Joyous Reunion… And The Rest
"Griffin! I'm here to check in!" A feminine voice cried from outside the Blue Bar.
"Oh, Muffy! I reckon that's you? Alright, good timing. How about you get to the counter right away?" The owner of the bar cried back.
"Okay!" the feminine voice replied.
The door knob slowly pushed open, revealing a cheerful young lady with long flowing blonde hair and bright emerald eyes.
She wore a soft, baby blue jacket over a haughty red dress, along with a pair of black high heels and a matching black head band.
The fair lady hummed pleasantly as she headed calmly towards the counter.
"By the way…" the bar owner named Griffin added, "Some lively city boy with platinum blonde hair asked for you while the place was still closed. Do you know anyone like that?"
"Oh, really?" The barmaid called Muffy replied in a pleasant tone. "Then I guess he's already here."
"Yup, I don't know exactly the relationship between you two, but apparently, this city boy you recognize also happens to be the farmer around here. Sounds like it'll trouble if you ask me…" Griffin said.
"Trust me, I know all the details." Muffy said, brimming with even more joy than ever before.
"Hm… it seems like there's a lot you haven't been telling me." Griffin said in vague disappointment.
"Hey, a girl's allowed to keep her secrets, even if it's from a good friend!" Muffy retorted.
"Right, right… I guess there's still a whole lot I don't know about you, but you've been a great help to the bar, so I'm not complaining. Still, that city boy was rather unusual… in a vicious way I couldn't quite point out." Griffin admitted.
"Oh, really? I actually think that's one of the qualities that I find attractive." Muffy grinned.
Griffin shook his head.
"Seriously. Muffy, I worry about you sometimes." He sighed.
The chipper blonde simply giggled.
Five Minutes passed since the official opening time of the Blue Bar, and no customers came.
After Griffin finally finished up wiping a few glasses to sparkly condition, he took his white acoustic guitar in his grasp and started playing a melody. At the same time, Muffy gazed outside of the window with a soft expression.
"To be honest… I've never quite felt this exact way in a long time. I feel really happy, yet very anxious at the same time. I don't understand why I like this feeling so much, but I know it's a special feeling, somehow." Muffy thought to herself.
Five more minutes, and still nobody showed up.
Griffin was still going at it with the guitar, while Muffy rested her head on the counter, staring into space.
"Where… is he?" Muffy thought to herself. "By what Griffin told me, he sounded really excited, but… oh, I hope…. I hope he isn't getting himself into trouble again." She thought to herself.
Suddenly, the door was punched open, revealing Nack in his new farmer's outfit.
"HELLLOOOO, BLUE BAR! YOUR SOON TO BE #1 CUSTOMER HAS ARRIVED!" he proclaimed with a hearty laugh.
The blonde barmaid was staring towards his direction in disbelief. Two tears formed from her water eyes, but she quickly wiped them away. Her sudden cheer from before seemed to magnify itself thousand full as she moved away from the counter.
"NACK!" Muffy squealed as she rushed the new farmer and threw herself into a twirling embrace at him.
"Finally, you're here! You know, I was worried I was going to die of boredom or something before finally seeing your pretty face again." Nack grinned.
There was a hint of surprise in Muffy's eyes as she saw just how much he wanted to see her. Again, she was nearly brought to tears, but the barmaid instinctively held them back.
"You still know how to flatter, I see." Muffy grinned. "Well, now that we're finally together like this, maybe I won't have to worry about you getting into some sort of danger."
Nack rubbed his head. "Well, I can't make any guarantees about that, but you can be sure I'll be able to give you a swinging time like the old days." He grinned.
The suave mobster then dipped Muffy and planted a kiss on her.
"Those two really are crazy for each other…" Griffin thought as he watched the scene play out before him.
"Hey, Old Man! Uh, Sorry for forgetting you over there." Nack's voice cried out.
"Oh, that's alright. I haven't seen that girl quite this happy in forever. You, uh… two want to be left alone for the moment?" Griffin said hesitantly.
"That's you're call, I guess. If I'm getting in the way in the business, then we won't mind holding of until---"
"No, no. Go ahead. I'll just hang out I the back while you enjoy yourselves." Griffin insisted as he headed to the back room.
"Wow. You got one generous manager looking out for you." Nack said to his girlfriend in amazement.
"Yeah, that's why we're good friends." Muffy said cheerfully.
"Well, it's nice to see they do a good job of taking care of you around these parts. You certainly seem healthier nowadays." Nack smiled back.
Muffy's smile dropped suddenly.
"Still, I would have proffered not to be separated from you like that." She shared in a serious tone.
Nack gently let go and took a few steps back.
"Huh, is that so?" Nack uttered curiously.
"For one thing, I'm worried that with all the ladies going about in the city, I thought you would've ran off with one of them." She confessed frankly.
"Who? Me? Are you kidding? And give up a gal as bright and easy on the eyes as you?" Nack exclaimed.
The stunned blonde was blushing in surprise.
"Uh, well… I'm not really all that smart. It's mostly common sense that kees this head on its shoulders, in my opinion " Muffy confessed bashfully.
"I don't know about that, but you're definitely smarter than the gal for those dating in my line of work!" Nack pointed out heartily.
"Ugh. Honestly, I don't think all key mobsters have some airy bimbo for a girl friend." Muffy replied in disbelief.
Nack lightly chuckled. "Right, sorry. I grew up watching too many of those old 60's flicks portraying my profession. I feel really funny falling for some of the stereotypes that come along with it." He admitted.
Muffy giggled. "Really. And you're supposed to be among the best, right?"
The relieved blonde turned her head slightly to the side.
"Were you… were you really serious when you told me how smart I am?" she asked in a soft voice.
"Of course!" Nack said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Anyone who knows just how to brighten somebody's day in a flash with little effort is a really sharp character in my book! So yeah, I'd have to say you're practically a professor."
The redness in Muffy's face intensified immensely.
"Nack… I…"
"Honestly, I appreciate your company. I'm surprised myself that you didn't go out and use that beauty and charm of yours to snag yourself a new guy while I was out of the picture! It does makes sense. I mean, you said yourself that you were concerned that I would be cheating on you, so it would've been fair payback." Nack replied.
"But… I didn't… I don't want to do that to you…" Muffy said with a shaky voice.
Nack gazed deeply into Muffy's bright emerald eyes and smiled.
"And that's why I like keeping you around, baby doll." He replied.
A very subtle hint of concern shone through in his eyes.
"Although… it probably would've been in your best interest for you if you did decide to up and leave me…" he thought to himself.
While he was lost in thought, Muffy seized the opportunity to plant kiss of her own.
"Well now…" the blonde bartender grinned, "Since you're finally here, how about we get you filled up with a few drinks? The first one's on the house."
"Now you're speaking my language!" Nack cheered. "Make it your best, most expensive drink while you're at it! I've got plenty ready for the rest!"
"Got it. One Morning Mist, coming right up." Muffy replied happily.
"Hey, Old Man! You can come out, now! You got yourself a guitar, right? How about you play us some tunes to liven up the night?!" Nack called out.
Griffin entered the bar room in a huff.
"I'm not an "old man", and my name is Griffin. You got that, son?" he clarified angrily.
"Griffin, got it. But seriously, go on and strum up a song or two! This place needs some music to add some atmosphere!"
Griffin sighed. "It's not your place to order me around, but since you seem so eager to hear me, I'll go ahead and play a special something for the reunion of the lively couple here." He answered.
After saying that, the bartender started playing out fast-paced jazzy tone.
"One Morning Mist, ready to go!" Muffy shouted as she slid a full glass at Nack's direction.
The spirited man grasped the glass mug in perfect precision, and downed the entire pint in one sitting.
"Alright! Keep it coming! I got enough to last me all night long!" he shouted.
And so, Griffin continued to play through the night while Muffy mixed up the choice of drinks to keep Nack's taste buds guessing. Eventually, the hardy man got a little drunk and danced a few various dances with his lovely girlfriend.
Griffin adjusted his musical style appropriately as Nack went from a jig, to a tap dancing session, to a romantic tango, and even to swing dancing.
Eventually, all the moving around Nack did wore him out, as he ended up laying his head on Muffy's lap.
"Aww…. Maaaaan… this, THIS… is the best night evha! N-no! No! Of my entiah… en-TI-AH LIFE!!!! Life… y-YEAH!!! Sweet, sweet, sweeeeet life. I mean, I goh ma' sweet, sweet dollie doll on one hand tah tend me, then there's ahl those tasty, TASTEEEE drinkz filled wid sweet magihk on the otha hand, and finally… the mood-settin' music by "Old Man Griff". Oh, yeah! This…. Iz… PARADISE!!!!" he babbled in his drunken state.
Suddenly, a knock came from the door.
"Go on ahead and come on in. We're open right now." Griffin cried.
"Alright." A female voice called back.
The door slowly opened as the party of three watched onward.
Standing right outside was an extremely hostile young lady with red hair.
It was Nami.
At that moment, Nack immediately sobered up as he and Nami exchanged loathsome glares.
And in the sidelines of this violent grudge, Muffy found herself gazing at the vengeful Inspector in horror…