It was five minutes past one o’clock, the sun shone with
rage right over my head and the centrally air conditioned glass ceiling of the
Renaissance Hotel prevented me from getting tanned. I was having a severe
headache despite wearing a pair sunglasses to keep my eyes from hurting. I was
suffering from a severe case of what everyone in the restaurant knew I was
suffering from, the worst hangover ever. I had already gulped down two cups of
black coffee and burnt my tongue and just when I thought the day couldn’t get
any worse I started getting flashbacks of last night.
It was my best friend Jacob’s wedding and after the ceremony there was a celebration back at Jacob’s place. The whole wedding was pretty boring except for the bride’s sister who was the centre of attraction and then there was the grape juice which I devoured. I regretted drinking five glasses of grape juice when Jacob told me about the party after the ceremony because I had partied with Jacob all through college to know what exactly he meant by "party". I didn’t eat much after that which was my way of preparing for the party and neither did I dance as the bride’s sister had at least twenty guys lined up to dance with her. So I sat at my table taking a video of the newlyweds dancing and shifted my phone so that I could get the bride’s sister in the video as well.
It was my best friend Jacob’s wedding and after the ceremony there was a celebration back at Jacob’s place. The whole wedding was pretty boring except for the bride’s sister who was the centre of attraction and then there was the grape juice which I devoured. I regretted drinking five glasses of grape juice when Jacob told me about the party after the ceremony because I had partied with Jacob all through college to know what exactly he meant by "party". I didn’t eat much after that which was my way of preparing for the party and neither did I dance as the bride’s sister had at least twenty guys lined up to dance with her. So I sat at my table taking a video of the newlyweds dancing and shifted my phone so that I could get the bride’s sister in the video as well.
The door to the restaurant opened and I saw Jacob and Sarah
walking hand in hand towards me, I got out of my flashback mode and stood up.
They looked like a pair of love birds but that’s what every couple looks like
during the first six months, the same couple become oil and water after the
honeymoon period is over.
I had called Jacob at nine in the morning and requested him and Sarah to have lunch with me at the Renaissance Hotel at one. I was too embarrassed to tell him the reason but I guess he might have understood. I drank way too much last night at the party and I remember doing a lot of things that I shouldn’t have, I felt guilty for spoiling their party and had called the couple to apologize and also buy them lunch because I had a feeling that free food was the answer to every problem. I hugged Jacob and shook hands with Sarah when they reached the table and congratulated them once again. Somehow I felt weird because I wasn’t very good at apologizing and both Jacob and Sarah weren’t mad at me or at least they weren’t showing it. They seemed clueless as to why I had asked them to take out time for lunch when I knew they had a flight to Malaysia in a few hours. Their cool behaviour made me think again about my strategy and the dialogues I had practiced in the washroom a few minutes back. So, I decided to get to know what they knew about last night. After the pleasantries I said, “I am really sorry about last night guys, I drank a bit too much and got out of control.” “That’s alright Marv, I had already told Sarah that you can drink a lot” said Jacob. “Yeah Jacob had told me so many stories about your escapades in college so you don’t have to be embarrassed, in fact we were counting on you for some entertainment and you didn’t disappoint . The reason we came here was to thank you for the miracle you performed last night” continued Sarah just from where Jacob had trailed off. Even though I hated when couples did that I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “What miracle?” “You don’t remember do you? This is so Marv” said Jacob turning towards Sarah. “He had a bottle of Jack Daniels on his own so I don’t blame him” said Sarah with a chuckle turning towards Jacob. I hated the fact that they made me feel like an outsider but I had to know what they were talking about so I asked, “What happened last night?” “Do you remember Sarah’s family coming over last night in the middle of the party?” asked Jacob. I thought hard for a while and couldn’t remember seeing Sarah’s family last night so I replied, “No.” “Well they did and we didn’t have any booze left to offer them and you miraculously turned a whole pitcher of water into two pitchers of some kind of cocktail” said Jacob. I was shocked at every word I heard and after a minute I asked, “Did you just say that I turned water into booze?” “Not booze actually it was more of a cocktail” said Jacob. I didn’t know what to say and how to react to this, all I could think about was the story my grandmother had told me as a kid about how Jesus had turned water into wine at a wedding. “There was nothing in the kitchen except some water and ice so I don’t know how you made the cocktail and I don’t think you remember either because you were too drunk to stand after you made the cocktail” said Jacob with a grin on his face. “Wow, I don’t remember any of this but maybe after I eat something I might get a flashback” I said. “We are already running late Marv so why don’t you enjoy a nice meal with Sarah’s sister Isabel who is in the taxi outside. She was really interested in meeting you again after you entertained all of us last night and turned water into booze” said Jacob as he and Sarah got up. I stood up with them but I couldn’t digest the fact that I had turned water into wine like Jesus especially when I was drunk, so I asked them one last question as they were turning to leave, “Do you guys remember how the cocktail tasted?” “It was light red in colour and had grape pulp in it, something like red wine except for the alcohol level because my whole family was on the floor after they drank your cocktail” replied Sarah following it with a loud laugh. “And buddy, this lunch is on us. It’s our way of saying thank you for being the real best man” interjected Jacob. I sat down after wishing them again and waving them goodbye as I saw Jacob and Sarah walking out of the restaurant I thought to myself, “Free food is the answer to all problems.” As I waited for Isabel to walk in through the door I had a flashback of me in the kitchen last night, I was puking in the pitcher and mixed water and ice in it and shook it well to make the reddish cocktail. After that I collapsed on the ground and everything became black.
I had called Jacob at nine in the morning and requested him and Sarah to have lunch with me at the Renaissance Hotel at one. I was too embarrassed to tell him the reason but I guess he might have understood. I drank way too much last night at the party and I remember doing a lot of things that I shouldn’t have, I felt guilty for spoiling their party and had called the couple to apologize and also buy them lunch because I had a feeling that free food was the answer to every problem. I hugged Jacob and shook hands with Sarah when they reached the table and congratulated them once again. Somehow I felt weird because I wasn’t very good at apologizing and both Jacob and Sarah weren’t mad at me or at least they weren’t showing it. They seemed clueless as to why I had asked them to take out time for lunch when I knew they had a flight to Malaysia in a few hours. Their cool behaviour made me think again about my strategy and the dialogues I had practiced in the washroom a few minutes back. So, I decided to get to know what they knew about last night. After the pleasantries I said, “I am really sorry about last night guys, I drank a bit too much and got out of control.” “That’s alright Marv, I had already told Sarah that you can drink a lot” said Jacob. “Yeah Jacob had told me so many stories about your escapades in college so you don’t have to be embarrassed, in fact we were counting on you for some entertainment and you didn’t disappoint . The reason we came here was to thank you for the miracle you performed last night” continued Sarah just from where Jacob had trailed off. Even though I hated when couples did that I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “What miracle?” “You don’t remember do you? This is so Marv” said Jacob turning towards Sarah. “He had a bottle of Jack Daniels on his own so I don’t blame him” said Sarah with a chuckle turning towards Jacob. I hated the fact that they made me feel like an outsider but I had to know what they were talking about so I asked, “What happened last night?” “Do you remember Sarah’s family coming over last night in the middle of the party?” asked Jacob. I thought hard for a while and couldn’t remember seeing Sarah’s family last night so I replied, “No.” “Well they did and we didn’t have any booze left to offer them and you miraculously turned a whole pitcher of water into two pitchers of some kind of cocktail” said Jacob. I was shocked at every word I heard and after a minute I asked, “Did you just say that I turned water into booze?” “Not booze actually it was more of a cocktail” said Jacob. I didn’t know what to say and how to react to this, all I could think about was the story my grandmother had told me as a kid about how Jesus had turned water into wine at a wedding. “There was nothing in the kitchen except some water and ice so I don’t know how you made the cocktail and I don’t think you remember either because you were too drunk to stand after you made the cocktail” said Jacob with a grin on his face. “Wow, I don’t remember any of this but maybe after I eat something I might get a flashback” I said. “We are already running late Marv so why don’t you enjoy a nice meal with Sarah’s sister Isabel who is in the taxi outside. She was really interested in meeting you again after you entertained all of us last night and turned water into booze” said Jacob as he and Sarah got up. I stood up with them but I couldn’t digest the fact that I had turned water into wine like Jesus especially when I was drunk, so I asked them one last question as they were turning to leave, “Do you guys remember how the cocktail tasted?” “It was light red in colour and had grape pulp in it, something like red wine except for the alcohol level because my whole family was on the floor after they drank your cocktail” replied Sarah following it with a loud laugh. “And buddy, this lunch is on us. It’s our way of saying thank you for being the real best man” interjected Jacob. I sat down after wishing them again and waving them goodbye as I saw Jacob and Sarah walking out of the restaurant I thought to myself, “Free food is the answer to all problems.” As I waited for Isabel to walk in through the door I had a flashback of me in the kitchen last night, I was puking in the pitcher and mixed water and ice in it and shook it well to make the reddish cocktail. After that I collapsed on the ground and everything became black.
I shook my head to come out of the flashback mode and opened
my eyes to see Isabel opening the door of the restaurant, I called the waiter
and said, “Excuse me, one Jack Daniels double large on the rocks please, make
it quick.”
