I do not own Beyblade, Billy Joel, his songs, James Brickman, Norah Jones, or vodka. Although there is some in the coat closet… it's my parents.
They were there. They were always there, every night, without fail. The regulars at that cozy little bar.
Most of them used to be champions.
"Hey, can you play me a melody? I'm not really sure how it goes, but it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete when I wore a younger man's clothes."
His eyes told the story, they were sad and held the haunted look of one who had seen too much in his life.
So I struck up a tune and he nodded, a slight smile on his face. He sipped his vodka straight, without so much as twitching.
"Sing us a song, you're the piano man, sing us a song tonight…" I sang from the heart, feeling every word.
He has a family now. Catty Hiwatari met him while he was in Japan on business. They have two children. A poster-family. And yet he still comes, without fail. One shot of vodka, one song, a few minutes rehashing old adventures.
The barkeep, Rei, was another champion. One of the bluenette's old friends, in fact. He was positively lighthearted, compared to the others.
"Now John at the bar is a friend of mine, he gets me my drinks for free…"
Rei would crack jokes, bring up happy memories. But sometimes it wasn't enough. He would confide in me on the slow nights.
"Now Bill I believe this is killing me, as the smile ran away from his face… I know that I could be a movie star, if I could get out of this place."
Rei passed away. He was killed in a car crash, ironically on the way to propose to his long-time girlfriend. She was devastated…
"And the waitress is practicing politics as the business man slowly gets stoned…"
Korimi had been working there for years. She came for the money, and to tick off her straight-laced friend, and wound up staying on the team for him. Rei never officially asked her out, it just sort of happened.
Before then, she had been a psychology major. I remember being psychoanalyzed by her several times.
On occasion her brother would be in town, off work, and would join everyone at the bar…
"They're sharing a drink they call loneliness, but it's better than drinking alone."
Tala was another one. He came when he could, his work took him all over the world. He eventually found a girl who could tolerate his constant absence and married Vickie. They were happy. She started coming in on occasion, but not often.
The bar was frequented also by a young, tired Tyson. His championship title made him a star, but the pressure got to him. He was a broken man now.
"They sit at the jar and put bread in my jar and say man, what are you doing here?"
"So seriously then, what are you doing? With your talent you could be off touring with James Brickman and Norah Jones."
Tyson spoke to me sometimes, when he wasn't a contemplative drunk. I never saw him outside the bar, but someone told me that you behave the opposite of your normal personality when you're drunk. What kind of brash, wild person was this who came in specifically to get drunk enough to become quiet?
"What are you doing? With your talent, you could make millions coaching." Was my usual reply.
What you can tell from a person… just by watching them listen.