"Holy shit!" I said as I stepped into Memories. I rarely go out in Torrington. I work in town so why the hell would I want to hang out there.
"Fucking Teddy!" I have known Teddy for more than fifteen years. He made the move to California about eight years ago and has fought and scraped to get into a working rock band. He was two fisting it. Gotta love that.
"Fucking Teddy!! I can't believe it. I thought you were in California. What the hell's going on?"
"DUUUUUUUDE! My first night back in Torrington and I run into you. Verna's going to flip. What the hell are you up to?"
"Man I just had to get out of my house. I went to Hartford to meet my buddy but his girl showed up and dragged him out of the bar so I said fuck it I'm going home. On the way back I remembered I had a gift certificate for some free drinks at Memories. Holy Shit! How's California treating you?"
"Good and bad. The good is that the band just got a spot on the Warped Tour..."
"Way to go man."
"Yeah this is huge for us. We hit the road in June and we're on until late August. If we're lucky we'll have the new album ready for the shows. This is going to be crazy."
"I bet, man, I bet. But you're on the road. Shit can't get much better than that."
"Welllll the bad is I just broke up with my girlfriend so I have to sleep on the tour bus until we leave."
"Jesus," I said starting to notice the girls walking around the dance floor.
"Hold my drink. I have to call Verna." He handed me his drinks and pulled a cell phone out of his pocket that looked like it had enough gadgets to make men stop masturbating. "Damn it. He's not home. You have to leave him a message. Verna!" He yelled into Verna's voice mail. "Guess who I'm with in CT, baby?!? Say hi to him!"
"Verna!! What's up?!? New days are on the way!"
Ted's phone hung up. "Goddamn it, cell service sucks here."
"So what brings you back to Torrington," I asked.
His mood shifted just a little.
"It's the one year anniversary since my sister passed away so I'm back for the memorial." He hung his head a bit and then took a sip of his drink.
"Man, I'm sorry. Wish the family the best for me."
"Thank you. So what are you doing now?"
"I am living proof you can't get fired from a rental car company. I spend my days alternating between renting cars to people and contemplating ways to shoot myself and still get paid."
"That bad?"
"It's not that. I just hate the job. The problem is that I'm almost financially comfortable. And comfort equals misery. I'm not saying I'm rich but the bills keep getting paid."
"What do you mean you can't get fired?"
"Example conversation: 'Jamal how was your weekend?' 'Not bad I spent time experimenting with random acts of man love.' 'That's, ah, great. Could you go on the pick up?'
Usually after comments like that they leave me the fuck alone and I can get some work done. They told me my career is hanging on by a thread I should learn to listen. My response was 'This is not a career for me it's just a job sort of like random acts of man love.'"
"Dude you kill me," he said laughing into his drink.
That Beautiful Black Man
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