2020-03-19 - Happy *$&#ing Birthday

How slow is it at The Twofer tonight? Well the entire waitstaff is currently playing darts and drinking. That's how slow it is. Easton has on his usual black dress shirt and jeans and is nursing a beer while waiting for his turn. Karen, rocking the most Karen of hairstyles, is currently up and her merciless trip eighteens not only closes it out but sets her team up to only need bulls from here on out to finish this round of Cricket. Easton gets to his feet and manages to get two out of his three darts into something useful but it's still not looking good for him and Mani. He makes some marks on the chalkboard and sits back down at the hightop waiting to see if the waitresses are about to finish them off.

Isolde wanders in to TIBS, chuckling a bit when she sees the staff playing darts and having drinks. She smiles a little more seeing Easton and gave him a wave. "Hi Easton! Congrats again with the drinking win!" Her tone is cheerful as she moves to a spot at the bar, closer to where the darts is taking place. "Who's winning this one?" Her hair is left down and she is wearing a pair of black jeans with a lightweight longsleeved green shirt.

What the hell is Katherine thinking, walking into this particular bar, the one she intentionally avoids because of the one who owns it? Well, the Pourhouse was out of the way to get a couple of drinks after a day trip to Seattle for business meetings. And owners don’t tend to be in all the time, right? Maybe she’ll luck out and not see him there. Maybe.

Walking in with a long grey jacket on and a salmon coloured suit, her long hair in a high ponytail, Katherine enters, her footsteps heard across the floor. She enters in a way where her back is facing the Darts setup and doesn’t notice Easton among those playing until she sits at the bar and hears his name as someone greets him, and she exhales sharply, about to leave once more but decides to order a shot of tequila first.

The staff does a poor job of hiding their disappointment when an actual customer comes in but Tracy manages to keep her composure and nail down a double bull. Easton should have realized how seriously they would take this game with the prize on the line. Karen and Tracy immediately untie their aprons and both slap Easton in the face just as he's about to greet Isolde. "He-.." The two waitresses laugh and head for the door, apparently having just won the right to leave early. Easton, peeling the aprons away, greets Isolde, "Hey, great to see you. And thank you. Hope you had a blast on yer birthday?"

The fact that another customer just happened to walk in causes Easton to actually get up from his seat and toss an apron to Mani, "Congrats, you've been upgraded from dishwasher to wait staff." Walking towards the bar he asks Isolde, "Can I get you something to drink? Some food maybe? Everythings still on .." He adds quietly to himself, "Probably." But around that time he realizes exactly who is waiting for him at the bar and he lets out a low whistle like exhale of expectation as he makes his way around.

"KK" That's it. Just his nickname for her. And then he waits, pretty sure he knows what's coming he grips the bar as if bracing himself but manages to keep his face pleasantly neutral.

"It was a fun birthday. The hangover was not so fun. I definitely kissed a random stranger and then he bailed." Isolde laughed, swinging around in her seat as Easton gets behind the bar. "Just what's on tap is okay. Maybe some french fries?" Isolde nodded and then curiously looked over the woman who was near her. "Hello!" She greets her just as cheerfully though, based on Easton's reaction to the woman, maybe there was something going on? And with her own relationship currently...well, not, Isolde found herself mildly interested in the prospect of observing some external relationship drama.

Hey, speaking of exactly that random stranger.....there he is. Joe's far more of a regular here than he is at the Pourhouse, or somewhere like the Firefly. The sailor rolls in, gait stiff, bundled up in his greatcoat, that white silk scarf, and a black fleece watch cap. The cap sports, on its brim, a patch depicting a spacesuited astronaut behind a cartoonishly big mini-gun, and bears the legend 'Space Shuttle Door Gunner'. But despite the chill, he looks cheerful. If anything, a little smug, honestly, like a fox that's figured out where the key to the henhouse is.

He should know what’s coming. He’s known her drinking habits for years. Coke and rum as the social drink. Tequila for something more potent. Katherine simply looks amused at the way he’s reacting to her, as she is evaluating just how much she needs the tequila.

“Hey, E,” they seem to have this thing about calling each other other simply by initials. “A shot of tequila please. Didn’t get a chance to get my birthday shot last night.” She is simply watching his reaction, with an ear out for other conversation in case she was addressed.

“Hello!” She greets Isolde, a fellow March Baby, “Mine was yesterday. Happy Birthday!”

Roxy makes her way into TiBS, under-dressed compared to her usual vintage stuff. She's in a pair of faded jeans, boots, and a sweatshirt with the Dance Evolution logo on it. She looks tired, like she just got out of a long day at the studio. She moves towards the bar and picks a random stool, not really looking around to see if anyone she knows is here. She needs food and booze. Definitely booze.

"Aw well the whole point is to have enough fun to make the hangover worth it, right?" Easton laughs at the next part and says, "Well I approve of getting after it, it was your birthday after all." Though he doesn't comment on the less great part about the stranger fleeing. Setting down his own beer, he pulls one for Isolde and calls out to Mani, "Fries." And then with a second thought, "And some loaded tots for me." Apparently giving up on any sense of propriety tonight he's just going to eat and drink with Isolde, he assumes after Kate rips into him.

Easton raises his eyebrows when instead she orders a shot, until she explains why. "Oh shit." He pulls out a bottle of Patron and pours two shots. He slides one to Isolde, "For the birthday girls." He looks back at Katherine, almost guilty for a moment before Joe walks in.

"Joe!" His voice booms out and he's grabbing bottles of whiskey before the man even makes it to the bar. "Whiskey for you, but none for me." He stops the pour to give him a serious look, "Seriously, you see me lift one of these, just slap it out of my hand."

The bar is completely empty except for Isolde, Katherine, Joseph and Roxy and the only staff member in sight is Easton behind the bar.

"I crashed at Alexanders. Was good to spend a little time with him and see Luigi!" Isolde nodded. When Joe comes in, perhaps lucky for him, she doesn't seem to recognize him as the man she randomly kissed! Yet.

He and Roxy both get friendly "Hello!"'s before she lifts her hand to Katherine to high five. "Awesome! Happy birthday!"

Isolde would lift up her shot, "To Birthdays and french fries!" Because the French Fries were super important okay? And then she knocks back the shot.

Well does he know the shout of a man who's had his hearing damaged by combat or its adjuncts. Got a little bit of that himself, and thus a tendency to cock an ear like a curious dog, at times. "You read my mind," he says, amiably. "An' I read you. More for me, as the saying goes." A flash of a grin, for that.

A flicker of a look for Isolde....who was presumably too drunk to be writing to memory that other evening. She doesn't seem to recognize him. But Roxy, however....Joe's settling down a few stools from her. "Hey there, tiny dancer," he says, tone cajoling. Shrugging out of coat and scarf. Still with that crescent of fading bruise on his throat...and no selfconsciousness at all.

Roxy blinks at the shouting of Joe's name and looks startled for a moment. But she composes herself best she can and waits for Easton to get to her for her order. "Can I get some loaded tater tots and," she ponders a moment. "What do you suggest one drink if they want to not think about things?" She squints at the bartender, hopeful he can relay to her the secret of being drunk enough to let the world and one's worries fade for a time.

As Joe greets her she gives him a small smile, trying to banish any other emotions from her expression. "Hello, Joseph. How are you tonight?" she asks.

After the high five, when Isolde downs the shot, Katherine adds, “To one more year of drinking to remember to forget, or forget to remember.” And she downs her shot, her eyes looking at Easton as she says the words then takes her own shot.

She greets the other patrons, including Roxy and Joseph with a wave before turning her focus back to Easton. “You know, the best part about this whole situation is that I really don’t have to do anything but exist,” she points out, then she adds, handing over a credit card, “Start a tab for me.”

Mani, the dishwasher, doing his best waiter impression comes out with a basket of fries that he sets in front of Roxy before Easton shakes his head and points to Isolde, and then hands Easton his loaded tots. Easton sets them down by his beer near Katherine and points at them, saying "They're worth it" before getting Roxy's order. "Personally, I love to not think with a big ol glass of whiskey, but for you, I'd recommend a .." he looks at her and narrows his eyes, "A fuzzy navel, or a Long Island Iced Tea." In his professional bartender's opinion. The later being the stealth bomber of getting white girl wasted.

Turning abck to Isolde he says, "Alexander's been a god send for me and Bennie lately. Luigi... tolerates me." Neither the bird nor Alexander appreciate that he calls him Weeg, but that's neither here nor there.

Somewhere in there Joe also gets his customary Four Horseman.

Katherine's words bring a tight, somewhat forced looking smile to Easton's face as he nods along. "Yea, that's true. You just existing is ... plenty." He takes her card duly and starts up tab. "Oh good, you're staying." The last part more to himself, but plenty audible.

Isolde is so very intrigued by this whole interaction thing that's happening with Katherine and Easton, vaguely remembering seeing some stuff too at the Pourhouse. Kind of. However, she also has no way to not awkwardly question it directly without looking like the world's biggest busy body. So she just continues to keep an idle eye while chatting with them. "Alexander is great." She agrees with a grin. "He saved me. When I came here. Might still be under the boardwalk if he hadn't been here." She shakes her head a bit and then grabs a bottle of ketchup and the salt to doctor up her fry basket some before eating.

And then something Katherine said just a moment ago seems to click in place as a totally innocent question to ask. Albeit maybe a delayed question. "Are you trying to forget lots of things?" is asked of the woman now.

It does eventually filter through that Katherine's the birthday girl, and when Easton sets the mess of whiskey down before him, he lifts it to her, held delicately in his fingertips. "Many happy returns," he says, after a grateful flash of grin to the bartender. Then a glance to Isolde, trailing to Roxy, waiting on her answer.

"Having fuzz in your navel does NOT sound appealing," Roxy points out to Easton with a crinkling of her nose. "I will take the Long Island Iced Tea instead. Thank you." She pushes her dark hair back behind her ears and pushes the sleeves of her sweatshirt up a little, as if she's settling in for some very hard work of drinking. She's got this! Totally! She puts some money on the bartop as well, so the tender knows she's good for it.

At Isolde's question she nods. "Yes. I am." Short, sweet, simple.

Katherine chuckles at Isolde’s questioning as she (either out of habit or because they’re close by and Easton put them there, it’s hard to tell) grabs one singular tot and raises it to Joseph and says, “Thanks!” Then she addresses Isolde’s question. “I am, I haven’t met anyone who hasn’t had a drink to forget something.” She glances at Easton with a smirk and adds, “Put this lady’s drinks on my tab and another round of shots for us two. And whatever else she wants. And her food.”

There is a curious look at Easton as she formulates the question she wants to ask in her head but doesn’t ask it yet. There is a difference in her that he might be able to notice. She seems relaxed, almost happy. It’s not entirely certain if it’s the shot or something else. Definitely not the Kennedy Poker Face he’s used to seeing.

Shaking his head at the Isolde's story he says, "Well, I'm glad he did." He stops short and says, "Did you hear the good news? The Murray house? It's gone. Izzy and I watched it go up in flames, I was too late to join the party but damn if it didn't make a good show." He lifts his beer and says, "So fuck skeletor." Yes he realizes that's an odd toast, but probably not the weirdest one he's ever made so, whatever.

He laughs easily at Roxy's distaste for fuzzy navels and takes no offense on behalf of his own such one. "It's a peach schanpps drink." But he's already grabbing the five or so liquors for the Long Island and has that mixed up quickly enough for her. He gives Joe a look at the 'many happy returns' bit, like he would prefer those returns to happen elsewhere, but doesn't say so outloud.

"Yea, drinking to forget is a time honored national past time." At least he thinks so anyway. He gives Kate a wary look, his own view of her cheerful attitude is not terribly generous. He chalks it up to her enjoying screwing with him. He does venture close enough to grab some of the tots and pop them in his mouth, but he can't quite keep the suspicion out of his look.

Isolde contemplates the answers that bubble up from her question to Katherine. There may or may not have also been a giggle at Roxy's counter to a suggestion of a fuzzy naval to drink. "Fair. Drink to forget. Drink to celebrate. Drink to...drink?" She shrugs and then looks at Katherine a bit surprised as she offers to cover her bill. "Oh. Thank you! That's very nice." Not objecting because, you know, getting by on odd jobs isn't always easy money! She eats another fry and looks over towards Joe. "How about you? Drinking for anything in particular tonight?" Before taking a sip of her beer.

That's a question that deserves real consideration, by the way Joe's brows lift. "'cause I like it," he says, simply, after a moment. "I like the buzz and the warmth, 'specially this time of year. Like to do it socially - it's not what I use to numb pain though, mos'ly."

Roxy rolling up her sleeves has him pursing his lips, like he's suppressing a smile....and then he casts a dubious look at Easton. Like the bartender might argue her out of it. As if.

The Long Island Iced Tea is looked at with suspicion for a moment, because Roxy didn't see any tea going into it at all. But she gives it a sniff, and a sip, and seems to like the taste well enough for a deeper drink from the glass. "Ok, this is good, yes, thank you!" she says towards Easton. She raises her glass towards Joe. "To whatever drinking means to you!"

Katherine loves messing with Easton now that she knows she can. It was definitely uncomfortable walking on eggshells for three months, but having this particular moment is nice. She wonders if he’s letting her get away with it because he feels guilty. But he has to know she’s not actually out to ruin his life, right? Then she wonders if they ever really knew each other and her relaxed expression tenses up subtly.

And without thinking about it, it’s like old times and she is stealing half his food again. Her hands just wander into the basket of tots because he hasn’t stopped her. Her questions still remain unasked. She turns to Isolde and says, “I am drinking to celebrate too, though. I closed a deal in Seattle today.”

"I will heartily second that there is no reason required for drinking, and not just because you all have chosen to do it at my bar." Easton grins and lifts his own glass. He smiles at Roxy, "Glad you like it, but heads up that's like four drinks or so." And it still tastes like a vague sweet thing that's hard to place. He head tilts ever so slight at Joe, silently saying if Roxy wants to get shit-faced he's hardly going to stop it. Unless it gets ridiculous.

Katherine and her breezy nonchalance in his bar get another look before he asks, "Yea? Not celebrating with .. Warren?" And while it would be classic to purposefully get the name wrong he just can't remember what Bennie said it was. He does at least sound pleasant enough when he asks, and does refrain from asking her about sleeping with him so that's a plus. For now.

"Congrats!" Not that Isolde has any idea what 'closing a deal' is since it could encompass a variety of things. "Yeah," She agrees with the answers of drinking just because. "I did my drinking for reasons on my birthday." A bit of a laugh follows that. "This is just because. There's good beer and what. Goes better with good beer. Than french fries?" Probably a few things but right now this is Isolde's ideal combo. She eats a few more fries along with that.

Obligingly, he lifts his glass back to Roxy, in return. His own toast is simply, "To you." A flashback to the usual Russian toast. Only now is he starting to suss out that there's something between Katherine and Easton....and the blue eyes turn that way. Flick between them, settling on the bartender. He asks the question with a mute lift of his brows - what's the deal?

Then he echoes Isolde's congratulations. Apparently he's content to let her forget their previous meeting.

Roxy knocks back a good third of her tea in one go, which may be alarming to some. As she sets it down her loaded tots arrive, and those should hopefully soak up some of the copious alcohol content she's imbibing. Or it'll otherwise make for a very colorful regret later when praying to the porcelain goddess. She digs into them heartily, wiping her fingers off on a bar napkin between bites.

"How is your boat doing, Joseph?" she asks. "Is it making it through the bad months ok?" She pushes the tots between them so he can have some.

“Wayne,” Katherine corrects Easton instantly, “And I was just on my way home and wanted to continue the birthday shot tradition...” She trails off, explaining, “I told him I would be home late from business meetings all day but we have plans tomorrow.” She glances expectantly at Easton, waiting for the shots. “The round of shots for me and...” She turns to Isolde and says, “Kate. You are? I don’t think I caught your name.”

She offers, “I had no idea about Bennie. We met randomly and became friends over coffee.” She hopes to clear things up if Easton thought she was using Bennie to get to him, which she wasn’t. “You know I’m not actually here to make your life miserable, right?”

Ah ha, there it is! Isolde briefly meets Joe's look as he also realizes the bit of tension between the pair. She just lifts her glass a bit and then looks back towards Katherine with a sunny smile. "Nice to meet you Kate. Isolde. Izzy." She pauses a moment and looks back at Easton because her player totally forgot to address this:

"Also, fuck that house." Isolde says it so sincerely. "Glad it is gone. Sad I missed it." But alas, she was sacked out on Alexander's couch like the good ole days. She takes another swig from her mug. "And Bennie is great! Very nice." She adds on the Bennie front, coming back around to the present conversation topic.

Easton isn't exactly worried about Roxy downing the drink, heck he figures she's probably good for at least three of them. He lifts his own beer to Isolde and says, "I will say, I was impressed with your birthday drinking." He gives Joe another one of those looks, wherein it's clear he's trying to communicate something, maybe?

"Riiight. Wayne. Yea, he seems like a barrel of laughs." Easton can't quite stop himself from sharing his thoughts on the guy. "So yer here. Drinking your birthday tequila ... with me. Well that's not how I thought that would go." He shakes his head before he admits, "I hope you have a great birthday KK. Just.. " He is obviously trying to come up with the right wording and after a moment just comes out with, "Just not fuckin' here." Nailed it. He deflates a little obviously aware that didn't come out great.

"Bennie is great!" Easton agrees readily and then turns to the other three, "So, everyone this is Katherine, my ex-fiance from New York. She's ... in town. Which is... great" The whole little introduction is punctuated with a bobbing head of Easton trying to either wrap his head around it, or to put it into words, maybe both.

Joe's expression is the nonverbal equivalent of a shout of 'I call bullshit!" Whatever his myriad skills, this guy has to be crap at poker, because he is utterly transparent. But he reassembles his composure, and just nods. "Pleased to meetcha, Kate. I'm Joe."

Then to Roxy, he says, gently, "She's in good shape but I bet she's barnacled to hell an' back. I'mm have to scrape her hull before I do any real serious sailing this summer." He takes a tot, nibbles at it experimentally, and then eats another.

A curious look at Isolde. "What's this house y'all been talkin' about?"

At the news that Katherine is Easton's ex, Roxy nearly chokes on her Long Island Iced Tea. She coughs into a napkin a few times. "Are you sure you do not need this tea more than I do?" she asks the Marine, all helpful and such. She's hoping he doesn't though, because she's already feeling a bit of a warmth from it. She's not a drinker. Or she hasn't been that she can recall at least. Combine that with maybe weighing 110 pounds soaking wet? It isn't going to take long for her to get drunk. She leans towards Joe to murmur, "At least he has an ex to be upset about." She stuffs a tot in her own mouth and resumes drinking.

"Knew it!" Isolde says at this announcement of them being ex-fiances and then clears her throat. "I mean. Cool." Horrible, awful cover up as she takes a longer sip from her beer which is now a little under half empty and eats some more fries. She slides off her seat and looks over to Joe. "Murray house. A very, very bad thing. But it's gone now! So that's a good thing." She explains.

"I need to go." A look to Kate - "We will do shots next time." A promise uttered! "Good night everyone!" And then she would slip out before the fireworks started.

Kate acknowledges Izzy’s departure with a wave and quickly surveys the room for the reactions to Easton’s sudden announcement of nature of their former relationship.

For the first time in almost three weeks, Katherine seems to lose her cool around Easton. The cracks in her composure are starting to show even though she is still pulling it together. When Easton points out that she’s having birthday tequila with him instead of being with Wayne, Katherine lowers her eyes and when his birthday greeting comes, she says in a cold voice, “Fine, I’ll leave your fucking bar, but if you think I’m leaving town, you can go fuck yourself. I’m settling my tab.”

Isolde's triumphant yell gets raised eyebrow from Easton. And Joe's look gets a barely there eyeroll of /I am doing my goddamn best right now/ but then Roxy is offering him her drink and he laughs, "No, no I'm good. But that's very sweet of your to offer." He chuckles and looks at Kate and then back at Roxy, "I might take you up on it later though" and gives her a wink. He is thankful for the talk of the Murray House to distract him and he fills in, "A thin place where something evil was abducting children.. it was.. Well Isolde and I and others managed to save one little girl but the place was just fucked up." he's trying to pick his words carefully to be clear, but also to not sound all: bah crazy demons from the other side are eating babies!

Katherine's cracking takes his full attention then though. He seems somehow to be far more resolved and together, the less put together she is. He breathes out a calming breath and nods, "Super. Glad you stopped by. And don't worry about the tab, it's on me." He slides the card across the counter to her and starts to give her a fake haughty smile but falters at the last second. He looks like he's about to say something kind or at least try to apologize but nothing comes out. And then he's turning and heading back towards Joe with his beer.

"Seriously. Slap any fucking whiskey right out of my hand.. please."

"That's not always the privilege you seem to imagine," Joe says, to Roxy, and his voice is utterly dry. "Believe you me." A nod to Isolde - did he catch her name?

Pursing his lips again, and he says to Easton, "Right on." Ready sympathy in his voice - clearly, this is the aftermath of some kind of impressive trainwreck.

"Would that not be a waste of whiskey?" Roxy asks Easton, a bit wide eyed. "I am Roxanne, by the way. Roxy. You make good tater tots, and drinks. And this is Joseph. He is a good friend who is very handsome and went to space." She sips some more of her drink. "I am sorry you are being tormented by an ex-fiance. That cannot be much fun."

"Roxy it is great to meet you and Joe here is one of my regulars. But I did not know that he's been to space!" He looks up at the hat and then back at Joe and gives him a look of How drunk is she? Or maybe Does that line actually work? His meaningful looks can be hard to read sometimes. He brushes off any concern, "Nah, she's not tormenting. She's ... " he looks after Kate and tries to decide, "Fucking with me. It's different. And.. I deserve it. So.." He shrugs. "She was the wronged party in the break up." Is the nice version of that story, but Easton seems to at least care that others don't get the wrong idea about Katherine so that's something.

“If you think I’m going to leave without paying for my tab, you’re fucking wrong. You can’t just try to pay me off to leave like that,” Katherine snaps when she is given her credit card back, “I’m leaving because I’m done not because you said so.”

She is livid and no longer cares, putting her credit card away, Easton seems adamant on it.

“I thought you’d be at home, fucking your girlfriend! You didn’t even remember my fucking birthday, asshole! I thought being here and ordering a birthday shot would be good enough for tradition!”

Then she storms out to go home. Because fuck Easton Marshall. She would pick up her car in the morning with a clearer head.

Works for some value of 'works'. Joe nods, apparently entirely serious. "Thanks, Roxy." ....he was really an astronaut? He's forgotten the rest of his drink in the distraction of this spectacle. Goodness.

Trying for a pokerface.....but really, sympathy for Easton is bleeding in around the edges. Even with that disclaimer. Wisely, he keeps his mouth shut, and resists the impulse to ask Katherine why she isn't home fucking her boyfriend.

"Oh," Roxy says to Easton's tale of being wrong in the breakup. She looks like she's not sure just what else to say to the man, so instead she takes another couple gulps of her drink, and sets the empty glass down, gesturing for another. "You are over this now though, correct? I saw you with the very pretty blonde woman at the Bar-lympics, and the Pourhouse. She is beautiful and seems very nice."

At Katherine's tirade she blinks owlishly, bright blue-green eyes wide and maybe having a bit of trouble focusing on the cursing woman. She clearly thought Katherine had already left. Booze goggles. Oops. She leans towards Joe again to stage whisper, "I do not think SHE is over it though." Her drunken shock expression may be something adorable, if it wasn't accompanied by a tater tot flavored burp.

Easton just lets her yell at him. He winces at the part about not remembering her birthday, that's fair. He kind of got caught up in the whole holy crap Katherine is in town and out to destroy him to think of her as a person. One he used to care deeply about. But he tries really hard to keep his mouth shut but if you watch very closely you can see the moment he decides that's not happening, "Happy fucking Birthday!" he calls out after the retreating Kate.

And while he does not take out a bottle of whiskey he does pull out a pack of cigarettes and light up. Yes inside, behind the bar. He looks at the two at the bar with a scowl that says they are not discussing that. "Yea" He is thankful for Roxy bringing up Bennie, "I am and Bennie is fantastic. Not that..." he sighs and grumbles but doesn't quite compliment Katherine there. When talking about her not being over it he shrugs and says, "It was.. not that long ago. A year.. maybe two?" He blows smoke out his nostrils, but has at least retreated to do so on the other side of the bar from them.