I.

Jim's Place is open from four to midnight. The TV above the bar plays baseball games nobody watches. The stools are cracked. The floor is concrete.

Marge sits behind the bar. She doesn't leave. She doesn't eat. She just sits there. When you talk to her, she says the last few words. "Hey Marge." — "Marge." "You want a beer?" — "Beer?"

She doesn't drink. People order her things anyway. Whiskey. Beer. Mixed drinks that taste like sugar and regret. Jim takes the glasses away. He carries them to the back. This is normal. Nobody questions it. It's just Jim's Place.

II.

Tyler comes in every night. He sits in the corner. He orders two beers. One he drinks. One he puts in front of Marge. He talks to her. He tells her things. About his wife. About the job he lost. About how the apartment feels too big when you live in it alone.

Marge says the last few words. "Too big." "Alone." "I don't know."

Tyler likes that about her. She doesn't judge. She doesn't give advice. She just repeats. Sometimes he thinks she understands. Sometimes he thinks she doesn't. He can't tell the difference anymore.

Other regulars come in. A truck driver who talks about the road. A mechanic who drinks alone on Tuesdays. A woman in her fifties who comes in on Fridays and orders a vodka soda and sits in silence. They all order drinks for Marge. Jim takes them away. The tubes work. The bucket fills. Jim sells the recycled liquor to a guy who comes on Thursdays and pays cash. Jim needs the money. The rent went up. This is how it is.

III.

One night, Tyler poured something into Marge's glass. It was small. A vial. He shook it in. Stirred it with his finger. It might have been poison. It might have been laxatives. Nobody knows. Tyler didn't say.

Jim took the glass. He didn't know what was in it. He poured it back into the bucket.

The next day, Jim said free drinks. He poured from the bucket. Some people drank. Some people didn't. Some people came the next day. Some people didn't. The truck driver didn't come back. The mechanic came on Tuesday and drank his beer and left early. The woman on Friday came and ordered her vodka soda and sat in silence.

Tyler didn't come back. His corner seat was empty. Jim didn't ask where he went. Nobody asks.

IV.

Jim keeps the bar open. Four to midnight. The TV plays baseball. The stools are cracked. The floor is concrete.

Marge sits behind the bar. She wears the same dress. Her face is the same. Blank. Empty.

A radio on the shelf plays old songs. The bucket is full. The tubes work.

This is all there is.

--- OTMES CODE: OTMES-v2-ECY-05-427454-E0873-M2-T033-3FEC E_total: 8.73 | Dominant Mode: M2 (Satire) | Variant: V-05