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“I love beer in all forms, but the darker, the better,” I said.
“Then you will love this specialty one I have,” he said. “Come on to the game room.”
I followed him through the living room to a large room that looked like it was intended to be a dining room. The house looked like it had a couple of bedrooms on the other side, but this was clearly the room where company was supposed to be. Several couches lined the walls, along with a large television with various video game systems and a pool table in the center. A table tennis table was folded up and stored on one wall, and the TV was showing a game, though the volume was turned off.
“This place is great,” I said, shedding my jacket and putting the beer down on a coffee table.
“Thank you,” he said. “It was a selling point of the cabin. I hoped to fill this room with friends and laughter, but you are the first to see it besides me.”
“Well, then,” I said, grabbing two beers and twisting off the tops, “to many more.”
“To many more,” he repeated, and we clinked the glasses together.
We both downed most of our first beers, and then he began to rack the balls on the table.
“I’ve got to warn you,” I said, swaggering over to the cues and taking one down, “I have absolutely no idea what I am doing.”
Gerard laughed and shook his head.
“That makes two of us, my friend,” he said. “But we shall learn together.”
The rest of the evening slipped by, and before I knew it, it was well past midnight, and we were still going strong. I had an especially strong beer from Canada that took a long time to get through and then followed it up with some of the cheaper stuff while stuffing my face with pizza. Gerard, or Gerry as he insisted I call him, kept up with me on both fronts, and before long, we were both happily buzzed and playing a video game.
“And that’s when she left me,” I said, finding it amazing how some beer and good company had taken a story that normally made me feel sad seem more anecdotally silly.
“She was insane,” Gerry said. “You are much better off without someone like that. “‘La vie est un sommeil, l’amour en est le rêve, et vous aurez vécu, si vous avez aimé.’ It means ‘life is sleep, whose dream is love. You will have lived if you have loved.’ Be glad you have loved, my friend. It means you have lived.”
“That’s a hell of a way of putting it,” I said, taking a drag of my beer.
“It’s the alcohol. I am usually far less eloquent when completely sober.”
We both laughed and continued our game for a bit.
“So, what about you,” I asked. “Any heartbreaks?”
“Indeed, though, if it’s okay, I’d rather not talk about them right now. They are still too painful,” he said.
“Of course. No pressure.”
“Do you have someone you have an eye on now?” he asked, shifting expertly away from what was apparently a sore spot.
“Nah,” I said.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “I saw the way you were looking at Wendy the other day.”
“Ahh, that’s nothing. She’s just a really cool lady.”
“She is,” Gerry said. “I assure you, as someone who works with her, she is absolutely a very cool lady. But you seemed to have puppy dog eyes when you looked at her. I noticed I didn’t get a special piece of cake.”
“She got a promotion!” I argued. “If you get a promotion, I will make you one too.”
“I don’t need a love cake, my friend,” he said, laughing. “But Wendy liked hers. And I think she liked you too.”
“You think?” I asked.
“See?” he said, pointing at me. “You are interested! You have it for Wendy!”
“Alright, alright,” I said. “Enough of that. I’m going to go grab my bag, then we are going to have another one of those heavy beers, and then, then I am going to beat you at pool.”
“Fine, fine,” he said. “But when you lose, you have to admit you have a crush on Wendy.”
“I make no promises,” I said.
Thankfully, I won. I didn’t want to even address that question to myself, much less to my new friend, who happened to work with her.
8
WENDY
Our Saturday afternoons together always tired Olly out. By the time we finished with our picnic and spent a few hours playing at the playground or even just running around in the open field to the side of the equipment, he was wiped out. I loved seeing him nod off in the back seat, a smile still on his face from having so much fun.
I was just latching him into his car seat, watching his little head already starting to droop, when my phone rang. I pulled it out of my pocket and saw Deana’s name across the screen. Clicking the button to answer, I put the phone between my shoulder and ear to hold it in place while I made sure Olly was fully secured in his seat.
