crying baby in a sports bar

crying baby in a sports bar

fiction
Edward w Pritchard


Over looking a series of lakes, with long low floor to ceiling windows, the tan hardwood floors of the darkening  sports bar echoed the wailing of the crying baby. The waitress was a teenage girl, the bar maid had never had children and no women were to be found on the premises. For some unknown reason the baby girl's Father had chosen to bring the crying child to the sports bar on a Saturday night to watch tournament basketball and play euchre. We found out later the baby's Father and the wife were separating and divorcing. Baby girl looked well cared for with an expensive blanket wrapping her warmly bundled all in pink.

The euchre players had exhausted themselves trying to quiet the crying girl. The waitress had disappeared and the bar maid had become sullen at the noise as only a pretty bar maid can properly do on a cold Saturday night at a hot sports bar overlooking a series of frozen Lakes.

My old man was standing very tall as he picked up the sobbing child I remember. He had those huge hands and they reminded me of a boxer with the gnarled knuckles as he cradled the pink blanket and baby to his chest.

My Father walked about carefully carrying the limp girl talking quietly to her while avoiding protruding chairs while always facing the water keeping as far away from the customers as he could be and still always be by the windows. Except when he asked the bar girl who was washing glasses at the bar in the center of the room to turn down the sound on the basketball game he stayed by the windows.

My Dad handed the sleeping girl to the Mother carefully when she rushed into the bar, I remember she put her hand to my father's face when she left with her daughter. After my Father talked to the baby's Father for a long time over in the far corner while I played Euchre with the other three guys at their table.

The baby's Father shook hands with my Dad when we left; me, I was a little wobbly from drinking  free beers the euchre guys bought me. Even the bar maid gave us a free drink after Dad calmed the baby girl.

Walking out to the car I noticed the old man still walked a little straighter than usual. Try as I might as I told the story after I never could remember my old man carrying me about back when I was the  child.