John Fisher was sitting at one of the many outdoor bars that covered the beach area of Phuket, Thailand watching the hundreds of sailors walking around. He had just gotten off the ship with a four day pass of not having to be back at the ship until the morning it got underway. The sun had just gone down with an evening tropical breeze blowing off of the ocean cooling off the heat of the day. All of the bars were jumping with activity and of course there were the usual bar girls that hustled the sailors for drinks and to pay their bar fines for the night.
He was 23, tall, muscular build, brown hair, and was a second class petty officer in the Navy and this was his third trip to Phuket. Here he was sitting drinking a cold beer but the fun that he had experienced the first couple of times in Phuket seemed to not matter anymore. When he had lost his fiancé two months before deploying his life seemed to have lost the fun and wildness he had always found before. He had been so in love with her that they had discussed getting married before he deployed then flying out to Phuket with some of the other Navy wives to enjoy a honeymoon in the tropical paradise.
He drained his beer and got up from the bar stool and headed off down the street to find a quiet bar to sit in and get drunk. This whole deployment was out of whack emotionally. He had requested to be left behind because of the tragic circumstances surrounding his fiancé's death. She had been working late at the doctor's office and when she came out to get in her car had become caught in a gang drive by shooting. She was hit in her heart and died instantly. The police had still not found the shooters or even why shooting had happened. His Captain had met with him personally after it had happened and conveyed his sincerest apologies and condolences but, John's job on the ship was critical and they needed him for the deployment. John was given a week off and then it was back to preparing for deployment. When he came back he wasn't the hard charging sailor that he had once been.
John realized as he was walking down the main drag that he had been so desperate to get off the ship and away from it that he had forgotten to pack a bag for his stay ashore. He shrugged his shoulders and decided that he could always pick up some cheesy shorts and tank tops to wear later. He took one of the many side streets that were a little quieter than the others. He saw a bar with the name "The Rainbow Bar" that was quiet and it had only a few customers in it. Most of the customers appeared to be European men. John shrugged his shoulders and said, "Fuck it! It's quiet and there aren't any Navy guys around." He walked in and headed for a corner table.
A waiter came over and asked what he wanted to drink. "Sir, what may I get you?"
"Please get me a cold beer and keep them coming for the next hour." John said with a sigh.
"Do you know what kind of bar this is?" the waiter asked. He knew that this American was a sailor and probably didn't realize he had walked in to a gay bar.
John looked up with an irritated look. "Listen asshole, I don't care what kind of bar this is! All I want to do is drink some beer without any other sailors around me and some bar girl hustling me for drinks asking me to take her to a hotel to fuck her!"
The waiter shrugged his shoulders and walked back to the bar to get John his beer.
John leaned back in his chair and let out a loud sigh. He looked around the bar and realized that there wasn't a single woman in the bar but, he really liked the fact that there weren't any other navy guys to bother him.
The waiter came back with a beer and left him alone to drink it. John took the beer and took a big swig of it and then leaned back. As far as he was concerned the Navy could do without him for the next four days and if he had his say he and the Navy would have parted ways a few months ago.
The owner of the bar came walking in and saw John sitting in the corner. This was strange seeing an American sailor in his bar because he knew that this bar was one of the out of bounds area for sailors. He walked over to the John and sat down and signaled the waiter to bring a drink for him as well as for John.
John look irritated at the man that had just sat down at the table. "What the fuck you want?"
"My name is Marc and I own the bar, however, I hope you do realize that this is a gay bar or what you American sailors like to say a "Fag" bar." The man said as the waiter set the drinks on the table. "I think this is one of the bars your Navy has declared out of bounds for you guys."
John finally admitted to himself that this was a gay bar but, from the moment he had come in the bar there was a feeling of being comfortable and a feeling of being at home. On top of it the music that was playing was helping him to relax. "Look, I just want to sit here and drink my beer quietly and enjoy some peace and quiet away from the fucking Navy. I promise I'll sit in the corner here and not bother anyone." John said in almost a pleading voice.
"Well, you sound rather desperate my young friend so, as long as your quiet I don't mind you being here but, if your Shore patrol comes by I don't want a scene." Marc said standing up. "If you need anything let me know and I'll see what I can do." Marc grabbed his drink then stood up heading to the bar to check the stock of alcohol for the night.
John sat there finishing his beer and then started on the one that Marc had bought him. He watched as some of the men were sitting close to each other and holding hands. He at first felt uncomfortable but realized as time went by that it wasn't as bad as the Navy said it was about gay bars in Phuket. John was enjoying his beer, the music, and relaxing when Marc came over an hour later with two beers and sat down.
"By the way I introduced myself but I didn't catch your name." Marc said sitting down and placing one of the beers in front of John.
"I'm sorry, my name is John Fisher." John said holding out his hand. "I didn't mean to bite your head off earlier it's just that I've been under a lot of stress lately from an incident that happen a couple of months before the ship deployed. Today was the first time I've been off the ship in about a month and a half and I didn't want to be around sailors at least for the next couple of days."
Marc understood exactly what John was saying. "Yes I can relate to that. I'm originally from California but about five years ago I became caught up in some bullshit in college and it got so bad that I dropped out of college, came over here opened up "The Rainbow bar" and have been minding my own business since then."
John look surprised at this tall muscular Californian runaway that looked like he belonged here. "Well Marc, I like this bar and could care less that this is a gay bar. The music is okay and the owner is alright as well." John raised his beer and toasted to Marc.
