Short Story by
It was a dull drizzling Sunday afternoon in
May. Upstairs on the 34A bus, Gary and Doug sat quietly waiting for the bus to
reach its destination. Doug was glancing over the shoulder of the woman in
front, reading her newspaper.
The headline spoke of the end of the war in
Southeast Asia, with a smaller column in the corner of the page of another war
raging in the middle with Egypt, Syria and Israel involved. Doug read the
headlines the same way he read the football results on the back page, with all
these countries against each other as if it was a game. He jokingly commented
on how selfish the woman was for not having the sports page open when he wanted
to read it.
The bus pulled up at the traffic lights at
Doyle's Corner between Murphy Pub and The Bohemian. The two lads, both in their
late teens leaned into the driver saying,
“Let's out here pal will ya.”
The driver opened the door saying. “I could be
getting the sack over this, ye know”
“Thanks, see ya.” The two lads said in harmony
ignoring the driver while jumping off. They headed around the corner onto the
North Circular Road.
They crossed the road opposite the State cinema, telling the baldy cinema usher in the purple uniform with a gold stripe down the leg to, “fuck off and mind your own business” when he admonished them for not using the zebra crossing.
Both of the lads wore wrangler jeans, and denim
shirts and had shoulder-length hair. Gary was five foot eight, of heavy build
and a distracted nature. Doug, on the other hand, was five foot two, scrawny
and confident, almost arrogant.
They both walked fast with a hard-mans swagger,
trying to hide their fear while in a strange area. Doug's shoulders are hunched
moving fast in the lead with Gary struggling to keep up the pace.
They turned into Berkeley road on their way to
visit Doug's Mother in the Mater hospital where she had just had her gallstones
removed.
Doug pointed in the direction of a biggish
corner shop with a fruit and veg stall outside, saying.
“Look, there's a shop with gear outside, you go
in and get something small, distract her while I rob stuff from the fruit stand
outside. I'll meet you over the road when yur done, right”
“Right, see ya in a few minutes,” Gary said
heading nervously towards the shop. As he entered the shop he was astounded by
the biggest display of flowers he had ever seen, set in bundles covering every
occasion, with all the colour and exotic scent invading his senses that he
could never imagine.
A voice from nowhere said,
“What can I get for you young man”
Gary looked around to see who was talking to
him, but he saw no one.
“Over here,( pause) No down here.”
A woman waved, saying from a kneeling position
behind the counter. She was adjusting a radio trying to get a decent reception.
“Oh, I'm just looking for a packet of fig rolls
for me pals ma, she's across the road,” Gary said assuming the woman knew he
meant the hospital.
The woman pointed to a shelf behind Gary's head
without bothering to get up.
“Behind you (pause, with a sigh) over your
head,” She said.
“How much is that,” Gary said, turning around
and grabbing the red packet of biscuits. He put the money on the counter as the
women had instructed him to do and made his exit, impulsively stealing a box of
Milk Tray as he departed.
Meeting up across the road Gary and Doug
compared their bounty on their way to the granite steps at the entrance to the
Mater hospital. Doug had stolen a big bunch of grapes and several oranges which
were stuffed inside his shirt.
Walking in through the two big heavy wooden
doors, they were asked by the Porter where they thought they were going and to
keep the noise down a bit.
“Sorry sir, we didn't mean to be so noisy, just
on the way to see me Ma. “ Gary said in his butter wouldn't melt in his mouth
tone.
“Go on then, just behave yourself, show a bit
of respect, there are sick people in here.” The porter said with an air of
authority.
“Well this is the place for sick people, ya
dope ya,” Doug said under his breath.
“What did you say, you little scut,” The porter
said angrily.
“Never opened my mouth, honest to god pal,
never said a word” Doug replied, walking on, grinning with his back to the man.
Waiting for the lift on the third floor, a
frail little old man stood with one crutch looking up above the lift door, listening
to the racket coming from inside the lift shaft. The sound of laughter,
cursing, singing and general mayhem got louder as the lift approached. The
doors finally opened and out came Gary and Doug with big grins on their faces,
Doug held the door for the elderly man, who entered looking annoyed, but say-in
nothing. Gary apologized for the delay, saying they got lost on the lift, both
laughing, the old man cursing them angrily with his eyes.
Entering the ward, the two lads were blinded by
the sun coming in the window from above Mountjoy's roof across the road. There
were five beds in the ward which left Doug wondering why there was an uneven
number of beds there. Perhaps it's just the shape of the ward or a shortage of
beds, or maybe a bed had been taken away to be repaired, the way buses are
taken off the road when they break down, this was typical of Doug's idly
thoughts.
Doug’s mother was sitting on the bed with his
elder sister Tina. Both talked in hushed but still very loud voices that
everyone could hear, but they thought no one else could. When she saw the two
lads arrive she brushed her dyed black hair with her painted fingers and roared
greetings to them in a throaty strong Dublin accent.
“Ah, howaya son, and Gary, thanks for calling,
sure ya didn’t have-ta,”
“Sure me Ma would kill me if I didn’t Missus
Kinsella” handing her the biscuits and chocolates, red-faced as he spoke,
making it noticeable how he was uncomfortable with the attention being on him.
Doug placed the loose oranges and grapes on the
bedside locker.
“Had they no bags in the shop?” The Mother
asked them with a knowing grin, staring Doug straight in the eyes.
"Any sign of your Da today, he was to be
here yesterday with clean clothes and to give me the money he owes, don't
suppose he was in the house today by any chance"
"Ma, how does he owe you money? You're not
still giving him money are you, Jasus you're a soft eejit you are. You know
he's only going to drink it. Should have washed your hands of him completely
when you kicked him out."
"Ah I wouldn't leave anyone short of money
for food or fags, and that's what he said almost with tears in his eyes, but
your right, I should know better, ill have to tell him I can't afford it
anymore and get him to start paying towards the house."
“If he didn't pay when he lived at home, he's
hardly going to start now, is he?” Tina snapped.
As this discussion was going on Gary, feeling
awkward, wandered down to the far end of the ward, nodding to each of the four
other patients as he passed, muttering,
What's the story,
you all right there, or some such utterance.
Reaching the window he enthusiastically says.
“Will ya look at the size of the seagulls,
there like flying chickens”
Nodding at the red-haired sleepy-eyed woman in
the end bed, he added.
“You'll be having them for dinner, tomorrow
missus, just you wait and see. Be pulling feathers out of yur teeth all day ya
will”
” The holy sister in charge reckons they're a
pest, she does, tells us not to feed them, tried giving them some of me dinner
yesterday, even they won't eat it” The red-haired woman replied.
Gary continued his strolling, back to where
Doug and his family were situated, watching the occupants of each bed as he
walked. In particular, the woman opposite Mrs Kinsella got his attention. She
was sitting upright in her bed with a huge smile of happiness and joy on her
face, there was no stimulus for this joy to be seen, it must have been coming
from within, not that there could be much joy laying in a hospital bed.
“Must be great crack living inside yur one's
head?”
He said when he reached the end of the ward, to
where Gary and his family members were seated.
“What do you mean, Doug's mother said as Gary
sat on the end of the bed taking the half-eaten grapes from Doug.
“Your wan over there, will ya take a look at
her, she's away with the fairies,” Gary said in a mocking tone.
Mr Kinsella turned to Gary angrily and in a
hushed voice laced with venom said.
“I’m surprised at you Gary. I thought you were
better than that. You've no business slagging off that poor woman, you
know nothing about her. She is on her own here all week, from the country she
is. A very nice gentle woman she is, chatting with her a few times since she
had her surgery. Eleven kids, she's had, that's eleven deliveries, some more
difficult than others, two of them she had to be sectioned. The old bollox of a
husband is only worried about who is going to get his dinner and tea for him.
The doctor had a word with him about it being very dangerous for her to have
any more kids and guess what he said, the old fucker, he said all that sort of
thing had nothing to do with him, that's what he said, nothing to do with him.”
“I was only messing, didn't mean anything by
it.” Gary sheepishly said.
There was an awkward silence for a few moments
before Doug broke the silence offering the opened Milk Tray around, or what was
left of them after he had helped himself.
Doug lay back on the bed with his head on the
pillow, mother and daughter sat on the edge nearest the door with Gary sitting
into the ward. They sat silently, all chewing, and then Tina and the Mother
spoke simultaneously, saying.
“Where did you get those sweets and chocolates”
Mother.
“Ye, I can't see you forking out for anyone
else but yourself” Tina.
“Did ya rob them, the truth, remember the last
time, the bother you got yourself into” Mother.
“Yeh, ye robbing bastard” Tina.
Now Doug’s impulsive response to Tina burst out
“What are you on about, sure you taught me how
to shoplift, ye bleeding gee-bag.” Now Doug realized he had got carried away
and was embarrassed by what he had blurted out. Calling his sister a gee-bag
was too extreme even for him.
Now the mother cut in, annoyed with their use
of bad language and name calling, towards each other.
“Now for fuck sake, do ya have to be using that
kinda language in front of all these sick people? I d expect that from your
waster awl-fella, but I thought I reared yous better.”
“Sure we; 're only messing, tell her to keep
her trap shut and stop winding me up,” Doug said in defiance, his embarrassment
disappearing.
“Listen to him, ye think butter wouldn't melt
in his mouth. I could tell ye things he's done you'd never imagine.” Tina cut
in with a smirk on her face.
“You shut the fuck up you spiteful bitch, ye
forget all of a sudden our weekly trips to Superquinn for the weekly shop,
don't ya.” Doug angrily replied.
The bell ending visiting time rang out,
accompanied by the nurse doing the ringing calling time like a pub landlord at
closing time. At this exact minute, Tommy the father and Ex husband appeared at
the door, a broad grin on his face, looking around at all the patients in the
ward greeting them.
“God bless all here, and now a little
recitation for you all to brighten your day.
The boy stood on the burning deck
Picking his nose like mad.
He rolled it up in little balls
And threw them
At his Dad.”
At this, Mother mortified told him to
“Shut the fuck up ya dose. Where the fuck were
you till now, ya dozy bollox. I asked you to bring in some clean clothes. Just
as well I know what you like and wasn’t depending on you. Sister here did it
for me”
“Ah don't be getting on to me after the morning
I've had. It was your brother that delayed me, inviting me in for a pint. And
when we get inside he has no money. Who the fuck does that, invites ya in and
gets you to pay.” he answers with hunched shoulders and what he thinks are
irresistible sad eyes.
“Sure ya didn’t have to go in, did ya. Can you
not say no. you say it enough to me and your kids.” She angrily snapped.
“You should know better than to listen to that
eejit, your a bigger eejit for fallen for his crap.”
“Sure how was I to know he was playing me? I'm
not a mind reader,” he replied in defence.
“any excuse to have for a drink, isn't it,
think I don't know your games by now, you must think I’m really stupid”
She turned away to face Tina, ignoring what he
had to say, leaving him talking to the back of her head.
The father's face turned red now with
frustration.
“no matter what I do it's never good enough
“But the problem is you don't do anything
unless you get something out of it”
“See, no matter what I say, you turn it around
and upside down, it was Your Brother who took a hand at me don't forget”
“Bleedin con man he is” Leaving he finished
with these five words under his breath, turning on his heels and storming out.
“Ah ye, off ye go again, any excuse for the
pub.” She said after him.
“Told you before to get rid of that wanker,
he's no good, and I know he has lifted his hand to you many's the time, you try
to hide it and make excuses for him but I’m not bleedin stupid,” Sis said when
he was gone in soothing tones.
“Ah sure I know how to handle him, heel be back
in tonight with flowers, and in tears begging for forgiveness. Wait and you’ll
see.”
As this exchange played out the two lads and
Tina kept out of it, making lips not moving communications, trying not to be
drawn into battle. Brother and Sister had seen their father in action before.
They knew what he was like under the influence of drink, both had been at the
receiving end of their father's drunken madness. It was after one too many of
these episodes that the mother, enraged by violence being done to her children,
lost the plot and had him thrown out.
Her abuse she tolerated
somehow thinking it was all she deserved in
life,
blaming herself,
if only I made home life more appealing for him
if only I could satisfy him in bed
instead of finding him revolting
instead of feeling nothing
it's not my place to enjoy lovemaking
its to keep my man happy
these were the thoughts that always raced
through her head,
but this was the last straw, seeing the hate in
his eyes, hurting their kids, to hurt her as much as he could.
“It’s now rest time for the patients,” the
nurse said to them as she sauntered through the ward,
“Time to go now ladies and gents, you can visit
again between seven and nine this evening, OK”
“All right Ma we’re going now, I'll be back in
later. Don't you be getting upset over that prick, ya here, if he comes back in
tell him to fuck off.” Tina said in concerned tones.
“You will have to be moving now,” the nurse
said, with Doug answering back,
“All right, we’re on our way, calm down will ya”
“Don't be so cheeky Doug, the nurse is doing a
great job looking after me here, you should be thanking her instead of giving
her abuse.”
The three of them headed out down the granite
steps to Eccles Street. Proceeding on to Berkeley Road on their way to Glasnevin,
where the bus home to Finglas stops. Passing the Hut public house Doug
suggested going in for a quick pint before going home to eat. Gary didn't
answer, looking at Tina, obviously not wishing to get caught in the middle of
their sibling's verbal high wire act.
“Don’t look at me, I don’t give a shite what
yus do, I’m going home anyway to clean up whatever mess you left behind you
today?” Tina said dejected, glancing in the direction of Doug as she spoke.
“I don’t mind Doug, are you sure you don’t want
to come in for one Tina, I have a few bob on me if your skint” Gary said,
blushing as he spoke to Tina.
“Hope you're not having any funny ideas about
my sister, you can just fuck off with any funny business like that you can”
“Here, I don’t need you to speak for me. Where
do ye think ye are, in the last century, me granny may have had to take that
crap, but not me, you can just fuck off with yourself you can, you and our ol
lad”
The more annoyed she got the harder she pounded her feet on the pavement as made her way down Phibsboro Road towards the bus stop at Harts Corner to get the bus home to Finglas.
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