The first day after the weekend was usually difficult for Theo - he was generally tired and only wanted to go home, but Monday was one of the more important days for him to get out and not retreat back home. He had some company to look forward to tonight anyway, something that he was actually looking forward to for a change; Ernie was nice and a good conversationalist and there was still something about him, now subconscious, that made Theo feel at ease.
He'd come to Finnigan's directly from work, returning one book with another - The Wasp Factory - to give to Ernie. He'd taken a seat in the corner, facing the door, but hadn't ordered a drink yet and had a chair free for his tentative friend to take when he arrived. He was oddly nervous and didn't know why, the cuticles of his fingernails teeth-torn and frayed, as were his perma-chewed lips. He picked a book from the shelf to take home with him too, but he didn't read it as he waited, trying to pretend that his hypervigilance was just simple people-watching.