Bob Johnson walked along the cold, damp street, his collar pulled up to ward off the chill of the night. The garish light of the store front, as he passed, casting his shadow in strange contorted angles as he strode through the last few steps to the entry of his flat, that was located above a shoe store.
He had lived alone these past few years. His wife of thirty years had passed away just over three years ago. Unlocking the door he entered the flat and hung his coat and hat on the cloak tree, turning to find the message light on the answering machine blinking. As he passed by the machine he pressed the 'play' button and continued into the bathroom to relieve himself. As the message played, a familiar voice that of Jack, his son-in-law, rang out "Dad, this is Jack. How about dinner and a drink tonight? Call me when you get in." The message ended. So did Bob's evacuation. Bob went to the phone and dialed Jack's number.
Jack had known Bob for ten years, ever since Bob had rescued him from a dead end job at a factory and made him his assistant at a mortgage lending company. The business had been good for Bob and now that he was retired, it was Jack's turn to run the business. Things had gone well for them all, that is until Bob's wife died.
Bob and Jack would often go out on the town in the earlier days. Sometimes they would get a little out of control and pick up prostitutes for night games. On one occasion they picked up a lovely young girl and shared her for hours before returning home late in the morning. But that was before Jack married Carrie, Bob's daughter. All the carousing ended then. This was just before Bob's wife had passed away.
Jack was standing in the kitchen, taking the top off a beer bottle, when the phone rang. It was Bob. "Hey, Jack what's going on?" Bob inquired.
"Nothing, Pop. Carrie is in California for a week and I thought we could get in a meal and a drink tonight. You up for it?" Jack responded.
"What's Carrie doing in California?" Bob asked.
"She's doing a photo shoot for a lingerie catalog and they need her for the whole week." Jack explained.
"Great! Where are we going for dinner?" Bob asked.
"I thought we could hit Carson's for dinner and do Bell's Blues Bar for drinks." Jack returned.
"Hey, that's a great idea," Bob says, "Pick me up in half an hour."
As they sat in Carson's they caught up on current events with each other's lives. The dinner was nothing if not fantastic. Carson's was the preferred place to dine in town and was a favorite of Bob's from the early days, when he would start every celebration with a meal at Carson's. Tonight wasn't one of those nights. This was just two guys out for a quiet evening together. Later, at Bell's Blues Bar, they would reminisce about the 'good old days' when they were known for raising hell.
As Jack and Bob were reliving the good old days for about the third time, a beautiful blonde bombshell caught Jack's eye, and made every attempt to get a response from him. No such luck. Jack wasn't taking the bait. Bob was however. He made every pass he could muster and was rebuffed at every turn. Discouraged, the blonde left with a guy in a business suite, never looking back.
"It's been like that for a few years now Jack. They don't go for fat, bald, old has-been's like me. I sure miss the old days." Bob mused.
"It isn't that bad is it Pop?" Jack asked.
"Bad? It's worse than bad. If I had a dime for every girl that turned me down, well....." Bob continued, "I sure wish you were single again. We sure had the times didn't we?"
"Sure, sure Bob. We had the times." Jack said, "Let's get out of here."
