Thea Bryan

Scotch and Intrigue

Washington, DC 1987 It was a relatively slow day at the bar as Zoe set things up for the evening ahead, the dark days of January generally were. She was exhausted having been up-all-night writing yet another research paper; halfway through her law degree, she could not wait to be done so she could quit the service industry once and for all. Tired of the late nights and living off tips, she knew she was burned out. She quietly stocked the wine cabinet, wiped down the liquor bottles and polished wine glasses as she glanced over at the lone patron seated near the end of the bar. She had waited on this guy many times before, he was nice enough, but she was never able to engage him much in conversation, mainly because English wasn’t his native tongue. He always ordered the same thing, Ardbeg on the rocks, and he tipped well.