Drunk and lovin it

[Mohan.C]

As he stumbled across the floor with a million lights to light his path. He saw for his great astonishment that not many whom he knew were present that day. The place was crowded for sure. But, not crowded wt people. But, somehow it seemed a little congested. What was it? He couldn't tell.
He had come to the pub to get drunk. The only drinks he knes were Beer, Whiskey, Vodka and such others of not much significance. For once in his lifetime, he was drunk and he was lovin it.
What is this that is so enormously, out of proportionately awesome about alcohol?
He ordered one more drink, one more shot to get thro the night. He knew he couldn't take it. He had had one too many already. But, soon the bartender servered him. He was a good guy, the barteder. He gave all you asked for. And all you could and you would ask for is peace.
Man, were these people stingy, not to be offecsive. But, then again, he didn't even know what stingy meant. Isn't this a pub.
This is where drunk people hang-out, right?
"Robert, please don't ban me", he begged. "This is the last time, I swear".

For some reason his tonsils seemed struck by lightning. Was he electricuted in some weird way? No, He thinks he is just drunk. He is one adamant man, he is.
"Hey you, fetch me one more drink. You know what I want, right? I want peaaaceeeeeee"!!!

[labelwench]

"Hey you, fetch me one more drink. You know what I want, right? I want peaaaceeeeeee"!!!

A woman walked through the door, pausing to orient herself at the outburst of the solitary patron of the establishment. Though it had been awhile, she recognized the young man whom she had cajoled into dancing with her horse when last she had been here.

"Well, then, if it's peace you're wanting, it'll have to come after the pounding headache you're going to have in a few hours, lol," she quipped, remembering the young man as being rather somber and quiet.

"Robert, do you suppose we can arrange a bucket of Adam's Ale for the lawn ornament and how about a large pot of spiced Chai Latte with a flagon of Lamb's Navy to warm the cockles of my heart?"

She turned back to the rowdy young gallant, now staring at her with a slight furrow between expressive dark eyes.........he was trying to place her before he committed himself to a reply. Rather a bold and outspoken one for a wench.......

[Mohan.C]

"Hey, Wench. I remember ya. Weren't you the one who wished me luck, when I didn't even believe in it. Well, wish me once more, coz I may need it now" he said.

He had for long admired this strong women that he was addressing so directly now. Always sober, he didn't know what he would say if he wasn't. "A headache, that's all, I would take much worse for you, my friend" Yes, that is exactly what he wanted to say.

But, he wouldn't. He had kept up his reputation of being somber and quiet.

'What would it do to me?' he thought to himself, 'Does she really care?'

[labelwench]

'Your memory serves you correct," she replied, "yet before we ask the universe for any further interventions, it is customary to have some knowledge of what the circumstances may be in requirement of. What did you do with your most recent run of luck?"

She sat down at his table and Robert brought over her order in a large teapot and two mugs, setting the container of rum to her left, well out of reach of her companion. He also placed a large plate of mixed nuts, dates, fruits, cheeses and halva between them, with napkins to accompany.

"Delightful!" she exclaimed, and busied herself in the selecting of a plump date, while peripherally trying to assess just how much of a load her friend had 'tied on'.

"So tell me all that has transpired since we last we met in this quantum establishment," she teased, "that is.....if you can remember it all. It rather depends on how often you make a habit of of searching for peace in the bottom of a bottle."

She poured tea and rum for them both, and by sleight of hand poured far less into his mug than hers, though not as one could easily tell. Rum is very fragrant and so he would indeed feel that he was drinking 'strong spirits' as it was complimented by the spices of the Chai, which with the milk added and some high protein food might well stave off and possibly alleviate the fate he was bound to suffer otherwise. He would actually drink himself toward soberness by means of hydration, nutrition and the effects of the special properties of cardamon, ginger, cloves, cinnamon and star anise. Certainly he would feel no worse....

"To Life, a toast," she proposed, raising her mug and gently clinking it against his as he picked it up and was savoring the aroma. "May the journey be long and interesting, and may your companions be your equal, able to lead or follow when needed, yet most often to travel by your side."

She took a mouthful of the fortified mixture.

Mighty fine, she decided, wondering when and where Robert had picked up the art of making such a fine brew......very smooth rum as well. He had obviously felt kindly enough to trot out his 'good stuff'. It was a large pot, and knowing Robert and the Pub, a bottomless flagon of rum. Fortunate that she had stopped for a good meal before dropping by. A few mugs of this on an empty stomach and she'd be in worse shape than the one across from her.

She settled into a more relaxed position......the beverage and the story would take the time of their choosing......

[Mohan.C]

"My storry begins" he said and stopped.

"You sure you want to listen to this boring, unending story of an unemployed gentleman" he asked.

He had always been too uncomfortable with sharing stories. But, he would be much more comfortable if the lady was to be more generous with the servings of rum. "The aroma's good, the tea is great. But, the nerves need to relax, there's only one thing that can do that" he thought to himself, while he longingly gazed at another bottle in the neighboring table. "This lady won't let me have another swig" he thought sadly. But, he knew why and that made him 'not sad'.

He looked at the bartender, motioning him to get him some more beer, while his companion closed her eyes enjoying her gentle combination.

"Well, for one thing. Drinking's not a habit yet. And my luck all ran out into the streets. I didn't gamble. But, I didn't do anything else, either. But, one things for sure. What people say they 'want' is what they 'need'. But what they get is what they say they don't want. But, that is what they really want. The only thing I wonder is" and he stopped, "well that is all I do, I wonder" he said and picked up the tea.
'Yes, he needed to get back into shape. But, the bartender had brought his beer discretely. And he had kept it on his chair, lest the lady would see it and take it away. Just one more bottle till the story ends'

[labelwench]

The woman, though she appeared to be quite relaxed and inattentive, none-the-less had excellent hearing, and the swirl of air disturbed by Robert as he made his rounds, attending to the appurtenance of his establishment brushed upon her check, and the subtle smell of a brew favored by gentlemen was upon it.

So......he was not to be deterred from his present course of misery, lol......and Robert, though he endorsed her efforts, well recognized that sometimes the dignity of free choice must be respected, though there would be recriminations of the self come the dawn, by the one who was telling his story......

It was fortunate that she had brought Caramel along. She might need to walk this fellow safely homeward, depending on the length of his tale. No way she was letting him set astride her horse in this condition, lest he offend the sensitive creature unintentionally. Then again, if he got plastered enough, he'd be too busy holding on to the saddle-horn while she led the horse. Robert could likely give him a leg up, and thereafter he would be too busy defying gravity to do much aught.....what a spectacle that would make......

She returned her attention to her friend's story, which he promised to be long and full of woe. She was no stranger to such matters......."Wondering will get you long odds, my friend, unless one adds some action. You can safely tell me what you will of where and how far your luck ran out. Scorpio is discreet and Robert......is discreet even unto himself, as we all know. Please........continue.......time stands still for such telling when the quantum mare travels to the pub. Caramel assures me that the Kentucky Blue Grass that Robert has seeded around the pub is of the finest kind, and she minds not how long we tarry, and the Many World's Pub never closes....."

[Mohan.C]

The man was never too sure of horses. But he knew this would go down very badly with the lady, so he kept quiet.
As he stole one more gulp of beer from under the table. "Well, where should I start. I was fine come last monsoon, the rains were pouring down, the land seemed like it was going to be rich and content. And in came this new addiction of mine"
"I spent day and night trying to fulfill my thirst for it. It seemed enough in the beginning for me. But it had a tight hold on me, demanding from me more n more. N I kept on giving. Though frustrated at times. The substance was not deterred, it kept me busy. N I got too used to it" He stopped.
Is anyone listening he checked once. The lady was listening attentively, so were a few more people sitting around the table. He glanced outside the window. Caramel was grazing silently in the moonlight. That was one thing he loved the most in this pub. There was always the moonlight. Never did the sun rise. N never did moon enter any of his myriad phases. It was always full. The wind grazed his chin, waking him up a little from his drowsy drunkenness.
Would anyone say anything, he waited to hear.

[labelwench]

"A substance that you refer to as 'addictive'", the woman summarized, "and you refer to this as a 'new' addiction. Are you quite certain that you are using the term 'addiction' correctly?"

The woman paused to refill her mug of Chai and added a liberal shot of rum. She glanced across at her friend and offered the flagon to him. "A shot straight up, followed by beer, we used to call a 'boiler-maker'", she chuckled, and he knew that his subtlety had been in vain. "Sometimes the fastest way to get past the hurting that shall surely follow is to steal a page from the Romans and disgorge the poisons in the system before they can do full damage. Personally, I'd almost rather perish than toss my cookies, and I will confess that I came to the path of moderation through some experience of being immoderate, and much observation of the fate of others."

"Decide your own fate," she indicated the rum with a gesture, "and meanwhile tell me about this 'substance'. Is it a natural substance or one that has been contrived through the intervention of man?"

The woman was most curious if this was a 'new addictive substance' or if perhaps it was the novelty of a new experience that was 'addictive' to her friend.

Sometimes we can encounter a want or need that completely occupies us to the exclusion of all else for a time, and it is our mind that becomes addicted and not our body. Equally dangerous though, for where the mind goes, the body will follow........

She waited for the telling to resume.

[Mohan.C]

It was not addiction as much as it was love ... He took a little liberty and took a detour .. Went undercover and drank as much VOdka as his system could hold ... "Well, Labelwench. I fell in love, if u must know" he said " And I'm so afraid I'll hurt her by being myself . That I tried my best to not be me. Does that at all sound at all sound familiar to you" he continued.
"The only thing she wants me to be is to be me, n the only thing I don' want to be is be myself, how weird is that" he said under the influence of more and more alcohol flowing thro his nerves. "I'm such a helpless romantic .... " then he excused himself, coz he had to go to the men's room to thro up, again !!!

[Mohan.C]

A song started playing thro the screens in the pub ....
It ran ...