Justification
By Starfish Girl
- 471 reads
The hall light was still on shining through the stained glass sailing ship with its accompanying rosy sunset. He smiled a slightly lop sided smile. 'She loves me,' he said as he attempted to trace the lines of the boat. 'She loves me not,' as he tried to peer through the colours into the room beyond. A green cat opened a weary eye and stared back. 'Hey Smudge, did you know you'd turned green?' This in a stage whisper through the letter box. Smudge yawned and closed his eyes on a scene he'd seen many times before.
Bill shrugged and began searching his pockets. 'She loves me,' as pocket one proved unsuccessful. 'She loves me not,' no joy from pocket two. 'She..' He held up the recalcitrant keys and giggled. 'There you are my beauties, you were hiding weren't you?' He kissed them and holding them close to his eyes tried to find the one which would allow him entry to his home. Seeming to take on a life of their own the keys 'struggled' out of his hands and all attempts failed to catch them and both he and they ended up on the doorstep. He giggled again, still feeling happy in spite of the soggy patch he'd descended into.
Closing his eyes and leaning his head against the door he tried to focus his mind on the evening's events.
'Bill, promise me. Don't let Jack keep topping up your glass, or having the 'odd' whisky chaser. I really have had enough of sorting you out after your Friday night out with the boys.'
Phil had picked him up at about eight o'clock and they were going to meet the boys down at The Crown. He had started the evening very well but now he couldn't remember when the halfs had become pints and he'd completely lost track of the whisky. He smiled fondly,
'They're a good bunch of lads. Even saw me home safely.'
His smile became very lopsided when he thought about Ellie. He'd promised he'd be home early after having only a couple of pints.
A single tear ran down his cheek.
'She loves me not!' This accompanied by a huge sigh and a hiccough.
The trouble was he couldn't think of a good excuse for breaking his promise.
He knelt up and peered through the letter box. Smudge had settled on top of the radiator.
'Any bright ideas pal?'
This was met by a disinterested flick of the tail and twitching of the ears.
Bill sank down again. The trouble was some of his previous excuses had been true, like when Tony came back from Afghanistan almost whole but not quite. That single tear once again drifted down his cheek.
'Poor sod's never been the same since!'
His face lightened when he thought about Jeff. His son had just been born and he was so proud. It was drinks all round lots of times that night. She hadn't minded that. Saw it as things that men do.
There wasn't always a good reason to get drunk so he'd begun to find excuses. To begin with they had been quite reasonable, someone's birthday, a promotion at work, an engagement. But over recent weeks they had become quite bizarre. The police had raided the pub looking for under age drinkers and they'd all had to be questioned, drinks needed to calm the nerves. A poor old lady mugged outside and they'd had to drink to keep her company. But his best yet, rumours of an escaped lion, the nearest zoo was ten miles away, they had barricaded themselves inside the pub.
He put his head in his hands and tried to think. Ellie wouldn't put up with this for much longer. Had threatened to go and stay with her sister. He scrabbled around and found the keys, standing up carefully. Face pressed once again against the colours. A scary orange Smudge stared back.
Then the brilliant idea.
Opening the door as quietly as he could he put his fingers on his lips and shushed at Smudge.
'You're brilliant mate!' A look of complete contempt, the sort that only a cat can give.
He sat on the sofa and began rehearsing his story.
'Phil picked me up in the car. It was raining and,' pause for thought, 'and, that's it the street light was out. We saw a flash, a glint of green and then a bump. Phil slammed on the brakes.'
'Oh my God we've hit something!' He tried saying that a few times to get the right tone.
'Ellie,' he tried to put a sob into his voice. 'Ellie, I thought it was Smudge.' Smiling to himself and feeling quite pleased with the story so far.
'We got the travel rug and then.........I know the vet. The one up the road that's always open. We drove as fast as we could. Now what? The vet said it was touch and go. Ellie, on my life I still thought it was Smudge.'
He got himself just a small drink to keep the creative juices going.
'The vet said he'd operate and let us know within the hour. We got to the pub and had a drink to steady our nerves. The mobile played its tune, it was the vet.' He tried to squeeze tears from his eyes. 'Ellie, Smudge is dead. I just couldn't face you and tell you so I had a few more drinks to give me courage.'
One important point he'd forgotten, Smudge was alive and well, sitting on the radiator smiling a very cat-like smile.
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Comments
Great story Lindy. Nice to
Great story Lindy. Nice to see you back here again.
I loved the way you got into the mind of the drunken husband, and replayed all his excuses from the past.
Jean
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I missed this one, until now,
I missed this one, until now, Lindy. Have missed reading you, too, of late. Really enjoyed this
Tina
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