In honor of this personal occasion, I offer to you,
Readers, one of my favorite chapters from DARK EXCURSIONS: first set. Here you will experience a meeting between a former stable boy and a Russian tennis instructor...
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Chapter
12
We now take you to a
tavern...
Crop
Hoppins sits on a stool in a dimly lit tavern. It is his first stop since
the church, but not his first drink. He slides the empty glass away.
"Another?" the
bartender asks. Crop responds with a quick nod.
"Put that on my tab, Pete."
The husky accented voice and firm hand on
his shoulder startles Crop out of his thoughts. The broken man swivels on the stool to come face to face with
Ivan. He is amused to see that the tall, blond, muscular man is still
dressed for a tennis lesson. There is an
expectation to see a racket somewhere, but one is nowhere to be found.
Crop
waves a dismissive hand, "Sorry…"
"I
do not understand." Ivan takes a step back and studies him
curiously, "You want another drink, so I buy you another drink."
Crop stares at him with some confusion,
“Luchia said—“
Ivan, suddenly aware, interrupts with a
vigorous laugh. He then lunges forward and grabs Crop's shoulders, giving
them an amiable shake. "If Luchia does not have her way, she will
say anything…” a wry grin slides onto his face, “…whether it be true or
false. My offer is a friendly gesture to
a fellow comrade of Luchia's wrath."
Crop furrows his brow in more confusion,
“What has she done to you?”
"Grab your drink and come
sit with me," Ivan commands. Crop swivels and the bartender hands
him a whiskey without ice. He then follows Ivan to a dark booth in an
even darker part of the tavern.
Ivan collects his thoughts, takes a sip of
his drink and begins to speak, but not of Luchia. "My parents left
Mother Russia when I was in womb. They wanted me birthed in the 'land of
opportunity.' In my youth, I learned tennis but never became good enough
for Wimbledon or even French Open. So, I became an
instructor." He takes another sip. "Luchia hired me for
lessons but also wanted me for sex. I let her flirt and fondle at first,
but today I was done. I told her sex would never happen and she discharged
a round of tennis balls upon me, effectively terminating my employment.”
Crop takes a large sip and shakes his head,
"To think she is going to be a mother."
"Ah!" the husky voice rips through the tavern, "This is what
your argument concerned!"
"More or less.”
"Are you positive the child is yours?
Luchia is not known for chastity."
Crop, overwhelmed with the dread of
permanently losing Cheryl, had not considered this possibility. "I
know for certain it cannot be her husband's. As for another
man's...maybe."
Ivan throws his hands into the air,
"If she says it's your babe, you must deal with it!" His
large fists slam the table, "Pete, another round!" He
smiles wildly at Crop and slips into his parents’ native tongue.
"What does that mean?"
"Drink first—action later!" Ivan
loosely translates and then explains. "You need to take action against
your frustrations and so do I!" He offers Crop a business card,
"If you ever need a lesson, give Ivan a call."
He
accepts the card and fully studies the instructor, sensing the double meaning
in this offer. As the bartender brings the adult beverages, Crop
reiterates to himself what he had told the priest: nothing matters now.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Copyright 2013, John L. Harmon
FR DE ES IT
JP BR IN MX
NL
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Don't forget to read Chapters 32 & 64 and excerpts from the fourth set...Be well, Readers, and Freak Out,
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