Starry Nights
After having checked all his answers on the physics midterm, Mick looked at his watch to see what time it was. He was surprised to discover that it was almost 12:00 p.m. which prompted him to hurriedly collect up his belongings before standing to turn in the exam. When Mick arrived at the food court, he continued to be vexed that it had nearly taken him the three allotted hours to complete the exam. Feeling somewhat pressed for time he did not bother to deliberate much before snatching a roast beef and Boursin multigrain wrap from the Grab-n-Go sandwich bar and rushing back to Bradley Hall.
When Mick got back to his dorm room, he quickly gathered up all his dirty clothes and started the load of wash before sitting down to eat his lunch. Mick knew he should have done his laundry the night prior but after returning from Zoe's recital he wanted to concentrate on and spend as much time as possible studying for the physics test.
It was the second day of the NCAA Men's basketball tournament and the first games tipped-off at noon. His boss Gil had told Mick that he could come in as early as he wanted and with it being Friday, it was going to be a long, busy day at The Dugout. Even though Mick planned on leaving for work on Saturday morning prior to the mandatory move-out time of 12:00 p.m. due to spring break, there was going to be enough time to run his wash the following morning. Saturday however not only meant another full day of tourney games, but it was also St. Patrick's Day, and Mick realized that every possible minute of sleep was coveted, so laundry now meant more shuteye tomorrow morning. As soon as his last tee shirt was folded, Mick grabbed his car keys and ran out the door.
Mick slept in until 10:00 a.m on Saturday morning which still gave him plenty of time to have breakfast, shower, pack his clothes and leave for The Dugout prior to being temporarily evicted at noontime on account of the school break. Not only had Mick taken Lonnie up on his offer to put him up for the next two weekends which allowed him to work and make good money during the busy times of the tournament, but Mick had also accepted Katrín's invitation to come to her parents' home along with the astronomy club for the intervening week. He placed his laptop and phone charger in his backpack along with a few other odd items and rolled his pillow up inside his sleeping bag. Once Mick double-checked that he was good to go for the week he picked up his bags, locked the door behind himself and headed to his vehicle for the drive to work.
Mick ditched his car in the tenant parking lot behind The Dugout as his boss Joe Gilman had given him permission to abandon it there for the night. When he walked through the rear entrance the buzz about the kitchen was immediately apparent indicating to Mick that the bar was already packed with customers and jumping. Gil found Mick before he could even punch in and began to rattle off the game plan to him which did not seem to deviate much from New Year's.
"We have Guinness on tap at both ends of the bar so be ready to change kegs all night," instructed Gilman before adding, "Plastic cups only and if they complain that the Guinness isn't cold tell them that's how its served in Ireland."
"Got it," acknowledged Mick as he hung up his coat.
Over the din of the bustling kitchen, Gilman barked, "Shots of Jameson are three dollars so help Lonnie out with that when you can and push the Mile-high hot corned beef sandwich and entrees with glazed carrots, smashed potatoes and Irish soda bread." Joe's attention was momentarily drawn to a ticket accompanying two plates sitting under the warming lamps. After checking the order, Gil picked up the warm platters and as he backed into the kitchen's swinging door he shouted at Mick, "Don't forget Maggie at the horse trough with ice and Killian's Irish Red."
"Switching it up from silver bullets," thought Mick, "Joe must have stock in Molson Coors brewing."
A little over an hour into his shift, Mick found himself down in the cellar swapping out his first keg. As he placed the spent container next to the other three empties congregating outside the walk-in cooler, Mick could not help but be reminded of his run-in with Athena on New Year's Eve, and at the health clinic. He wondered if she would make an appearance at some point as Athena had suggested she might see Mick on St. Patrick's Day.
Athena quickly slipped from Mick's mind as the day was no less frenetic than expected. Between all the revelers who found themselves temporarily Irish for the day, and one of the basketball games not concluding until after the midnight, The Dugout stayed fairly busy right up to last call at 1:45 a.m. The bar would be opening at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday and with heavier than normal foot traffic expected due to the tournament, the entire staff stayed and cleaned until almost 3:30 a.m.
It was mostly silent during the fifteen-minute drive to Lonnie's as they were both equally wiped. Lonnie told Mick as he pulled out the sofa bed for his guest, "I have to find some sheets for you." Mick instructed Lonnie not to worry about it, he would just use his sleeping bag because truth was, Mick wanted to get horizontal as soon as possible.
The two did not have to be back at The Dugout until 4:00 p.m. so they each made sure to sleep in past noon. When Mick finally came to, he found Lonnie in kitchenette. "Hope that thing wasn't too uncomfortable," remarked Lonnie.
"I was in the military," Mick informed him, "that was four stars compared to most of the cots, bunks and other places I had to sleep."
"I can offer you some Cheerios or I'm making a banana kale smoothie," Lonnie told his visitor.
"What else do you put in the smoothie?" inquired Mick.
"Some unsweetened almond milk, flax seeds and honey," he apprized his itinerant boarder.
Lonnie was a funny guy, in that he took great care of his body by exercising and eating healthy, but he was a prolific partier, however.
"Do you want me to make some coffee he asked his temporary roommate.
"That sounds good, thank you," replied Mick, "And I'll take a banana if you have any left over."
Although it was still very crowded, Sunday at The Dugout was not nearly as hectic as the day before had been. It was not until Mick went down to into the basement to begin bringing ice up to the bar did he realize that Athena had never made an appearance on St. Patrick's Day. By the time closing rolled around at midnight the bar was already empty of customers and the staff was able to leave after only an hour of clean-up. This time, Mick followed Lonnie in his own car so he could leave directly from his apartment later that day.
The two slept in until late morning on Monday and Mick took Lonnie to lunch as a thank you for putting him up for the two nights. Afterwards, he started out for Katrín's parents' home west of Denver in the mountains. Taking his rattletrap of an automobile on the long drive, not to mention up into the Front Range where it tended to be sparsely populated made him extremely anxious, and snow at this time of the year and at elevation was also a very real possibility. Nearly two hours later, Mick arrived at what he believed to be the correct destination when he pulled into the driveway of a rustic mountain house that blended beautifully into the surrounding landscape.
He admired the natural stone and wood exterior of the home as he walked up to its entryway and it did not take long for the door to open after he knocked. Katrín beamed immediately when she found Mick standing on the porch and she threw her arms around him in an extremely friendly embrace which was unexpected. "It's so good to see you, I'm glad you could make it," said Katrín as she hugged him, "Come inside and meet everyone."
Right away, Mick met Katrín's mother Silja who to his surprise bore little resemblance to her daughter, having dark hair and grey eyes. He thanked her for opening her house to him for the week. Katrín then escorted Mick down into the club basement where there were presumably three of the other houseguests sitting around a corner sectional sofa and two more shooting pool over to the side of the room. She introduced Mick to Matthew, Natalie and Liz before asking Matt who had his computer on his lap, "How does it look for tonight?"
"Improbable," he answered, "but clearing out tomorrow by midday." Katrín let Mick know that the weather had not been very cooperative since everyone arrived on Saturday.
