Memories of a Stranger - Yuri

Henry sat in the “Good Times bar”, smoke filled the room and he clutched his glass of scotch. It was a pretty quiet night at the bar. On weekends it got crowded and rowdy, but on weeknights, it was only the sad old bastards that lingered. Blues and rock style music played in the background. The music mixed with the whispered conversations from the patrons at the tables toward the back, all of this mixed together and just sounded like noise.

Henry was thirty, hardly an old bastard, well hardly old. He came to this bar every night for two reasons, his love of scotch whiskey and the information and gossip he would hear around the bar. People were always so loose with their secrets, especially on slow nights when it seems like no one is listening. Henry was an freelance investigative journalist. He would risk his neck for the top stories and sell them to the highest bidder. He made a good living off of this and found it was better than sitting at a desk all day.

Henry wore an old trench coat and a matching fedora, he had shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. He always looked like he needed a shower and a shave, though he did bathe regularly and shaved occasionally…and never flossed.

On this particular night, Henry heard two old men talking. ‘old’ is so relative. So instead of using it to describe an actual number like 70, he used the term to describe appearance. For instance, Henry wasn’t old, but he seemed old. So he often referred to himself as an old bastard. So Henry was watching these two old guys and listening in on their conversation. At first it sounded like they were talking about catching fish. These men looked like they could be fishermen. Not ‘Sunday morning fishing with your son’ kind of fishermen, the real kind. The kind that go out into the ocean and catch all the fish in the ocean so the humans on land can gorge themselves on more types of food. So anyway, back to the fish. These sly old geezers who were probably not any older than sixty, talked about fish and for an hour it sounded like they were just talking about fish. But then Henry heard something interesting. The term fish used in the wrong context or in the wrong way. Henry was pretty drunk by this point but as the conversation went on, it sounded like the word ‘fish’ was code for something else and when someone says. “The fish drop is tonight” it starts to sound like someone is talking about drugs.

Henry began scribbling in his note pad that he keeps in his coat. he wanted to make sure he didn’t forget any of the details. Henry wrote as the men talked. “The fish will be at the warehouse. Someone needs to come and get it” Said one of the men. Henry scribbled furiously. The weather that night was in the fifties and it was sprinkling rain. Cool weather, but not cold enough to keep fish fresh in some warehouse. “Wouldn’t they refer to the fish as ‘them’ not ‘it’?” Henry thought. He was pretty drunk though and wondered if he was just getting suspicious for no reason.

Then something happened that no one would ever expect to happen in a million years. A girl walked into the “Good Times” bar. The door opened and shut and the customers casually turned their heads to see who it was, as they did every time someone entered. This time though, the customer’s eyes were fixed on the newcomer. “Hey how can I help y-“ The bartender started to say then saw the girl standing at the bar. “-You?”  He finished his sentence and smiled. The girl looked to be about 25 was 5’6, thin but with subtle sexy curves. She wore a short-sleeved dress shirt un-tucked, black slacks and black dress shoes. Her hair was short and styled and dyed purple. Any skin showing showed lean toned muscle. She walked in with confidence and a sense of purpose. “Scotch neat” The girl said flatly. The bartender smiled and fixed her drink. Henry looked at the girl, he was the only one at the bar who hadn’t been staring at her like an idiot this whole time. He only looked because she ordered the same thing he had been drinking. He looked and she looked back. He smiled and held up his glass to show he had the same drink. Then he went back to drinking.

Henry was trying to listen to these ‘fishermen’ talk, but they stopped because they were too busy staring at the attractive young girl in the bar. “Old perverts” Henry grumbled. He wrote down most of the information he needed already, but could have used a few more details. “Whatcha working on?” asked the girl as she said down next to Henry. “Just some notes. So I see you like scotch” Henry said, changing the subject. The girl brushed a bit of purple hair out of her eyes and smiled “Yeah, its what my dad drank and he was tough as nails. So when I was a teenager I tried it and now I’m just used to it. Its like comfort food” The girl replied. Henry laughed. It was one of those laughs that came out so unexpectedly, like it forced its way out. “Heheh, scotch sure is comfort food for me too” he said. “My names Yuri” the girl said as she reached out her hand for a shake. Henry wiped his hands on his pants to get rid of any booze or sweat then shook her hand. “Names Henry. Yuri, that’s a strange name. No offense though” Henry said

Yuri chuckled “My father was Japanese. But I grew up in America. We settled in this city when I was a kid” Yuri explained. “Poor kid, having to grow up here” Henry replied without thinking. “I mean, Im sure you lived in a fine part of…” Henry added but Yuri stopped him. “Its fine. Don’t worry about it.” She said with a smile.

            Meanwhile one of the bar patrons didn’t like how chummy Henry was getting with the new girl. He was mad because this hot young girl came into the bar and sat right down next to the biggest bum in the whole bar. “Hey, Buddy. Yer bothering the lady” Said a muscular man that looked to be in his late thirties. “I was sitting here first. She sat next to me. Maybe she is the one bothering me! I don’t see you defending my honor. Am I not pretty enough?” Henry told the guy. Yuri chuckled. Henry hadn’t even turned around in his chair to say this to the man’s face. The muscular man grabbed onto the back of Henry’s coat and tried to pull him off his barstool. Before he could though, Yuri had jumped out of her seat and slammed a fist down onto the bully’s wrist, breaking his wrist. She then moved in front of him and gave him a right and left hook to the face.

The muscular man only had a chance to grab Henries coat before he was dispatched. He laid on the ground with a broken wrist and two black eyes.

Yuri sat back down and sipped her drink. Henry was smiling ear to ear. “Your quick, I should hire you to be my bodyguard” He said. “Well I could use the money and no one seems to like you around here” Yuri replied. Henry meant it as a joke, but once he thought about it, he realized it might be a good deal. “You’re hired.” He said. Yuri gave a little cheer in Japanese. Henry smiled and then looked over at the old ‘fishermen’ by this point they had run off, Probably from all the commotion. Henry might have lost the rest of his lead, but he did gain a bodyguard. So that is almost as good. He just hoped She didn’t bring more trouble with her. Henry had as much excitement as he could take for a while.