I almost spit out a mouthful of whiskey.
“You have a karaoke machine and you do bar trivia?”
He nods slowly.
“Pathetic, isn’t it? But you do whatever it takes to keep the doors open.” He gives me a hard look. “What, you never compromised anything to stay alive?”
I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand.
“I’ve compromised plenty. More than I like to think about. But damn, trivia and karaoke?”
Carlos downs his drink in one swallow.
“I know. I sold my soul. But when I win the lottery— boom!—they’re all gone.”
“You wouldn’t quit the business?”
He chuckles and pours us both another round.
“I’m a bartender. Some people are cops or priests or movie stars. Me? I pour drinks and keep the jukebox cool.”
As the music fades away, someone behind us blows into a microphone.
“Testing. One. Two. Can you hear me?”
The crowd murmurs.
A young guy wearing a pale blue pullover and a tech-startup haircut is hunched over the mic at the karaoke machine. He points to a young woman across the room.
“This is for you, Cherie.”
I can’t help but smile when I see her. This is a taste of the old Bamboo House of Dolls. A clueless tourist slumming in a weirdo bar and he picks up a pretty young thing. Only his paramour is a Jade and if he does or says the wrong thing, she’s going to bite him and drink his guts like a milkshake. I’m almost tempted to tell him, only then he starts singing that Barry Manilow song “Mandy,” but substituting “Cherie” in the chorus. That’s when I decide to let Darwin sort out his fate.
I finish my drink and get up.
“I think that’s my cue to get moving.”
Carlos puts out his hand and we shake.
“Don’t be a stranger. You’re allowed to come back more than once a year.”
“Believe me, Carlos. I will if I can.”
He gives me a funny look.
“How did you know my name?”
Shit.
“I must have read it on Yelp or somewhere.”
He nods, not entirely buying it.
“Okay. Well, come back on a Tuesday and play trivia with those necro bores. I’ll throw in a lot of old movie questions.”
I give him a nod and leave.
Carlos, you have no fucking idea how much I want to make that happen.