Things That Happen (standard:drama, 2444 words)
Author: Bobby Zaman	Added: Apr 26 2002	Views/Reads: 3510/2333	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A night of drinking, fighting, and romancing.

Things That Happen 

by Bobby Zaman 

It’s seven a.m. 

The night ended sometime ago, maybe it was three or four hours, maybe
more maybe less, when I crawled into bed.  The sun wasn’t up.  And now 
it’s raging over the horizon, charging through the window, the one I 
remember opening last night after stumbling in and feeling 
claustrophobic. 

It’s seven a.m. 

Sunday. 

Caitlin didn’t want to come with me.  She was pretty upset when we said
goodbye.  I’d told her at the beginning of the night that my plan was 
to drink a lot.  I don’t think it was the amount of drinks I had, as 
much as what happened afterwards.  Things took a wrong turn after we 
left the Goodbar. 

I don’t recall being in a fight since senior year in high school.  Even
then, I’d be the first one to walk away, as the saying goes.  Now, 
walking away is a whole different thing from chickening out or not 
standing up.  That’s what I’d been doing steadily for the last ten 
years, walking away, but something snapped last night, and then there 
was the blackout. 

I met up with Josh, Mandy, and Caitlin after work.  Josh and Mandy are
married, Caitlin and I’ve been together for five years, it was a 
college rebound thing, that made a miraculous journey to what it is 
today, and I’ve been toying with the idea of a ring some time soon.  
But we all say that, doing it is something else. 

Josh isn’t loaded, but it’s no holds barred with him when it comes to
drinking and buying rounds.  The girls hadn’t challenged his wallet 
nearly enough when I walked in.  He hollered my name and heads turned 
all around the room. 

Caitlin looked really good.  She’s started wearing these cotton summer
dresses more and more, and going to the gym four, five times a week.  
She tans fast too.  I sometimes wonder what she sees in me.  I took a 
seat next to her at the bar, and she kissed me almost coquettishly, 
which turned me on.  We weren’t celebrating anything in particular.  
Just that it’s been a while since we all saw each other, and the 
weather’s finally starting to get better.  An excuse to drink on a 
Monday night was all we were looking for. 

They were in the midst of a conversation about Nietzsche or Kant or
Kierkegaard.  Josh has half a degree in Philosophy (he didn’t finish) 
and a few beers takes him closer to a dissertation than any amount of 
research or college credits.  He gives himself a doctorate after every 
drinking session.  Mandy is a receptionist at Ravenswood Hospital, and 
used to Josh’s philosophical ravings.  It’s Caitlin that’s hooked on it 
now, and she goes back to listening to Josh as soon as her kiss leaves 
my face.  Sean, the bartender, puts down a tall rum and coke and I 
begin sipping it right away. 

“Hey, Robby,” Josh calls out, “You know what I’m talking about, right?” 

I put up my hand and gesture that I want nothing to do with deep
conversations.  Josh dismisses me with a counter gesture. 

Sean’s an actor, a good one, I’ve seen him in two shows.  The first was
Marlowe’s Faustus with a local company.  The performance space was in 
the basement of a church on the North Side, with a capacity of about 
seventy-five.  He played Mephistopheles, and I liked his emphasis more 
on the undercurrents of the character.  The other one was an original 
piece by some pissed off playwright that had problems with everything 
from abortion to gay marriages to women in corporate America.  That one 
lasted for three performances, and got slammed by four publications the 
weekend after it closed. 

“How’s life on the nine-to-five end?” Sean asks me while flipping


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