Sins of Smoke

It Was All Routine

[Friday 11th July, 9:52pm]  

At this point in the night the sun had already said it's farewells to the day and sunk behind the lonely hills. Outside the air was still and quiet. The temperature had dropped dramatically the minute the orange light had been replaced by the silver of the moon, meaning wildlife of the night could come outta hiding, sneaking through the darkness like shadows. Besides the fading echoes of the voices falling outta the Coyote, little dared disturb the night as it waited in anticipation.

'C'mon, Sudsy! If you love it so much, why don't you marry it? You've been teasing that pint since we sat down. Get it down your neck, get your ass off your chair and pay up. It's your round!' Tommy's call was met with loud agreement from the rest of the group.

'Yeah, Suds. What's eating ya? Nearly forgot you were here!'

'You look a bit peaky, bud. I mean, more than usual. D'ya scrub a bit too hard?!'

The jest met the expressionless wall. It was light-hearted taunting, we were famous for it, though Suds failed to look impressed. Wordlessly he drained his glass and walked towards old Rusty who greeted him in the same way that he greeted everyone. With that warm, toothless smile.

'What d'ya think's got his back up?' Pete posed the question, not really expecting a serious response.

Tommy was the one to reply. 'Must've missed bath time. He ain't exactly up to his usual standard, is he? Maybe Rebekkah has smacked him round again!'

Shacks laughed between mouthfuls of golden froth. 'He ain't never been the one to wear the trousers in that house!'

I'm not sure if it was the warmth of the beer spreading through my body or just a general wave of pity that hit me at that moment, but I found my eyes wandering over to the bar where the back of Suds' head hung low over the sticky, wooden counter. Flecks of grey spotted the rug of hair that always seemed immaculately groomed, like it was glued in place. Though Tommy was right. Last night, for the first time since I'd known him, it stood all skewwhiff like he hadn't touched it in days. I wondered then what kinda demons must be playing on his mind, and I felt sorry for him.

Ignoring the din of the group I decided to join Suds at the bar. Sometimes all you need when you got your mind buzzing with bees is someone to talk to and blow the bastards out, and since no one else seemed in any way inclined to play the supportive pal I figured I was the best shot he had.

Weaving through the trail of chairs with no tables to belong to I noticed how much quieter the bar had become. Rusty seemed not to mind in the slightest as he stood chatting to a familiar face (with a name that escaped me), polishing his glasses and taking a well-earned breather. I've never understood why he always insisted on running the place himself. Maybe it was a pride thing. He didn't want to relinquish control and admit that maybe his time was coming up. I'm not sure how that old grandfather clock kept ticking to be honest. Lucky he was as loved around here as everybody's grandpa cause I heard the way that people complained about the speed of his service (though never to his face), but despite their misgivings the punters would smile and say the right things before growling under their breath as they took the drinks to their table.

Taking a seat next to Suds I glanced along the bar noticing the absence of my brother and his fancy-bitch. (He hates it when I call her that, but, fuck it, he ain't here).

'They left about half hour ago Mr Cooper'. I couldn't help but smile – Mr. He was always polite like that, bless his soul. 'Seemed to be in a real hurry too. Saw them whispering some words to each other then they darted out that door swifter than a couple of bunnies in heat.'

'My brother never could keep it in his pants. Spends so much time drooling over gals it's no wonder he gets himself in so much trouble. What about you, Rusty? You must've been quite the catch in your day.'

'This here is still my day Mr Cooper', he said, accompanying the remark with a hearty chuckle. 'You wanna see the amount of gals pining for old Rusty's bones. Where the water hole is tapping, the young ladies come lapping.' With another loud laugh his attention was caught by another customer waiting.

Suds sat quietly, staring into the tray of drinks he'd purchased, and we spent a few moments in silence. Funny how sometimes not saying anything can sound respect ten times louder than actions, eh?

'Boy... Richton's gonna be pissed when he gets wind of where my brother is poking it tonight. Kenny always has cared more about his little head than his big one.' I let out a small laugh, hoping to lighten the mood and put a smirk on his face. Suds gave me nothing.

'Course, he should be careful really. If Sarah left him once, there's nothing to say it couldn't happen again. You ain't heard any reason that those two should be fighting, have you?' It was a longshot, but you know how gossip spreads in a small town.

Still nothing. Suds continued to stare and blink at the amber-coloured glasses with the rapidly disappearing heads.

'Y'know, if you're not careful those'll get flat soon. The guys don't take kindly to flats,' I addressed him directly this time, hoping to break the shell. I was on a mission now. I didn't like the stony silence that met my words.

'Fuck 'em' came the slow reply. He sounded half cut, though I couldn't say that I'd seen him drink more than one full glass, and there was something in the dark glimmer in his eye that put me on edge.

That caught me off-guard. I had no idea how to follow that. Suds was never the wildest of us, in fact, he was always rather placid, and if he'd ever taken issue with the group he'd never shown it. But I was taken aback then by the menace scribbled on his unshaven face. All I could find in response was a short, 'huh?'

'You heard me, Coop. Fuck 'em. I'm sick of the lot of them, pissing around, acting like they ain't got a care in the world. It's a dangerous place out there for fools and jesters.' His eyes flickered briefly to where Dennis sat wobbling dangerously as the guys busied themselves playing a game of stack-a-tower out of the empty glasses Rusty had failed to procure. 'They don't see it now, but their time will come.'

'What's gotten into you, Suds? Is it Rebekkah? Is everything right at home?'

'Let's just say this...' He paused, taking a large mouthful of beer. Whether this was for dramatic effect or not, I don't know, but I found myself hanging on his every word. 'There's plenty of time tonight for that tower to topple and come crashing down.'

With that my attention was thrown back to the table as a wave of triumphant roars and crashes exploded with a stomping of feet. The tower that only moments before had shone with pride had come hurtling down, raining shattered glass across the floor like razor-sharp puddle drops. There was something almost too coincidental in the way Suds' words had matched the downpour, almost as if he knew. I shook away the thought.

Without so much as a sideways glance Suds slid his stool back and stood. He fumbled through his pockets for his wallet and threw a couple of tatty, green bills on the counter before walking towards a large wooden door at the far side of the bar. 'Coop? You coming', he beckoned in a voice that seemed to tell me that 'no' would not be an option.

For a moment I froze. Hell, I can't explain it. Whether it was fear or caution, I froze. Sue me. Something definitely wasn't right in Suds' character, and hindsight can be a bitch in illuminating your mistakes. But I did it. I followed Suds against my better judgement and walked through the heavy door marked private. If Suds had something to get off his chest then let him. I'm all ears.

As I took those steps through the doorway I could hear the continued hoots and hollers from our table. Closing the door I caught the smiling face of Pete as he leant over the bar to grab Rusty's attention.

'Broom and mop in the usual place?' he grinned, displaying his best puppy-dog eyes.

'I'll put it all on your tab' Rusty smirked back, theatrically rolling his eyes.

It was all routine.