Tom's Tavern and Boozing Joint, is perhaps the most clichéd bar one can find. Mostly oak interiors, dim lighting, the smell of alcohol, an older bartender and a small crowd of regulars, this tavern has it all. Sure, it's constantly put down by almost anyone who has heard of it and the closest thing it has to live music is an ancient jukebox that no longer works but, it gets the job done. The bartender and proprietor Tom knows his stuff and after a little time with him you'll be as drunk as a clam. A drunk clam!
Tucked away in one corner of the room is a small flat screen TV which shows white with a blue blob in the middle. Or to put it bluntly, skiing, rather skiing highlights. When he's not serving drinks, Tom is very attentive to the screen and so are his customers, when they aren't filling their mouths with the sweet sweet taste of alcohol.
"Come on, fall already!", shouts the drinker on the furthest left. He's a short but lean young Esperanto man with a flowing black mane.
On the TV is Jean-Luc Lacroix, who is twisting and turning his way down his second run of the slalom course. Because of his horrible showing on the first run, he had been all but eliminated from a shot at the top ten and the way this run was looking, he was set to finish behind home-town hero Sócrates Reyes. That didn't stop the negativity that each of the guys sent his way in the hopes that their bad thoughts would cause him to make a mistake and go down.
"Oh, come on Jeanny Boy. Give up and fall already," yelled the same man who chanted before. Despite his best efforts at telekinesis, he failed and a second or two after he finished his last chant, Lacroix finished his run and after looking at the clock promptly held his head in shame.
"Murillo, can you please stop saying 'fall' every time someone who is not one of ours takes a run," Tom said to the patron who had been making the chants.
For a second, Murillo entertained the possibility of fighting back but, he knows how Tom gets when people act up in his bar. He saw it happen just last week with Chris, who sat to his left and after seeing that, he's promised himself that if at all possible, avoid getting Tom mad. So, instead of fighting Murillo just nodded and asked for Tom to turn the volume up.
"Sure thing," Tom said as he reached for the remote.
"And next up here in Kääriäinen is Sócrates Reyes, who is of course for Virabia", as the commentator said that the tavern "erupted" with cheers for the home-town boy.
The commentators on the TV began to have a dialogue about Reyes' recent performance with Colour Commentator Earl Wilkins saying, "He's done rather disappointingly today. On his last run, he just didn't look himself. Each turn took a lot out of him and in the end it costed him."
His play-by-play partner Robert O'Neal continued Earl's train of thought, "Yea, it has. 53 seconds might be the worst performance of his in the slalom in quite some time and it's been rather disappointing. You'd think, with the Olympics, so close, he'd want to be on the top of his game, yet, he's done quite poorly today."
"Oh no, the whole team has. Both men and women. Just disappointing", said Earl, trailing off to at the end.
"It has", agreed O'Neal, "Anyway, Reyes looks to be only seconds away from taking his final run!" The tv, which had been showing B roll of the resort switched to an image of Reyes, attentively awaiting in the start house.
Tom who was feeling slightly benevolent called out, "If Socks can bet out Johnny Boy, next rounds on the house!"
Enticed by the free drinks the small collective of bar goers cheered and almost simultaneously, the gate flung open and Reyes was on the course. Due to the volume in the bar, the TV could barely be heard but, each of the guys (and gals. There were two females there) understood what was going on. All of them cheering on their fellow countryman and in many cases their own friend. Of course, Sócrates couldn't hear the cheers but, even if he did hear them as a voice in their head they hardly could have made his run much worse.
Similarly to his first run, he did not look himself. His turns seemed forced and lacked the rhythm of a successful run. Throughout much of it it looked like he was going to go off the course and there was a point about half way through where he was scarily close to falling. Nonetheless, he finished his run but, he didn't have to look at the clock to be disappointed. He knew full well that he looked atrocious out there but, luckily he was done for the day. The torture was over for him and in three days, he'd get a chance of redemption in Lexington.
Those in Tom's Tavern (Tom included) were similarly disappointed. The entire team had done poorly today and many fans had grown used to the results of the past few races. Results which had helped catapult their beloved nation into second place. In the gloom and doom, though, there was one bright spot. Sócrates had done better than Jean-Luc and keeping true to his word, Tom began pouring the next round.
And who didn't say that beer heals all wounds!
