a commonplace affair

I



Though the others cheered him, Charles felt sickened. He hated the sweet smell of stale beer, and yet Brian insisted on his having another pint. He smiled and condescended. It was useless stopping Brian. The liquor seemed to parch his throat as it dripped down. A dull pain shot through his head, and he felt seared. Michelle! She was all he could think of.



“Charles!” he heard Brian call out to him, as if from a long way off. ”Charlie, what is wrong with you?”



Charles realized he must have passed out without his own knowing. He tried to gather himself together, but fell away again, easier than collected china pieces, stacked on each other clumsily.



“Charlie, I think you had a bit too much.” Brian sounded worried. “Come, let’s go now.”



A strange obstinacy took hold of Charles. He looked at Brian’s worried face mulishly, and then smiled stupidly. How had he never noticed how fuzzy Brian’s outline was? But then it looked so sharp on usual days…..



“Charles, let’s go”

“No” he said, defiant. Brian won’t make him move!

Brian’s face loomed over him, unsure.

“Dude, let’s go. Please.” He said finally. “you need to sleep over it, and maybe you’ll find things clearer tomorrow morn….”

“Brian,” Charles suddenly spoke “Brian, where is Mitchie?”

Brian’s face hardened. It became so stiff that even Charles noticed it, intoxicated as he was.

“Brian?” he asked, uncertain.

“Its alright, Charlie, Mitchie’s gone for good”

“But you know what, bro, I should very much like to see her again.”

“Would you now?”

“Yes”

“Come up, then, don’t lie down there” said Brian, struck by a sudden inspiration. “Come on, Charlie. We’re gonna see your girl.”

Charles’s face brightened. He allowed himself to be heaved up on Brian’s shoulder.

“Brian?”

“Hmmmm?”

“What will we tell her when we get there?”

“Whatever you wish to Charlie”

“Brian?”

“Yes”

“You reckon she hates me?”

Brian considered the question.

“No Charlie.” He said. “No she doesn’t hate you.”

“But you said she left” Charles persisted. “Why would she leave then?”

Brian looked up at the horizon, wordless. He did not have the nerve to meet Charles’s questioning green eyes, clear even in their drunkenness.

“Why did she leave?” he moaned “Why did she leave?”

“Let’s stop for a drink or something somewhere”. Brian insisted.

“No” Charles said, jerking his arm out of Brian’s grasp. They had reached the main street, and Charles faintly noticed that he hadn’t even noticed the distance.

“We’re gonna meet Mitchie, and then we can ask her why she left. That’s what we set out to do Brian.”

“Charlie…..”

“I aint going Brian. I’ll stay here till she turns up.”

Charles slumped on the floor. A light drizzle had commenced, but he hardly cared. The muddy pavement seemed to him a very good place indeed. He was only vaguely aware of Brian tugging at his arm. He tried to will himself…. He won’t be pulled up, oh no. he needed no saving. He won’t be saved.

Brian let go of his arm in exasperation, and he felt satisfied. He was immovable.

“Mitchie” he called out to none in general “Mitchie! Here, dear”

“Charles, Mitchie aint here”

“Liar!” snarled Charles “Where is she? Where did you send her?”

“She isn’t hurting like you Charlie! She’s gone. She doesn’t care about you anymore…..probably never did. It’s all over Charlie! It’s all over.”

Charles felt anger boil over him. He flexed his knuckles.

“Take that back, will you?” he shouted, his hands crumbling into a fist.

“I would have….and I still wish I could. But don’t you fret, she wasn’t worth you anyways.

Charles’s face contorted with fury. He stood up and lunged at Brian. He punched at him, missed, staggered and fell spectacularly. He didn’t have any strength or desire left to get up.

A crowd was gathering around the prostrate figure, but the fallen man himself felt strangely ecstatic. And yet he was isolated….so utterly isolated. His head was swimming, and coldness gnawed his bones. Darkness was closing on him…. Was this the darkness of the night? Or his own blindness? He couldn’t differentiate, and he didn’t care. All he wanted was to see Michelle again. He himself wasn’t very clear about the reason, but he instinctively knew it was necessary, almost like he knew he should breathe without exactly knowing why. He was dimly aware of the fact that they had an argument…or had they not? And why? He stressed his memory….it was all so long…..so far! He recalled he was angry at Brian…but what for? And was Mitchie angry at Brian as well? Was that why she left?

It was all so confusing…..all he needed was to lie down and sleep….sleep and never wake up again! But the bed was so unnaturally cold!

“Come on Charlie! Don’t lie down there you prat…..you’ll catch your death of cold. Come on now!”

“Is there a problem here, mister?” a stern authoritative voice inquired.

“Oh no officer, its all fine” Brian answered, his voice reassuring. “My friend’s a bit high strung….he had a break up and…”

“I aint had no break ups” insisted Charles. Brian was lying….. Mitchie couldn’t possibly….

“Charlie, lets talk about this at home. Alright?”

Charles sobbed involuntarily. All his anger had left him. He felt deadened, as if every part of his body was severed off. He let himself be taken by Brian, and then drew him towards himself, sobbing into his chest.

“I wish I were dead.”

“Hush… come Charlie, its ok.”

The officer engaged himself in dispersing the crowd.

II



Michelle and her friend Eliza made their way through the still dispersing crowd. Michelle waited impatiently for the crowd to thin. She needed to get home as soon as possible and to get down to her work….she had already spent so much time foolishly fancying herself in love…. Thanks God it was all over. Sentimentality had no place in her life.

“What happened here, officer?” asked Eliza, as the officer passed by. “an accident?” she added hopefully.

“Nothing of the sort ma’am. Just a drunkard behaving rowdily. Apparently he was calling out for some girl he broke up with…. Hey, you there!” added the officer, distracted by another piece of scuffle at the far end of the road

“How utterly romantic!” squealed Eliza

“Nonsense” said Mitchie in her practical, ambitious voice, glad that such a disturbance had not touched her personally, and privately pitying the girl who the rowdy drunkard had called out for.