The Crack in the Side Wall

Chapter 2

16th June 2012,

As the taxi turned the corner, I could see the outlines of Coe's house.
Unlike me, Coe doesn't live in an apartment but in a two-storeyed house left to him by his adopted parents.

The house, set in a cultured and well-bred neighborhood, was one of the oldest ones in the street. His parents had bought it only a year before their death in a car accident. I'd never actually met his parents for we became friends only after his regular visit to the bar near our office to drown his sorrows and lift his mind off his parents.

Soon as we met each other, something clicked, and we knew in an instant that this was the start of a friendship that would last a lifetime.

"Is this the house, Sir?" The driver's voice snapped me back to reality.

I nodded and paying the driver with a tip of $3, stepped out.

As the cab drove away, I walked up to the driveway and rang the bell.

"In a minute", came Coe's voice from inside which was followed by the sound of his slippers brushing the floor.

"Hi", he greeted as he opened the door.

I smiled at his greeting and stepped inside his living room.

His house had always succeeded in astonishing me at how Victorian it looks from outside but is every bit modern from inside.

As we sat on his blue sofa, Coe popped open two bottles and gave one to me, taking a swig from his.

I slowly sipped my beer, thinking about the way Ella had suddenly grabbed my shoulder and stared into me, telling me not to forget her face.

Coe picked up the remote and switched on the recordings of a football match.

"I recorded today's big match", he said, staring at the television screen, "I knew you must have given the match a miss because of all the work dumped on you."

"Thanks, man", I replied, patting him on the shoulder.

As the match went on, my thoughts returned to Ella's strange behavior.

"Something wrong?" Coe asked.

Surprised by his sudden voice, it took me some time to realize his question.

"No", I replied, "just thinking about my neighbor."

"Neighbor?" He straightened himself and switching off the TV, turned towards me, "you haven't had any neighbor since you moved to that apartment."

"She moved in on Friday," I replied.

"How come you didn't tell me about her in the office?" he asked, sounding disappointed.

"The flat got bought and furnished while I was abroad and she moved in while I was at work", I justified," I got to know only when I returned. That's when we met."

"So", he shifted closer, "is she young?"

"About my age."

"Beautiful?"

I nodded.

"And you were thinking about her right now?"

"Yes", I replied. "but not having dirty thoughts about her!" I added, alarmed by the smirk Coe gave at my simple yes.

"And why exactly should I believe that you weren't having dirty thoughts about her?" He asked with a scoff to show his disbelief.

"She...she is...not my type," I said, rejecting the thought of telling him the real reason.
I had already played the conversation in my head which ended up with him saying that I was over thinking it. Maybe I was, maybe Ella was just messing with me, but somehow, I wasn't satisfied with that explanation.