“Howdy, Cowboy.”
Cowboy nodded.
Rudy had his medium-length black hair in a ponytail. His features were a mix of Hawaiian and Japanese. A gold tooth peeked out when he smiled. “Sorry, did I interrupt?”
Cowboy cut off Max,
“Not at all. Just talking shop and shopping for talk. I see you’ve got some new friends.”
“Old friends from back at RISD. I don’t know the girl. I think Rick met her online.”
“Interesting,” Max said with a flat tone.
Daisy approached.
“Rudy, what are you having?”
Rudy looked back at the table.
“Six Buds.”
Daisy brought five Budweiser bottles and a Rolling Rock for Max.
Cowboy said, “Cheers.” Rudy walked to the table with four bottles laced between his fingers.
“Hey, I’ll catch up with you later tonight. I’d like to hear the rest of that story.”
“You know where to find me. All the time in the world. Have a good night, Max.”
Max approached the table confidently and not the slightest bit eager.
Rudy said,
“This is my pal, Max. He’s a local legend.”
“Just a local,” Max corrected.
Max shook hands. Damien was the tall one wearing a 76ers jersey over a white T-shirt and massive jean shorts. Rick was the dude in plaid who looked like he read books, and the prairie chick was Julia.
Rudy was on his phone, racking up a hefty TouchTunes bill. The song changed mid-play from Waylon Jennings to “Starman” by David Bowie. At the bar, a geezer’s head shot up in alarm, swiveled, saw the table, and sneered. Max had eyes on the whole ordeal.
“So y’all met at art school?”
“Not me,” Julia jumped to answer and resumed hitting her vape.
Rick said, “Rudy and I were in Architectural Photography together.”
“I think I met you guys at a party,” Damien said.
“At that chick’s apartment,” Rudy chimed in.
“Right. She switched schools to major in zine-making.”
Rudy and Rick laughed.
“What’s a zine?” Max asked.
Rick and Julia looked at Max, puzzled, as if trying to read his sense of humor.
Rudy answered,
“It’s like a homemade magazine—stapled together, printed at home, cut-and-paste style.”
“People go to school for that?”
They laughed.
“If you don’t know what you want to do, I guess so. Waste of an education,” Rick said.
Rudy looked up from his phone at Max,
“It’s like some New College shit.”
Max laughed.
“Alright, I get it.”
Damien stamped out his cigarette and lit another.
“Where are you from?”
“I’m from Maryland. We all share a place in Brooklyn now,” Rick replied.
“Are you from Florida?” Damien asked.
“Venice, about 20 miles south of here. I moved to the big city with my brother in 2019.”
“How did you and Rudy meet?”
Rudy looked up,
“We met here, like a year ago. I walked in for the first time, meeting a date, and Max was sitting at the bar talking to Daisy.”
Max nodded,
“She’s interested in any young people who she says ‘are up to something.’”
“She asked what I went to art school for and introduced me to Max, saying he was a painter.”
“You’re a painter?” Julia chirped.
“Mostly residential and commercial.”
Rudy laughed,
“Show ’em a picture, bro.”
Max reluctantly pulled out his flip phone and showed them a pixelated photo of a homeless guy with nipple piercings sleeping under a palm tree at the beach. They all squinted to get a good look.
“Looks cool, man,” Rick said.
“Thanks.”
“I’ve always wanted a flip phone, but, like, how do you do anything?”
“I just do whatever,” Max shrugged.
“How do you meet people?” Damien asked.
“Like this?” Max was confused.
“How do you meet girls?”
“I usually follow them home and break in. Not many second dates, though.”
They laughed. Julia stared.
“But really, just say—what’s up?” Damien asked.
“The motorcycle probably helps,” Rudy said.
“That’s true, and once a girl usually sees my phone—”
Max spun the flip phone on the table.
“Then they’re either curious or think I’m hiding something, which makes them run away or ask more questions.”
“I’m curious,” Julia said.
Rick looked at Max with a raised eyebrow. Max laughed.
“My brother is plugged in enough for the both of us. He’s a SoundCloud producer.”
“What’s his name?” Damien asked.
“Jerm. I don’t know who he works with—Lil something, Yung whatever.”
They hung around RG’s for another hour and decided to meet up at Rudy’s apartment.