Robert leans
forwards in his chair and rolls up his sleeve for the blood pressure cuff.
There’s an intricate tattoo on the inside of his forearm: Live your dream, spookily inked in blues and blacks, ivy and lilies
and roses.
‘It’s the
drink, Spence. I know it’s the drink. What’s to be done with me, ay? What’s to
be done?’
‘Have you ever
been on a detox programme, Robert?’
‘Yeah. Once. A while
ago.’
‘And how long
did you stay sober?’
‘’Bout a couple
a year.’
‘That’s pretty
impressive. You’ve done it once, you can definitely do it again. Don’t you
think?’
He stares at me
as I put the steth in my ears and pump up the cuff.
‘It’s the
drink,’ he says again, his head wobbling from side to side. ‘D’ya get me?’
His mobile
phone rings.
‘Hey! Dad! How’s
it going? I’m jes’ with the paramedics, Dad. Yeah. D’ya wanna word with them?’
He hands me the
phone.
‘It’s me dad,’
he says.
‘Hi,’ I say to
him. ‘My name’s Spence. We got a call out to Robert this morning because he
felt unwell and thought he might have a fit.’
Hello there, Spence. Yeah – well – he hasn’t
fitted with his drinking in the past, but sometimes he gets wound up when he’s been
overdoing it. Do you know about Jack, the guy he shares the house with?
‘Yep. He told
us Jack went in for some kind of heart op.’
That’s right, yeah. I think that hasn’t
helped matters.
‘Sorry?’
I say that can’t have helped.
‘No,
absolutely. Look – I’m sorry, but this phone line’s terrible. It sounds like
you’re being attacked by a giant squid.’
No, no. I’m on the bus. So what are you
going to do? Are you taking him to hospital?
‘I don’t think
he needs to go. He’s not that bad. I’ve made him an appointment to see his GP
this morning, to talk about getting on another detox programme.’
Okay, mate. Fair enough. Thanks for all you’ve
done.
‘No problem. I’ll
hand you back.’
Robert takes
the phone and chats on with his dad whilst I finish off the paperwork.
It’s a lovely
house, one of those warm and chaotically interesting places, prints and pictures
on the walls, family photographs spanning the years, books on the bookshelves,
and bright sunlight filtering in over the back of a huge sofa through the bay
window and the straggling rosemary bushes outside – in fact, the kind of place
you could happily lose a few hours browsing.
Robert says
goodbye to his dad and puts the phone on the table.
‘Me dad,’ he
says. ‘He’s a good man, he is. Deserves better’n me, tha’s for sure.’
‘So Robert? You
managed to stay sober for two years. What was it that started you drinking
again?’
‘Me? I made a
film.’
‘A film?’
‘Yeah. A film.
With me dad.’
‘What kind of
film?’
He shrugs, a
loose, Vodka-driven movement that rides up from the small of his back to the
top of his head like a wave.
‘I can’t
remember, mate. Sorry. It’s gone. A film type film.’
‘Thriller? Comedy?’
‘Dunno.’
‘Who else was
in it?’
‘Jes’ me and me
dad. Yeah. It was dead good. I loved it.’
‘But it started
you drinking again?’
‘Yeah. Well. It
would, wouldn’t it?’
6 comments:
As excuses go Spence,that's not the best I've ever heard.
So, film making is great but will ruin your life. Hmmm.
Jack - No, I agree. It made me want to see the film, though...
tpals - I don't doubt it's stressful on the set. Esp. if it's your dad behind the camera - and doing the catering, sound, special effects &c. No wonder he reached for the bottle.
"I'm sorry, but it sounds like you're being attacked by a giant squid." I think that's going to be my go-to line when the phone line is patchy now. Also, that raises the question, why and how on earth do you know what it sounds like when someone is being attacked by a giant squid over the telephone line, Spence?
I agree with jacks. That's not a good excuse. Seems to be justification enough for him, though. Hopefully he'll be able to stick with it this time, though, so long as he stays away from cameras… It's nice that he lives in such a pleasant place. That will help. So many of the homes you describe that involve alcohol usage are absolute squalor, and that's putting it optimistically.
Perhaps they re-enacted "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf"? Playing all the roles...
Cass - Well, I did once see Kirk Douglas in '20,000 Leagues under the Sea', and there was a big fight scene between him and a giant squid (the giant squid was the one on the right, he was the one in the stripy t-shirt). So I think - er-hem - I know something about these things.
You're right about staying away from film. Maybe if his dad directs/writes/produces a play, it'd be worth a shot. There wouldn't be so much hanging around, at least. The nice house does help (makes a change, like you say). :)
TV - That would be doable. Ben Hur - meh...
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