He ignored me, turning out of the way in time to keep me from getting a hold of him.
And to make matters worse… Some of the patrons appeared to believe him, cheering him on. Others were inches away from throwing him out of the building and in the not-so-nice sort of way. Between the crowd and this nutjob, I had to find a way to get everything back under control before my job just got a whole lot harder.
Clearly, I couldn’t do it alone.
I raked my gaze over every face within the crowd, searching for Bobby. I found him, standing off to the side of the bar, watching and waiting for me to give him the signal. I nodded once. He jumped into gear and headed straight for me.
He pushed his way through the crowd and grabbed the man from off the table by pulling his shirt. The man flailed and tried to escape Bobby’s grasp, but it didn’t do him any good. Bobby carried the man outside.
A chorus of cheers and boos filtered over the music.
I looked over the crowd, staring with mixed expressions. There was only one way to get everyone back in good spirits. I smiled at them all. “Next round is on me.”
That did it. Cheers bounced off the walls of my little bar. I was satisfied to have saved the night.
As I headed for the door, I pulled one of the waitresses to the side and asked her to call for a cab before joining Bobby outside. The air was colder compared to the warmth within the bar. Bobby still had the man in his grasp. At least it wasn’t raining anymore. Though I could smell it in the air. I looked up at the night sky to find that the clouds had started to part, leaving gaping holes filled with stars.
The man struggling in Bobby’s grasp snapped. “Let go of my, you crazy brute.”
“You know if you stopped struggling, Bobby here might let you go.” My voice echoed.
“And the only one who’s crazy here is you,” Bobby added, still hanging onto the man in what looked like an effortless grip.
The man continued to struggle, ignoring the fact that I had spoken to him in the first place. Or Bobby for that matter.
I sighed and watched as the man continued to make a pathetic attempt at getting out of Bobby’s hold. “Or you could keep struggling and Bobby will have to force you into the cab whether you like it or not.”
“Unhand me right this instant!” the man shouted.
“We could just leave him in a dark alley,” Bobby said, grunting against the elbow that landed in his solar plexus.
“Well, that is a very tempting idea, Bobby,” I said. “Especially with this one’s penchant for ignoring the fact I had spoken to him.”
“Let go of me now,” he said.
“Would make a fine meal for the rats,” Bobby added.
“I agree…” I pretended to think about it for a minute. “Nah. I would hate to see any harm come to the rats from eating such rotten meat.”
The man glared at me. I shrugged.
“I suppose we couldn’t let anything happen to this one here either,” I added. “We’d be held responsible.”
“The high road, huh?” Bobby asked.
I nodded. “The high road.”
The man wiggled free and backed away, no thanks to Bobby releasing him. He panted for breath with a wild, crazed look in his eyes. “You won’t stop me. I will find people to support me and join me in the fight!”
“Well, you can find them somewhere else,” I said. “You won’t be allowed in my bar anymore.”
“Suit yourself,” he spat at me. “You’ll learn the hard way. What I speak is truth. But by then, it will be too late.”
“I’ll just have to find a way to sleep at night,” I said.
Bobby chuckled. He started to approach the man again, but I stopped him by stepping into his path. He looked at me questioningly.
“Let him go. He’s not worth the effort. He’s banned, and it’s almost time for last call.” I settled my gaze on the man and shook my head. He didn’t move. He simply stood there and stared at me.