Toss of the Coin.

I walked from the village pub feeling pleasantly inebriated , sated with the mix of an excellent
ploughmans lunch , three pints of a wonderful nutty ale and two hours of interesting chat with
some local oldtimers.
I'd been undecided about where to go on that summer sunday which already had that sleepy , lazy feel about it. I'd had two pubs in mind and chose "The Ram ", an old place down at the end of the village.
A fountain in a wall dispensed a strong flow of cool water into a stone horse trough which overflowed into a paved gully which ran past the front of the pub, to the delight of any child who discovered it. The gully took the water off down the road and this was what I decided to follow.
I was led down a delightfully shaded lane to an ancient stone bridge spanning a small river into which my pub rill emptied it'self. Upon the bridge , leaning forward, looking into the sparkling stream, was an old man so wrapped in thought that he seemed unaware of my approach. "Don't
do it mate" I joked , "it can't be that bad surely?" Dressed in shabby old clothes, though they looked comfortable enough, he turned with a deep sigh . " You can joke about it if you want to sir" he said in a shaky voice "but the thoughts are there in my old head just the same".
Trying to jolly the old chap out of his obvious depression , I suggested a course of action. " Why don't we toss a coin, tails you end it all now and have done with it or heads I take you up to the pub and buy you a pint and a good meal?" "Well" my new friend said, straightening up, his eyes
visibly brightening, "You toss your coin and we'll see , shall we? Seems to me I'll be happy one way or the other!" The coin in question had two heads, made years before by a clever friend of mine.
I spun the "copper" up through the dappling sunlight and lo! it came down heads up , so together
we made our way to the tavern I had so recently vacated . The old chap, who appeared to be well known to the landlord, tucked into roast beef with all the trimmings and washed it down with a pint of Hobsons, all thoughts of the "other world" apparently forgotten! When I went to the bar to pay , the landlord asked me if I'd met "old Bill" down on the bridge. " Looking over into the pool , was he?" he said. When I confirmed his suspicion , he laughed " The old devil". " Ah well"
I replied , "At least I've proved that two heads are better than one". Leaving a puzzled landlord, I made my departure , patting Old Bill on the shoulder as I went.