“Yeah, I’ve never liked operating rooms anyway,” Praza replied and they turned and walked to the elevators.
As they walked through the massive atrium the birds called out from various points and the waterfall splashed gently down the giant boulder. Tesar paused as they passed, pulled a quarter from his pocket and flipped it in the air at the small pool at the base of the fall.
“Need a wish?” Praza’s confused look at his brother.
“Never know,” he replied with a shrug then continued walking.
They walked down the stairs to the sidewalk then down the block, crossed at the intersection and continued to the bar entrance. They had to go down the stairs from the sidewalk to the lower level where the solid oak stood, “Paulie’s Pourhouse” stood out as raised lettering.
Praza pushed the door open and they walked into the moderately lit room, televisions on the walls each with different sports games or sports centers on. The noontime crowd in the bar filled only a few tables and half the bar. The brothers sat at two open seats at the bar and the bartender walked up shortly after.
“What’ll it be fellas?” his Boston accent strong.
Tesar replied in English, “beer, strong beer.”
“I got light and dark, both eight percenters.”
Tesar looked to Praza who gave a slight shrug, “two light,” he replied.
“Sure thing,” the bartender responded as he turned to grab glasses.
Praza looked around the bar at the variety of memorabilia plastered all over the walls. All the regional sports teams swag mixed with an endless number of beer signs. The television in front of them behind the bar was the only one to not have sports, it had the local news on.
The bartender returned with their beers and slid them in front of them, “ya gonna order food?” he asked.
Tesar shook his head and the bartender walked back down the bar. They sat in silence for a while and sipped on their beers, partially watching the news and partially looking over the mass of carved graffiti all along the bar top. Names and dates were gouged out of the wood, black ink had been drawn into many which made them standout amongst the chaos.
The bar entrance opened and let a blast of light in before returning to the bar lighting. A woman walked purposefully up to the bar and stood next to an open seat with one between her and Praza. The bartender quickly stepped up but she spoke before he could.
“Straight double whiskey,” she demanded.
Praza heard her voice and his skin began to crawl and he slowly turned his head to look at her. His eyes widened and he snapped his head around to look at Tesar, his mouth agape. He sat and blinked until Tesar looked over at him as he set his nearly empty glass on the bar.
“What?’ he asked.
Praza blinked a few more times then pointed to his left with his thumb. Tesar leaned back to look around him and he started shaking his head, “really? Of all the people.”
Praza turned back to look at her as the bartender slid the glass of whiskey in front of her. She picked up the glass and drained it in one large gulp then set hard on the bar top. She looked to her left then to her right and stopped.
“Emma,” Praza acknowledged with a slight nod.
“Praza? What are you doing here?” she asked in shock.
“Having a beer,” he replied as he shook his nearly empty glass.
Tesar leaned back and asked, “what are you doing here?”
“Of course, you two are never apart, I should have known you’d be there,” she shook her head.
“Yeah, what are you doing here?” Praza echoed.
The bartender walked up, “another round?”
Praza nodded his head as he finished the last of his beer and Emma said, “definitely.”
“You never got the rest of your stuff from my place,” Praza said as he eyed her.
“You still have it? It’s been three years, why didn’t you just get rid of it? It’s obviously nothing important to me.”
“I kinda hoped I’d see you again and could give it back,” he replied meekly.
Emma shook her head as the bartender put their drinks in front of them. Praza took a quick drink of his beer and Emma again downed her whiskey in a big gulp then turned to face Praza.
“You realize how pathetic that sounds?”
He stared at her then his forehead scrunched and he replied, “hey, you left me.”
“And this is a perfect example of why.”
“Don’t be such a cunt,” Tesar said from behind Praza.
Emma stepped away from the bar and walked around Praza and stood by Tesar, “what did you say?” she demanded.
“You heard me. You’ve always been a bitch,” he said with smirk.
Her cheeks began to flush and she yelled back, “go fuck yourself!”
The people around the bar turned their heads to look at the sudden burst of yelling as Emma pulled back her arm ready to slap. Praza spun around in his chair, stood up in front of her and grabbed her wrist as she flung her arm forward. He held it tight as she gritted her teeth and spat at him, “let me go.”
Praza smiled coyly and said, “you always used to like being restrained.”
Her eyes bore holes in his face as she glared in anger then she pulled her hand straight down and out of Praza’s grasp. She stepped back and looked the brothers up and down.
“Zeleny’s going to shit when he hears she’s in town,” Tesar said as he slapped Praza’s back with his open hand.
Emma’s head perked up and she focused intently on Tesar as she stepped towards him, “Zeleny is here?”
The brothers looked at each other imploring the other to make a decision. After a long pause Tesar replied, “why?”
After another pause she said cautiously, “my employer needs him found.”
“Who’s your employer this time?” Praza asked with a raised eyebrow.
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