Late Shift Secrets

Tonight was one of those late shifts when the bar was eerily quiet. Just a few stragglers here and there, mostly regulars who enjoy the tranquility as much as I do at this hour. As I polished off another glass with my rag, my mind wandered to an incident from earlier in the evening. One of our patrons, let's call him Dave, had been sitting alone since just after closing time approached, nursing a single beer and staring into space for what seemed like hours. At first, I thought maybe he was waiting for someone or perhaps dealing with something personal. But as more minutes ticked by, it became clear that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon. Eventually, I decided to approach him, not because I thought he needed anything in particular but simply out of concern and routine friendliness. As we chatted, I found myself inventing stories to make the conversation flow more naturally, padding reality with details that never actually happened just to keep Dave engaged and somewhat distracted from whatever was bothering him. It felt odd, even slightly dishonest, yet it also felt like exactly what he needed at that moment. I'm left wondering if this is normal behavior for someone in my position. Is it okay to bend the truth a bit to help someone who clearly needs some company? Does it matter whether they're aware of these embellishments or not? I'm curious about your thoughts on this and how others handle such situations.