EPTThe vodka burned in its typical fashion as it drained down the hatch so to speak and the crisp taste of Alexander Keith's was a relief from the nail polish remover. The boys and I were headed to the casino in Vancouver not thirty minutes away from my buddies place. The leather interior of the 2009 Dodge Ram was comforting and warm as the cool mountain air rushed in from the windows. The casino was fairly busy and my buddies were pretty stoked to get in there. I am a student and don't gamble a cent because I'm not good enough at any of the games to have close to an even expected value. The night goes on like a typical evening at the casino; my buddy who is up takes a few of us to the bar for some drinks and then I head to the food court and grab a burger. The Spicy Ultimate from Triple O's, it was fantastic. It was 9:30 PM and most of us are ready to head out at this point. My one friend who is fairly serious about NL Texas Hold'em stayed and the rest of us decided to head to a local club; it was a spur of the moment kind of decision. At this point I was coming out of my formerly inebriated state and it didn't feel very nice. I definitely needed more to drink.
We were going to meet my buddy’s girlfriend and her co-workers at the club and I happened to graduate from the same school as my bro and his girlfriend. These were the two people in the group I knew the least, and this is where the evening gets interesting, because I know that this girl comes from a wealthy family. However, I only had heard rumors and never really had been closely associated to them. So with this rummaging around the back of my mind, I was just drinking my Molson and trying not to concentrate on the obnoxiously loud music that I could feel omnisciently through out my body. Then, the tequila came out. The distinct smell made me cringe. We each drained it and thanked the wealthy friend for buying them, and it wouldn't be the last time we thanked her. Next was a tequila Jager Bomb, followed by Rocky Mountain Bear Fuckers, followed by more Jager Bombs. It was all on our wealthy friend. We were all quite hammered now and all rather talkative and things were going well. I was just glad I got a bunch of free shots. The club was closing so we were out of there by 2 AM and I was intoxicated. Very intoxicated. The five of us got into my buddies truck and on the way home we had to pull over so I could drain the sewage from my stomach. I'm not thinking much about what's going on and this is where things start to get fuzzy, but I remember my buddy’s girlfriend wanted to go see her younger brother at her parent’s house. My buddy really didn't want to (he was sober and the DD) but she convinced him to take us to her "manor". I was too drunk to be cognitive of where we were going.
We pulled into a driveway and got through the modest gate. After following the driveway for a ways we all pile out and were surrounded by what appeared to be a bunch of stables. All of us were pretty drunk and they began to show us around. They lead us around the way and I was already lost. I also had no idea where the house was. The girl pulls open what I thought was a white barn door and my eyes had to register what was in front of me: more than ten oldies all lined up in a row freshly polished with their hoods open on their individual podiums. The end wall was a giant mirror and the room was finished with a Coca-Cola collection - not any Coca-Cola collection - an estimated ten MILLION dollar Coca-Cola collection. Everything from signs to statues to slot machines and jukeboxes, all of this complementing the elegant car collection boasting a Charger and a Chevelle, among many others. Leather couches were dancing around the skirts of the room finished with a Harley Davidson leaning on its kickstand. After walking around in a star struck state, we hesitantly left the garage.
On our way to the horse stable we walked past a giant bronze statue of a horse rearing and took some funny pictures. Inside the stable were a handful of beautiful horses. There was a subtle beauty in gazing at the magnificent animals with the aroma and thought of the car garage fresh in my mind. It was unbelievably tranquil and I found a peace of mind that I hadn't felt in a long time. We moved on from the stables and we were headed to another lilac colored garage. As we were approaching the building, my one friend who had been to the manor before looked at me and smirked and muttered, "check this out." Something about being intoxicated and being on this manor at 3 AM with a light dew clinging to the pristine blades of moss green grass made his statement send shivers down my spine. The garage door opened and I was looking at a lounge of fancy leather couches and an intricate cigar box perched on a bold coffee table in the center. The room had its Coca-Cola decor and its ensuing 70's feel. On either side of the room was a doorway leading to another section of the garage. I'm not a big car guy, but what I saw next was a surreal experience. The doorway on the left gave way to a black Bentley completely done-out. The doorway to the right led us to another Bentley and two black Ferrari's. My friend and I were yelling in disbelief and dancing around the glorious exotic masterpieces. After sitting in each of the cars and getting way too many pictures, my mind was beginning to sober from the overwhelming wealth of this family. We all sat in the cigar room smoking with the garage door open feeling the cool and crisp night air fill the room. The smoke swirled above us and beams of lunar light refracted through the smog. The buzz of the lights gently hummed and ahead of me was their beautiful house nestled among the landscape. Throughout the conversation I would gaze past my friends; on my right was a Bentley and on my left a Ferrari. It definitely was an overwhelming and unexpected experience and it truly was an unforgettable night.
