One Dirty Table

George Muirhill returns to his rural Georgia home for the first time in over twenty years in hopes of finding the love of his life when he was in high school, Liberty. He follows his best lead to Atlanta where he lands a job in a fine dining restaurant, Stem— the restaurant business having been the only constant in his life since he left college. He quickly gathers his footing at work, and through his eyes the true experience of a professional fine dining server is revealed. As George navigates both the city, visiting a different bar every night after work in hopes of finding Liberty, as well as the dining room in Stem, he is in constant search of grace— both physically and emotionally— hoping to fill the growing void in himself.

As his narrative continues, George begins to recall the memories of his youth in Pensdale, Georgia during the nineteen nineties, that center around both Liberty as well as his best friend Arthur. Time bounces back between the present and the past as George relives the ultimately tragic events of his youth. His growing frustrations at work mirror his desperation for change in his life, while the new relationships he forms halfheartedly begin to remind him of who he used to be.

ONE DIRTY TABLE is his story. A story about being human, where the music of life is played more in minor keys than major. A story about grasping for control in a world of chaos. But ultimately, while diving head-first into the dark, it is a story about that first break of light on the horizon— hope.

G. Burke Morrill is a forty-four year old man living in Decatur, Ga. He spent over twenty years in the restaurant business, writing in his spare time. He is a student of psychology, an avid basketball fan, and a father to his lovely and talented daughter, Gloria. He writes stories in the attempt to find even the briefest moment of pure humanity--that which transcends the differences between us all and provides the opportunity for shared empathy in an increasingly divisive world.