served. Joyful sounds of laughter could be heard coming from one booth in particular where a group of rowdy teenagers sat and guzzled down pint after pint of beer. Though the whole town had been subdued due to the murders and was far from happy after the revelation of Harry’s fraud, the spirits of the young could not be dampened. The group seemed like they were celebrating a birthday. The usual customers had also shown up today, but there were also some unusual guests and the familiar faces could hardly be considered that considering the way they were acting. Not too far away from the teenagers sat Yusuf and Drew, not a surprise considering the two frequented the bar, but things were clearly not the same. Too many times he’d seen Yusuf overextend himself with Drew and the girl, glad for his friendship, had let him get away with it. Yet today he sat across from Drew, fiddling with his fingers, tapping them on the table, face pale as marble. He had spent most of the night looking anywhere but at Drew, truly a surprise to Mocair as in the past he would barely spare a glance at anything else. When Mocair had gone over to check up on them, he’d noticed something about him. His hands were clammy with sweat and he smelled of tobacco. He was obsessively touching his hair and his tie. It was clear that an air of fear hung around him, if not at the very least nervousness. Drew on the other hand was completely calm and seemed almost in command, a far throw from the overly excited girl he had always seen her be with Yusuf. It seemed like taking the responsibility to care for Jose had done wonders for her, yet he could not place the change in Yusuf. He did not like it. He hardly cared about the nature of their relationship, as long as it fit with his observations, it did not matter to him what the moralities of it were. Something was up and Mocair had a bad feeling about it.

9:37 pm

Tick-tock

Finally, the unusual booth combination of June and Klaudia Kabot, Erin D’çosta and Akeno Bo were ready to order their drinks. The two sisters sat beside each other, portraying quite a contrasting image. Klaudia was wearing darker colours, a black jacket with a turtleneck underneath it. Her long hair was open and nearly fell to her waist. It was clear that she hadn’t bothered combing it this morning. June on the other hand was wearing a more casual chequered sky blue top with jeans, her jacket was neatly wrapped around the back of her chair and her hair was tied in a neat ponytail. He couldn’t help but appreciate the elder Kabot sister. Across the table, Erin D’Costa was dressed similarly to Klaudia with darker overtones while Akeno was wearing his canary yellow hoodie that looked as if it was covered with felt from the inside. Someone had once described Akeno wearing that hoodie as him looking like a ‘ball of pollen' and Mocair couldn't have agreed more. Mocair had never thought that the two supposedly estranged sisters would sit at the same table and that too with Erin and Akeno but he supposed stranger things had happened on the island. A strange undercurrent of suspicion ran in the booth however, something which seemed to be centred between Erin and Klaudia and had wrapped up an apparently oblivious Akeno Bo in its flow.

10:25 pm

Tick-tock

The bar had quieted down a bit. The teenagers were now too drunk to make any conversation and were just stacked on top of one another, sleeping. Mocair had chosen this moment of peace and quiet to clean his glasses and counter when a sudden chill went down his spine. He turned around just as the voice behind him said

“Won’t you ask me what I want to have?”

In all his years working the bar and even before that, no one had managed to sneak up on Mocair yet here she was, Sariah Jacques sitting cross-legged on one of the stools across the counter, smiling at him smugly as if she knew the feat she’d just achieved. Mocair quickly regained his composure and served her the Bloody Mary she asked for. He knew his face had hardly betrayed any emotion but hoped that Sariah hadn’t picked up on his abrupt movements. He knew if it was him in her place, he would’ve for sure.

He excused himself soon after and went to check up on his other patron that had arrived not five minutes ago. Harry Matthew looked simultaneously victorious yet defeated. Already he’d been greeted by a few choice words and dirty glances from the other customers in the bar. No wonder he’d chosen the seat in the farthest corner where people were least likely to glance, a set previously preferred by Yusuf and Drew, noted Mocair. The two were of course sitting nearer the counter today, in almost full view of the bar, something that stuck out like a sore thumb to him. He ignored Harry’s incessant mumbling about success and showing the townspeople what he was like and followed Harry’s gaze which was alternating between his drink and the table where the Kabots were sitting. The two sisters seemed more than cordial with one another, something that he attributed to June. It must be only because of her efforts that the prodigal sister had reconciled with her. Back at the counter, Sariah seemed to be staring at nothingness yet her stare was pointed and intense. Mocair squinted in the direction she was looking and saw absolutely nothing. Perhaps her eyes were getting a bit weaker too, he thought to himself. When they turned to look at him he realised their strength had only grown. However, his deep black eyes were more than a match.

11:00 pm

Tick-Tock

As the clock chimed eleven times, the ticking time bomb that Mocair knew he had been ignoring to his own peril exploded. Jose Pietro, who had been drinking at the bar since 7:20 pm, finally stood up and made his way to the counter. Mocair hoped that he would pay and leave but he knew that there was a higher chance of him causing a ruckus. He was not surprised when Jose insisted on another bottle of rum, it would be his third that night and was something that Mocair in good faith could not allow him to have. Not in his bar at least, it wouldn’t have mattered to him if he’d wanted to take the bottle home but he did not have any intention to clean up vomit. That was George’s department, and she was sorely missed in that regard. Unfortunately, Jose did not seem to take Mocair’s polite refusal as an answer, instead, he hurled Sariah’s now empty glass at the wall not too far from where Mocair was standing. With the sound of glass smashing, the entire bar now fell silent.

“When I say I want another one, you give me another one,” Jose growled, his eyes bloodshot. Spittle fell from his mouth as he glared at Mocair, who paused and took a moment to look around his bar.

Yusuf and Drew were now staring at the bar, Drew seemed worried yet the look of concern on her face was marred with a look of disappointment, slight contempt even. It was the look of a person who was staring at the husk of a dear friend. Husk that had grown unrecognisable. Yusuf’s face was contorted in a strange mix of emotions as he looked at the bar, a mixture of sadness, love, shock and above all else fear. The man seemed as if he was scared for his life.

Over at the other booth, Klaudia and Erin looked at the bar with a mixture of sympathy and annoyance, to the two of them this was nothing more than a drunkard’s tirade. Something to be ignored entirely or to be quickly dealt with. June had an expression of shock and concern, yet somehow it seemed to be almost a pretence, Akeno on the other hand had sorrow written all over his face. It must have been hard for him to see an old friend this way. The most curious reactions came from Harry Matthews and Sariah Jacques. Harry Matthew saw what had transpired and quickly gulped down his drink and walked out of the bar without hesitation, almost as if he wanted no part in what was going on, or perhaps he had other plans. Sariah on the other hand had an almost amused look on her face as she looked at Jose who was still glaring a hole through Mocair.

“I’m cutting you off Jose. You’re done for the night. I’ll add the money for the glass to your tab.” Mocair said curtly. Perhaps things would’ve gone smoothly despite Jose’s drunken state and despite his curtness, however, it was at this moment that one of the teenagers chose to laugh loudly, in her drunken state, finding this delicate situation extremely funny. By the time Mocair had time to react, Jose had jumped the counter and was sitting on his chest., his hands landing blow after blow on his face. He tried to keep his hands up but there was no stopping Jose who stood up and dragged Mocair up and shoved him into the glass cabinet where he kept some of his most expensive bottles. Mocair tried to struggle to his feet as blood trickled down his face from a cut he’d received from all the broken glass around him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jose stagger toward him, his eyes red with rage. Thankfully, for him, Erin and Drew stood in between the two. Drew was trying to be the voice of reason and appeal to Jose’s sensibilities which were long gone by this time while Erin had rolled up her sleeves and seemed ready to throw hands. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Akeno herding an excited Klaudia and anxious June toward the exit. Yusuf had barely even moved from his seat, his face crestfallen while Sariah had turned her stool to face the scene unfolding in front of her.

Meanwhile, Jose almost shoved Drew to the side and shouted something that bears no merit in recounting in any shape or form.

Silence enveloped the bar and everyone turned to stare at Yusuf and Drew as they felt the weight of a friendship now broken beyond repair come crashing down. Drew stepped to the side and simply walked out of the bar without saying a single word, her mismatched eyes full of anger and hurt. Klaudia and June looked disgusted and alternated between looking at Jose and Yusuf who had somehow managed to go one shade whiter than he was previously and seemed to be mumbling a sort of defence to himself. Sariah’s expressions were inscrutable, however, Erin’s could not be more explicit as she cracked her knuckles and took a step forward. Even in his drunken state, Jose seemed to get the message, as he turned around shaking his head and staggered toward the door, where the Kabots and Akeno stood. He paused for a second in front of the three and nearly fell on top of Akeno, who promptly caught him and received a hard elbow and a shove in return. Jose then stepped out of the bar and walked off into the night. Mocair struggled to his feet with the help of Erin. June walked over and began bandaging his cut. Sariah, apparently adequately entertained, chose this moment to leave as well with Erin and Akeno leaving not much after. After she was done helping him with his cut, June and Klaudia who’d been standing around awkwardly unsure of what to do and for some reason still wary of him, left together with the younger sister telling the elder to be a bit more cautious of Mocair for reasons he did not know. The teenagers too seemed to have gotten the message as they quickly paid off their tab and walked out, discussing among themselves the hushed tone. Only he was left in the bar now, but as he cleaned up the broken glass he realised that Yusuf had never left. He was still sitting in the booth, swirling his drink and eyes pointed downward fixed at the tabletop. Mocair gingerly walked over to him, asking him to leave, more politely this time, he had definitely learned his lesson. Yusuf seemed to awaken from a trance and when his eyes locked with Mocair’s, all he could see was a spiral of emotions, each layer leading to a darker place than the other and all of them coated with a grimy layer of fear. But all of that disappeared in a second as he flashed his usual smile, apologised for overstaying his welcome and walked out the bar. But as the door swung back and forth, Mocair could see his shoulders sag, back hunch over and head fall. Even though it was him that had come within an inch of having his bones broken today, he knew he was staring at a broken man. The clock chimed twelve times in the empty bar as Mocair was left to deal with the pain of his injuries, alone.

Tick-tock

04. 03. 18