I'm A Loser

Chapter 48.

The rest of that week was spent like a dream. We held hands, visited galleries in our black clothing, easily fitting in with the art lovers in Greenwich Village. Or 'The Village' as they preferred.

It was a Friday evening when we walked into a small coffeeshop full of odd looking people. It smelled unlike anything I've ever smelled before. The lights were deeply dimmed, the people sat on the large sofa in the middle of the room, couples at tables drinking their coffee and chatting away. We couldn't find a table so Stu took a chance to ask a couple if we could join them. The girl had long blonde hair and a black turtleneck with blue jeans and black shoes. Her boyfriend was dressed almost the same except for his black hair. They looked completely stoic and in love.

"Can we catch a seat mate? It's full up." Stu asked.

"Go ahead man. We can use some company for the day." The girl smiled, looking at us. "You're not from around here are you?"

"No actually. Liverpool."

"Mmmm England. Sounds like a dream." She closed her eyes.

I laughed. "We said the same thing about here."

"You're first time?" The guy asked.

"Yeah. We needed to get away from the dreary land." Stu sighed. "Cigarette?" He asked.

"Oh no man. We don't smoke cigs here. Try this. Compliments from America babe." The girl smiled.

She handed us two white, hand rolled cigarette looking things and we shrugged at one another, taking a drag. That's when we knew what it really was.
.....

Her name was Megan and his was Tony. They both lived in the Village and spent every Friday here at this coffeeshop, smoking and enjoying the mellow atmosphere. I began to know why. It was a complete stress free paradise. They really opened up and were completely in awe at the idea of Stuart being a musician slash artist. Tony was a local artist and a beautiful poet. It wasn't until eleven, Meg pulled us along to the sofa as Tony went on the small stage and began spitting out his work. We were completely dazed and enjoyed his words.

Meg giggled as Tony blew her a kiss.

"Isn't he a sweetheart? You and Stuart seem so out of this world you know? His accent is so sexy. I don't mean anything forward by it but it is." She smiled.

I giggled. "It is I know." I looked at Stu as he took drag after drag of his joint, watching Tony rhyme.
..

We walked out of the coffeehouse around one in the morning, feeling buzzed and hungry.

"You wanna get something to eat?? We know this great little quisine open all night! You in??" She asked happily.

Stu and I looked at each other.

"Sure." We both smiled.
..

Our two new friends were completely different than anyone we've ever met. They loved music and collected records and books. She didn't work but she helped out at a homeless shelter that paid her in...wait for this...love. I had to admit, as odd as that sounded, it sounded pretty great. She was giving back to the world for giving her health and a loving boyfriend. I told her about my photography and she encouraged me to take their picture. I agreed and asked them to kiss for a cute photo. They agreed and they even stole my camera to snap a photo of us.

The food was amazing, our new company was far out there and we were faaaaar from tired. Stu and Tony walked ahead of us talking about galleries and their own work. We were a bit saddened to go our seperate ways as we stood at the corner of a walkway.

"If you two ever get tired of Liverpool and want to get turned on, you know where to come along." Tony said, shaking our hands.

"Exactly! Tony'll give you some work! A small loft here is cheap! Lots to do, lots to see!" Meg added.