My Literary Mate

I first met Tom through a friend of a friend. We were really just mere acquaintances who happen to be from the State, a rare occurrence in our city. All I knew about him was he loved to read and talk about all the books he has read. But, when I was transferred to Tom’s branch, he welcomed me as if we had known each other forever instead of the new girl.

He invited me to the branch’s weekly drink-fest at a local bar. We chatted about anything and everything: books, travel, alcohol, what we missed about home. He also gave me my first cigarette, a proud moment in my life. 

Whenever we went karaoking, Tom always had to have “Army” on the play list. If the machine didn’t have the song, he would go up to the counter and demand the system that did have it. That’s no easy feat considering he couldn’t speak a lick of Japanese. Once the song came on, everyone knew it was Tom’s turn and Tom’s turn only.

Tom is one of the few people I really miss from my Japan days. He could always entertain me and I always knew he had a cigarette waiting for me.