Passing Through

My phone began to ring, it was Will. We had been
pretty good friends through high school but had only
been in sporadic contact since he got married. He was
going to be in town on business for a few days and wanted
to know if we could meet for a drink the following night.
I suggested a bar in downtown called The Black Crow,
it never got so busy in there that you couldn't hear yourself
over other peoples conversations.

We agreed to meet at 8p.m. I arrived a few minutes early
just to make sure we'd get a good booth. The lamp above
the booth was dimmed to ensure there would be just enough
light to see each others faces and hardly anything else. I set
my jacket in the booth and walked over to the bar. "What'll
you be having?" said the bartender. I told him a gin & tonic
and to use something top-shelf. He set the fresh drink on
the counter and I set a ten dollar bill and walked away.

I was stirring my drink when I looked at my watch and
noticed that it was eight. Will walked in and began to scan
the room from the doorway. I raised my arm and he walked
right over. "Christ, it's been years!" he said. "Go get yourself
a drink and then we can catch up." I said. He came back
with a pint and a shot of whiskey, "To catching up," he said
as the stout shot glass and tumbler clinked.

We sat there emptying glasses and filling each other in on
the usual things men of our age have achieved. I told him
I was still single but had been dating around, and that if I
was lucky I was going to be getting a promotion at work
in the next couple of months. I asked him how things had
been with him and Nancy, "Funny you should bring her
up. Have you heard?" "No," I said, "about what?" He
lifted the pint glass and poured the last of its amber down
his throat.

It was strange hearing him say they were getting divorced,
I knew both of them when they first started dating in
high school. We would always hang out as a group with
our other friends. The two of them had always been the
center of that small group. After high school they moved
to the midwest and bought a home. They had their first child
shortly after.

"I let her have the house, it wasn't worth arguing about. I've
moved into an apartment on the other side of town, its actually
close to work for me. I can get there in half the time now."
By then, both of our glasses were empty. We could have
opened a glassware store with the collected empties. "Let me
get us another round," I said. He nodded his head at me as I
slid out of the booth.

I walked back with two pints and two shots of whiskey,
a little bit of the beer that had been peeking near the lip of the
glass spilled over and wet the table. He reached for the whiskey
and held it as steadily as he could. "To better days," I said.
"To better days," he said. "To better days."

This Friendship

He's such a bore now that he doesn't drink. It was fine
at first but now all he wants to do is stay home and read.
We used to go out all the time and get drunk at the bar
by his house. Michelle would buy us a round if she was
bar-tending. He used to have the biggest crush on her,
everyone still does. I'm not sure why he decided to stop,
we always had a good time together. We were inseparable.
I heard he got a promotion at work. He used to complain
about how much he hated going in each morning, but I guess
he got over that. It's not the same when I go in now. Michelle
asks me how he's doing and all I can say is 'good'. It's just not
the same anymore. I just don't get why he stopped. He could
always handle his buzz even when I couldn't. Maybe I should
call him and see about dropping by his house.

The Crossing

Chavez stood at the intersection and watched the mid-afternoon traffic 

as it whizzed past him. People leaving work for home, parents picking 

up children from school, squad cars cruising for speed demons with 

heavy feet; all of them and more were lost in their own thoughts as 

they sat encased in hurtling means of movement. None were aware of

the others movements as long as they did not cross paths. He set his 

heavy bag at his feet. His left hand was sore from carrying it. There

were still a few more blocks to go before he would be home. He grew

up not too far from this corner. When he was a child his mother would

walk him to school, he always felt safe with her around. She had been

gone for quite some time now. He hoped his car would be ready at the

shop by tomorrow like they had told him. The lights turned green and 

the solid red hand was replaced by the gray lights in the shape of a man

in a walking motion. He grabbed the bag with his right hand and moved

as briskly as he could. He disliked the fact that the lights at intersections

never felt like they gave you enough time to cross unless you were 

sprinting from one side of the street to the other. He could feel eyes of 

impatience glaring at him from behind windshields and being cursed

at under breath. He felt the rush of energy as a car turned behind him

as his feet touched the sidewalk. His pocket began to vibrate and he 

ignored it, he had a good idea of who it might be. When it stopped,

he reached into his pocket to read the text message. It was exactly

who he expected. She must be drunk, lonely, or both to be trying 

to reach him at this hour. Her boyfriend had broken up with her 

recently and there weren't very many people she liked to talk to. 

Chavez had liked her but that had worn off. They went out shortly

after her break up and got drunk at the The Black Crow down 

the street from her apartment. When they got back to her place they

pounded a bottle of wine and began to make out in her living room.

They were lucky because her roommate was out of town at the time. 

He liked feeling needed, he didn't get to feel that too often. There was

something different about it, something that made him uncomfortable.

He put the phone in his pocket and started walking back to his 

apartment where no one waited.