Sicco Bar- an unexpected encounter

The eerie clouds rolling in, serve to mock me. This has been a disastrous day, which began with me waking up late. From an onlookers perspective I’m sure it must have been quite comical. I practically jumped out of bed in shock, then proceeded to stump my little toe on the door frame of the bathroom, a long list of curse words came blasting out my mouth while I hobbled to the sink. In a frenzy I grabbed my toothbrush, putting the toothpaste on and proceeded to start brushing. For the second time this morning, my body went into a state of shock and confusion as an awful, floral tasting, creamy texture exploded onto my tongue. I immediately spat it out in utter disgust and hastily rinsed my mouth out with the water flowing from the tap. It was at this point that I realized that I had grabbed the tube of hand cream and not the toothpaste. The morning continued in a rush as I threw clothes on and got my things together to make it in time for the bus. Eventually I was seated, with a travel mug of hot tea in hand, and was able to finally breathe. As soon as I brought my travel mug up to my lips, to savor that first glorious sip, I was greeted with scalding hot moisture down the front of my shirt. Yet again a string of vulgar curse words came flying out of my mouth as I caught on to the fact that the lid hadn't been secure. I then shrunk back into my seat as I saw a few too many faces looking my way. My day at work was mostly uneventful, if you ignore the fact that I accidentally dropped my bus pass down a storm drain when getting off the bus. I was also subjected to weird looks from others due to the stain down my white shirt and to top it all off, I was swamped with an unreasonable amount of work, which my boss piled on at the last minute, resulting in me working an hour later. I am officially done with this day and these clouds better hold off until I have made the walk home. I could really use a bubble bath with a glass of Merlot in hand.

The sky has darkened quickly with the hellish clouds closely knit together. The wind is causing the lose strands of my hair to whip about my face, the scent of petrichor invades my nostrils. Great, now I am going to be drenched on my walk home. I inhale deeply, gripping my blazer closer to my torso and hurry my steps. Another huge gust of wind tunnels through the street causing cafe and shop keepers to rush outside and grab their signboards, before they get taken out. The first few drops begin to splat down and within minutes the sky has unleashed her fury upon us with heavy rain and the rumbling of thunder. I begin to jog and see a sign up ahead that reads ‘The Sicco Bar’. I decide in that instant, that going in there and ordering a drink will be better than continuing on home in this storm. I increase my pace and make a beeline for the bar. As I turn to rush into the building, I am met with an elbow to the face and proceed to stumble back into a puddle. Strong hands frame me on the small of my back and help to stabilize me. I look up to find piercing green eyes scanning over me.

“Shit, I am so sorry, you came out of nowhere, are you okay?”, a deep voice announces.

“I came out of nowhere?” I question, “more like you just appeared out of thin air!” I huff while rubbing my cheek.

“Well rather than standing here in the pouring rain and arguing, can I buy you a drink inside? It seems we both had the same idea of waiting out the storm here.”

“May as well, it’s not as if my day could get any worse,” I lament, “unless you are planning on kidnapping me?” I raise my eyebrow at this strange man now eyeing me curiously.

“Woah, seems like you have quite the story to tell,” he laughs as he leads me inside. “I'm Henry, by the way.”

“Liv,” I respond and give him an awkward smile.

Once inside, we are met by a room filled with hanging baskets of an assortment of ferns and ivy, draping the wooden beams which cross the ceiling. The bar itself looks as though they restored an old bar from the 1890’s. The solid wood, which has now been refurbished with a teal color, has intricate whorls carved into its grain. The top of the bar has been painted with what looks like a black chalk paint. Behind the bar the exposed brick wall is lined with shelves made from industrial pipes and planks of pallet wood. Vintage whiskey and sherry decanters decorate the remaining space.

Henry tilts his head towards the bar, “Bar or booth?”

“Booth please,” I sigh, “after the day I have had I would prefer a more comfortable seat”

We walk towards an empty booth which is sectioned off with a trellis on either side, covered in artificial vines. I take a seat across from Henry and shrug off my wet blazer. I notice Henry’s gaze scan over me again.

“I know what you must be thinking,” I half chuckle, “I look like a nut case, with a caramel stain down my shirt, which is most likely also slightly see through now, no thanks to the rain. My hair is plastered to my face making me look like a drowned rat and to top it off I am pretty sure either my mascara or eyeliner has smudged.” I let out an exasperated sigh.

“Not quite, I was actually just trying to discern whether you look like the kind of woman who would enjoy a cold beer, cocktail, a glass of red, or even perhaps, a shot of tequila, based on the day you seem to have had.”

“Oh, um, right,” I reply sheepishly, feeling slightly embarrassed after blurting that all out and trying to ignore the fact that after pointing out my see through stained shirt, Henry’s eyes keep skipping to my chest. “I will accept anything alcoholic at this point, but usually I am a glass of red kind of gal.” My cheeks burn up as I curse myself inwardly for saying ‘gal’, who says ‘gal’ nowadays.

Henry stands up abruptly, removing his leather jacket and exits the booth, “Alright, I’ll get us something strong and enjoyable.” He turns around and walks toward the bar.

As Henry walks off, I finally allow myself to properly take the sight of him in. Thinking back to my first glance of him, and how his piercing green eyes seared into me, framed by his gorgeous raven black hair. Despite my calamitous day, bumping into him was possibly the best thing that has happened to me all day. If only it had happened under better circumstances when I looked slightly more put together. Henry leans onto the bar with his elbow, he is above average height, and well built, his white T shirt allows glimpses at his toned muscles. His hair, now sporting some waves due to the drenching we receiving, hangs slightly over his forehead. I can see him shaking his head at the bartender and practically face palming himself. I let out a tiny giggle while wondering what his dilemma is. He begrudgingly grabs a menu, and cautiously makes his way back to me.

Henry raises his hands in the air defensively, “ Alright Liv, I’m going to start with the, ‘don’t shoot the messenger spiel’, but I have catastrophic news.”

Puzzled, I let out a laugh, “ What, did they want ID and now I need to get the drinks?” I smirk knowingly at him.

“No, I’m afraid its much worse than that. Much, much worse.”

“Okay Henry, hit me with this dreadful news.”

“They don’t sell alcohol.”

“They don’t what!” I blurt out disbelievingly.

“They don’t sell or keep alcohol on the premises, like no alcohol at all.” Henry announces as he takes his seat across from me again.

“That makes no sense, this is a bar, it says so on their sign!” the words spill from me, while I simultaneously realize I must sound like an alcoholic who has been denied their drink. “Just to clarify, I am not an alcoholic.” I add.

Laughter erupts from Henry as he passes the menu my way, “Apparently ‘Sicco’ translates to ‘dry’, so in essence, this is what you would call a dry bar. According to the bar tender it’s all the rage now, he rambled on about it encouraging people to be a better version of themselves while still being able to enjoy social settings, I switched off at that point honestly. I’m rather disappointed too, I was looking forward to a cold beer, but unfortunately you will now have to settle for a non-alcoholic beverage along with my company.”

I draw in a sharp inhale, “I think can live with that,” I flash Henry a smile while maneuvering the menu for us both to peruse. “Now let’s see which dry drinks appeal to us.”

Once Henry and I have made our choice, he gets up again to place the order. I decided on the Blue Mockingjay, which is the non-alcoholic version of a blueberry infused gin with lemonade and Henry went for the Mocktini.

Drinks in hand, Henry saunters back to our booth, “Your drink milady.” He serves the drinks and sits back down.

“Okay, now you have to give me the low down on your awful day,” Henry informs me with a slight grin.”

I concede and launch into a dramatized retelling of my day. We spend the next half hour giving a recount of the day’s events while every so often breaking out into fits of laughter. It turns out Henry’s day wasn’t so spectacular either, his car hit a rather large pothole this morning, resulting in a bent rim. He works with a publishing company and does illustrations for graphic novels and children’s books. I must admit I am a tad jealous, he has met quite a few noteworthy authors. I deliberately leave out that I am an aspiring author myself, the last thing I want is for him to ask to see my work, which I am sure will look pathetic compared to the manuscripts he sees.

I glance outside and notice that the rain has ceased, the street lamps already burning bright in anticipation for nightfall. I stare absentmindedly at the people walking by, I am brought back to the present moment with Henry clearing his throat. I look up at him, those piercing green eyes searching my soul. He seems suddenly awkward, almost shy, a stark contrast to before.

“Liv, I have one more question, if you don’t mind,” his eyes shift outside and then back on me as he awaits my response.

“Well Henry, because of you, my disastrous day has been remedied, even though we are at a bar that doesn’t serve alcohol, I have rather enjoyed it. It’s been good to laugh out loud, you have proved to be even better company than my book at home, and that’s saying a lot. So yes, you are granted one more question.” I lean my elbow onto the table and prop my chin up with my hand, waiting for Henry’s final question.

Henry’s face lights up, with a smile skimming across his face. He brings both his hands to his heart, “ah Liv, I’m touched,” he leans forward and gives me yet another look that rattles me to the core, “could I take you out for a real drink, and perhaps dinner, this Friday?”

Inside I am jumping up and down squealing like a little girl, whilst also feeling a sudden flush of heat, everywhere. I might actually need the rain to return to douse me off. I try to play it cool on the outside, “Yes, that actually sounds perfect, and even if you only offered water, I’d still be a keen bean.” I let out an awkward laugh, Crap that was so cheesy! I need to redeem myself quickly, in that instant I decide that half throwing my phone at Henry would be the best response, “here, save your number, and I’ll text you mine back.”

Henry literally laughs out loud while entering his number on my phone, “ you know going to a Dry bar wasn’t half bad. Friday it is then.”

Phone in hand again, I quickly shoot a message to Henry, with the wink face emoji.

I slowly rise to stand, “well, I have to get going, it was great bumping into you, I’ll see you Friday.”

“Liv, literally bumping into you, has been the best thing ever.” He shoots me a cheeky wink before I walk out.