Ding.<\/p>\n
\u201cHere to check in. Last name is Williams.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Jefferson Davis Hotel was a familiar haunt to him, but the air hung a little different tonight. The moon sat full, like an all-seeing eye peering over the old hotel.<\/p>\n
\u201cYessir. I see here you have a reservation for tomorrow. I\u2019m afraid that we\u2019re overbooked at the moment, but if you\u2019d like to wait in the lounge, I\u2019ll see what I can do for you.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d sure appreciate that\u2026\u201d Hank glanced down at the clerk\u2019s nametag. \u201cThank you much, Peter.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019d felt chewed up and spit out a thousand times but this time the hangover was nowhere to be found. He felt rested. He was ready to take on the world all over again and give just as much as he got. A drink was exactly what he needed.<\/p>\n
The lounge was nearly empty and dark. A man in an old hat sat slumped over in a corner booth drowning in a sea of bottles and a woman in a short, silky dress sat at the far end of the bar. Finally, a little peace and quiet.<\/p>\n
The bartender popped out of a door with piercing light pouring from behind him. \u201cBe right with you, sir.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t lie to the boy now, dear. The service here is atrocious,\u201d she said sipping her cocktail. \u201cAnd the gin rickey you concocted isn\u2019t much better.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hank removed his hat and extended his hand. \u201cWell, I don\u2019t believe I\u2019ve had the pleasure ma\u2019am. Hank Williams. Known to play a little guitar around here.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe pleasure is all mine, Hank. My friends call me Zelda. I\u2019m known to drink a lot of booze around here. I think I\u2019ve heard a few of your songs.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pulled out a stool. \u201cMay I?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, dear. It has been so dreadfully boring here tonight. I suppose that\u2019s every night. This ain\u2019t The Laicos.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bartender reemerged from the back and sat down a case of champagne. \u201cNow sir, what will you have tonight?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBeer and two shots of the cheapest whiskey you got,” Hank said without hesitation.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow that\u2019s a man who knows what he wants. What brings you to this dump so late?\u201d Zelda finished her cocktail and motioned to the bartender for another.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not real sure to be honest. Was on the road getting ready to do a show. Last thing I remember was gettin\u2019 food in Bristol and then I woke up here in Montgomery. First thing I did was come here. Not sure why.\u201d He nervously stroked his cowboy hat.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, settle in partner. It could be a long wait. Luckily, they got booze. You get this round and I\u2019ll get the next?\u201d<\/p>\n
The bartender sat the beer and two shots in front of Hank. \u201cAnything else?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnother for the lady, much obliged.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hank took the shot in his hand and noticed there was no trembling. He couldn\u2019t remember the last time his hands didn\u2019t shake and his mind was clear. Gulp. Gulp. Ahh.<\/p>\n
He took a sip of the beer to chase the whiskey, soothing the heat. \u201cWhat about you? Why you all dressed up with nowhere to go?\u201d<\/p>\n
The bartender sat another glass in front of Zelda. \u201cI\u2019m waiting for one of my oldest friends, Tallulah. She should be here before too long. A fashionably late entrance, no doubt. I should\u2019ve known. Cheers to being left in limbo.\u201d<\/p>\n
They both drank.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, Hank. Do you have a wife?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHad two of \u2018em. God knows they\u2019re both saints to have put up with me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBoy & a girl.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a little girl myself. I\u2019d give anything to see my precious Scottie right now. She was kept from me for so long.\u201d<\/p>\n
The heaviness of the conversation made the room still. For the first time in a long time, seeing home was all Hank thought of. Not pills. Not drinking. Not fame. Only the faces he had ran away from over and over. It was all he wanted.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know, Hank, I\u2019ve had a long time to think sitting here and one thing I wish I had done was spent more time with my Scottie. My marriage wasn\u2019t worth a damn, but she was my miracle. Maybe that was the whole point of it all, who knows?\u201d<\/p>\n
Hank took a sip from his bottle and nodded. \u201cI don\u2019t even know mine. They\u2019re young though. I\u2019ve been on the road so much but I\u2019m going to start making time. Try to be better about that starting tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zelda snickered, \u201cTomorrow, ha! Oh dear, you\u2019ve got a lot to learn. Don\u2019t you know that time is the only thing they don\u2019t make any more of. If you figure that one out let me know! I\u2019ll bet \u2018ol Jefferson himself piled up in the corner over there wouldn\u2019t mind another crack at it all either. Poor guy\u2019s been there waiting since before I came in.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHuh?\u201d Hank looked over at the old man and couldn\u2019t help but think of how much the old man resembled the statue of the failed leader unveiled on the lawn of the state capitol a few years back. \u201cMiss, I don\u2019t think I follow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ding.<\/p>\n
A voice from the entrance announced, \u201cMrs. Fitzgerald, your room is ready.\u201d<\/p>\n
Zelda turned her drink up, finishing the last few sips. \u201cTime marches on, Hank. Some of us have to stay behind though to pay the price of admission. Bartender, I must be going but one more for my lonesome friend here. Hold the tears.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He\u2019d felt chewed up and spit out a thousand times but this time the hangover was nowhere to be found. He felt rested. He was ready to take on the world all over again and give just as much as he got. A drink was exactly what he needed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":182,"featured_media":18650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18039","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fiction","writer-travis-turner"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18039","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/182"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18039"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18039\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18652,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18039\/revisions\/18652"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18650"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}