They Met on the North Face

Vera's tavern was a rare beacon of warmth on an otherwise cold mountainside. Each glowing window was adorned with a purple wreath and its modest chimney was expelling more smoke than would seem possible. For miles, one could hear laughter, cheer, and the occasional train whistle.

The tavern was out of the way unless you were hiking the trail known as the Alpine Rollercoaster. You’d hit Vera’s right after the 3 steepest peaks. Most hikers stopped for a meal, some stayed the night, but one never left.

Yeah, it's that old man with the foot-long beard always in the corner, still in his hiking things. Apparently the first night he stepped in here, he met the love of his life instantly. Instantly. Apparently they agreed to depart from Vera's together the next day. But she never

showed, and now the old man comes in every night, still at the ready, on the off chance that she’ll breeze in through the door and offer apologies about a traffic jam. He’s Miss Havisham in North Face, an old hippie whose hope has been dwindling for decades. Yet he still gets a

kick out of making that daily walk to the bar, to sit in his favorite stool and enjoy that (somewhat questionable) cup of clam chowder. Then one day, an equally old lady, wearing her best LLBean fleece, sat beside him, asked him about his favorite song, and a new life began.