These Little Town Blues ~ [Isabelle & John]

It was a typical Tuesday night. Not too crowded. The old sods came for their daily pint. Some by the look of it had gotten their pay for the month. Splurging it on beer rather than take it home to the missus. But John wouldn't complain.
Lacey was tending the bar. She wore that low cut top again to lure in the poor buggers who had last felt the warm touch of a woman the day they got married.
John hosted ladies nights too at the bar. Then he was more than happy to put on a tight shirt and whore himself out for the ladies pleasure.
On nights like these he made more money by touring the tables and flirting with the women.
John looked up when he noticed a woman walk in. It was a surprise since he never really got flowers like her stumbling in his dive.
A woman who walked so regally and gracefully in and to the bar. Ordering a glass of rose. Indeed she didn't belong here with the drunken masses. But who was he to judge a rich woman wanting to slum from time to time.
But for her own safety he was going to keep an eye on her for now.

John concentrated to flirt with some ladies and then gather glasses. Looking at the woman's way, catching her looking at him. He smiled a little. Well he wouldn't mind having her slumming it with him for one night.

The night went on rather peaceful. He noticed all the regulars getting a little excited about the new lady in the house. John sent some of them home already, but some were persisting.
Concentrating to his work for once. Then when he decided to check on her again he noticed two of his patrons wrestling on the floor. And one about to land a kiss on the poor woman's lips. In that state John was sure he would land on her lap rather.
John glanced at Lacey and nodded at her. She reached under the counter and then tossed him the baseball bat he kept around as peacekeeper.
Marching over to the men and slamming the bat on the wooden counter. "Do we have a problem here? Are these men bothering you miss?" He asked her. Causing the one about to smooch the lady to fall off his chair to the floor and the two fighting on the ground to stop.
"If you can walk home do so. Otherwise ask Lacey to call you a taxi." He said looking sternly at the men. "If you bother this lovely lady any longer I will ban you all for a month." He moved his gaze along the men in a battle of wills.
The men grumbled, but began to scatter.
John handed the baseball bat back to Lacey and then looking at the lady. "Are you alright miss?" He asked her. Mainly because he wanted to get into a conversation with her. But also for the reason that he didn't want her to sue his establishment.

Isabelle looked up surprised to find the man she knew as John standing before her, holding up a baseball bat and patting it soundly into the base of his free palm. His face was stern as he asked Izzy and the men if there was a problem. She nodded slightly to confirm that the men were bothering her and cowered a little behind the long lost brother who had come to protect her. Her lips parted slightly as she let out a small gasp of air, perhaps she had been right after all to seek him out.

John managed to quickly scatter the men and Izzy's shoulders relaxed. Thank goodness, she had been rather worried there for a moment. She watched as John handed the baseball bat back to a lady behind the bar, Lacey she presumed, and turned back to face her.

"I think I shall be alright now," Isabelle replied gratefully, though noting the timidness in her voice, she tried again with more confidence. "Thank you for your assistance." She inclined her head towards him with a small smile, the most she could manage given the unnerving circumstances that had just occurred. Isabelle had found herself struggling to regain her old poker face ever since her husband had recently passed. Grief had somehow sucked away some of her strength.

Isabelle was resilient though, she knew she would get it back one day.

John noticed the slight tenseness and quiver in her voice. She acted tough, but he could see there was a soft core behind the facade. Behind the neat and polished exterior was a vulnerable girl somewhere who might be in need of some loving.
John reached for two glasses and poured some whiskey into them. The top shelf one. It was worth it he thought.
"I am glad you are alright miss. But as a show of solidarity I want to offer you a free drink." He said gently pushing the glass towards her. Pouring some for himself also.
Gently touching her glass with his and then taking a sip. Enjoying the taste.
"If I may ask you what brought you here tonight? It doesn't seem like your sort of a hangout."

Isabelle found her eyes flicking between the floor and this man whom she knew to be her brother. She had little idea of how to broach the subject. She was well versed in formal matters and dealings but when it came to the personal, she had no clue. When he brought out the whiskey, she gladly accepted in hope that it would ease her anxiety.

"Thank you," Izzy replied, her voice well formulated now and hiding most of her nerves. "You would be right in presuming that I generally don't frequent bars - not that yours isn't a very pleasant establishment, it is." She sighed and took a sip of the strong liquid, not wincing as she had become used to the taste over the past few months. Where to start answering his question...

"I suppose I simply fancied a change," Izzy shrugged, it was the truth to some degree. She wanted a change of scenery, it just so happened she picked this bar because she knew her brother owned it. She smiled at him coyly, he was being very polite and she enjoyed that about him. Perhaps, this had been the right decision after all.

John grinned while he watched her take the drink. She didn't make a face at all. She surely could take her alcohol. He poured her a new glass.
"Well you are being very kind and very generous about my bar. It is not that pleasant. But I thank you still for the compliment."
He listened to her speak and observed her closely. Her words were a bit lonely and sad, but she was still smiling. So he supposed that she was enjoying their conversation so far.
"There is nothing wrong with wanting change. Everyone craves it from time to time." He took another sip of his drink and then filled his glass again. "So, what sort of places you usually go to? If my place is a welcome change." He asked smirking a bit.

Isabelle noticed John grin at her as she finished her whiskey and allowed herself to smile with a small sense of pride. Her cheeks flushed slightly though, she knew it wasn't particularly proper to down her alcohol so vigorously - but she had been doing it ever since... Well, best not to think of that now.

Izzy was relieved when he said she was being complimentary, she was trying hard not to appear prickly to her new-found brother. She was more than aware most first impressions were that she was a cold snob. She didn't want him thinking that of her.

"Are you the owner?" Isabelle raised an eyebrow and took her next glass of whiskey slightly slower. It would do her little good to get too tipsy and blurt out the whole truth to John. "I'm sorry, I don't even think I have introduced myself. I am - Isabelle." She stumbled a little over her title before settling on her first name, it sounded significantly less precocious.

"I think it is not particularly healthy to keep within one's comfort zone the whole time," Izzy responded with a nod. "Though most of the time, it is preferable." She acknowledged with a small laugh, thinking of the luxuries of home. She was feeling more comfortable now, falling into the swing of the conversation. It seemed John had an easy way with words.

"Well I usually only drink at home or at the homes of friends," Isabelle sighed as she swilled the whiskey around in the bottom of the cup, watching the liquid run around the ice.

When she asked if he was the owner John grinned proudly and gestured towards the picture that was hanging on the wall with him and his mother. "I sure am. My mother opened this bar, and I took over a few years ago." He said trying not to think about his mother that much. It always saddened him.
He took a big gulp of his drink. "My name is John." He replied back to her with a smile. "Nice to meet you Isabelle." He introduced himself to her in turn.
"Indeed, I embrace risks and danger from time to time, but I also appreciate the comforts of home." He said to her thoughts about ones comfort zones.

Turning his attention to her when she said she was drinking at home or at friends. "Oh, that is the worst way to enjoy alcohol." He said with the pride of a bartender. "Alone you can not get the full enjoyment. And at a friends house you are at the mercy of amateur drink mixers. And be it far from me to accuse your friends are like this, but if your friends are of the unbearable kind you drink more just to get drunk and not because you enjoy it." He explained his philosophy to her. "And at a bar you always have a capable bartender that also doubles as a psychologist and a caretaker who looks after you while you drink." He explained to her with a smile.

Isabelle looked towards the picture of John and his mother with glazed eyes. So this was his mother, the woman who her father had cheated on her mother with, she felt disgust bubble up inside her stomach but did not deign to show it. Her issue was not with John, after all. She couldn't help wonder if her father had been her as John continued, if his mother opened the bar then it was likely this is where they would meet. Her mother would never have found them here.

Izzy peeled her gaze away from the picture and focused once again on John. They did not look much alike she realised, but that was not a surprise. Isabelle took after her mother mostly.  

"Pleasure to meet you too, John," Isabelle replied promptly, feeling a little like a fraud. After all, she was only too familiar with his name since reading it in that blasted letter when she was twelve. She smiled at him pleasantly enough now though, he was her brother whether she liked it or not and perhaps the only sane family she had left.

"I can see you have done a wonderful job with the place," Izzy complimented him once more, the bar had been bubbling with regulars and had a jolly atmosphere apart from the thugs earlier. It was a little rough around the edges, but she supposed that was the way John liked it.

"Oh, risks and danger," Isabelle smiled. "What like?" She peered at John over the edge of her whiskey glass, daring him to give her tales of his adventures. It was what she liked best, since she spent most of her own life inside a very luxurious box.

"It is?" Isabelle gasped in surprise with a smile. "Well, I suppose you will have to educate me in what is the best way to enjoy alcohol." She laughed lightly at his latter statement. "Oh yes, lucky for me that you are multi-talented."

He accepted the compliments on his bar. Yes, it was not refined, but it looked like his. He did take good care of it too.
"Well I do enjoy engaging in fights once in a while. Especially when there is a lady involved." He said winking at her.
"That is pretty much all the risks I am taking these days. Along with some occasional gambling." He said. "What about you? Are these the sort of risks you usually take?" He asked her.

Isabelle blushed when John commented on how he enjoyed fighting over women, she was sure he was very much the ladies man but she was too coy to acknowledge it aloud. Instead, she hastened for a quick change in topic. She didn't deign to know about her brothers exploits with women.

"Gambling?" Isabelle struggled to keep the disapproval from her voice, it was a habit her father occasionally dabbled in and one which she sorely disliked. Mainly because she disliked most things her father was engaged in. She brushed the thought aside. "I'm afraid to say that I do not take risks, I'm a bit too practical for that. Though, I am trying." She admitted with a small laugh. Being here was a risk in itself.

"Nothing major. Just a few carefully considered bets here and there." He told her when she questioned his gambling habits.
"I grew up with barely no money, so I made it a habit not to waste any in any games or bets that I could not win." He told her a little bit about his past. Not really wanting to delve too deep into it unless she wanted to go that road.
"Being practical is good, but it really leads into a dull life doesn't it?" He asked her with a raised eyebrow. Filling up her glass once more. "I can't even think of how my life would be like if I just did things everyday the same way. Never doing things out of spur of the moment. Never trying new things." He smiled slyly at her.

Isabelle nodded, that was more acceptable though it still frightened her a little and made her somewhat wary. Though it made more sense once he began to tell her about his past, a past that made her heart twinge with guilt. Whilst her brother had led a poorer life, she had been brought up among wealth and a great many luxuries.

"How can you tell which games you shall win and which you shall lose?" Isabelle raised the question curiously. It was a funny thing, gambling. A game filled with bluffing, something she was very good at but also risk which she was less known to taking. It made her wonder how one could weigh up the risk with the possible outcome and feel certain they would win.

"It does indeed," Isabelle agreed, swilling the alcohol around inside her glass once more. Her head had began to feel light and she knew it was the liquid she was consuming, she could not remember how many glasses she had drunk. She wondered if she would consider her own life to be dull, she never had before. It was full of shiny new things each day, but though those did provide some form of excitement they were not as fulfilling as they once were. She craved something more, perhaps that was what had brought her here.

"I want to try new things," Isabelle whispered coyly, leaning closer to John as though telling him a secret.

John smiled a little mysteriously. "It's a careful mix of information, cunning and of course it does help to surround yourself with not so bright people that don't realize they are being played." He said winking at her.
He took a good look at her. Her eyes were starting to glaze over slightly. John moved his chair a little closer to her.
Feeling her body heat emanate from her. He could easily reach out and touch her if he so liked.
He reached for her empty glass. His fingers touching hers as he pried it away from her hand. Filling it up again and placing it back on the counter, just a little too close to the edge.
"I could help you try new things." He said with a soft and flirty voice, placing his hand on hers.