Keep it.

He refilled her wine glass, took the five dollar bill she had set down, and brought it to the cash register to make change. “Keep it,” “You sure?” The response came automatically, after years of bartending many things became automatic. “Keep it.” She watched as he put the money in the till and pocketed the change. “Can I ask you something?” “Sure” He seemed agitated, but she knew he wouldn’t say no, another unwritten bartending rule. “What’s a guy like you doing in a place like this?” She knew he had heard the question many times before, as he quickly grabbed the drink order from the ball cap next to her. “I’m sure you get that a lot, not that it’s a bad place to be…I can’t imagine what you see, standing behind the bar, watching people try to stay afloat.” She continued “I’m not hitting on you…I’m sure you get that a lot, too. I’m not interested in you like that. I mean, I’m interested in you…just not like that.” “What kind of place should a guy like me be?” He said as he rang up another drink order on the register and handed out the change…still agitated. “Hmm…a guy like you should be allowed to go anywhere, anytime, no constrictions. A guy like you should be able to be…just to be, so everyone could see what happens next.” She knew she needed to be there in that moment to say those words to him. He didn’t act surprised, or annoyed, or grateful, he just continued to take orders from around the bar. Regardless, she knew he needed to hear it. Many times people didn’t react to the things that she said. Many times people almost became angry at her for the things she said, but she still said them, because she knew.