Chapter 13

It was not particularly surprising that the place was mostly empty. It was a little bit early for a place like this but, it was also a holiday. Tony figured that it probably wouldn’t get much more business even in the more traditional hours. That was not just because the place was a bar but, more specifically what kind of bar it was. On the outside, it sat at the corner of what was a run down, three story, brick building that was partially business, and some residential. In other words, the place was fairly unremarkable for the neighborhood it was sitting in. The inside was an entirely different story.

Family Day, as the school’s taught, had been started by the original Texan colonists that first came here. Although most people celebrated it one way or another, these days, it still remained largely a Texan thing. This bar was most definitely done in the Texan style and that meant most of it’s patrons were probably from that particular stock. Family Day just wasn’t a bar kind of holiday.

Tony stopped at the bar itself and told the keeper he wanted a beer. The guy largely ignored Tony as he pulled a draft from the tap and handed it over. All the while Tony returned the compliment as he looked things over. There were a few guys that were sitting in once corner, watching a big screen, and cheering for their ball team.

Doris was playing City, just like they did every year on this day. In the past that particular game had been known to cause riots in the streets. That had changed since IFOR came. Nobody wanted to test the Germans over a ballgame. Tony had to figure that, just maybe, there were some positive side effects to being occupied by a Nazi horde.

The one patron that did interest Tony was in the very back of the place at the pool tables. He had not seen Tony yet or, if he had, then he was pretending not too. Tony wandered to the back and then just stood there waiting for Garcia to finish studying his options on the table.

When Garcia did look up he smiled and said, “hey bro, what you doing here?”

Tony gestured with his beer in hand, “your old man told me I could find you down here. I thought you’d be hanging out at home, doing the grilling thing today.”

“Naa,” Garcia replied waiving it off. “We haven’t done that in years, not since Mom died. Pops, he’s getting a little too old for that anyway.” Then it struck Garcia and he said, “what’s up with you? You got a family the size of a Texan ego, man. I’m surprised you guys don’t rent out the civic center and have a reunion.”

Tony only shrugged, “that’s the thing about having big families. Every day is Family Day. We don’t need just one.”

Garcia added, “yeah and I don’t think just one would be big enough to handle your crew, no how.” Garcia just shrugged and went on, “so what brings you down to the Barrio.” Tony actually had to think about what a Barrio was. He knew Texans used that word but, he’d never actually bothered to figure out what it meant. Then he realized it was the name of the place he was standing in.

Tony took enough time that Garcia answered his own question. It seemed he had known all along, “Amy troubles right.” Garcia lined up his cue and took a shot on the table.

Tony’s shoulders slumped and he said, “that would probably be an understatement.”

As Garcia walked to the other end of the table to line up his next shot he offered his free advice with no trouble at all, “man I told you that chick is bad news. I mean, don’t get me wrong, she’s got a nice little body on her,” he stopped and thought about that for a second before going on, “well, if you’re in to that kind of body. It’s just, she’s a ditz man. There’s a lot going on between them ears and I never particularly thought it was all that stable.”

Tony snorted at that and said, “it’s not like that.”

Garcia did not seem to notice, or maybe did not care, that it rattled Tony a little. He was still as easy an upbeat as ever when he said, “yeah, well, it don’t matter now bro. So are you going to, like, get Barbara to give you another walking partner?”

Tony almost answered that question without blinking. Then he remembered and told Garcia, “Barbara’s leaving.”

The sound of the cue ball hitting another on the table sounded off no sooner than Tony dropped the bombshell. He had half expected it to make Garcia miss his shot entirely. It was Tony who was surprised when Garcia did not react at all. Tony asked the guy, “you don’t believe me?”

“No,” Garcia replied in his easy manner. “I just don’t believe it. That woman has got some kind of invisible chain holding her to that place. She ain’t going nowhere. Even if she did leave I’d still have my doubts.”

Tony snickered, took another sip of beer, and told Garcia, “glad one of us is in a good mood today.”

Garcia missed his next shot. He looked nervously around the room and then rushed over to where the cue ball had stopped to rest. Then he quickly tried to put the balls back in the order they had been. He also commented to Tony, “you didn’t see that.”

Now Tony was looking around the room and somewhat confused because he saw no one else that even looked remotely interested in the game. He asked Garcia in confusion, “you’re cheating against yourself?”

“Oh no,” Garcia waived it off. He then nervously was pointing towards the restrooms. He did so right about the time that a woman, a very attractive looking blond in a low cut, glittering, dress came out of the bathroom. When Garcia saw her he quit his fluttering around and then tried to play it cool.

Tony would say that this girl was walking back but, he was not so sure the description quite fit. Slinking would be a much better word and he got the feeling that the woman had a lot of practice at it. She slid in right next to Garcia and put her hands on his shoulders. She looked at Tony with a smile and asked, “who’s your friend?”

Garcia made rather hesitant introductions and then commented, “we work together and stuff.”

The girl, Diane, lit up and got excited, “oh you sell cars too?”

Tony almost choked on his beer. As he cleaned himself off he said, “yeah, that’s what I… I mean we do.”

“Well it’s so nice to meet you Tony,” she said as she walked off towards the bar saying, “I’m going to order another round Gar. Then she added, “make sure he doesn’t cheat Tony.”

Tony stepped up to the pool table and asked Garcia in a whispered tone, “why did you tell her that?”

Garcia just rolled his eyes, “you ever tried picking up chicks by telling ‘em what we do? Man they either run for the hills or laugh their ass off.”

Tony’s face became contorted as he commented, “and being a used car salesman is somehow a more honorable profession?”

Garcia just shrugged, “apparently.”