“It should be, it was expensive enough,” I replied as I showed little interest in joining his conversation.
“Sure, it’s a nice bike, but it takes more than things to make you happy,” the old man said as if he was talking to himself.
“I do okay. I've got more than enough money,” I replied as I faced him and faked a smile.
I felt compelled to talk to him, but more for being pissed, rather than because I wanted to listen to what he said.
“Money ain’t the route to happiness,” he went on as he pulled on his long gray beard in contemplation.
“It gets me what I want. You name it, I can get anything with money,” I said waving my empty bottle to the barwoman who was eating salted crisps.
“Is that so?” asked the old man.
“Take the bike. It cost me 13 grand, which is a drop in the ocean. I could spend that in a day on dinner,” I replied as I raised my bottle and had a drink.
“You young ones are all the same,” the old man retorted looking at me like he was insulted.
“How would you fucking know?” I asked the old man feeling pissed off with his so-called 'know it all' attitude.
“Ah, that is my secret. My you are really the next generation, aren't you?” he commented as he looked past me like I meant nothing. What a idiot.
“Yeah, you’re talking horse shit. You know nothing,” I raised my voice. “You're just like all these old timers, clinging onto the past like an traditionalist.”
I turned my attention to the TV, and the news was just informing the weather. Unexpected rain was forecast which made no sense at all being summertime.
“That’s a nice bike you have there Mr. it would be a shame to lose it,” the old man piped up again as if to goad me more.
“You said that already, are you a bit senile?” I said as anger rose in my body.
“Not me, I'm full of wisdom, I spent years being just like you. I feel sorry for the man I used to be.” He looked at me, his face covered by deep weathered wrinkles and eyes as dark as coal.
"Just like me?" I was pissed with this fucker. He thought he knew it all.
“I earned my money. It didn’t come from an inheritance,” he said as he spoke his truth.
“Who says mine is inherited?” I asked. I wanted to punch him to the floor for being a mindless cock.
“Seen it many times. Soft hands, and no sign of hard work,” he said as he laid his palm out on the bar to show me. “See that? It's from work. Real work, blood, sweat, and tears made these hands.” He clenched his fist and rubbed his hands together to warm them.
“You still haven’t told me how you know all this?” I asked as I tried to act like I cared.
“Let me just say. I have more money than you ever will, Sonny!” The old man saluted me with his bottle. He raised it mid-air and took a swig and grinned a wide smile.
“Now I know your talking shit,” I replied. “Touché, old man. I nearly believed it.”
“I could buy you twice or thrice over and still have change left over,” the old man went on. “Check mate young man.”
I finished my beer and decided to head out. The old man was starting to talk gibberish as if he knew something about me. As I slipped into my jacket, the old man started talking to me again.
“All your money won’t stop you being alone in this world. Mark my words,” he said pointing his finger to make a point. “And then one day, just one day, you could be having this conversation with some punk ass kid who knows it all.”
I headed out of the door, the stale smells and sounds that reverberated off the jukebox began to fade out.
I climbed on my bike and started the engine, I dropped her into gear and shot off toward the hills, toward the twisting and turning roads that were a joy to behold. The rain was fast approaching, and I felt alive and ready to take my melancholy out and burn it off by the ride.
I hit the hills, the roads twisted and turned; I weaved in and out of traffic, all of my thoughts a blur. I was in the moment, no thoughts of the past, and no thoughts of the future either. I felt I was at one with the bike. I leaned and the bike responded, I twisted the throttle, and her speed increased like the perfect unison of man and horsepower together.
I rose to the top of the hill and stretched before me was blacktop, perfect and straight. Fuck, it looked as if it was a couple of miles long. I decided this was the ideal place to test her top speed, and with little or no traffic to consider, and no real obstacles in my way. It was like they had closed the road for me, I thought as my adrenalin kicked in.