The Anchor

Chapter 3

Once again Trevor was pissed. And once again, he was pissed at her. She drags me out here to this Podunk little town. Treats me like a child. Expects me to obey her every wish! I don't know anybody. This absolutely sucks! This conversation goes on in his head over and over until he pulls up in front of their house. Putting the truck in park, he realizes where he is. Back at her house.

"I am not going to spend the rest of my day waiting for her to come home and yell at me some more, I am going out." He stepped out of the truck and started walking downtown. It was close to 11:00 AM. He figured one would be open for lunch.

Reminding himself to make mental notes on how to get home. As he walked up the over-wide sidewalk, wide enough to accommodate a lot of traffic when they were first built, he passed
shops and stores that looked like mom and pop shops trying to sell anything and everything, just to get traffic through the doors. There were some really large storefronts that looked like they had been vibrant at one point. I wonder what this place looked like when it was busy... Trevor thought once again as he stared at some of the boarded up storefronts. He stopped and looked at one abandoned space. It was huge. The worn hardwood floors were scattered with debris from other owners using it as storage space. Space that had become a place where others would drop off materials from a failed or failing business, hoping that in better times, they could be used again. They would never be collected again. They now collected dust. Because it is in the middle of Kansas, this place sits idle. "Was this a Woolworth's or a JC Penny's or what the hell was this???" He thought to himself as he cupped his hand around his eyes to cut off the glare of the bright day to peer into the dark and dusty store. He was amazed at what he saw.

He wiped his hands off on his jeans and started to walk again. He looked around and saw a half dozen buildings just like this one. Some of them were opening up for the day. Of all the business that are thriving downtown, the bars seem to be doing the best. Nothing like finding a place to drink before lunch! he thought to himself. As
he walked, every step made him less mad and more thirsty.

One of the doors that were opening for the day was a bar and grill that had taken over the ground floor of one of the abandoned stores. The neon beer signs and the smell of burgers on the grill made the decision easy for Trevor as he started his way across the not-so-busy main street. As he walked in, he noted again the high ceilings with the ornate tin patterns, the crown moldings making the smooth transition from ceiling to wall but there was a lack of the crap left over from previous failed businesses. This place put a genuine smile on his face. Today is going to be a good day! Trevor thought to himself as he sat down, unconsciously taking the whole scene in. I am going to be here for a while...." he
said to himself as he slid his check card towards the guy behind the bar. It was actually Sharon's account but she had put his name on the account several years ago when he had a job. But, he wasn't thinking about that as he ordered his first beer, and a burger and fries.

The large flat panel TV's were in stark contrast to the old-time drug store feel that this place gave off. The TV right in front of where he was sitting had the NFL Network on and it was showing NFL Classic games. It was the perfect way to drink the day away.

People came and went throughout the afternoon with their productive lives. He just sat and drank. Every once and a while he would get a new beer. He knew that that he was supposed to report to his new job in the morning. He could not get too drunk. He had been able to teeter on the edge of being completely shit-faced and sobering up. This teetering between sobriety and feeling" All Right" takes a long time. He lost track of which game he was watching and the fact the 11:00AM had turned into 8:30PM, when he realized that the night crowd was starting to come in, Trevor signed the last credit card receipt from his day of drinking and slowly made his way to the door. He hoped that he could find his way back to the house. As he walked down the awning-covered sidewalk, the nightlife was surprisingly alive. There were restaurants and coffee shops speckled along the abandoned businesses downtown. The only thing he noticed though was that he could only see where he was walking when he passed in front of one of these places.