It was the aroma of smoke and meat that drew Robin to the wooden haven. Seeing the neon sign flashing “Bar B.Q.” only bolstered his confidence in the meal to come. Glowing against a backdrop of dark evergreens, the garish colors had broadcasted a lone bastion of culinary comfort for a mile at least. Now settled in a worn vinyl chair and considering the menu over a sticky epoxied tabletop, Robin felt a bit of regret as he took in the room.

An early Monday night invited few tourists and even more disappointing, though expected, the local community was perceivably cut from the same plaid and denim cloth. Robin inhaled, puffing out his chest a little with a prayer that his confidence would ward away the stares angling his direction. 

Choosing to walk north from the bus drop-off might have been blunderous, but he stood by his decision. It was quite late to turn around now. Enclosed by cedar walls, Robin sat as a curiosity for the bar patrons.

Though the end of the workday would promise more patrons to obfuscate Robin’s presence, the current slate of customers had already noticed him entering. Their hopes of a familiar face were dashed with the announcement by the squeaky door. Robin imagined an East Asian city slicker at the threshold was the last thing they’d expect.

The ill-formatted menu dazzled the young man enough to draw his focus from the room. Though he had recently cleaned his glasses, the poor print job and inept line spacing hampered his study of the offerings. After some deciphering, Robin found the description of fried pork ribs appetizing. They were a bit pricey, but he had not eaten anything aside from a granola bar when he awoke in the morning. A long bus ride later, his stomach demanded a feast. As he put his menu down to signal a server his readiness to order, a burst of laughter called Robin to meet eyes with a man.

He sat among two others at a table near the bar. One wore a camouflage jacket and the other a red cap to Robin’s dismay. The one staring him down flared a nostril and eased back onto his elbows, exposing a shine of scalp from his short thinning hair. Robin’s gaze snapped to the row of men sitting at the bar.

An indistinct pattern of stools and backs wrapped around the wide installation. A few pale faces turned to Robin before resuming their position taking in a football game from a hanging TV. Without a server in their midst, the young man leveled his shoulders and feigned interest in the game.

Eyes tracked the little dots traversing the screen, counting the seconds until something would break the charade. They then traced the swirl of metal atop the stand that had held up the menu at the table. Frustrated, Robin reminded himself that dinner service had yet to officially start and staff would not be on the floor in full force. There wasn’t even a tapster to be seen the last time he dared glance at the bar.

Robin checked his phone for the time and anything else to occupy his attention, but the reception was as dismal as it had been two hours ago. He reached down and took his water bottle from his backpack. It had been his hope to be greeted with a glass of water filled with ice once he’d sat down, but it seemed he had to serve himself at the moment. And still there was no satisfaction in that. As the water met his tongue, a tingling formed below and Robin winced with the realization of needing the restroom.

Easing onto his feet, Robin pulled his pack from the floor. He patted the menu flat, making it a place marker among a field of menus held up by the metal stands. He deduced that the restrooms were somewhere in the back beyond the bar. He would have a straight shot. Setting his gaze to the floor, he marched forward.

He passed the noise of the TV, meeting no obstacles. Under a buzzing fluorescent light in the hallway, Robin scanned for his target. A line cook whizzed past him from the kitchen entrance to the women’s door, the first feminine face Robin noticed. Another body came out of the door beside it with his hands balling up some paper towel. Robin made for the men’s restroom.

“Sure you’re going to the right bathroom?”

Robin seized mid-step. He tilted his head up to meet the face that glared at him earlier. The fluorescent light illuminated his scalp. Robin’s lips pulled at the corners.

“Yeah, man,” said Robin, lowering his voice. “I gotta piss.”

The man moved toward him.

Robin quirked his head, flinging the loose hair from his face. “Look, if I had a choice, you think I’d choose to go to the one where there’s an inch of piss on the floor and your shit stain from last week in the bowl?”

A hoot of laughter came from the main room. Robin had not expected to raise his volume so high to be heard, but perhaps a bigger bark was what he needed.

The man glowered. “Repeat what you said to me, freak.”

In a panic, Robin dipped low in an attempt to dodge him and scamper for the bathroom. With surprising speed, the man shot out his leg to disrupt the escape.

“Lemme see it, then,” he snarled. “If you’ve got nothing to hide.”

 Robin popped back up. “What? You wanna see my dick? Are you gay?”

The man shoved him. 

Staggering backward, Robin caught sight of the man’s friends rising from their table. He gulped.

“Let the young man be, Jared,” came a voice from the bar.

Jared eyed a man in a denim jacket. “You stupid, Dusty?” He turned to Robin. “He might be dumb enough to fall for it, but you ain’t foolin’ me!”

Robin skittered backward. Before Jared could make another lunge for him, an arm in denim restrained his shoulder. Robin peered past Jared’s red face to see the man from the bar. He had short salt and pepper hair and a square-set jaw replete with stubble that feathered into his sideburns.

“Get your hand off me,” Jared growled with a turn of his head.

“C’mon,” said Dusty, releasing his hold. “Step out of the hallway. The bathroom bleach must’ve muddled your head.”

Jared sneered. He cast a look of disgust at Robin before pushing past Dusty. He joined his friends who had abandoned their table.

Robin did not see what happened next. His body was screaming. Not wasting the gifted opportunity, the young man dashed to the men’s restroom and locked himself in the nearest stall.