The Middle Aged Adventures of Sprocket Man! Chapter 3
Captain Battle
Shuster’s was a Jewish restaurant a few blocks away from Stephen’s bicycle repair shop. It was very easy to reach because the town had invested in bike lanes so that bicyclists didn't have to ride on the sidewalk. Shuster's was also convenient because it allowed Stephen to be more adventurous with his palate while also allowing John to not have to venture far from his familiar flavors.
When Stephen walked into Shuster’s, he was hit with the familiar and welcoming smells of garlic and freshly baked bread filling the air.
John had likely arrived already, he was always 15 minutes early to everything. He had once told Stephen that this was because of Sun Tzu said that you should always arrive first in battle in order to have the advantage; and everything was a battle to John. Which is why it was ironic that his name was John Battle.
John was an intense man. He served in the Vietnam War and lost his eye in combat. He proudly wore a black eyepatch over his left eye. Although he had been honorably discharged, he saw the need to help the troops in upcoming wars, he took on the alias of Captain Battle and fought as a superhero. Now, both he and Stephen were united by being retired superheroes and being superheroes without any actual superpowers. But besides that, John and Stephen were completely different from each other: Stephen was reserved and tender whereas John was aggressive and hardened. Stephen had the lean body of a bicyclist, John, even at his age, had much muscle mass. Yet, despite their differences, their friendship worked really well. They would meet up every few months to catch up with each other.
John saw Stephen from across the room.
“Sprocket Man! Over here!” John yelled out above the noisiness of the restaurant.
Stephen blushed with embarrassment, he hated when John did that.