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A faithful husband consoles his friend who is jilted by a girl he himself fantasizes about.
TENDER CONCRETE
(DON'T MAKE ME SQUEAL)
Jordan Temple expected to lie
around a crackling Christmas Eve fire with his wife, but Bill Dorman needed
help and begged him to stop at a dive bar called the Plow & Stars. It was on the way home, one
of these dim basement places with lots of rough-hewn wood, sawdust and peanut
shells strewn over the floor as décor. Bill’s fiancée just gave him the ax and
his severed head rolled way down into this dump. Jordan gathered the rest of
him hadn’t eaten for days. His pants were falling off. He had periods where his
head bobbed and there was day-old brown saliva in the corners of his mouth from
drinking Guinness Stouts.
Fragrant
laurel and Christmas garlands adorned the walls. Dolls of Jesus, Mary and
Joseph surrounded by jackasses and sheep filled out a traditional manger scene
in the window. Everyone in the place had a smile except Bill. “My condolences,”
Jordan told him.
“I’m
beyond consoling,” he replied with a sucking noise. Jordan wasn’t sure if Bill
misunderstood or he was being insulting. “I’m beyond ‘consolences’ or whatever
that word was.”
Bill’s
fiancée was a hot Swedish blond named Olo. Jordan met them through his wife
Maria, and they seemed like a solid couple. Now they were just another yank on
the chain of long sad experience, tra-la
di-daah!
One thing Jordan
liked about Bill was that he quit smoking the same as him, yet spending this precious
time here was questionable and he prayed Bill wasn’t angling for help to get
his girl back. He must have alienated everyone else he knew, and he did beg. Except
for that, the only reason Jordan could think of for coming was selfish. Everyone
had to experience their fair share of suffering in life, but Jordan preferred
to experience his share of suffering through others. He often visited people in
hospitals, went to wakes, funerals and trials, as if doing so protected him
from those things happening to him! He figured it was no worse than other
superstitions, and worked so far. He also tried learning as much as possible
from the mistakes of other people. Bill’s pain helped him appreciate his
happiness with Maria even more which was also a source of pride.
“It
was such a habit…loving Olo,” Bill seemed to say to himself. “Then, I realize
it’s gone. Gone. I’ve been sick in my stomach. I see double. Her? She knows
it’s the only thing too.”
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