Pit Stop (Friday Flash Fiction)

The door of the bar rang out an annoying jingle announcing his arrival. The tinkling sound threatened to awaken the migraine he‘d been ignoring all night. He stamped the snow from his boots and bellied up to the bar.

“Hey, there.” The bartender gave him a nod. “Haven’t seen you in awhile. Is it that time of year already?”

Taking off his hat, he exhaled. “Yep. Busy season too.”

“Take a load off. The usual?” The bartender was already filling a glass with his favorite drink. He gave a nod of thanks and accepted the frosty mug.

“Rough night?”

“You wouldn’t believe it. This storm coming through makes things ten times harder. Can’t take a snow day though. People expect my work to get done even if the post office closes.”

“Guess you can’t exactly call off in your position, huh.”

He chuckled. “Can you imagine the chaos? Not to mention the nagging I’d get from the misses.”

“All over now though. What are your plans for vacation?”

“We’re thinking somewhere tropical this year. Any ideas?”

“I hear Hawaii’s nice.”

He imagined a vacant beach, just him and his wife, sunbathing. “Sounds wonderful. I’m so ready to be away from those guys at the factory. Sometimes I think I’ve been in this business too long.”

The bartender smiled. “You’d be hard to replace.”

“Thanks pal. I guess it’s good to have job security.”

He guzzled the last of his frothy drink. “You hear that wind? Rudy’s going to be complaining all the way home.” He stood, tossing a few bills on the counter. “Better get back. Last year, those guys practically trashed the place while I was gone. They tend to hit the sauce hard on this night.”

“Safe travels. See ya next year.”

“Thanks. Have a merry Christmas tomorrow.”