夏至 [5] / [17]
"Would you come to The Hive Lounge at 8 p.m? I'll will wait for you there."
"OK, who else is coming?"
"Alone. I want to talk only to you."
Alexander could feel something going wrong with Ed. Probably, Violet? He didn't want to know, but, simultaneously, he wondered. He promised him he would arrive on time.
"Drink appointment with Ed?"
Cynthia asked.
"Yes, his voice was, sort of not good. Maybe he wants some advice, I'm not sure though."
"Alright, take your time with him, but be careful out there, okay. I'll see you when you get back."
Alexander left home alone. The early summer's night breeze, loaded with the scent of trees and honeysuckle, was pleasant.
He found Ed at the corner table deep inside of the bar. When he sat in front of Ed, he saw a long scar on his face.
"What happened to your face?"
Alexander asked with surprise.
"Oh,"
Ed tried to cover his face with his finger, which was useless.
Alexander observed Ed cautiously. His expression, always filled with some sense of superiority and self-contentment, was changed. Alexander could see anxiety and regret for some reason. Ed's mouth, always unbalanced, with a surly sort of smile, was firmly shut. This change was quite dramatic. Alexander couldn't miss it.
"What's wrong?”
Alexander asked again, with evident worry. Even though he didn't trust or like him very much, Ed was still his coworker, and they had a lot of history.
"Let's order drinks first."
Ed ordered a bottle of beer and vodka. He poured beer, filling less than half the glass, and he added vodka until it filled the rest of the glass. Alexander was stunned, as Ed gulped that down without thinking.
"I caught Violet sleeping with a man,"
Ed said. Alexander raised his eyebrows without a word.
"She slept with a man in my house,"
Ed said, again, as if spitting.
Alexander didn't know what he ought to tell him.
"I want to listen to you."
"What do you want to ask to me?"
"You were her boyfriend, right?"
"I was, not now obviously. I don't even want to think about her anymore,"
he replied flatly.