The Ivory Hour

TW: Allusion to sexual violence, violence, and crime

The Ivory Hour had all types of people walking its halls. The bar often held the most secrets, this was true of today. Sitting at the bar were two people filled with deception. The man sat with a wedding ring hidden away in his back pocket. The woman sat with the despair of losing the love of her life, her grief was hidden with a smile and a low-cut blouse. Secrets. They had met in the street, turning back to look at each other before conversation arose. They quickly found the nearest bar and that just so happened to be the bar our story begins in, a place made of secrets. That was what the Ivory Hour prided itself on. It was a small bar with booths sitting near a window overlooking a crowded alley. It was small and walking the street it was just another building, painting itself into the background. Ivory had 5 bedrooms all small and hiding a piece of a  puzzle in each. If you asked the bargoers many didn’t know these bedrooms existed. That was one of Ivory's secrets. Because everyone had a secret at Ivory. 

The bartender Roy had the name of his love tattooed on his shoulder, Kedra. The only problem was Roy was dating the sister of the deceased Kendra, Jenna. How Kendra died remains a mystery, the only thing for certain is that Roy loved her and couldn’t bear to lose her. 

Valerio owned Ivory. He walked into the world of the rich and decided he could spend his money on a run-down bar. That was 30 years ago, his picture hangs next to the photos of people he deemed worthy of being named. Next to him are his daughter and wife. His daughter was the spitting image of her mother with only the wicked grin of her father to set her apart, These days the Wife does the handling of the bar. Valerio left last week for who knows where. The police had gotten around to acquiring his car, and the next day he was gone. His Wife was in the process of a divorce when she saw the papers signed and discovered she now had ownership of the Ivory. That was last week, a day before Valerio left. 

Trix Bates recently left Ivory after apparently finding “something” in room 3 while she was cleaning. She refused to comment on her findings. Secrets. The Ivory thrived on them, as did the customers. Walking in the doors were 1 of 4 people. 

1. The people looking for direction from a life they feel isn’t theirs.

 2. People looking for a crack, a break, anything that pops from the loneliness they feel.

 3. The people who grab that paintbrush and repaint their background, they walk into the Ivory with confidence. 

4. The people that either have all the secrets they could ask for or none. 

Brook fell into number 3. A college student with heart and merit but no future. Walking past the Ivory all she felt was a pull, a pull to repaint. She figured it was a tiny shop or a building filled with regulars. What she didn’t expect was a quiet bar with 6 people sitting with a drink of their own. She walked up to the bar and asked for a drink that sounded appealing. Roy looked around and began making the drink. It was quiet, she thought. Jokingly she asked the man next to her if music ever played in this place. With a laugh that showed his gap teeth, the man answered, “Only if we have something to hide.” Brook nodded slowly and looked back to find her drink sitting in front of her. Feeling unsettled she slipped a ten down and quickly walked out of the bar. She painted the Ivory back into the background. Brook was lucky. 

The Ivory had secrets, as you know. 

Hidden in room 1 was a coat, balled into the corner of the closet, its owner forgotten. Room 2 held a scratch and dent behind the bed, signs of a fight maybe. Room 3 had a splash of blood underneath the bed, soaked into the beige carpet, and a positive pregnancy test behind the toilet. Whoever these belonged to was like Brook. Innocent, and in the wrong place. 

4 looked normal enough if not for a note hidden under the mattress. The note read for help. I’m guessing the writer never received help because in 5 a suitcase sat under the closet floorboards. Pieces of a puzzle that add to a mystery that nobody truly knows the end of. 

You might think the entire street to be this devastating, but it wasn’t. On the left of the Ivory sat a small restaurant where families dined, laughed, and truly had no secrets. The right held a laundromat. Throughout the years people had come from the Ivory with “Red Wine” stains appearing on their clothes. The owner asked no questions and got paid just the same. Valerio had made sure of that long ago. 

The Ivory often received bad reviews, you would think this would stop business, but It didn’t. It seemed the fewer average people that visited the more men in suits took their place. 

Now if we return back to the Man and Women from the beginning you’ll see they had found each other. The man's arm snaked across the women's waist, squeezing every time she drunkenly laughed. The women’s grief was long hidden by a bright pink drink she had already had a few of. The man sat with a whiskey in front of him, one he had barely touched. Roy looked at the scene with a sense of dread. He often saw this exact scenario play out. The woman downed the rest of her drink and The man called for another to replace it. When Roy set the drink down The man asked for a room key.  

15 minutes later you could see the Woman stumbling up the stairs guided by The man. Room 2 would be their home for the night. The Woman seemed drunker than ever as she sat gingerly on the bed, but she wasn’t. In reality, they were both cold sober. Roy had been told to serve her virgin drinks if another person ordered for her. They both needed this. 

So down went the pants with the wedding ring in the pocket, and the low-cut blouse slipped lower. Another secret they would both remember all too well in the morning. 

This was how an average night in the Ivory ended. Secrets in bed, secrets behind the bar, secrets in rooms. Secrets sitting in a little bar painting itself into the background.