JOES AND RITAS

The bar was dark and chilly
And neon shone from the window
And made the bottles glitter in the mirror behind the till
Leather covered the stools and booths
And it smelled of beer on tap and cheap whiskey
She sat at the farthest stool, at the end of the bar
The seat closest to the juke
And fed it several dollars
Playing Tori Amos, the lounge singer done good
Who seemed to have all the answers
She sipped her Patron slowly
Savoring the burn
Trying to chase away something
That was chasing her
The bartender watched her from the corner of his eye
She didn't belong here
The bar was downtown, blue collar joes and good time ritas
Just good people looking for an escape for a night
She was uptown, upscale, upper class
And she'd never find the answer's to her problems
In a place like this, good as it was
She looked like she had lost in the game
But the bartender knew it was just a round
And she'd have another and another shot at it
And with her beauty doors would open
One after another for most of her life
Whereas with goodtime rita's they had one door, maybe two
And had to jump through the one door that opened
Before it closed again
The bartender wanted to tell her that, explain
She needed to leave before the joes heard the whistle blow
And began swarming her, sending her drinks
Making her feel special for an hour or two
And then completely empty forever
Hearts are cheap and he knew she hadn't learned that yet
She was still soft and clean, still smooth and sweet
And he knew a joe would change that forever
Joes worked hard and played hard and their lives were hard
They would love her and cherish her
But the life would break her and the love would fall away
The bartender saw it all the time
He wanted to protect her, although he didn't know why
He walked toward her slowly, taking her in
Blond hair, blue eyes, designer clothes
How on earth did she find her way in here
He wondered again?
     "Miss, it's time for you to go home.  This isn't the place for a girl        like you."
She looked at his with those eyes, suddenly defiant
And then a bit frightened.
She nodded and smiled the saddest smile he had ever seen.
He wanted to close for the night and take her home.
He resisted; he was no joe.
He told her all the things in his heart, about the joes and the ritas
And how good life was going to be for her
She leaned over the bar and kissed his cheek
He watched her walk out and hoped her scent would stay with him
And the work whistle blew