Jimmy Makepeace works in Little Five Points at the Verona Bar, doing odd jobs and occasionally helping out behind the bar. He encounters an eccentric cast of characters on a daily basis.
The bar is co-owned by Julia Verona and Yusef Cotton. They relocated to L5P when the lease ran out on a bar Julia operated downtown and the landlord jacked up the rent. She and Yusef pooled their resources to get the new location and split their time behind the bar.
Yusef is a veteran and an Atlanta native. He’s recently married a Ukrainian immigrant named Alina Sofia. Their relationship has been complicated by the fact that Alina is still learning English but they’re adjusting and otherwise get along well. Despite her limited English, Alina loves alternative rock groups from the 70s and 80s, in particular, The B-52s.
Julia’s life is complicated when her ex-husband, Randall Weir drops back into the picture. Randall is a grifter and small-time conman who ran out on Julia when authorities were closing in on him. He left Julia to fend for herself, believing that since she could not be connected to any of his activities she’d be okay. She was never charged but still faced quite a few traumatic experiences before being cleared. He’s returned to try to make amends for the grief he caused.
Randall and Jimmy hit it off right away, while Julia asks Yusef to call the exterminator because, “We’ve got rats”.
Another regular at the bar is Melody Welborne, who Randall dubs “The Kid” because she looks much younger than she is.
Melody is a comedian and street performer who dresses up like Shirley Temple and performs songs from the early 20th century.
Verona could potentially see the light of day in Terminus, currently in progress.
