Chapter One - "Enter"

Sometimes, life leads you in the most unsuspecting places.  I wasn’t sure how I had ended up so far away from home.  I was lost in a spiritual sense.  In a physical sense, I was freezing.  It was bone-chillingly cold. The clouds hung gray in the sky.  You could tell that snow was inevitable.

A flashing neon sign in the window caught my attention. It looked warm and inviting from the outside.  As I crossed Green Avenue and made a slight left onto Beethoven, I noticed a small help wanted sign posted just beneath the flashing insignia. It was the first glimmer of hope I had since I arrived in this town.

From the outside, it looked like an old romantic pub. Despite the wilted leaves that hung from the nearby trees, the small bar sat on a fresh patch of green grass.   I hesitated for a minute as I opened the door and stepped inside.

You know that magical moment when Dorothy enters the land of Oz and everything turns to color?  Now, imagine the opposite.

A sweet, dank scent filled the air. There was a slight purple mist that seemed to magically float around the small tavern.  The only light came from a single bulb hanging over a static stage. An eclectic array of customers was scattered amongst several small tables. I could instantly tell that the few that were bellied up to the bar were regulars.

As I approached the dimly lit bar, one of the patrons winked at me.  He smelled like rotting cabbage and musky sea water.

“Can I help you?”

The voice seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere all at the same time. I swiveled to find the right direction until I saw an unlit silhouette that as first glance, looked just like a lion.  He was shrouded in darkness.  His voice was soft, but he carried an air of seriousness that instantly intimated me.

“Sign in the window says you’re hiring?” My inflection lacked my usual confidence. 

“That sign’s been in the window for over a decade,” he mused.

“Oh…” I stalled.  It was an unusual situation.  I wasn’t normally lost for words.

“You must be new in town,” he surmised.

“Yeah. I am.” I stared at him blankly trying to see his face. 

“You’re a real wordsmith, I see.” Even though it was dark, I could see a slight smile crack his face.

Before I could respond, the cabbage smelling man chimed in. “What’s your name, honey?”

Despite his stench, he didn’t frighten me. I instantly snapped into snarky bartender mode.  “For the right price, it’s whatever you want it to be, sweetie.”

A roar of later rang from the slightly dapper gentleman to his right.  Carter, as he would later introduce himself to me, slide a twenty in my direction.

“What will that get me?” he asked.

I looked at the tag dangling from the rim of his cup. “My undying love and affection until your tea is cold?” I proposed.

He snatched the crisp bill back and replaced in his wallet. As to not seem too impressed, he consulted an old patinaed pocket watch before pushing back from the bar.    

“She might be a keeper, Mickey,” he assessed to the lion shadowed man.

“You ever bartend before?” Mickey asked.

“Here and there.”

“You scare easily?” he questioned

“Scarier than old cabbage face?” I asked nodding in the general direction of the foul scented man.

“Depends on what kind of mood Frankie is in.”

“Who’s Frankie?” I innocently asked.

The echo from my words seemed to instantly create a vacuum. In that moment, I swear it was like a scene from an old western.  You know the one when the new guy in town steps foot into the saloon, mid raucous party and the entire place stops on a dime.  

I stood admist the swirling purple mist until finally Mickey broke the silence.

“When can you start?”, he asked.

“When do you need me to start?” I challenged.

“Yesterday, “he smirked.

“Sadly, my time machine is in the shop. Would tomorrow work?”  I proposed.

“I can work with that. Come back at 11:00 tomorrow morning.”  

The oddity of the situation hadn’t quite sunk in.  Not wanting to jinx it, I smiled politely and headed for the door. 

“Great see you at 11:00.”

I took two steps forward and then realized I had failed to tell Mickey my name.

“I almost forgot…” I started to say, but Mickey was nowhere to be seen. He had literally vanished from the room as quickly as he had appeared.

I turned back to the door as a look of confusion spread across my face.

Ever the nobleman, Carter held the door open as I hesitantly exited the tavern. 

“Does it always feel like another dimension in there?” I asked.

“Pretty sure IT IS another dimension.” he laughed.

I smiled in response and began back the way I had entered.  As I made a slight right onto Beethoven and crossed over to Green, I heard Carter’s voice crack through the howl of the wind.

“Welcome to Orlando’s!” he yelled.

I nodded in thanks and tried to get my bearings straight.  It was getting late and the chill of the air was blistering.  This was definitely not a cold I wanted to get lost in.