A Spot of Peace

Found a dimly lit back booth in a corner pub down an alleyway. Managed to hoist myself up onto the scuffed velvet bench without popping a seam. Set my trusty takeout bag squarely on the dark mahogany tabletop, right next to a heavy glass tumbler left behind on a damp coaster. Someone left an evening crossword abandoned on the bench beside me. Half the clues were botched in blue ballpoint. Typical amateurs. I tugged the folded paper across the wood, plucked a stub of pencil from the edge of the ashtray, and scratched in a seven-letter word without even looking up. Finally, some bloody quiet.