Glenfiddich

Edit: Just realized I forgot to include a visual depiction of how I thought this scene would look. Scroll to the bottom and watch the dance scene loosely based off of 500 Days of Summer.

Daniel walks into Ernie's and sidles up to the bar. He looks around and the place is relatively empty, a product of a Thursday afternoon in downtown Cleveland. The sun was stifling so the one fan rapidly circling overhead is nice, a windy reprieve that makes Cleveland seem like Chicago.

Danielle isn't here yet, so Daniel glances at his watch. He's early - not my much, but early. He catches Ernie's eye through the window pane looking into the office behind the bar, and Ernie nods a nod that says I'll be out in five. Nobody in this city is in a hurry, not Ernie nor Daniel nor Danielle.

He sits on the bar stool and throws a cursory glance around for anything interesting. The jukebox in the corner is blaring The Smiths, but only because a recent movie has made them the most popular download on iTunes. Two guys in fitted collared shirts are playing pool loudly with their third friend watching from those high chairs that only inhabit pool halls. "Sink it Ed!" their seated friend shouts. Ed lines up his shot and with a fluid arm movement sends the cue call careening into the corner pocket. Ed mutters in shame, digs the white sphere from the leather mesh that caught it, and hands the ball over to the opposition.

Two tables down two women gossip about the new mail room boy John, who apparently was caught by Derrick in accounting making out with Sophie from marketing! No way! Uh huh, I KNOW, and he's married and she's married! OH MY GOWSH. Do the families know? Ad nauseum, avec nausées.

Daniel dips his hand into the wicker basket with the peanuts and grabs a handful. He pops some into his mouth and crunches - it doesn't taste right but when do peanuts ever taste right at a bar, where people don't wash their hands after going logging? It tastes dry, really dry, but he musters up the saliva necessary and swallows. Something rakes the side of his esophagus as it goes down, so he puts the rest of it back into the wicker basket, and just at that time Ernie walks out from his cave in the back, dons his apron, looks at Daniel curiously and sputters, "Why are you eating the potpourri?"

Daniel has no answer. He glances down at the basket and realizes it is indeed potpourri.

"What'll it be, comrade?"
"Whiskey and water."

Ernie reaches to the shelf for the Glenfiddich, then pulls out a Collins glass. Daniel glances at his watch while Ernie concocts - the female is twelve minutes late. He sighs, figures she got stuck in the non-existent traffic, maybe witnessed a car accident and is currently giving violent cardiopulmonary resuscitation to a toddler, is trying to convince a man jumping off a building not to do it - or all three. She probably has momentous errands to run; the busy businesswoman of today.

The scotch appears - clear and copper. Daniel leans forward and the light catches the liquid amber. He holds the glass, which is too big and not fit for drinking whisky, but will do anyways. A swirl. A sniff. A sip. Mouthfeel. Finish. Take it slow, nothing but patience and calmness when dealing with something as complicated as a single malt scotch whisky.

He glances at his watch and she's twenty minutes late. Another one please. He looks again and she's half an hour late. One more of the same. An hour goes by and the glasses pile up. Finish. Sniff. Mouthfeel. Swirl. Sip. Gulp, whatever it's a free country. Less water, more scotch please.

"Been stood up?" Ernie asks, smiling while he cleans a glass, pours another for Dan.
"Nope," says Daniel, "I'm in no hurry. There's nothing but time."

He takes off his watch, throws it in the potpourri.



Skip to 0.25s for the Bank Scene