Fever
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Author's Note: Doesn't it seem that all bartenders are named "Sam"?
Chapter 9 – Bar Talk
The lights came back up and the manager appeared on stage. "All right Ladies and Gents we're stopping for a little while so some of yous can get some grub—but don't worry The Lady in Red will be back within the hour." He gave the audience a quick wink and trotted off stage.
Roy wandered over to the bar. His emotions were a jumble. 'The world has gone completely mad.' He thought to himself. 'My Lieutenant has suddenly become the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and not only did I not know that she could sing, I wasn't even invited!'
"What's troubling you, friend?" The bartender said to Roy.
Roy looked up at the barkeeper. The Colonel glanced at the man's name tag, it read 'Sam'. "Well 'Sam'" he started. "I've just realized that the most beautiful woman in the world has been in the palm of my hand the whole time."
"So you know The Lady in Red personally, huh?" he responded
Roy's mouth hung open, "How'd you know I was talking about her?"
Sam gave him a sly smile. "Sir, I've seen a lot of broads in my day…in fact I've seen some drop dead gorgeous dames, but I've never seen anyone like her. Day in and day out I listen to men tell me about the women they love, and the women they hate, and if there's two things I know about, it's men and women. Besides, the way you were staring at her on stage, it doesn't take a genius to know who you're talking about."
Roy blushed slightly, "I wish I knew something about all this. Until she walked on stage, I didn't even know she could sing."
"Boy can she sing though. I've been working over time all week just so I could see her. I even got to talk to her a bit."
Roy's head perked up, "What'd she say?"
"Usually 'No'." he said.
"No?" Roy questioned.
"Yeah, 'No, I don't want a drink.', 'No, I don't want to go out with you.', 'No, I don't want to tell you my name.'" Sam filled in. "I kept asking her out and she kept turning me down."
Roy was inwardly relieved. This man seemed fairly nice, but now that he was seeing this side of Riza he wasn't too sure he was willing to let go of her. "Did she ever give a reason?"
Sam put on that sly smile again, "I did ask her one day, if she had a beau, or if she just wasn't interested. She smiled at me and said, 'Sam, I could only hope to call him mine…but I'm sorry to say that he probably doesn't even notice I'm a woman. I'd probably have to walk into work in a mini skirt before he knew I was there.'" Roy couldn't speak…maybe it wasn't just a song after all. Sam continued, "She was talking about you wasn't she?" Roy struggled to play the remark off casually.
He leaned back on the stool, "I wouldn't know…she doesn't really talk. It's crazy you know. I can't hardly get her to say a word at work…but she gets here and sings like a canary on stage in front of 40 people." Roy paused for a moment. "How is it that I had the most beautiful woman in the world in the palm of my hand and I never saw her?"
"People often have trouble seeing what's in front of their faces. You know what they say, you can't see the forest because of all the trees. All I can say is that if I had a woman like that 'just sitting in the palm of my hand', I'd close my hand. Only an idiot would let someone like that get away." Sam noticed another customer at the end of the bar and walked over to help him. Roy thought about what the man had said. Would he really be an idiot to let her go? If that was true—how do you catch someone like Hawkeye?