I was in a dark place.»
«Say sorry?»
«Yeah. I was a real ass and, to make up for it, I’ll buy you an ice water.»
«Is it far?»
«Not at all. Leave your car here and we’ll walk.»
As it turned out, there really was a great bar nearby that, apart from spirits, also offered «fancy» drinks, like ice water. Shame the barman wasn’t Nick.
«I don’t know anything about you,» said David, «tell me something – anything – about yourself.»
«Well, I came here as soon as I found out I’d been accepted.»
«Run away from home?»
«Run away? I came here to study.»
David smiled, munching on cashew nuts from a little vase in the middle of the round table:
«So this isn’t a fresh start?»
«Nope. It’s just a big dream of mine.»
«And where were you before your longtime dream?»
«New York.»
«Wait. You came by car?»
«Yep.»
«You traveled three thousand miles?»
«And around 40 hours.»
«Couldn’t afford a plane ticket?»
«It wasn’t about money. I just wanted something…»
«What?»
«Well… adventurous and… to be on my own.»
«Did you have a lotta adventures out there on your own?»
«Nothing like that bar.»
«If you’re talking about me, then you really lucked out on your adventures.»
«And what’s your story?»
«Mine, funny enough, isn’t that great.» He sighed heavily. «I’m from Boston.»
«Mkay. That’s just about the scariest story I’ve ever heard.»
«Ha! Basically, I’m from a big family with a lot of kids.»
From that moment, I listened more attentively, mentally turning over the completely different one I’d heard from Nick.
«I came here to make money for my family… which I actually don’t have. Sorry, that was a lie. Sometimes I need some time to man up,» he straightened his shirtsleeve, musing about something. «I’m actually from a residential treatment center. – Like an orphanage,» he explained at my confused look, «my mother left me when I was seven years old, on my birthday. Then, when I was 16, I ran away from my foster family with a friend. We found a small, abandoned house, and then renovated it using money we’d stolen wherever we could find it. Basically, we lived there happily ever after. Then, we had a fight and I left the city, and finally ended up in that bar. After about a year I found out he was looking for me, and I went back.»
I waited for him to continue, but he suddenly laughed:
«I’m telling my life story to someone whose name I don’t even know. Looks like I’m legit going crazy. Sorry about that.»
«Connie. My name’s Connie.»
«You serious?» The smile disappeared from his face.
«What?»
«You’re not leaving?»
«Sorry, what?»
«I told you the truth, didn’t I?»
«I don’t get it. Do you want me to go?»
«No no no!» Another smile spread across his face, and he looked ready to give me a hug. «I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to say that. Just that every time I tell someone about my life, they immediately disappear.»
«How old are you?» I asked, sipping my cappuccino.
«Twenty-five, I think. Birthday wasn’t too long ago. You?»
«Sixty-five,» I said and smiled.
I was taken aback. No, not at David’s behavior, but at the abrupt twinge I felt once again in my heart. As if I’d always known the person sitting across from me at that moment.
«Dave! Man, you shitbag! Hitting the booze again are we?» exclaimed a short Asian guy who’d just walked into the bar.
He grabbed a glass of coke from the table and, after taking a small sip, turned to me:
«Señorita, be straight with me, how much has he already had?»
«Two glasses of coca-cola.»
«Lee, here’s the lady I met in that bar: Connie!» David gestured to me.
«Good gracious, I do apologize, I’m terribly ill-mannered. When you live a couple years with this monster, you tend to forget about etiquette. And here I was thinking that you were one of his…» At that moment, David splashed coke in Lee’s face. He shook my hand as if there weren’t drops falling from his pointed nose, and introduced himself: «very nice to meet you, the name’s Lee.»
«He actually goes by ‘Jackie Chan’,» David blurted out.
«Very nice to meet you too, Connie.»
Lee grabbed a couple napkins from the table and mopped his face:
«Sorry, but how long have you been here for?»
«’Bout 30 minutes,» replied David.
Lee’s eyes bulged:
«And you’ve putting up with this mofo for that long?»
I laughed and David shook his head, irritated:
«Order something already, moron! No worries, there’ll be time to talk about your feelings for me later.»
«I’ll have a martini, please, and my rodent friend here would like another coke,» said Lee and sat down next to me.
«And you’re telling me not to drink?»
«People don’t get drunk off martinis, stupid.»
«You could get messed up on milk!»
«I’m lactose-intolerant! So, where are you from?» continued Lee.
«I can tell you her biography when we get home.»
«You’re being a jerk.»
David smiled, satisfied, and winked at me.
«Watch out, you might exhaust your entire vocabulary. You only know ten words
