"City"

Work in progress...

~K

~~~

I walked the streets of the city. The night was cold, the wind brisk and the air was crisp and clean. I could see my breath in the air heating the area around my head as I walked. I felt my boots crunch down on the snowy sidewalk as I trudged on.


Pulling the collar up and my headphones off from around my neck I pressed play. The sounds of Sammy Hagar and Eddie Van Halen rang in my ears. "Right Now" was all that seemed to matter to them and that was the resounding enforcement they tried to instil on me. But I didn't believe them, for all their persuasion I wasn't swayed. Great song though. I had always looked to the future. I had my sights set forward, not in the past or the current. "Ever the day dreamer" my Mother had always said "Big dreams. You'll go far." I didn't feel like I'd gone anywhere though. Not really, not after today's events.


I heard laughter; my eyes darted up from the ground as a couple stumbled out of the upscale nightclub onto the sidewalk. She was laughing one of those annoying laughs...fake and not attractive. Facially of course, she could launch a thousand ships. She could be a trophy wife to someone, but that was about it.


I trudged on to my final destination. Malley's Pub. It was actually "O'Malley's Pub" but the "O" had been burnt out for as long as I'd been going to the shithole and no one had bothered to fix it. The bar was a run down near condemned joint; and was owned by some Pakistani who looked no more Irish than I did. But that's the way things are I guess. The world was full of false illusions. Fake fronts. No one was ever what he or she seemed.... including me. I walked inside, the familial stench of cigarette smoke, sweat, booze and piss greeted my nostrils.


"Evening..." Aamir greeted me with a nod pouring me a shot into a dirty shot glass.


I nodded in kind and picked up the shot off the bar. I wasn't in the mood for exchanging pleasantries. I wasn't there for tea after all. I wandered back to my normal spot, passing by Trixie the 65 year old prostitute who wore too much make up, not enough clothing and sagged in all the places you'd expect an over used whore to sag.
I passed by Pete who as an ex cop and Vietnam vet who was sprawled out in his usual manner on his table, cigarette in full burn, glass of whiskey in his grasp and drool on the table. That was the only way I knew he was still alive, that and the occasional ground rumbling snore and gaseous stench that would emit from him.

I sat in the corner and started up at the 1970's tv set hanging precariously that faced me. It was old, probably should have been thrown out long ago and yet still ran. Aside from the occasional flip that required a sharp, hard slam to the side of the box...it worked fine for what it was used for.


I lit a cigarette. I didn't usually smoke, only when I was stressed, pissed off or really drunk. Which seemed a lot lately...and tonight I definitely fell under one of those categories. I exhaled the smoke, closing my eyes for a moment and tried to shake the day's events from my minds eye. It didn't work. I didn't expect it to. Not really. But it sure would have been nice.


"Hey Sugar..." Trixie finally noticed me sitting in the corner "Looking for a date?" she 'teased' sloppily circling her tongue around her well-smeared lipstick lips.


More repulsed than anything, I shook my head and politely declined as I always did when she began her nightly routine and drew my gaze back to the television set that was now flipping incessantly. I sighed, par for the course tonight. I'd have to get up if I wanted to watch the game or what was left of it. Give it a hell of a slam and hope that it didn't kill the tv and that it didn't fall from it's position. Downing my shot, I stood as the rye burned its way down my throat and into my stomach. I slammed the palm of my hand into the side of the box and watched the television right itself. Aamir slid my bottle down the bar to me, nodded his thanks and returned to his dog-eared book. He was a man of few words I could respect that. Grabbing the bottle by the neck I casually strolled back to my seat sat down and poured myself what was sure to be the first of many shots.


I nursed my second and third shots. While I had a most unexpected and 'eventful' day, and while someone else may get completely shitfaced at the days turn of events...I decided it best to keep my wits about me. After all who else could say they'd landed a multimillion dollar deal, lost a multimillion dollar deal, accidentally pushed a young woman in front of an on-coming subway train killing her instantly and because of the fact that she was a Russian Mafia Princess now having the Russian mafia after them? Not me. Not when I woke up this morning anyway. And now blood was all over my hands...and the rest of me. Metaphorically speaking anyway. And if the Russian Mafia had their way, literally as well.