The day started for Friedrich von Leitmeritz much earlier than for regular people. Friedrich, or as his neighbors call him "Leit", is the owner of the only bar in Maitland, "Platinum Time." Leit is usually emotionless, preferring his own privacy over sharing with others. Yet it is this characteristic that makes Leit so popular with the townfolks that come to his bar every single night: he can keep their secrets. His bar is usually jam-packed every night but somehow Leit manages to handle all of them without being overwhelmed alone.
For Leit, this morning felt no different than any other ever since he took over the bar from the previous owner a year ago. He woke up fully dressed in his long trenchcoat at 3:30AM and left his Eastside apartment to attend his bar before the morning patrons come in at seven to grab their daily morning coffee fix. As usual, there was the delivery van from his supply chain behind the bar building. Leit went towards it as usual and greeted his longtime delivery driver and self-proclaimed friend, Tim, or as Tim prefers, Just.
"Just, you got the usual?"
"Yup, the beer and whiskey are in the crates over there and the wine is in the boxes. Meritz, sign here to confirm it."
"Don't call me that, I am called Leit now."
"Alright alright, I will remember that."
He never does.
"Oh, by the way, are you interested in an order? This time it's a request from some idiot who's willing to shell out lots to get what he wants."
"Stop it Just, I know you are only doing it for the middleman fee. I'm not taking any more jobs, I am just a legit bartender now."
"There's no retiring from your profession, Meritz, and you have to accept that."
"And what if I don't?"
"For now, nothing. But I will come back tomorrow, Meritz, and by tomorrow, you would have no choice about it."
"Whatever you say, Just. The usuals for tomorrow too."
The delivery van slowly drove away from "Platinum TIme" and the rest of the day was typical for Leit.
No comments:
Post a Comment