One More Cheap, Flat Pint

If it weren’t for the nightly specials that made their drinks the cheapest on the block, Tatum’s Tavern probably would’ve closed years ago. Their pizzas were tinted orange from the layer of grease swimming on top of them. The beers on-tap would stay cold but they’d go flat if they sat idle for more than a few minutes. Every other step you took your shoes would slightly stick to the floor. Odds are that you wouldn’t want to see their report card from their health inspection but after a few cheap drinks odds are you wouldn’t care too much anyways.

Thursday night’s welcomed Jackson, his girlfriend Hannah, and their friend Dalton quite often. Given that all three of them worked different hours throughout the week, Thursday nights were the only ones that usually worked for the three of them to hang out. Jackson had been throwing himself into his work more than usual lately so they almost had to pry him out of the apartment that he and Hannah shared to get him to come eat tonight. Football games were televised on Thursday nights, drawing a crowd to watch TVs that were hung so high up on the wall that you had to crank your neck back to see them while you chewed away at your half-priced pizzas or nachos. None of them cared too much for football but would occasionally cheer with other patrons if some big play happened just for the fun of it. They watched as the players in blue jerseys clashed with players in white jerseys. “Go blue guys!” Hannah joked. 

The three of them sat at a small circular table across from the bar. There was a plate of nearly finished nachos between them that was the size of a trash can lid and took up most of the table space. The rest of the table had balled up napkins that were soaked in cheese and grease and a couple of empty pint glasses. 

“Babe, you have cheese, like, all down your face,” Jackson told Hannah. The two of them had been dating for nearly two years now and past the point of trying to impress or woo the other much. Meaning that Jackson had no problem that Hannah looked like she had, “Slobbered cheese down her face.”

“She’s beauty and she’s grace,” Dalton sang to her, “She’s Miss United States.”

A waitress in a plain black V-neck shirt and plain black apron came over with her tray. She picked up their empty glasses and asked “Do you want anymore dri-” a cheer erupted from the row of guys sitting at the bar over a touchdown. The waitress bit her lip in a slight chuckle. Interruptions like this happened to her multiple times on nights they showed the games. As the cheering subsided, she continued, “Any more drinks?”

“Yeah,” Jackson chuckled, “I’ll just have one more pint. Hannah?”

“Uhhhh yeah. Sounds good. Thank you. Dalton?” There was a blank expression on Dalton’s face and no response. “Dalton?”

“Hm? Oh! Yeah, another pint, please.”

Jackson’s phone began vibrating in his back pocket and he leaned sideways to dig it out. His brow pursed in confusion. “Why is work calling me right now?” he questioned, more confused than annoyed. As he put the phone to his ear to answer, another roaring cheer came from the bar. Jackson covered his open ear as he made his way to the front door of the tavern. 

They could see him standing out front in the neon lights next to a group of guys who had stepped outside to smoke cigarettes. The waitress returned with three more pints for them. Hannah picked her’s up the instant that the waitress had set it down and continued to scrape up what cheese and onions she could with what remained of the flimsy tortilla chips. 

After a few minutes, Jackson pulled the front door back open and made his way back to the table, phone still in hand. His face looked shocked but in an excited way, as if he had just struck gold but couldn’t believe his eyes. “What’s up, Jack?” Hannah asked, her mouth muffled as she was still chewing on cheese. 

“So, that was my supervisor, Anthony. That proposal I was working on where we were gonna team up with the Australian office...I guess they really liked it and wanted to sign on it.”

“What?!” Hannah and Dalton shared their excitement. Hannah bounced out of her chair, nearly tipping the already unbalanced table, and threw her arms around Jackson’s shoulders. He squeezed her waist and lifted her off the floor in an enthusiastic embrace. 

“Yes! Congratulations!” praised Dalton, who had remained seated. 

“Yeah! Ok, but they want me to fly out to Melbourne, like, immediately. Anthony said he was gonna get us a flight for first thing tomorrow and call me back.”

“Wow! We gotta get you packed!” Hannah told him hurriedly. 

“I’m flying out to Australia in the morning!” Jackson still couldn’t believe all of his hard work had paid off. 

Hannah snagged her purse that she had hung from the back of her chair as Jackson began to reach for his wallet. “Dude,” Jackson looked at Dalton, “Sorry to eat and run but-”

“Hey, dude, it’s ok,” Dalton stood and put his hand up to Jackson, motioning for him to put his wallet back, “Hey, I got this. Consider it a ‘going away’ party now. It’s on me.” Jackson gave Dalton a friendly pound on the shoulder before pulling him in for a hug. Each gave the other a few hearty pats on the back before they split. 

“Now go! Get your ass out of here! You’ve gotta go pack!”

Jackson’s phone began vibrating in his back pocket and he leaned sideways to dig it out. His brow pursed in confusion. “Why is work calling me right now?” he questioned, more confused than annoyed. As he put the phone to his ear to answer, another roaring cheer came from the bar. Jackson covered his open ear as he made his way to the door.  

They could see him standing out front in the neon lights next to a group of a few guys who had stepped outside to smoke cigarettes. The waitress returned with three more pints for them. Dalton heard the glass hit the table but didn’t turn to his drink. He could see Hannah scooping away at the nachos out of the corner of his eye. Dalton was turned in his chair facing the front corner of the tavern. There was a table of four men playing cards and joking with each other and just past them he could see Jackson standing outside. 

A neon sign advertising a brand of beer left a soft, glowing blue light on Jackson’s face. His conversation consisted of a lot nodding and good news by the looks on his smiling face. Cigarette smoke had wafted towards him but he didn’t seem fazed by it. Once Jackson hung up, he pumped his fist in the in celebration and rushed towards the door. 

“So, that was my supervisor, Anthony. That proposal I was working on where we were gonna team up with the Australian office...I guess they really liked it and wanted to sign on it.” Hannah cheered and engulfed him in a hug. Dalton shared in the excitement but kept his butt in his seat. There were a few moments for them on Cloud Nine before Jackson came down and realized all of the things that he had to do before he left in the morning. 

“Dude, sorry to eat and run but-”

“Hey, dude, it’s ok,” Dalton stood and put his hand up to Jackson, motioning for him to put his wallet back, “Hey, I got this. Consider it a ‘going away’ party now. It’s on me.” Jackson gave Dalton a friendly pound on the shoulder before pulling him in for a hug. Each gave the other a few hearty pats on the back before they split. 

“Now go! Get your ass out of here! You’ve gotta go pack!”

Dalton looked at the pint glasses that Jackson and Hannah had left on the table. Hannah had downed about half of her’s rather quickly and Jackson’s was still full to the brim. The waitress had returned to pick up the glasses and nacho tray and Dalton asked her for the check. 

As happy as Dalton was at his friend’s success, the look on his face told the story of a man who had just been punched in the gut. Jackson was going to get a promotion because of this, for sure, that would come with a large pay raise and better benefits. The two of them would be able to start looking for houses and move out of their apartment. Their life together would begin forming more and Dalton was happy for them. He was sad that he wasn’t going to hang out with his friend any time soon but he was thrilled that he was moving forward in his career. He was happy that his friends were happy. He felt guilty about the envy he felt. He felt guilty at the envy he had for Hannah. He felt frustrated that he never found the time to tell Jackson how he had actually been feeling about him but angry because it was his own fault. Thoughts of all of the drunken nights they had together at parties before he had met Hannah came back and how there still hadn’t been enough liquid courage for Dalton to confess his love for Jackson. 

The beer and emotions swam up the back of his throat but he swallowed them all. Dalton’s eye scanned the tavern. Maybe he could bum a smoke from a guy outside and strike up a conversation before he went home. Maybe the charred taste of a cigarette could help him forget about the taste of that cheap beer that he had never actually liked.