2020-08-18 - TIBSFEIKNDEW

Vic has finally been given the medical 'all clear' to return to work. At least to her day job. No one really cares if she's healthy enough for her other job. The tall blonde comes out of the back room, tying a short, black apron around her waist. Her hair is loose and down, so expect it to be in any foo foo drinks people order. She's otherwise in a pale blue tee and jeans, with her usual tactical boots, because she can finally bend over to lace up the damn things. She's still not allowed to lift more than ten pounds, but that just means she won't be hauling crates of glassware back to the dishwasher.

She looks up from finishing the knot in front of her waist to see... "Goddammit." Karaoke equipment. Her eyes roll, hard, as she takes up a clean bar towel and tosses it over one shoulder. "You could have warned me," she quips to her boss, Bennie.

August isn't looking up to singing tonight. He's pale, and there's patches of webbed bruising visible on his neck and lower left arm, as well as the trailing edge of some gauze peeking out from under the pushed up sleeves of the black UW hoodie he's wearing. Gray-wash denim jeans and a purple tee complete the outfit; he's not trying to impress people just now. Except for how he's giving anyone who so much as bats an eyelash at him a stony-faced, challenging look. An 'Ask me why I jilted her at your fucking peril' look. ...it's more than a little off-putting with all those weird injuries on him. Maybe Eleanor's younger brother beat him up and forced him to go through with the wedding!

Dahlia couldn't believe half the rumors she'd heard during her shift at Firefly today. This town was making less sense by the minute and what better way to shake off nonsense then dragging one of your significant others to karaoke? "The real question is," She says as she looks up at Justin, "Is are you gonna sing with me? Or just leave me up there all alone?" She laughed, giving a wave to Bennie but the first stop for Dahlia is the bar. Because she's getting some liquid courage first. She's in a pair of jean shorts that stop about mid thigh, frayed on the edges, and a black v-necked shirt.

"Welcome baaaaack!" Bennie chirps at Vic, giving her a wide smile at that warning comment before she goes back to frowning at the computer, her tongue making an appearance at the corner of her mouth as she concentrates.

Still honoring the talk Easton had with her about serving customers proper drinks, Vic looks to Dahlia with a thin smile and asks, "What can I get you?" Her expression, however, says, 'don't make it fancy'. She is the worst. Her eyes sweep towards Bennie and she sticks her tongue out at her boss for a moment of childishness, because she may be on painkillers still.

"I will totally sing with you if you want to do a duet," Justin tells Dahlia as they make their way into the bar. He follows her on over to the bar itself so that they can both get something to drink. It's been a weird day. He's in a pair of board shorts with a plain t-shirt and sandals on his feet, looking very much the beach bum on this warm August evening.

"We should! But, I feel like the only duet I know is that one from Grease? When they fly in the car." She snapped her fingers as she tried to think about the name. "Ah! You're the one that I want." She gave him a playful little poke and chuckled. At the bar she flashed Vic a smile. "Just a beer is fine for me. Whatever's on tap. I ain't picky." She knows the look all too well, and knows she's had her own look like that plenty of times working behind the bar at Firefly.

Stepping inside, Scott looks around for a few moments to see if there's someone he knows around, Scott makes his way over to get hold of something to drink. "Looks like a nice time for some music, right?" he remarks to nobody in particular. Of course, in his mind, it's always a good time for music. Music is life, right?

Itzhak has been pre-gaming, and by the time he and Ruiz roll in, he's well on his way to required karaoke levels of blasted. He's dressed up for the occasion too, in an absolutely ridiculous tank top. It has a full bleed illustration of a rainbow unicorn prancing under rainbows in a colorful meadow. He's paired it with extremely tight black jeans and rainbow Converse. He seems to be in a pretty good mood, but as he and Ruiz come in, someone near the door shoots him a dirty look and hisses something under their breath. Itzhak doesn't notice, he's too busy living his best life. "OAKES!" He swans over to Bennie and insists on smooching her cheek.

August orders his usual black and tan and has a seat the the bar. ...he doesn't order it from Vic, so she doesn't have to try and sort out how to pour one. He also gets some tots, so he has something to use as ammo if anyone gets stupid about this blatant lie involving himself and the woman he is absolutely marrying, by the goddamned way. Itzhak strolling in looking like he rolled in a bag of skittles on his way out the door gets a smile out of him, at least. "Looking good, big guy. What're you singing tonight?"

Vic pours Dahlia a beer into a clean glass. See? She's not THAT horrible of a person. Then she slides it over on a bar napkin. She's been mercifully deprived of most of the odd whisper campaigns happening lately, due to being laid up for several weeks with her injuries, and being an ornery creature that doesn't invite company. So, August only gets the usual look she gives him and everyone else, and Justin and Dahlia are spared any odd expressions as well. Itzhak, however, gets a faintly amused expression, because Joe and Ravn told her about the whole Russian Spy thing earlier today. Or maybe it's that insane tank top he's wearing.

"Could do Need You Now," Justin says, suggesting a Lady Antebellum song as he leans up against the bar next to Dahlia and says to Vic, "Just a beer for me, too. Whatever she's having." He then turns his attention out to the room to look and see if he recognizes anyone there, lifting a hand to wave to Bennie whenever he manages to catch sight of her.

Bennie cheerfully tilts her cheek to any and all Itzhak smooches. "You look fabulous, darling." Her first instinct is to pronounce it Dah-link, but she obvi doesn't want him thinking she puts any stock in the rumor if he misinterprets it as her attempt at Russian. "So glad you're here. I need you to pop my cherry." Meaning she's putting him first on the list of course. As she catches greetings from others, she gives a little one finger curled wave at Justin and Dahlia.

Ruiz kind of drew the line at pastel coloured unicorn tank tops, and he told Itzhak this before they left the house. Did the guy listen? NOPE. So here they are, and the cop is scowling, and the musician is on cloud nine. "I'm getting a drink," mutters de la Vega, peeling off to go do just that. He, himself, is wearing a black tee shirt with lettering on the front that says 'let me put this in spanish for you, NO', a pair of black cargo pants shoved into scuffed boots, and an LA Dodgers' ballcap tugged over his eyes. "Tequila," is obviously his poison of choice tonight, which he mumbles to the 'tender on duty without even looking up at.

"Thanks." Another smile given towards Vic before Dahlia takes a sip of the beer and sighed contently. Then looked up at Justin at his suggestion. "Mmmm sure! That one sounds fun. Though let me look it up real quick." She pulls out her phone though her attention is briefly diverted when she spots Javier. "Heya Javier." She offers with a smile and does give Itzhak a bit of a wave too as he goes to greet Bennie.Then returns to her phone to look up this song. "They should have it right? It's definitely not new and it ain't really old at all." The final comment geared towards Justin.

Justin gets the same drink Dahlia does as Vic pours it and sets it in front of the man. Then there is Ruiz on the heels of Itzhak. She smirks as she pours him a tequila. "First one is on the house. Thanks for the enchiladas," she quips to the cop. Her pale blue tee used to have a logo on it but it's faded out beyond recognition from endless washings. She leans across the bar, careful of her sore insides, to speak quietly to the Police Chief. She tips her chin towards August down the way. "That's the guy that got stabbed, so that's Roen, right?" she murmurs. "Did you warn him he might have been the real target?"

"Yeah, no reason that they wouldn't," Justin says, "It's on a couple of lists for good karaoke duet songs." He thanks Vic for the beer when she pours it and sets it down in front of him, grabbing it and taking a swallow before turning around and resting his back against the bar. He lounges comfortably enough, watching people as they come and go. The unicorn tank top is noticed and he stares at it for a moment or two, but largely because it's so detailed and he's just taking it all in like a Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper.

The biggest challenge for Scott when he decides to take part in events such as this: Deciding what to sing. And for now, he seems to be a bit lost in thought as he glances around. Taking the last steps over in the direction of the bar, he holds back a little for now, shaking his head a bit as he mutters something under his breath.

"You want I should make sure everything's working?" Itzhak totally did not listen when Ruiz forbade him any rainbow-colored unicorn tank tops. "See, ROEN likes it!" he yells at him from across the room. Not expecting an answer, he yells at August next. "Anybody gives you shit about the thing I'm gonna slug 'em!" Oh boy, a drunk Itzhak is a loud and fighty Itzhak. Vic, he finds behind the bar, and waves at her in a 'nice to see you're not dead and have significantly more blood than last time we hung out' sort of way.

August raises his beer (with his right arm) to Itzhak in a thank you. "It's a good outfit," he assures Ruiz, thus cementing himself as having no fashion sense, and not the person who chose a single suit he wears. One can only hope someone else (literally anyone else) is making the decisions regarding his wedding suit.

"What do you want to drink, Rosencrantz? It's on me, for holding my insides inside in that church. Pretty sure you're the only reason I'm still here." Vic is sincere, if tired in her expression. If she keeps this up, Bennie's not making any money tonight. "It'll be ready after your song."

Dahlia finds the song easily enough, keeping the volume low as she listens to about 30 seconds of it or so. "Oh yeah. This'll be good." She agreed, pocketing her phone away and taking another sip of beer. She shifted to settle against Justin comfortably as Itzhak was called up. Curious to see what the man was going to be singing.

The sailor rolls in wearing faded black fatigue pants and a heather gray t-shirt. Joe's had long enough to recover from the beating he took that the only remnants are those new scars visible on his face, still recent enough to be pink. He's moving a bit stiffly, but he seems cheerful enough as he heads to the bar, picking his way through the seating to grab a stool by Ruiz. He leans over and kisses the Mexican unceremoniously on the temple, and then turns to Vic to order a Jack and Coke.

Justin slips one arm around Dahlia's waist as she leans against him and leans back comfortably, lifting his beer to his lips to take a swig. Meanwhile, there's some serious side-eye being given to the pair of them by a pair of women sitting at the bar, and a few murmured whispers that don't sound very complimentary. When Itzhak is called up to the stage he lets out a whistle.

Itzhak bounds up on the stage. That's when the reason for his extra af shirt and the rainbow Converse and jeans tight enough to let everybody know he's Jewish becomes clear. He shouts to the entire bar, arms spread, "I'm bein' SUPER FUCKING GAY in your bar, Marshall! Better come punch me about it!"

As Itzhak takes the mic, Bennie exuberantly presses play on the computer. Unfortunately, it’s Madonna’s ‘Like A Virgin’ that starts pumping through the speakers. Itzhak laughs, and actually sings the first line (I made it through the wilder-ness), like it was his plan all along. “Oh, Crappydoodle! Sorry!” Bennie yips, quickly correcting her mistake and will hit start. On the proper music. At the proper time. Honest.

So now that his song is actually queued, Itzhak shoots Bennie a 'okay seriously this time' look, grinning. Of course he's picked a rocking crowd pleaser, he always does! He sings and he's actually a hell of a singer, with a rough rock'n'roll voice and power for days. The song starts easy...

Well now you may think I'm foolish
For the foolish things I do
You may wonder how come I love you
When you get on my nerves like you do
Well baby you know you bug me
There ain't no secret 'bout that
Well come on over here and hug me
Baby I'll spill the facts
Well honey it ain't your money
'Cause baby I got plenty of that
I love you for your pink Cadillac!

and then he hits the chorus like the fist of an angry god. "Crushed velvet seats - Riding in the back - Cruising down the street - Waving to the girls - Feeling out of sight - Spending all my money on a Saturday night - Honey I just wonder what you do there in back

Of your pink Cadillac!"

Vic sees Joe come in and quickly, hastily, looks away from the man. She doesn't even meet his eyes when he comes up to order. "Right, Jack and Coke." She putters around to make it, seriously off her game for a moment.

For all that Itzhak's enthusiasm is the drunk kind, August grins to hear the song he's chosen, even sings some to himself under his breath. He cuts a look at Vic for her odd demeanor with Joe, shrugs it aside. Well, the whole town's acting weird, why not the bartender who can't really mix drinks too.

Bennie gives a wide grin as Itzhak makes his proclamation to the essence of Easton, yet she can't help it turns a little sad as she looks back to the glow of the computer screen. Maybe that's why she was flustered and queued the wrong music. As it gets righted and the Schnozz starts rock'n'rolling, she makes a little gesture at Vic that she needs a drink as her toes start tapping.

Scott is unable to hold bck a bit of a grin as he hears the start of Itzhak's performance, offering the man a grin and two thumbs up. He listens for now, smiling a bit as he listens, glancing over at the various other people for now.

Ruiz is sitting at the bar, half watching Itzhak as he gets up to perform while sipping his tequila. He looks up when Joe settles in beside him, and brightens slightly at the kiss to his temple, ruffles the sailor's hair lightly as he withdraws. Something's murmured, then, and he eases away for a sip of his drink. Dark eyes once again on the fiddler and his tune.

Itzhak has to be reasonably blitzed to get like this, but he is, so, he is. He struts back and forth on stage, working the hell out of the raunchy lyrics talking about 'tempting you with silver' and 'tempting you with gold,' singing to whoever seems like they really don't want to play along. (This is several people, who either glare at him or pointedly ignore him.) "They say Eve tempted Adam with an apple, well I ain't goin' for that - I know it was her pink Cadillac!"

The last stanza he sings hamming it up with big flashy talking-with-his-hands gestures, like he's bitching to someone on a street in New York.

Now some folks say it's too big
And uses too much gas
Some folks say it's too old
And that it goes too fast
But my love is bigger than a Honda
Yeah, it's bigger than a Subaru
Hey man there's only one thing
And one car that will do
Anyway we don't have to drive it
We can park it out in the back
And have a party in your pink Cadillac!

And he wraps it up with a descending, "Pretty pretty pretty PINK!" and hangs up the mic, looking thrilled with himself. Some people in the audience are not nearly so thrilled, muttering to each other. "Tough crowd," Itzhak says, unfazed, swaggering off to the bar.

Joe's Jack and Coke is set on a bar napkin in front of him as Vic keeps her eyes moving around instead of resting on the sailor. While they're roaming, she catches Bennie's gesture. A nod is returned, and the bartender moves to pour her boss a glass of tequila. She uses it as an excuse to slide out from behind the bar and bring it over to the bubbly bar owner. "Need anything else, Benz?" she asks, eying Itzhak's performance with grudging respect for his singing, if not his outfit.

Justin sways along with Itzhak's song a little bit, giving Dahlia a little hip-bump every so often through the song and flashing her a sidelong grin. He takes another swallow of his beer and cheers the man on when he wraps it up, setting the beer down to applaud and give him another whistle of appreciation.

Hair that he really hasn't cut since his arrival in Gray Harbor right before Christmas - it's gone from a severe clip to a tumble of loose curls, touched by the sun. He grins at Ruiz's ruffling, and then says, watching Itzhak, "Man, that boy just flamed out like a faulty booster.....and that shirt's givin' me retinal burns." But his tone is only warmly affectionate, and he seems to be determined to ignore the side-eye some are aiming their way. Since the memory warp has decreed that they're both spies in cahoots with the Russians.

"Who cares if they are," August says of the crowd, fetching a drink for Itzhak and offering it up as he returns to the bar. (An Arrogant Bastard lager, for the moment; he can feel free to choose his own poison later.) "Excellent choice. I might have to keep Nat in mind for next time."

Itzhak accepts the beer with a brilliant smile for August. "Thanks!" He inflicts a bro-hug on him (drunk Itzhak is also a huggy Itzhak). "I mean it. I will punch a motherfucker," he mutters to him, gripping August's uninjured shoulder. Then he sails onward to wrap an arm around Joe's shoulder and bump his forehead against the other man's temple. "Welcome home, yeah?" He slings himself on Ruiz's other side like he belongs there, and swigs from the beer. "Glad to see you on ya feet," is for Vic.

Applauding for Itzhak's performance, Scott grins as he moves up when it's his turn to sing. "Good job," he offers, before he looks out to the crowd again. "Lovely time to be singing, isn't it?" Waiting for a few moments longer, as the music starts to play, before he starts singing, perhaps sounding a bit sentimental as he does, looking out at the crowd.

"Do you remember, chalk hearts melting on a playground wall?
Do you remember, dawn escapes from moon washed college halls?
Do you remember, the cherry blossom in the market square?
Do you remember, I thought it was confetti in our hair?

By the way, didn't I break your heart?
Please excuse me, I never meant to break your heart.
So sorry, I never meant to break your heart.
But you broke mine.

Kayleigh, is it too late to say I'm sorry?
And Kayleigh could we get it together again?
I just can't go on pretending that it came to a natural end.

Kayleigh, oh I never thought I'd miss you.
And Kayleigh I thought that we'd always be friends
We said our love would last forever
So how did it come to this bitter end?"

Ruiz pushes his glass aside so he can join in the raucous applause for Itzhak, even as he's shooting Joe a dimpled grin that's all crow's feet and dark, sloe-lidded eyes. "I'm setting it on fire when we get home," he informs the blond, still smiling, still clapping, and stops to give Rosencrantz a salacious wink as he returns to his seat. Then turn his attention to Scott as the man heads up to perform.

Vic shakes her head at Bennie. "I'm fine for now. In a bit maybe," she admits. She is tired. Today she may have overdone the walking and drinking, and her voice is still at about half normal volume for her. She shuffles back behind the bar to Itzhak's greeting and nods to the man. "In no small part thanks to you," she points out.

Joe leans in to Itz's affection, grinning like a fox. He's even got a hint of a tan, presumably from afternoons in the calm seas off the Georgia coast. "Hey, sugar, been a while. Man, that shirt, you gonna leave me blind," he teases. Ruiz's vow to burn the shirt earns him a thumb's up, and then he's taking a hearty swig of the Jack and Coke. Joe both drunk and caffeinated, that's a recipe for a case of motormouth.

Dahlia had been listening quietly, drinking and swaying some with the music. Occasionally shooting a dirty look here and there to anyone who might be giving her one for being cozied up to Justin. When Itzhak finishes his song she gives a cheer and applause. Her gaze lingers for a curious moment as she takes in the scene of Itz, Ruiz, and Joe before smiling again and finishing off her drink.

"You ready for your big debut?" She murmured to Justin, teasing him gently as she listens to Scott's singing.

"I'd appreciate it," August tells Itzhak, not remotely mocking in his solemnity. He cuts a look at Ruiz, asides to Itzhak, "I'll buy you another one if he does," and has a bit more of his black and tan. He shifts to watch Scott get up on stage, unfamiliar with the song but enjoying being out and about for the first time in days.

Scott keeps silent as the song goes into its guitar phase in the middle, smiling as he looks around at the various people present. He seems to be enjoying the moment rather well. And then it's back to singing.

"Do you remember, barefoot on the lawn with shooting stars?
Do you remember, loving on the floor in Belsize park?
Do you remember, dancing in stilettos in the snow?
Do you remember, you never understood I had to go?

By the way, didn't I break your heart?
Please excuse me, I never meant to break your heart.
So sorry, I never meant to break your heart.
But you broke mine.

Kayleigh, I just wanna say I'm sorry.
But Kayleigh, I'm too scared to pick up the phone.
To hear you've found another lover.
To patch up our broken home.

Kayleigh, I'm still trying to write that love song.
Kayleigh, it's more important to me now you're gone.
Maybe it will prove that we were right,
Or ever prove that I was wrong."

Singing done, he remains where he is until the music has stopped, before he lets out a breath. "Thank you, it's been a pleasure," he calls out before heading back down, to let the next one sing.

Justin grins over at Dahlia and says, "You say it like I've never done karaoke before." He gives her another little nudge and then says "Yeah, I'm ready whenever you are." Then he lifts his hands to clap for Scott's performance as it comes to a close.

Itzhak whistles loud and obnoxious for Scott, clapping. "Good job, brah!" He slumps back, half against the bar and half against Ruiz, and cranes around to plant a smooch on the bearded cheek of the future destroyer of rainbow unicorn shirts. "This shirt is magical," he informs Joe, with the air of having already informed Ruiz. "That's all the magic burning your eyes." He upnods to Vic, smile going a little crooked and bashful. "Well, I wasn't gonna leave Bennie without a bartender." There's some tough-guy wiseassery right there.

Late to the party, or event... or bar, whatever, get off my back, a small gamer pushes through the door into the drinking area proper. Clad in a white shirt, shorts and some tights, Abitha's outfits were definitely starting to look much more like her own. It wasn't too much of a snub at the current singer that she almost flinches away from the sound, but yaknow, the last time she went to a bar, she walked out to her store burning down.

Tonight, Abitha was trying to rip off that bandaid, and had shown up to at least have a drink or two, at least by the steady stride she takes up to head to the bar and get herself whatever local cider or sour they had on tap. Brief glances are made to those she recognizes, a small smile and wave to August, Joseph, a nod to Ruiz if any of them catch her with eye contact, but priority one was draining the first glass of amber passed across the bar to her, trading it with a black card to swipe for a tab.

Dahlia's spotted a little belatedly by the Acting (definitely Acting) Chief, and he lifts a tattooed hand to her if he manages to catch her eye, before returning to his drinking and.. well, more conversation by osmosis than anything else. Ruiz is not much of a talker at the best of times. He does, however, clap once Scott's performance draws to a close. Abitha gets a little chin-up, too, when she passes him by.

Dahlia cheered for Scott as he finished, enjoying the song and making a mental note to look it up later. She sets her empty beer glass down and takes Justin's hand as Bennie calls them up. "Then here we go." She chuckled. Ruiz gets a smile as the pair walks by him. She passes the little slip of paper to Bennie that had the song on it they were going to sing.

Looking out over the crowd, Dahlia looks a little nervous. She wasn't much of a singer. She draws in a breath during the preamble and then launches in to her part of the song! Her voice is probably average at best if we're being honest with ourselves but at least she has a lot of heart! She seems to be giving it her all.

Picture perfect memories
Scattered all around the floor
Reaching for the phone 'cause, I can't fight it anymore
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind
For me it happens all the time

It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now
Said I wouldn't call but I lost all control and I need you now
And I don't know how I can do without, I just need you now

Ruiz's stoicism is counterbalanced by the pair of blabbermouths he's dating. "Warn me next time, I'll bring my shades," Joe says, amused. He lifts an inked hand in lazy greeting to Abitha. Content to just rest there, sitting comfortably hipshot in his usual place....but then his gaze is wandering over to August, and he's giving him a thoughtful looking-over. There's clearly more than merely mundane injury here, though he doesn't seem disposed to try and shout past the music to get at the arborist, for the moment.

Vic doesn't clap for any performers, because she's a jerk. Not as big a jerk as August apparently is, as someone tries to get her to send the guy over one of those goddamned Ranger Rick drinks for the terrible thing he did to some woman or other.

Seeing Abitha come in, August moves over that way, if only to share his subdued-due-to-resting-stop-asking-about-the-nonexistent-breakup-face with someone who might appreciate its repellent nature. "Hey," he says, once he doesn't need to yell. "How you doing." He has a black and tan in one hand, and has absolutely looked better. But, well, he's standing and drinking a beer, ergo, not dead.

He catches Joe's glance, raises the beer to him in a greeting/salute and has a drink.

Justin lets himself be led up to the stage and takes up a spot next to Dahlia, grinning at her encouragingly. Doesn't seem to matter to him whether she's a singer or not. He seems happy just to be up there with her. He moves a little along with the beat of the music while she sings her part, holding his mic off to one side until it's his turn to come in on his verse. His voice is smooth and practiced as someone who sings professionally, and he smiles at her while he sings the lyrics, not needing to read them.

"Another shot of whiskey, can't stop looking at the door
Wishing you'd come sweepin' in the way you did before
And I wonder if I ever cross your mind
For me it happens all the time

It's a quarter after one..." the chorus goes on until they both sing together.

One finger is lifted to August as the beer glass is held for a longer moment that is probably advisable, and Abitha is setting it down just above half drained. Swallowing and wiping the sides of her mouth carefully (Wearing makeup again!), she has enough time to take in that look and his general state.

"I'm gonna guess better than you. And offer my condolences." She then clamps down on her lips and holds it, like she was trying to hold in a laugh. It was really hard to resist.

Ruiz is distracted, then, by the next performer who goes up on stage. He does a little double-take at Dahlia, and the song she picks, and the guy whose hand she's holding. Glass paused at his mouth, then completing the sip he was about to take. He listens as he finishes off his tequila, and orders another, half listening to the conversation nearby.

Vic pours Ruiz another, not knowing the pair on stage enough to wonder about them the way the Acting Chief seems to be. She looks at the trio of men at the bar and asks, flatly, "You haven't heard any weird shit about me lately, have you?" Those tourists earlier today bothered her.

Joe follows the direction of Ruiz's glance, and looks curious. Oh, he's been listening to the performers, applauding when appropriate....but that reaction he's not sure of. So he leans in to the cop, murmurs against his ear. August gets a lift of his glass in return. The sailor shows no inclination at all go up there and inflict himself on the audience, though.

August gives Abitha a look for the condolences. He points at her. "Because it's you, and only because it's you, I won't have Itzhak come over here and make good on his offer to educate people about that." He straightens, sniffs in a haughty fashion. "A friend suggested we do our wedding night on the carousel in front of God and everyone to settle things. I'm giving it some serious thought." He has a drink of his beer, half-shrugs about how he looks. "Another of those things of theirs. A bad one, so," he points his beer at her, "watch out. It was nasty. Real nasty. Personal."

It's easier for Dahlia to focus on Justin and the lyric prompter, sort of mentally blocking out everything else. The song finishes with them singing together until the music fades.

Whoa oh whoa

Guess I'd rather hurt than feel nothing at all
It's a quarter after one, I'm all alone and I need you now
And I said I wouldn't call but I'm a little drunk and I need you now
And I don't know how I can do without, I just need you now
I just need you now

Oh baby I need you now ooh ooh

The mics get put back up and Dahlia is chuckling as they exit the stage and start making their way back to the bar. "You're so full of good ideas." Teasing Justin affectionately. "We'll have to research some other types of duets for next time."

Itzhak applauds Dahlia and Justin, though honestly, he looks a little confused too. "Nice!" he yells--everybody is getting yelled at tonight.

A man, not a big man, a pretty regular looking guy, but drunk, shoves his way to the bar and purposefully rams Itzhak's shoulder with his own. Itzhak swallows a startled yelp, hits the dude with a glare. "I'm sitting here, pal, watch it!"

As the song ends, Justin gives Dahlia a one-armed hug about the shoulders and grins, "Karaoke is a great distraction from the weird of the day. And I'll sing whatever duet you want to sing next time. Just pick one and let me know what it is." They make their way down off the stage and one of the women sitting at the bar who had been eyeing them earlier hisses at Justin, "You should be ashamed of yourself! What would your wife think?"

Abitha can't help but release an amused snort, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" She lifts a hand like she were going to but a calming hand on August, but comes up short and just holds then open palm as if in police surrender, "I knew it wasn't true." She does eye the rest of him, then looks horrified, "No! Absolutely not! Not in the city limits!"

"It has been a weird day." Dahlia agreed wholeheartedly. "I'll think on it." As they settle back in at the bar and the woman speaks up, Dahlia tilts her head and instead of glaring - because Justin can likely practically feel her brimming irritation - she shoots a sweet as pie smile towards the lady. "His wife's gonna be telling us what she thinks all night long, sugar. And I'm pretty sure it'll be all good things." Shooting a wink before straightening up and rolling her eyes, ordering another beer. "I hate this fuckin' town." She mumbled for surely the 1000th time today.

The guy shouldering past Itz gets a glare from Joe, but he doesn't seem disposed to get up and resent it further. He's got his drink in hand, and it's Ruiz he looks to. That temper, after all, might lead to trouble. Though, overhearing August's idea, he says, "Hell, just hold the wedding there. Make it a full public circus."

August narrows his eyes, realizing Abitha is right; they'd agreed to nothing inside town limits for the wedding (except the 'town reception' bit). "Mmmm. Right. Well maybe we can settle for an 'accidental' sex tape, or something." He glares at Joe. "Not in the city limits. I don't need ghosts and monsters showing up, not to my damned wedding." (What wedding, someone loud-whispers somewhere behind Itzhak.)

He sees the guy at the bar shove into Itzhak and get the expected response, drunk or sober, curses under his breath. "Ah, shit," he mutters.

"Back the fuck off," is the murmured contribution from Ruiz nearby, to the guy who starts getting in Itzhak's face. He sips his tequila, sets the glass aside, sends Joe a sidelong glance and whatever was murmured, and leans in to speak something quietly in return.

With a fight possibly brewing, Vic calmly unties the apron from around her waist, tells Bennie she's going to go lie down, and heads into the back room. She'd be too tempted to smash some heads if she stayed out there, and likely would end up coughing up blood or something at this rate.

Justin reaches over and lightly rubs Dahlia's back with one hand, not seeming overly concerned by the comment and not even planning on answering. He chuckles though at her response, "Don't feed the trolls. It'll just encourage them." He orders himself another beer and takes up the glass, taking a swallow and not seeming overly concerned, but then, he grew up with people up in his business his whole life. It's just been a while. The two women look shocked at Dahlia and mutter a few things about her, too. Words like "hussy" and "homewrecker" get thrown around along with whatever uncomplimentary things they have to say about Justin. He sips his beer. Siiiiiip.

In the middle of another sip, Abitha almost chokes on August's idea. By the sound of it, and the look on her face, it was probably in her nose, "Fucking ew!"

She then seems to notice the weird altercation, lowering her voice, as she side eyes, asking, "The fuck?" as she shifts a bit away from it, but stays near August. Anyone's guess if it's to be defended or defend him instead, if shit went pear shaped.

"I didn't see anybody sitting here," the drunk guy announces, sneering. "Nobody who deserves RESPECT as an AMERICAN!"

Itzhak rockets to his feet, fists clenched, and--barely restrains himself from popping the guy right there. "You wanna take this outside, buddy?" he growls. In New York, 'motherfucker' is your best friend and 'buddy' is the guy you're about to slug.

The guy bodies up to Itzhak, shorter by a good bit, and he's about to say something else when Ruiz with just a murmur tells him to lump it. The guy glares at Ruiz, too...but he obeys him. "Okay, Chief," he mumbles, grateful for an excuse to not take this outside.

Ruiz's murmured reply conjures up a particularly wicked grin in return. Determined to enjoy himself, even with the looks he's getting. He leans an elbow on the bar, goes back to muttering in the cop's ear, eyes alight with mischief.

Then Ruiz is defusing the budding confrontation, and Joe goes back to looking faintly sly.

Dahlia gripped her beer glass a little tighter, then relaxed, taking a gulp. Between that and whatever is happening on the other end of the bar, Dahlia's feeling a little restless. She half turned to murmur to Justin. "I'm gonna step outside for a bit to cool off." Leaning up to steal a quick kiss - probably primarily just to piss off those women further. And then headed out towards the outside deck.

Justin returns Dahlia's kiss, definitely primarily to piss off the disapproving onlookers. Then, after he finishes off his drink, he pulls away from the bar and follows her out, leaving the comments behind for the time being.

August basks in smug pride for a half-second when Abitha snorts her drink. Ah yes, torment the kids by mentioning old people having sex--a time honored revenge tactic. He closes ranks with Abitha, unsure what he can do in his current condition...but it's (thankfully) unnecessary. Ruiz has it in hand. Or... "Did he just call him 'Chief'?" he murmurs to Abitha, confused.

Abitha seems relieved as well, even if August is treated to an almost childish scrunching of her face toward him. It only lacked a stuck out tongue. From behind her raised glass, she confirms the question, "Yeah, whole precinct does." Sip. "Something about seeing a memo." She shrugs.

The further the drunk guy gets from Itzhak as he backs away, the braver he gets. "You got lucky this time! You got lucky!"

Itzhak rolls his eyes. "Sit and spin," he suggests, not with the traditional middle-finger salute but with a flourish at his crotch. He's still wound up, though, and is fidgeting as he turns his back on the dude in a blatant demonstration that he's not threatened by him in the least. "Town's gone goddamn meshuggener," he mutters.

To the departing would-be assailant, Joe drawls, "Boy sure does. He pulls more tail'n a week than you do in your sad little lifetime."

Then he's addressing himself to the musician. "Yeah, fuckin' tell me about it, Boris Badinov," Joe says, dryly. "Jesus H Christ, never thought I'd be afraid of bein' lynched for bein' suspected of workin' for the Russians. This is some bullshit," he opines. "I wonder what They're up to with this, other than a mass feeding. Make everyone who shines miserable, go to fuckin' town."

August watches the goon depart, eyes narrowed. Once Itzhak is seated with his back to the bar in a sign of 'come get some', he looks back at Abitha. "A memo? From who, the mayor? I don't think Addington likes de la Vega at all." His mouth flattens, and he looks askance at Joe. After a moment, he says to Abitha, "You know...maybe you should do some searching. See if any of this, ah...information...is getting outside Gray Harbor. Like, do records kept in Seattle list it as the Black Bear Diner? That kind of thing."

There's a disgusted noise from the cop seated between the two supposed Russian spies, and if he rolled his eyes any harder, they'd no doubt fall right out of their sockets. "Yeah, I'd heard." About being made Chief. Even though he really fucking wasn't, and won't, if he has his way. "I need a smoke," he mentions to the pair of them, after a brief glance in the direction Dahlia left, and one last murmur to Joe delivered with a wry smirk.

Then Javier's climbing off his stool and prowling for the deck while patting himself down for his cigarettes.

"That's..." Abitha begins, the word said in a long breath as her eyes lift, the obvious dawning of a good idea on her face, "...probably a good idea." Her phone is out soon after, making a note rather than going to do the work now. She was most of the way through a beer, afterall. "Some bottle blonde tried to say she knew me from a meet in Hoquaim, which I have no idea what for. Me and Alexander scared her off by being awkward as hell." Note taken, it's shoved in a back pocket, and she seals the deal by finishing that beer, clunking it down on the bar, "Alright, who wants to see me do something stupid?" she asks, glancing between the last few present.

Itzhak snorts a laugh at Joe. "You ain't lying!" He clunks his bottle to Joe's in a sardonic toast to the tail. Ruiz gets up and Itzhak says, "Come with ya," but as he gets up, Abitha is offering the spectacle of her doing something stupid. "You betcha ass I wanna see you do something stupid," he says to her, grinning a little in one corner of his mouth. "Thrill me."

Joe spreads his hands in the 'You know it's true' gesture at August, before clicking his glass against the bottle. Ruiz's comment makes him sigh theatrically. "Dashin' my hopes, Jefe," he says, but there's that impish edge there again. Then he's arching his brows at Abitha, curiously.

August, being the one covered with odd bruises, shrugs at Joe, regrets the motion with a wrinkle of his nose. "Not sure this is Them. Feels more like...something else." Not that it might matter, much.

He eyes Abitha, resumes his seat at the bar. "By all means," he says.

Abitha had, of course, done her research before showing up. She didn't need to look in the books, she had found out what version karaoke they were doing. She had a song all picked out. With a steadying breath, and a final smirk at the gathered men, she goes and pulls a ticket in the lull before some dumb shmuck can put in Free Bird or some Journey song and just drive everyone out. Getting up on the stage area, she grabs the mic, pointing to cue her song starting. A beat starts up, some deep voice starting with the track, looping on time: "One big room, full of bad bitches. One big room, full of bad bitches."

She starts in:

"And we stunting like
Gucci Gucci, Louis Louis, Fendi Fendi, Prada"

She's in time, she's got the attitude for it, and her diction is quite clear, as well as her disdain. Another loop of the chorus line, and the verse starts in:

"I put that on my partner, I put that on my family
Gray Harbor represent, address me as your majesty
Yeah you can kiss the ring, but you can never touch the crown
I smoke a million Swisher blunts and I ain't never coming down
Bitch, you ain't no Barbie, I see you work at Arby's
Number 2, super-sized, hurry up I'm starving
Gnarly, radical, on the block I'm magical
See me at your college campus baggie full of Adderalls
Call me if you need a fix, call me if you need a boost
See them other chicken heads? They don't never leave the coop
I'm in the coupe cruising, I got the stolen plates
Serving all the fiends over there by the Golden Gate
Bridge, I'm colder than the fridge and the freezer
I'm snatching all your bitches at my leisure
And we stunting like
Gucci Gucci, Louis Louis, Fendi Fendi, Prada
Basic bitches wear that shit so I don't even bother"

Another verse, another chorus, and enough hand waving and bobbing in time, and Abitha is coming off the stage, red faced, and heading for a refill at the bar, trying very hard not to look at people, but failing and glancing around as she waits for another sour.

Itzhak swigs the last of his beer, looking very interested. Then as the song starts up, he laughs and standing in the middle of the bar, dances side to side, working his hips. Gucci Gucci Louis Louis Fendi Fendi Prada! Yeah he is one of the bad bitches in the room. In a rainbow unicorn tank top that is not long for this world. As Mac comes off stage, he offers her a crisp high 5. "Fuckin' solid, mameleh!"

Joe watches, both amused and bemused, as Itz dances. His gaze is warm, though, as he gets up to head out to the deck. Presumably for a smoke of his own. Though....didn't he quit?

August listens to some hiphop, it's true, though this isn't a song he knows. So his laughing smile is more for Abitha's vibrant performance piece than the tune she chose. He claps heartily, even gives her a whistle. That earns him a dark look from a woman here and there, some of whom mutter about well of course he ditched Eleanor for a young cheerleader-turned-tech-strumpet, men are trash, just trash.

Ruiz is halfway in and halfway out, still listening to the dregs of karaoke with a big shoulder tucked against the sliding door while he exhales smoke out into the warm dark. When that tune keys up, he arches a brow and rolls his jaw, and looks to Abitha as if to say what fresh hell is this? Not that he can resist moving a little to it. By the time she slinks off the stage, red-faced, he's grinning a little. And tosses her a wink if he manages to catch her eye.

"Hey, baby," Joe's greeted, soft, as he approaches. His cigarette's offered up wordlessly between thumb and forefinger.

People might know that Abitha had problems about personal space and touching, but something about the raw shaking adrenaline energy coming off the little gamer has her hand snapping up and landing a solid smack on Itzhak's offered five... Even if there's a short hop to nail it, (fucking jewish skyscrapers). "I don't know what that means, but I'm taking it as a compliment!" she blurts awkwardly at Itzhak. The whistle and winks have her covering her face, then giving Ruiz and August respective middle fingers, exploding in embarrassed laughter. Blessed courage juice is set in front of her and she scoops it up for another draining sip.

"Ya goddamn right it's a compliment," Itzhak says, grinning lopsided, but he doesn't explain what it actually means. Instead he glances at August across the room, holds up a finger, and sashays out to join Ruiz for a smoke.