He needed a 

beer

. It was a sunny afternoon with crisp air. It made his skin feel neither dry or oily. In college he would often take such afternoons off. He would go to a bar with a patio and drink cold beer while watching people pass by.

There was only one bar with a patio on the main strip in his college town. The tables and chairs were made of black wrought iron and made loud noises when dragged across the concrete floor. It was right beside the credit union that everybody at the university used.

Beer was cheap back then. Nowadays it would run him twice as much in dollars. Beer was not only expensive money-wise these days, but in other ways as well.

As a 21 year old he could drink a few beers and still be in commission come evening. Now two porters in the afternoon would leave him feeling bloated and tired. Less motivated. More willing to leave the dirty dishes unwashed. More likely to watch something mindless on 

Youtube

or 

Netflix

to pass the time until it was early enough to hit the hay.

Driving around with his partner on this sunny, clear afternoon he had a feeling that it would be different today. If he were to drink some beer right now, he wouldn't be tired. He would in fact be energized. This case had them running around town like rats. Having a beer now wouldn't cause him to lose motivation. The only concern was whether his partner would agree.

He could just ask, "what do you say we go for a beer?"

Drinking on the job was certainly against the rules. He looked at his partner and wondered whether he was even a day drinker. Back in college he made friends with the day drinkers. Because the best thing about day drinkers was that they also drank at night. You could count on them more frequently. So long as all you wanted out of life was a good conversation and a buzz.

They were driving on a one-way, two lane commuter road that ran across town. It was the main road residents took when going from westside to eastside or vice versa.

They were going west. About to enter the part bordering the campus. He could really go for a beer right now. His mouth tensed. His tongue began to move. He was about to say what was on his mind.

"Let's get to HQ and write this all up. Then we'll see what captain wants us to do."

His mouth was still tense. But his heart was calm. The decision had been made. Do the right thing. No need to pontificate whether to get a beer or not. He was glad his partner wasn't a day drinker.

"Sounds good, partner," he said slick, with a smile.

His partner peered over at him without turning his head for half a second. "I told you not to call me that."

"Whatever you say," he said... and then in his head thought "partner".