Part 79: Sharing with Louie

(And the clock strikes ten... Maybe I'll join Louie in the bar for another belt.)

Music: Monochrome


So now we have to go to the bar...

Music: Over Easy
Music: High Spirits


And here we are! No phone calls in the start of this chapter! I know, I'm surprised too.

Music: Easy Feeling
Look what the cat dragged in. Have a seat, Hyde.
Bar's empty.
Yeah, got the entire place to ourselves. Take a load off, my man. You wanna drink?



Give me a scotch.

Why you think I'm here? Scotch on the rocks. Make it a double.
Comin' right up. You're looking kinda grim, man. Somethin' got your shorts in a bundle?
Something like that.
Lay it on me, brother. Louie the bartender's all ears.
More like all mouth. What is it with folks wanting to yap it up tonight?
That what's up? Folks been laying all their problems on you?
That about covers it.



You're a regular comedian, DeNonno. Why the hell people want to drop their problems on a guy like me?

You know, Kyle, they wouldn't talk if you didn't confront them. So it's mostly your fault.

Ha ha...



...Hey.



A guy like me?

What do you mean "a guy like me"?
Guy who looks like he don't give a damn. Guy who ain't gonna preach or judge. A guy who looks like he's taken a few punches and knows what it's like to hurt.
Look, man, I think I know how they feel. Check this out...
We're in the middle of the holiday season, right? Last Friday night of the year? They look around and realize they're all alone in this sad ol' wreck of a hotel... Gets 'em thinkin, ya dig? 'Bout their lives. What they've done. Where they're goin'. You know what happens next? All their secrets and worries and stuff kinda...boil over. Then they go lookin' for somebody to talk to. Know what I'm sayin'?
Hell, Louie. You're the one that sounds like an advice columnist.
Maybe, but I'm right, yeah?
Look at you, man. You got secrets and crap hidden in your heart, right?



I might...

...Maybe.
See? Trust ol'DeNonno on this one. You're a good guy, even if ya don't know it.

I take a seat at the end of the bar.



Here ya go.





The world stops for a moment as I sit and stare into the glass. The ice shifts. A single piece slips beneath the surface, never to rise again...





"There's something I need to talk to you about. Can you make the time?"

Yo, Hyde? Yo! Hyde!

Huh?
How's the scotch? Goes down smooth, don't it?
Yeah. Nice glass, too. It's got a good weight to it.
Nice, huh? I can tell what ya like, my man.
Looks like it.
I told you 'bout this, right? This is the one job I take seriously.
Good gig, huh?
(Nods)
I'm gonna tell you somethin', but don't go laughin'...
I know it's stupid, but I always wanted a place like this for my own.
That so?
I ain't saying it all started 'cause I met you... But you know when I started thinkin' 'bout it? It was after ya laid that story on me in the cop shop back in Manhattan.

(??? What story? ???)

Music: Rainy Night


Read note
Yo, what ya lookin' at now?
Write note
Yo, what ya writin'?

What story did I tell you?

What story is that?
Ah, man! Don't tell me you forgot.
Was the third time ya busted me. We was in one of them crappy little interview rooms. C'mon! I can still hear ya!
"You dream of being a thief as a kid, Louie? This is your dream job? I'm sure there's something else you wanted, right? Fireman? Doctor? Superhero?"
I was starin' at the ceiling and thinkin' you was gonna play good cop that day.
Gimme the "you can turn your life around, son" speech, yeah? Then ya got real quiet, and this serious look came into your eyes. Remember?



Hold on.



I don't remember this...

I don't remember making up a story.
Here's the last hint. If ya still don't remember, I give up. ...It was 'bout your pops.

(??? I told you about my father? ???)

I told you about my father?

Wait, wait... I said something about my father?
I see a lightbulb... It's gettin' brighter... There it is! Yeah, man. Told me your pops was some kinda genius safecracker.
Oh. That story...
I remember the whole thing. You was ten... Your pops decided to go straight... Decides to take one last box job and then gets bumped off?
I gotta tell ya, Hyde. Even when I knew you was pulling my leg, I almost cried.

(??? Thought it was a lie, huh? ???)

You told me your pops didn't wanna be a thief. Said he wanted to be an artist. Then ya leaned in close and talked so quiet I could barely hear. "Don't make the mistake he did. Don't live a lie." Total trip, man... Then ya told me that unless I was lookin' to do hard time, I better find what I wanted. "Find it, grab it, and never let it go." Amen to that, my man.
When I first started working here, I couldn't sleep.
Just laid on that crap-ass bed Dunning gave me and stared at the ceiling. And then one night, that story just pops in my head, yeah? And it hits me. Even though I'm just a damn street punk, I got somethin'. Seems pretty small to most normal folks, but it's mine and I got it.

And that is why you laze around and let Rosa do all the work. Got it.

You believed my story?

Thought it was a lie, huh?
Huh? No way... It's TRUE?!



It's interesting to note that this is the first time we hear about Kyle's father. And that the "It's a lie!" choice has an ellipsis before it.

It's true.

It's the truth, Louie. Every word.
Whoa... Wait! You're yankin' my chain, ain't ya?
Not this time.
It was TRUE? Damn... What a trip.

Music: Easy Feeling
So whaddya say? Another round?
Why not?
What do I want next?
Take your time, man. Yo, Hyde, I got something else to tell ya. Pouring drinks ain't the only thing that's got my attention these days, yeah?
Let me guess... It's a dame.
That's a given, brother! But no, that ain't what I'm talkin' about.
Check this out.
What?





One of the best choices in the entire game.

I REALLY don't get it.

I really don't get it.
Stop trippin', man!



Oh, yeah. I should have seen that coming.

I like to think that Kyle is saying this in the most sarcastic way possible.

Well? You any good?
Ha ha ha!
Yeah, laugh it up, brother. We'll see how good you are!
What do you say, Officer? Think you can keep up with my hook?
When and where?
Wanna try and beat me? Be here at eleven.
Here? What're you talking about? There's no way we can bowl in here.



Unless that mystery door in the pantry leads to a bowling alley in the basement, I don't think we can do it here...



Huh? Someone's here.



A customer.
(Summer again? Crap.)
How ya doin'?
Good evening, gentlemen.
Take a seat right here! What can I get ya?
I believe I'll have a gin and tonic, my good man.

Music: High Spirits


We can talk to Martin now, but we'll do it later. Fun fact: The matchstick puzzles changes every chapter (they're the same between NG and NG+).