Revengeance

Friday, August 2nd 6:10 pm

Anna and I quickly sit at the bar and order our usual go-to beer before we begin sampling. Honestly, we've already sampled everything. Once a month Hansen's comes up with a new flavor, but we still like to call it sampling. Perhaps it makes us think we aren't the big drinkers we tend to be.

The atmosphere booms with music, chatter and the clanking of dishes and stemware you'd find at most bars. Televisions hang from the ceiling throughout allowing everyone to see the tube from every direction.

Jason, our usual bartender, sets our amber liquid mugs in front of us. We quickly pick them up, clink glasses and down it. "Wow ladies, that was fast." Jason says before asking us what we'd like next. Anna orders a malt while I stick to the lighter taste of a lager.

Thirty minutes later, Anna and I are rushing out of Hansen's a little more tipsy than normal. I welcome the feeling. Bags in hand we walk a couple blocks to Bingo City. Truly not Bingo City, it's the local VFW chapter where they hold bingo once a week. Anna finally convinced me to go with her so she didn't feel like a horrible human letting the Old Hag down. Anna loves her, but will never admit that. Old Hag is the closest she has to family besides Uncle Theo, me and Jeremy.

We call it Bingo City because it bustles about with crazy women, and some men, dutifully on a mission like the streets of our city. "No one better take our table. If they do, I'm blaming you, Mer." Anna quips.

Catching my breath, I walk up to the counter and order my usual four, four packs and a plethora of special games. Anna's next to me working with the second cashier. "I'm going to find your date." I say not paying attention to anyone. When I do show up for bingo, I tend to take it a little more serious than one should.

My feet falter causing Anna to bump into me. "What the-" She says walking around me giving the old ladies dirty looks. "Seriously, Mer! They stole our table." She whines like a petulant child noticing a very familiar gray and wrinkled lady. "I can't believe she made me come here and then goes inviting all of her old goons who steal our table!" Anna's "supposed to be" date, Betty, winks at us.

Spotting a table to the side, I quickly toss my stuff down spreading it out making sure the entire table is secure. We don't need anyone invading our space. "What do you want from the snack bar?" I ask, wanting to get the order in before they begin calling numbers. Looking at my watch, I have five minutes. Anna gives me her order and I breeze through concessions dividing our order.

Anna already has her cards spread out, taped together and marking the free spaces and all squares we won't need for the shapes with her favorite dabber: glitter yellow.

"Those old hags better not get our luck or I'm not going to be responsible for taking them down." Anna's tipsy state has her speaking a little louder than normal. Well, normal outside of our usual spots. We're always louder than normal here thanks to the amber liquid running through our veins a heavenly combination of euphoria and utter blissfulness.

"Shush, they're looking at us," I whisper yell at her dabbing my cards.

"Look at their trolls," Anna snorts. I chuckle under my breath not having the time to take in their gaudy lucky charms. The announcer steps up and begins with reading the rules and asks anyone who wishes to check out the balls to do so at this time. "Blah, blah, blah..." Anna mutters. "Okay, here's the deal, Mer. I'm going to run up and get pull tabs while the old hag goes over and checks the balls. If they start before I get back, check my cards. K?" I nod continuing on my mission to mark the unneeded boxes.

Anna returns with a large stack of pull-tabs. Her fingers work overtime dividing them up passing me half. We pull the trash cans placed strategically at each table and begin ripping them apart. "What's the first game?" I ask.