Gene stepped off the train onto the
cold concrete platform. He hadn't been to this stop before, but the
bar he was supposed to meet his friend was right near there, so it
was his best bet.
The whole train stop was under a bridge that blocked out the five o'clock sun. As Gene walked out of the station all he could see was run down buildings and highways. They were the sort of buildings that you would see along highways, brick shells that had been abandoned a while ago. You could still see the faded signs on the roofs of the buildings, peeling and old. Most of the windows had been broken. There were buses and taxis lined up outside of the station too. This didn't seem like a stop that people walked out of.
He had to walk around the train station to find the side walk that led into town. The only difference between the buildings right in front of Gene and the buildings that he found by walking around the other side of the station were the windows. The windows in town weren't completely smashed. It also seemed more residential, but the general feeling of despair hung heavy along the street. He took the sidewalk along what seemed like a road that was too busy to have a sidewalk. He followed the map on his phone closely, continually making sure that he was in the right place. It seemed to be right, but he couldn't imagine there being a bar along this road. He kept walking, up a little hill lined with check cashing stores and arguing couples. At the top of the hill, he could finally see the place he was supposed to meet Lenny.
The whole train stop was under a bridge that blocked out the five o'clock sun. As Gene walked out of the station all he could see was run down buildings and highways. They were the sort of buildings that you would see along highways, brick shells that had been abandoned a while ago. You could still see the faded signs on the roofs of the buildings, peeling and old. Most of the windows had been broken. There were buses and taxis lined up outside of the station too. This didn't seem like a stop that people walked out of.
He had to walk around the train station to find the side walk that led into town. The only difference between the buildings right in front of Gene and the buildings that he found by walking around the other side of the station were the windows. The windows in town weren't completely smashed. It also seemed more residential, but the general feeling of despair hung heavy along the street. He took the sidewalk along what seemed like a road that was too busy to have a sidewalk. He followed the map on his phone closely, continually making sure that he was in the right place. It seemed to be right, but he couldn't imagine there being a bar along this road. He kept walking, up a little hill lined with check cashing stores and arguing couples. At the top of the hill, he could finally see the place he was supposed to meet Lenny.
Lenny had been a friend from college. Gene knew him from the job that he picked up to help pay for tuition, they had both worked in the library at the school. Gene had worked at the snack bar in the lobby to be more specific, and Lenny was at the front desk of the library.
When they had met, Gene thought Lenny seemed like a nice guy. It had been freshman year for Gene, but Lenny was a senior. Gene was still young enough to be impressed by older kids talking to him. Lenny kept his hair long and had a goatee too, which made him seem even cooler. He would get the same sticky breakfast roll from Gene everyday saying something along the lines of:
"This sticky bun is so choice right now man."
And he would talk with Gene until one
of their bosses yelled at them. Lenny would come into work high most
of the time too, but no one seemed to notice. If they did notice,
they didn't seem to care. Gene had tried going to class high once but
almost had a panic attack so quickly learned that wasn't his thing.
Gene walked down the hill to the bar. There was a small snowy parking lot next to it where a few lonely cars sat. It was five on a Tuesday so he was hoping the place would be mostly empty. He just wanted to meet Lenny and get back on the train.
There were a couple of guys standing outside while Gene walked in. Gene felt like they had been watching him come towards the bar since the top of the hill and seemed genuinely surprised when he walked into their bar. But he was careful not to make eye contact, or look like he noticed that they were watching him.
Despite the people smoking outside, the inside of the bar wreaked of cigarettes. There were two rooms separated by a partition leading down the center of the bar. On the right wall there was a bar along with a surprising number of patrons sitting at it. On the left there was a small sitting area that was empty but for a man sitting by himself eating what looked like a breakfast platter.
Gene looked at his phone again. He had texted Lenny when he had gotten to the train station, but he didn't get anything back yet. He didn't want to seem too forceful, even though Gene was just buying pot from him, Lenny didn't have to sell to him, and he wanted to maintain good terms with him in case it was out of Lenny's way to hook him up.
Before Lenny had graduated, Gene and him got rather close. They didn't hang out much outside of work, but they both worked the same shifts and Gene saw him as the one person there that he could talk to. The other people he worked with were terrible. Lenny would tell Gene about some crazy thing he did on mushrooms the night before or they would just talk about life.
Maybe it was because of all the drugs, but Lenny was great with really deep conversations. He would talk in a way that seemed meaningful, and would always listen when Gene would talk. Gene took to seeing his talks with Lenny as mutual therapy.
Gene was looking forward to another deep conversation when he had heard that Lenny was still around. He hadn't seen him since he had graduated. He did want to buy some weed and he felt a little bad about just calling him up out of the blue for just that.
The bottles behind the bar were shinny but the colors seemed dull. There was a sparkle to them, but it seemed like the lazy sparkle of street lights when you were too drunk to see where you were going. It was disorienting.
Gene walked down the hill to the bar. There was a small snowy parking lot next to it where a few lonely cars sat. It was five on a Tuesday so he was hoping the place would be mostly empty. He just wanted to meet Lenny and get back on the train.
There were a couple of guys standing outside while Gene walked in. Gene felt like they had been watching him come towards the bar since the top of the hill and seemed genuinely surprised when he walked into their bar. But he was careful not to make eye contact, or look like he noticed that they were watching him.
Despite the people smoking outside, the inside of the bar wreaked of cigarettes. There were two rooms separated by a partition leading down the center of the bar. On the right wall there was a bar along with a surprising number of patrons sitting at it. On the left there was a small sitting area that was empty but for a man sitting by himself eating what looked like a breakfast platter.
Gene looked at his phone again. He had texted Lenny when he had gotten to the train station, but he didn't get anything back yet. He didn't want to seem too forceful, even though Gene was just buying pot from him, Lenny didn't have to sell to him, and he wanted to maintain good terms with him in case it was out of Lenny's way to hook him up.
Before Lenny had graduated, Gene and him got rather close. They didn't hang out much outside of work, but they both worked the same shifts and Gene saw him as the one person there that he could talk to. The other people he worked with were terrible. Lenny would tell Gene about some crazy thing he did on mushrooms the night before or they would just talk about life.
Maybe it was because of all the drugs, but Lenny was great with really deep conversations. He would talk in a way that seemed meaningful, and would always listen when Gene would talk. Gene took to seeing his talks with Lenny as mutual therapy.
Gene was looking forward to another deep conversation when he had heard that Lenny was still around. He hadn't seen him since he had graduated. He did want to buy some weed and he felt a little bad about just calling him up out of the blue for just that.
The bottles behind the bar were shinny but the colors seemed dull. There was a sparkle to them, but it seemed like the lazy sparkle of street lights when you were too drunk to see where you were going. It was disorienting.
The other people at the bar laughed
like it wasn't Tuesday night. They talked about their plumbing and
kids that they were so proud of. The bottles behind the bar shone in
the low lights hanging from the ceiling
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