“Oh come on, not you too. Aren’t you supposed to be the nice one?” Jacob squawked.
“Not what my ex wife says.” Jeff chuckled to himself. “But just for you, I can take it easy on you. For now.”
“Thank you.” Jacob sighed.
“And one day you’ll find someone who isn’t just a random coffee shop patron.” Thomas responded. Seems like nothing broughtthe group together like ganging up on him.
“Come on guys, we all know I’m not that lucky.” Jacob expected some push back to that statement but they all too willingly agreed. Even the host chimed in with a friendly jab. Shifting into his seat, Jacob took a big swig of his beer, and sighed. “But if I could be- You ever wanted to be something more?” Thomas put his hand on Jacob’s shoulder.
“Jacob, the world is on fire. You’re here. Maybe that’s good enough.”
“I know. I guess sometimes I just wish that there was something more.” Jacob took a sip of his drink and suddenly felt a strange urge. He poured a small amount of all their drinks together in a shot glass and cheers-ed his friends before downing it. They laughed and Jacob shook his head. He wasn’t entirely sure what compelled him to do that but the end result wasn’t terrible.
As the game continued he settled back into his chair and sighed.
Love wasn’t likely to happen. Not to him.
It could happen to anyone right?
It could happen to him.
Even a broken clock can be right twice a day, right?
3
Pour Over.
That night, they won trivia. The prize was another drink which meant that at this point Jacob was more beer than man. He burped, took two antacids for his heartburn, and staggered his way home like an intoxicated llama.
Laying in bed, Jacob stared at the ceiling. The ceiling fan cycled again and again, and his mind would not shut off. The day swam through his mind like a whale.
What was he doing wrong? What was the deal?
“Fuck…” The spinning was making him dizzy- or perhaps that was the beer - but either way he was beginning to hate the fan.
As he stared at the ceiling he noticed a small red light flickering on the fan. He narrowed his eyes to try to figure out what was there. It was so odd and familiar…
Then he looked over at the nightstand to see a large seagull sitting atop it.
“Yo.” The seagull squawked in perfect English.
Jacob screamed. He rocketed off his bed as the seagull looked at him like he was a leftover piece of pizza. For a moment, the bird felt more like he was peering directly into Jacob’s soul- or lack of one.
“What?” The seagull asked.
“Shoo! Ah!” He whipped his arms in an attempt to scare the bird without having to touch it. It didn’t work.
He ran to the other side of the room in case the strange seagull tried to attack him. It didn’t, but just in case he was prepared. He opened the window in an attempt to get it outside, but it didn’t seem to give any mind. The bird wasn’t budging.
“Get out bird!” Jacob exclaimed, raising his arms above his head as if he was scaring off a bear. “Shoo!”
The bird did not shoo.
After what felt like hours and Jacob had calmed himself down a bit, the bird finally flapped towards him, settled on the bed and looked Jacob in his eyes.
“Are you done?” The bird asked. It sounded snarky.
“I guess?”
