The bar was small, dimly lit—and packed. Not terribly surprising for a Saturday night. I managed to squeeze in at the end of the bar although I had to stand. The lady bartender eventually realized she had a new customer and came over.
“What’s your pleasure?” she asked, blatantly looking me over.
“Your best red wine.”
She snorted and then rattled off my options, adding, “Honestly, none of them’s anything to write home about.”
I ordered a dry red and she took off, returning several minutes later to set a glass in front of me while saying, “You new here?”
“In the bar or the neighborhood?” I replied.
“Both.”
“Yes. I just bought a house a few blocks from here.”
“Nice. You’ll like the area.”
I laughed. “I hope so, since I’m sort of stuck here, now.”
With a smile, she wandered away to t
