Chapter 3: The rest room
Bernard was standing in the blast of a hot air dryer, drying his
hands, when he saw Rick appear to his right almost filling the door frame as he
entered. Bernard didn't care for Rick's rest room rhetoric; he'd had a passive
sampling of it before. He hadn't said anything out of politeness, or was it out
of fear of causing a scene. A scene in the rest room, the gents, who's going to
notice? Yet all the same, he'd said nothing. Just as he didn't care for the way
that the accountants he worked with could reduce anything, even works of art
just to a dollar value. So he didn't like the way the humans who shared his
sexuality, being a man, could reduce their description of women to the bestial.
Rick was all too apparently impressed with Angela's physique and Bernard hadn't
cared for his description of her. His thoughts were interrupted, Rick had
spoken..........
“Bern, she's a girl from
the trailer park and she knows it and you know it. I've always known it, I live
there too! That's where she is and where she’s stayin'. What are you
going to tell her, she a great piece of.......of bottom! Ha, that would be
English wouldn't it? Do you think what yer says gonna make any dif'rence to
her?”
Bernard didn't feel very passive this time, and swivelled on his
heels to face Rick, who had his usual inane grin smeared across his face. It
was there when he thought he'd made some great statement or shared his wisdom.
“You know Rick, you're full
of what this machine blasts out, hot air! No I'm not going to say that to
Angela. Don’t you think because she
works behind a bar she doesn't deserve more respect from her clients than a
cheap shot like that? And that's what
she's going to get, some respect, something you could learn to give. You know, I think there must be different areas
of the trailer park; there must be areas for those who have no aspirations, and
those who do! I know which part Angela belongs to. By the way Rick, aspiration
is another word for dream, and now excuse me!”
Bernard brushed past Rick's frame as if he was some
inconsequential fluff you might brush from your jacket. Rick had moved out of
the way, shocked at Bernard's new found chutzpah, Bernard was shocked too, for
not only had he answered Rick, but he had shut the man up. He felt good
striding back to his table which was ready, Angela having placed his drink
there for him.
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