Two men walked into a bar. One younger. One older. Almost as if by design as soon as they walked in a familiar song started to play. Jazz. Already this place was proving itself to be worth a trip to, and they had only just entered the entrance hallway. Let alone the actual bar.
They were in a fishing village, one that had become famous for it's food and it's sights. It was small and consisted on a dozen or so restaurants with flats above, cottages and a few little shops as well as the harbour and boat-yard.
It wasn't too late in the day but the cold winter months meant that it was dark with stars in the sky. Streets were lit by dim lights and the moon cask an ominous reflection across the estuary that lead out to a great ocean, one that had barely been explored.
Tonight would lead to a great discovery, one that would be cherished in the hearts of these two men. A discovery of salvation and another of passion.
As the men entered they were greeted by the bartender and the scent of melting wax.
"Good evening gentlemen, would you like to find a table?" A pleasant smile on her lips as she gestured to several tables around the room.
The pair smiled back and said hello before looking around and finding themselves a table in the corner. They took off their coats and placed them on a near by coat hanger, made of a dark, varnished wood. They sat down and picked up the menu, looking through the seemingly unending list of spirits, cocktails, wines and all sorts of other, hard drinks.
The building had once been an old antiques shop that specialized in furniture, with an old rusting sign and cracked up paint to match. Recently though the building had been refurbished into this humble abode, this slice of heaven for any drinker worth half his liver.
One rum. One whiskey. One with ice and the other with a side of water.
Candles sat on the tables and lit the room, the kind of blurry, cozy atmosphere any good bar would have. The walls were hand painted with bookshelves, filled with all kinds of colourful books. On the walls also hanged pictures of old ships riding smooth waves and crashing through cliffs of water. The whole place was just perfect.
The bartender same over with their drinks, a rum was put in front of the younger man with a blue glass of ice-cubes and some tongs next to it. The older of the two had the whiskey placed in front of him, accompanied by a small jug of water. The two smiled and said thank you. The bartender bowed and walked away. Both of the men sat looking at their drinks, not even thinking about smelling the liquors inside, let alone taking a sip. Instead they sat there looking at their drinks as they took in the beauty of the scene. A cozy candle lit bar. A never-ending list of spirits joined by a mermaid relaxing in a liquor glass. A familiar jazz track joining them in the scene.
Perfect, they thought. The younger dropped 2 ice cubes into his rum and the other slowly added some water to his whiskey, swiveling his glass as he did. They raised their glasses and smiled.
"Cheers" they said to one another as the glasses chimed. They lifted the glasses to their noses and inhaled the sent. One sweet and spicy, the other filled with smoke and earth. A small sigh escaped them. Then, as fated to be, they took a sip. Another sigh.
Perfect.
