The Crack in the Side Wall

Chapter 6

13th August 2012,

As the sky wept down at me, I walked slowly on the lonely yet loud streets. The rays of streetlights seemed to dance among the raindrops like peacocks at the advent of the monsoon. Head bowed and hands in the pockets of my jacket, I walked amongst the ghosts of the dead unsuccessful lovers.

After a mile long walk of reflection, I finally sat down in a stranded bus stop, tears rolling down my cheeks and flowing among the rainwater that slowly dripped from my forelock. Just then my phone rang but I did not care. Finally, it went silent again.

As I covered my face with my hands, the phone rang again. I heaved a sigh and flipped it open. The screen read Coe's name with a shirtless pic of him flexing his muscles that he had chosen as the display picture. I took a deep breath and pressed the receive button.

"So how did it go?" His loud chirpy voice from the other end almost deafened me. "Did she accept ma boy?"

Tears once again surged down my cheeks and a loud sob escaped my throat.

"Meet me at the bar." He said in a grim voice and cut the call.
I nodded and put back the phone, turning around and starting to retracing my steps.

A few minutes later, I finally reached the bar which was currently full of people, waiting for the wrath of Zeus to finally calm down. The smell of petrichor was overpowering the smell of the beer, which was desperately trying to fight back but with no luck. Only the iconic sign outside and the number of alcohol bottles around was giving way to the fact that it was a bar.

I quietly went towards the bartender and jumped on a bar stool.
A few minutes later, Coe entered the bar. He was wearing a thin white shirt which had gone wet and clung to his body, revealing his toned, six-pack body. As soon as he entered, many heads turned towards him and as many pair of eyes twinkled at the sight of his body, but, the forever playboy was surprisingly oblivious to all the attention, as he scanned the room for his friend.

He finally spotted me and waved. I gave a half-hearted wave in response and patted the empty stool beside me. He nodded and slowly moved towards me.

"Showoff," I mumbled as I turned back and resumed sipping my drink, shaking my head.

After an eternity, he finally reached me and sat down on his seat. He grabbed my glass and took a sip, immediately making a face and pushing it away from us.

"You had a heartbreak", he said, "you cannot drink such piss right now!"
'God, this guy has tasted everything!'

He then looked at the bartender and raised his hand, pointing his index and thumb fingers to the ceiling, "Two glasses of Aecht Schlenkerla." He said, carefully pronouncing each word.

The bartender nodded and smiled at his choice. I knew what he must be thinking- Here's a man who really likes his beer!
Not the first one to think so.
This was just another one of Coe's qualities, he knew the names of everything drinkable by men.

The bartender poured us a glass each and mumbling an 'enjoy your drink, sir', silently left.

"Cheers!" Coe said with a smile, as he lifted his glass. I smiled and clicked mine with his.

Twelve glasses later, we both were drunk as Davy's sow on a frosty night and were laughing as if we had drowned a dog.

"I thought you were sad" he giggled.

"I am!" I hollered back, making half of the people look at my direction. I sobered a little and whispered, "I am."

"Did she like, reject you?" He asked in a serious tone.