Page 23 of Baby, It's You
Johnny pretends to be offended as Rick cracks up at Hunter’s quick dig in response.
“And you must be the fox that did shots with my buddy, Eddie?” he asks Rick.
“The one and only. That shot sat in my stomach like a rock that night,” Rick responds, shaking his head. “Can’t say I regretit, though; didn't want to leave your friend hanging on his birthday.”
Hunter chuckles with him. “Yeah, Eddie said it was the worst thing he’s ever drank.” Then he meets my eyes. His own are shining with apology.
I point at him playfully. “Hey, no more saying sorry. I mean it.”
He puts his hands up in surrender. “I know, I know.My apologiesthat I haven’t come by the bar until now. I was traveling for work.”
I brush off his statement, not wanting to admit to him that I didn’t want him to come at all. “It’s fine, no problem.”
“I’m here now though,” he continues, “and with a solution to your problem.”
“What are you talking about?” I half laugh.
He leans forward and does a drumroll with his hands on the counter. “I’m going to help you save the bar.”
I really laugh now. “Oh yeah?” I say with a disbelieving look. “And how are you going to do that?”
“I’m going to help you raise money so that you can buy the bar from Tripp.” He says it like it’s some simple thing.
“Yeaaaah, riiight,” I tell him sarcastically, dragging out each word.
Hunter looks at me, as serious as can be.
“I’m not joking, we will raise the money.”
I glance at Rick and Johnny and then lean in towards him. “Listen, Hunter. It’s really sweet that you want to help me. But a couple car washes and bake sales aren’t going to raise the million dollars needed to save this place.”
He doesn’t even seem surprised by the amount I mention. “You’re right. Those things would never work to raise that much money. But I know something that will.”
“Okay, let’s hear it. I’m all ears,” I tell him, not even allowing myself to feel hopeful.
“So, I am a filmer. I work for skate brands and I also have a YouTube channel where I upload content. It’s kind of popular.” He looks bashful as he continues, “The videos get a lot of attention and shares.”
I give him a small smile to be kind, but I don’t understand how this information helps my situation. “Well, that’s really cool, but what’s that have to do with the bar?”
He looks around the bar, excitement in his tone. “I thought I could make a series that I upload to my channel about Whiskey Jane’s to raise money for the bar. With your help, of course. You know the bar and regulars way better than I ever could. We could set up a funding page that people could donate to and my videos are also monetized so I will add the money I make from the YouTube series to the ‘Save the Bar’ fund.”
I am surprised by his suggestion, but I can’t say the idea doesn’t intrigue me a little bit.
“How would that even work?” I ask him. “I doubt there’s enough information to share about the bar that you could turn into a series.”
“You know that’s not true.” Hunter smiles brightly. “From the first second I walked in here, it was like a place I’d already been. I’m sure there's tons to film. I mean the themes alone,” he recalls, pointing towards the “Task” bucket, “are an experience. There’s lots to talk about.”
Johnny chimes in, “Yeah, and look around at the walls. There are a million stories to be told, just in the memories people have scribbled down.”
Hearing that, Hunter walks over to a Sharpie drawing by the men’s bathroom of a bug sitting on a cloud, eating a bowl of cereal. Then he moves over to a spot with the names Doris and Glenn in a heart, the date 1988 written in beautiful script.
“You’re right,” he says, looking back at Johnny, his voice almost breathless. “That’s the idea.”
Then Hunter walks towards me, growing more excited by the second. “We should choose some of the names, jokes, and drawings and track down the stories behind them.” He smiles at me. “Each video of the series could feature one of the things. People watching would love it, and learning the history of the customers would really help people fall in love with Whiskey Jane’s!” He puts his hands together. “We could film one a week and that would cause people to anticipate each new episode and give us plenty of time to find out each of the stories.”
Rob pops his head from the kitchen window and speaks up before I can say anything. “I think that’s an amazing idea.” He looks at me. “You should do it.”
Johnny nods his agreement and chimes in, “Give it a try, Olive. What do you have to lose?”
