Ezra Standish sat in a large
overstuffed chair gazing out his apartment window. His living room lit
only be a single small lamp. He settled deeper into the chair and sipped
at his steaming cup of earl gray tea. Ezra wouldn't admit it to
anyone else but this chair was his favorite. The cheapest in his
collection of antiques and limited additions, it was comfortable, and you would
never hear Ezra Standish admit he occasionally chose comfort over class.
Looking out at the dark Denver
night he noted the snow was beginning to fall more rapidly. It was beautiful
the way the snow danced and swirled against the black sky, but it was on nights
like this he missed Atlanta. He sighed and took another sip of tea letting the
steam curl up over his face. Atlanta, the city would have half closed down
already with this much snow. He missed Atlanta nights. Winter nights when
the temperatures dropped just enough to have to don a heavier jacket, but not
usually requiring the whole gamut of scarves and gloves and fifteen
layers just to stay mildly warm.
He missed taking in an evening
at the Fox, maybe a quaint opera. The Carmina Burana immediately came to mind.
Yes, that was it. Dinner atop Peachtree Towers followed by The Fox, now that
was an evening in Atlanta. He thought of his current job and the team of men
he worked with. The Magnificent Seven, as they were referred to by the
other ATF agents. He would love to see some of them in Atlanta. Of course
Buck and J.D. would love that infernal restaurant The Varsity. They'd be
in grease heaven. A date had dragged him to the landmark once. It'd been a dose
of culture he would rather put out of his memory forever. He didn't know
how the others would do in the city. They might like some of the clubs.
Ah the clubs.. Buckhead. A smile crossed his features briefly. He missed
Buckhead.
The phone screeched pulling him
quickly back to Denver and he stared at it a moment. The phone never rang
on a Friday night in Atlanta he thought. Unless it was Maude calling to
harass him with a surprise visit. No, Denver had some things Atlanta
lacked. The phone rang again and he reached for it.
"Hello?"
"Hey Ez? You gonna meet us
tonight or what?" Vin Tanner's voice could barely be heard over the din of
voices at Inez's Saloon. He needed to catch up on research for an
upcoming case, the excuse came automatically but he batted it away before
voicing it. He was tired of putting up barriers tonight.
"Ez?" Vin asked
again.
"Yes, Mr. Tanner. I'll
meet you all there in few minutes."
"Great, See you
then."the phone clicked dead.
Yeah, Ezra thought replacing
the receiver. Denver had a few things Atlanta didn't. He thought of
the six men on his team that he struggled to feel a part of, picturing them
crowded around a table at the saloon. They had called to invite him.
Denver had friends, he smiled, no Denver had family. Setting down
his empty cup he reached for his coat and car keys. That was another thing
about Atlanta he would never miss, he thought. God how he hated
Atlanta traffic.
The End
