Holding a Grudge

                                                                      Holding a Grudge
On Saturday evening Mallory entered Harry's bar and it was as if he had never been away.  He sat down and ordered a pint.
There were about ten in the pub, two under age playing darts in the back room, a guy he remembered vaguely, coughing by the fire, four pensioners having a game of poker and three men his own age sitting under the telly. The man next to him was giving out about the the match on the "box" fecking useless imbeciles, with the money they earn you'd think they would know which way they are playing. They should give
them satnav's so they can find the goal." In an effort to calm him down Mallory asked him" do you want a pint ?." Thanks, don't mind if I do." Within ten minutes he regretted his decision, Paul his new friend was bending his ear with a vengeance. All his sorrows came pouring out, his wife had left him", wasn't that a good thing Mallory said ?" No" said Paul, she had money." His hunting dog had run out on the road and been killed, Mallory who was bored said," more leisure time ?" No said Paul I'm fed up of sitting on my ass." Looking around the bar he realized it had not changed at
all in twenty five years. The walls and ceiling had probable received a coat of paint during that time but Mallory could not tell the difference. The one thing he remembered from the old days was the great big fire that made everybody feel at home.

                                                                      Of the three men sitting under the television he thought he knew two from his school days.
To get away from Paul he walked over and said" hi. Do ye mind if I join ye ?" Suit yourself one said." Tom and Donald were the names of the men he knew." I'm Mallory" he told the third man." John's my name he said" sticking out his hand." Well, how are things going lads ?" How the hell do you
think they're going said Tom we're living on State handouts and lucky to have enough for a few pints on a Sunday. Yes added Donald the Government is running us into the ground, all the money is going to pay the Bank debt." Tom, who Mallory remembered as a hard man said" you
seem to be doing all right. Not too bad, things are a bit better in America but I had to leave a few people go to keep afloat." In an effort to lighten
the mood" he told the barman to give them the same again." He asked Tom how wife his was keeping. She died five years ago came the reply.
Sorry about that said Mallory. Tom looked at him for a moment and then said the only thing you're sorry about is that you didn't marry Mary
before me. Mallory had dated her for a few months and then Tom had stolen her from under his nose. He had hated Tom for that. I said I'm
sorry and I meant it there's no need to get hot under the collar. Tom who's temper seemed to be getting the better of him said, Mallory why don't you take your American accent , your money made on the backs of others and fuck off back to America. Mallory looked at him and
thought here's the school bully who's turned into the town drunk threatening me again. He'd had enough of this. He knew from his two days
a week in the gym that he was away fitter then Tom with his beer belly and his fags so he said make me.Tom stood suddenly and swung his
fist; Mallory swayed sideways and launched a heavy punch to the side of Tom's head. Like a two hundred year old oak tree being felled in
the forest he fell slowly backwards, on the way down he banged his head off the table and hit the floor with a sickening thud.

For a few moments everything stopped. Then the barman ran over and told them to stand back, he started working on Tom and seemed to know what he was doing. About five minutes later the local police man arrived and asked them to leave the bar but to wait outside. A few minutes after that the ambulance men came and took over. Outside on the pavement Mallory bummed the first cigarette he'd had in years, his nerves were at him. After about fifteen minutes the door of the pub opened and the ambulance men came out with a stretcher. Mallory
went into shock when he saw the blanket over it. As they were putting the body into the ambulance the police man came up to him and said
I want you to come to the station with me. In despair Mallory looked around and it dawned on him how serious things had become.