Passing Through

The door burst open and the winter wind howled through it. Three strangers, two men and a woman, hurried through the door and closed it behind them. Most of the patrons of the pub went back to what they were doing. The bartender watched the three as he polished glasses behind the bar. He hung a glass from a rack over the bar and greeted them as they approached the bar. “What’s your pleasure?” he asked.

“I’ll have a pint of bitters,” the large man with black hair and bushy eye brows said. The bartender nodded.

The other man said, “Make mine a pint of porter.” He was a few inches shorter than the first man at five eleven.

“And what can I get for you, young lady?” the bartender asked with a slight grin. The woman was no young lady, She was at least thirty, slender and tall with light brown hair.

“I’ll have a cup of coffee if you’ve got it. With just a nip of Irish.” She smiled and the tavern seemed to warm up from the glow she emitted.

“I’ll make a fresh pot. It’ll take just a minute to brew. In the mean time I’ll pull your drinks.” He turned and quickly started a pot of coffee brewing. Then he pulled the beers and set them on the bar in front of the gentlemen.

The man with the black hair nodded and said, “Thanks. The name’s, Mick. Could you tell us where we could find a couple of rooms for the night?”

The bartender replied, “Glad to meet you Mick. We have a couple of rooms upstairs. One’s got two single beds and the other has one. Bathroom is at the end of the hall. Would that suit you?”

Mick looked at his companions. They nodded. “I think that will do nicely. This is Charlie and this is Rebeca,” he said.

“The name’s Jerry since we’re introducing ourselves. Do you mind if I ask what you’re doing here in the middle of a dark, snowy winter night?” the bartender asked with an agreeable grin.

“We’re passing through. I thought we could make it to Spokane tonight but then we had a flat tire a few miles back down the road and it took us an hour or so to fix it and get back on the road. We probably couldn’t have made it to Spokane tonight anyway but now it’s obvious we need some sleep. Do you serve food?” Mick said. Jerry handed them each a sheet of paper.

“It’s not fancy and we’re out of the roast beef but Minnie is a great cook. If you want to have a seat, I’ll bring your coffee over in just a second, Rebeca was it?”

“Thanks.” Rebeca said and smiled again. The three took a seat at a table near the fire place. They looked around and noticed that they had been watched by some of the other patrons. A short, portly man got up and came over to the table where they were sitting.

“Excuse me. I overheard you talking to Jerry. If you need to get a tire fixed or buy a new tire, I have a garage here in town. The name is Carl Masters.” The man handed him a card and pointed toward the door. “My garage is just across the green from here.”

“Thank you, Mr. Masters. We’ll keep you in mind.” Mick said. Carl went back to the table where his drink and two companions were sitting. Jerry brought Rebeca’s coffee and took a pad out of his pocket.

“Have you decided what you want to eat?” he asked.

Rebecah handed him the menu and said, “I’ll have the stew and some bread and sliced cheese. Thanks.”

Mick spoke up, “I’ll have a hot ham and cheese sandwich and some fries.”

Charlie looked up from the menu. “I’ll have the fish and fries. And I’d like a cup of coffee since you’ve made a pot.”

Mick spoke up, “That sounds good. Me too.”

“Right then. Give us a few minutes and we’ll get you set up here,” Jerry said.

When Jerry had disappeared into what must have been the kitchen, Mick looked around the pub to see if anyone was still watching them. When he was satisfied that they were no longer the center of attention he turned to his friends and said, “Do you think anyone suspects?” Rebeca shook her head no and Charlie shrugged his shoulders. Before they could say anything more Jerry returned with a large loaf of hot bread, a bowl of butter and a plate of assorted cheese slices. “That looks delicious!” Mick said.

“Like I said, Minnie is a great cook. She baked the bread fresh just this afternoon. I heated it up a bit so the butter would melt nicely. The butter and cheese is from the dairy down the road. Best in the county.” It was clear that Jerry served the best of the local fare and was proud of it.

“Thanks,” Rebeca and Charlie said in unison. Jerry beamed and went to wait on another patron. Mick cut a piece of bread and buttered it.

“In answer to your question, I don’t think so,” Charlie said. “I don’t think I want to let that Carl guy get to close to our rover though. He might figure out that it’s not from this century.”

“Careful there. Voices carry. You’re probably right there. We forget all the little incremental improvements that have been made between now and our time,” Mick practically whispered.