Prices [upd]: Bartender

"Just passing through," Leo admitted. "What does the sign mean?"

"The price?"

The bartender, a woman named Elara with silver threading her dark braid, set a small cardboard square in front of him. "New here?" bartender prices

He drank the bourbon. It did taste like a fireplace—warm, a little smoky, holding back the cold. Then he told her. About the job he lost three months ago. About the daughter he hadn't called because he was too ashamed. About the motel he couldn't afford tonight. "Just passing through," Leo admitted

Nobody ever argued.