To be honest, I wasn’t planning on starting writing again so soon, with all this marketing of parts 1 and 2 I should be doing, but I happened to be down the pub with some friends this week and this idea fell out from somewhere as a good place to start ‘Tales from the Red Lion, part 3’. Quite where this will end up we shall have to find out together, but this should give you some idea of where we are heading. For those who are up to date, a sneak preview follows …
WARNING: (minor) plot spoiler below.
Chapter 1
There’s a feeling of déjà vu as I look over the bar at Tom the Landlord and contemplate my first pint of the day.
“What have you got on today?”
“There’s the ‘Same Old’. That’s new. 4.4%”
“Didn’t you have that one on last week?”
“That was the ‘Same Old, Same Old’. That came in at a more matured 5.5%. I was worried at first, but it shifted nicely by Sunday evening.”
“It would, it would. Especially with this lot here.”
We take a moment to look around at the bedraggled but beloved regulars who keep this place alive during the day, and nod knowingly at each other.
“What’s it to be then?”
“Always keen to try something different.”
“Good, that’ll be a pint of the ‘Same Old’ then. Coming right up. No, no, put your money away. This one is on the house.”
“Well, thank you, thank you indeed. But you can’t keep doing that.”
“I know, I know. Just this once, since it’s you.”
We exchange smiles as I carefully pour Tom the pint, check that there is just the right amount of head at the top and hand it over to him. He inspects it in return with an approving look.
“Cheers,” we both say in unison. “Your good health.”
Now that I think about it, it’s more of a mirror image than déjà vu, but forgive me. We’ve only been open an hour and I’m not quite awake yet. You would think that me, more than anyone, would be used to the hours by now, wouldn’t you?
Keep going, this has whet my appetite for book 3!