run little hole in the wall bar
bills are a bitch but you're independent
your own man
one day a dog man comes limping into the bar
you'd just opened up so it was just you two
you sat him down and told him you'd call the ambulance
he said no
the old man was crazy
it look like he took a bullet in the shin
at least from what you saw on his white suit
he asked for the phone and you sat him by the phone
you were near the door when someone was about to push in
you stopped the door and looked up to the biggest damn bear in a suit you'd ever seen
he wanted in
you insisted you were closed
he asked why and you fed him some shit about the toilets being broken and you needed to work on them
place was an absolute mess
that seemed to make him back off
you switched the sign to closed and locked the door
the old man looked at you, completely in shock
he looked like he had been frozen to the spot when the door opened
was that the guy who shot him?
he collected himself and dialed whomever
they spoke in French so you were out of the loop
you took your belt off and you made a tourniquet around his leg to stauch the bleeding
he grunted and cursed a little over the phone but it was better than him bleeding on your floor any more
you saw his wound and yeah right through the shin
once he was through with the call you offered him a drink before you used the remainder to clean the wound
it wasn't perfect but you had some first aid training from running this place
only really should have been applied to someone choking on your dry pretzels
but at least it came in handy
in fifteen minutes someone knocked on the glass door
you were cautious given what happened
you peeked and saw more dogs in suits
when you told him he said it was OK
you opened the door and they rushed in and over to him
they were in and out in seconds
the old man was ferried into a limo
the old man faintly pointed to you and said something to one of the other men
the guy approached you and you were a little befuddled
he handed you a card with a blue rose on it
"consider this a sign of the family's gratitude."
and just like that the old man and his entourage was gone
you read in the newspaper later that week that two were shot dead a few blocks from your bar
the shooting took place that day
had to be connected
you didn't think much of it after
you would play with the card I your fingers but it didn't seem to mean much
one day while there was a lull in business a dog man in a suit approached the bar and asked you to come outside
you were surprised but you did as asked
you didn't know much about these guys but it seemed unwise to tell them no
the old man rolled down the window of his limo and he seemed in better health
he told you he owed you now
you said it wasn't a big deal
just happy to help
you were shushed with a wave of his hand
he said he'd occasionally send one of his grandsons over to bring offerings
well that wasn't necessary
he stared you down and you accepted
you didn't know what to really say when his grandson popped out of the limo
he did say grandson, right?