An Unusual Encounter

Daily Jobs and Daily snobs. Dealing with work and life, a man has to grab a cold one every now and again.

I sat down, my bleary vision betraying me. The stool was hard under my arse. I held my head as the stress of today sent a wave of pain through my head. I grabbed my pint of beer and swigged down the cool re-freshing liquid. The chilli Friday night air made me shiver but I didn't care. I needed to unwind. Even the horribly dry taste of the smoke in my mouth.

A small thin man stumbled clumsily through the door, dressed like he just came from a wedding; his tie was loosened, his black shoes shined, nice blazer now with some white powder staining it. Cocaine.

But I minded my own business. Drugs, alcohol, it didn't matter. We men need to relax and this bar was almost empty, only a few stragglers. The boisterous little groups had already left to probably go to strip clubs and the other nicer parts of Northbridge. I needed not the shouting and the screams of the normal teens and younglings. I  was to old for that. The man stumbled next to me, muttering something under his breath. I looked at him and then looked away, taking another sip of my beer. The wooden walls of the bar didn't hold in the cold and I was wrapped in my rain-coat. Another crack of lightning and the heavy patter of rain hit me but I didn't care. 

I heard a slight snorting sound and looked over to see the man holding one nostril in, the other nostril having a straw stuck up there. He looked light-headed and horribly pale, the white powdered drug mixing with the black ash of the tray. I grimaced but didn't say anything. I had a hard enough day already, I didn't need another.

I held my mug of the Mexican Corona beer tightly and shivered.