His evening only went downhill from there. After an ungodly wait time at the restaurant, Dale finally conceded to a seat at the bar, where he ordered a bottle of wine and drank half of it before his appetizer even arrived. Midway through the entree course, he flagged down the bartender for a second bottle, and could already see the headline for his review in his mind. “Xtra’s: Xceptionally Bad.” Or maybe, “Xtra’s Doesn’t Xceed Xpectations.”
He’d definitely have to play up on the X-factor, then giggled into his glass at the alliteration. “X-factor,” he muttered, avoiding the bartender’s sharp gaze, which suggested perhaps he’d had enough to drink. Dale agreed, but that didn’t stop him from finishing off the second bottle of wine with his dessert.
Somehow, incredibly, he made it home aliv
