Toughest Gal in Letterkenny

Part 1

"What can I get for ya?" the bartender asked, her head tilted at an awkward angle. Her name tag said Gail, and her body language said something obscene.

"A pint of something local?" I asked, brushing a lock of my dirty blonde hair behind a heavily pierced ear.

"Not from around here, huh?" Gail responded.

"Get this gal a fuckin puppers," said a voice from behind me. An attractive brunette woman sat down on the bar stool next to me as Gail handed me a bottle of dark beer with a dog on the label. "I'm Katy," said the woman, "that there's Daryl, Dan, and my brother Wayne." She gestured to a trio of men at the opposite end of the bar.

"I'm Maggie," I responded, taking a swig of the beer.

Katy shifted her weight and took a sip of her own before speaking again, "hey, do you want to come sit with us? Those degens from up country have been giving you eyes since you walked in." I followed her gaze to a group of guys in a corner booth. One of them flashed a rude gesture.

"Gladly," I said, standing up from my place at the bar. I could certainly handle my own with guys like them, but didn't feel much like dealing with that sort of thing on my first night in a new town.

"Another round of Gus 'n Bru, Gailer, and one for my friend here," Katy called out as we walked over to the boys, "Darry, Dan, Wayne, this is Maggie. She's new in town."

One of the men stood up stoically, and from his resemblance to Katy I drew the conclusion that he was Wayne. He wore a red plaid shirt tucked into clean jeans with no belt. He was tall, but not quite as tall as me, not to mention that the heeled boots I was wearing gave me several inches on him. "Maggie, how are you now?" he asked.

"Pretty good I'd say, how about yourself?" I asked in turn.

He returned to his seat, and I took one on the end next to Katy. "Fantastic."

Gail walked over to our group and placed a shot of whiskey in front of each of us. I downed mine just as quickly as the rest of the group, but was left feeling very out of place when they each tapped their empty glasses twice against the bar. "So what brings yous to Letterkenny, Miss Maggies?" asked one of the other two men, this one wearing overalls and a faded red and white baseball cap.

"Living with my uncle for the summer," I answered.

"Oh, who's your uncle?" asked Katy.

I was uncertain whether or not they'd know him, but this seemed like the type of town where everyone knew everyone. "Bob Jones, he runs-"

"Jones Auto Parts!" you were cut off by the third man, "Bob's a great guy."

"Bob's your uncle?" Asked Wayne.

"Where's old Bob been hiding his beautiful niece all these years?" asked the man in the baseball cap.

"Take about 5-10% off there, Squirrely Dan," Katy cut in quickly, "Where are you from, Maggie?"

"Well I grew up in the states, suburbs of Ohio."

"A yank, eh?"

I laughed a little. "Something like that. I'm gonna go have a smoke if anyone wants to join," I said, standing up and fishing a pack of cigarettes out of my purse.

"I'd have a dart," Wayne said, finishing the last of his beer and placing the empty bottle on the bar before standing up. The two of us walked out the back door of the bar and stood in the alley, Wayne pulling his own pack of smokes out of the breast pocket of his shirt. He lit his cigarette with a small lighter before holding it out to me, offering me the flame.

I lit mine from his hand, "Thanks," I said after taking in a long draw. Smoking was an awful habit of mine, but there were worse things to be addicted to. Besides, it gave me an excuse to stand outside for a few minutes whenever I wanted to escape a crowd or take a breather.

We hadn't been outside long when my phone began to ring. I pulled it from the pocket of my shorts and saw the name "Luke" on the screen then quickly denied the call.

"Wrong number?" Wayne asked, his grey eyes peering sideways at me.

"Ghost from a past life," I answered, quickly putting my phone away and sucking down the end of my cigarette. "Best get back to it," I said, sticking the butt in an ashtray near the door.

"Best," Wayne said, finishing his in turn before stepping in front of me and opening the door, standing to the side so that I could enter first. I smiled at him before reentering the bar. Perhaps chivalry wasn't dead, it was just hiding in Letterkenny.