Maggie walked to the back of the bar near the optics and picked up a wine bottle. ‘Come on you kids, time to go upstairs and leave everyone to it. And you Alex can join in and meet the new neighbours. We need to fit in,’ she whispered under her breath and walked away to re-join Olivia. Taking her lead, Alex followed her and greeted Olivia at the bar.
‘Alex, Maggie, this is my husband, Mark,’ Olivia gushed.
Alex and Maggie cast each other a furtive glance then stared back at Olivia and her husband. They both seemed slightly puzzled. Never in their wildest dreams would they have put Mark down as Olivia’s husband. Mark was a huge bulk of a man. His head was shaved, and he had a long dark, gingery beard that almost touched his chest. He was wearing an open denim shirt showing his black vest underneath and a casual pair of jeans, whereas Olivia was quite petite, and her soft, ash blonde hair was styled to perfection. Alex and Maggie had both assumed Olivia’s husband would be an office worker, with a suit.
‘I’m a mechanic. You might have seen my mobile van. Quick Fix.’ He held out his hand to shake Alex’s, his smile wide and genuine.
Alex liked him instantly. He could sense Mark was one of those gentle giants, and everyone who came in or was stood at the bar waved and shouted Mark’s name. Musing to himself, Alex realised that Mark was probably the key to the neighbourhood secrets and a couple of rums would hopefully loosen his tongue.
Phyllis and Pauline were run off their feet and Maggie watched them as they joked with the customers like old friends. She felt a bit guilty that she hadn’t pulled a pint yet, but tonight she had to play hostess.
Emma and Olivia had beckoned her to their side of the bar and linked arms with her. ‘Let me introduce you to some of the neighbours,’ Olivia whispered. ‘There’s Percy, you see over there, the old man with the white hair.’ Cocking her head and looking beyond the row of customers, Maggie spotted an old man stood at the far end of the bar with a roll-up cigarette in the corner of his mouth and nursing a pint of lager.
‘I think I’ve seen him before. He was helping the builders when they were here… I do hope that cigarette isn’t lit, we do have a beer garden for smoking. Maybe I should say something,’ said Maggie.
‘No, it’s not lit. He won’t smoke his own tobacco. He’ll wait till Mark and the boys go out for a smoke and then sponge one off them. He’s probably had that one since the queen’s jubilee.’ Emma laughed. ‘He lives alone. No one goes in his house because he stinks so God knows what his house smells like.’ Emma wrinkled her nose and smiled. ‘In summer he shaves his head and sits outside his house on a dining chair in an old off-white vest. He’s like the unofficial neighbourhood watch. If you ever need a parcel taken in, or your bins putting out, Percy will do it.’
Olivia nodded. ‘Yes, but he does take the odd liberty Maggie. He’ll knock on your door to see if you have two slices of bread to spare, and then he goes to one of the other houses to find out if they have any cheese. By the time he’s been round the neighbourhood he’s got a whole sandwich, and it hasn’t cost him anything. I don’t think he realises there are shops up the road. He must be worth a fortune, because he never spends his pension!’ They both laughed.
‘So why do you give it to him?’ Although Maggie could see the funny side that Percy stocked up his cupboards with the help of his neighbours, she couldn’t understand why they put up with it.
‘We’re neighbours and that’s what neighbours do, isn’t it? Although he is a pain in the arse sometimes, especially with those bloody racing pigeons he has. They shit all over my garden fence!’ Emma laughed.
It was the first time in a long time that Maggie had shared adult female companionship, and she was enjoying it. Another glass of wine was poured as they all laughed together. Glancing across the bar, Maggie could hear Mark’s loud voice above the music, laughing and chatting with friends that had gathered in a half circle around him with Alex at his side like an old friend. Breathing a sigh of relief, Maggie felt contented. This was home, warts and all.
As predicted, Mark reached into his pocket and took out a packet of cigarettes. ‘Come on, outside for a smoke. You might as well come too Percy; it will save you sneaking up on us later. Wench!’ Mark shouted towards Phyllis, making his friends laugh. ‘Line up another round of drinks, we’re going outside to the beer garden!’
Glaring at him, Phyllis picked up a glass and started filling it with beer. ‘I’ll get you another round of drinks in, but who’s going to take it outside? Wench indeed,’ she muttered under her breath with a stern look on her face.
Mark pointed his finger towards Percy. ‘He will, and pour him one before he orders one on my bill anyway. Come on Percy, earn your keep.’ Winking at Phyllis, Mark led his group of friends, including Alex, outside.
Maggie looked up and caught Phyllis’s eye, smiling. Phyllis was definitely going to be an asset and she knew how to control a crowd.
‘Silver?’ shouted Mark above the others, while exhaling his cigarette smoke into the cool night air. ‘Is that foreign? It’s unusual.’ Frowning, he waited for an answer as the others turned to face Alex.
‘It’s Silva, not the jewellery kind. I’m not sure where it comes from. Both my parents were English,’ Alex lied and quickly changed the subject. Fortunately, Alex could see that Mark was becoming slightly tipsy and he hoped that none of it would sink into his brain.
Alex listened happily as Mark took over the conversation again, regaling them with stories about how he used to be a bouncer on the nightclub doors, which didn’t surprise him, given Mark’s build. Obviously, all his friends had heard his stories before, and laughed along with Mark’s boastings, as long as he kept sending Percy in to collect more drinks for them. Alex bought his round of drinks, but noticed the others seemed to have sticky pockets and couldn’t get their money out. After a while, Mark reached into the back pocket of his trousers and took out a small plastic packet. ‘Do you fancy a key, Alex?’ Using the end of a yale key from the bunch he had in his pocket, he put it in the packet containing a white powder and winked.
‘What is it Mark?’ asked Alex nonchalantly. Alex had a fair idea what it was, but was taken aback slightly. He’d only known these men for a short time and they were already pulling out their drugs and offering them to him. Was this for real? Trying to keep his cool, he looked at Mark and listened whilst Mark grinned like a chimp and explained.
Mark put his finger to his lips and whispered, ‘Cocaine. Good stuff too.’ Mark happily sniffed the powder up each nostril, then passed Alex the packet.
Holding up his hand to stop him, Alex looked around. He knew he should say something, especially as Mark was doing drugs on licensed premises, even though it was outdoors in the beer garden. ‘No thanks. I’m on medication so best not.’
Mark shrugged and passed the little packet around to his friends who were more than eager to join in. So, Alex thought to himself, these people thought, because they had a better postcode than some, they sang a better tune. ‘Be careful to not let Maggie catch you doing that, Mark. She’s open minded, but drugs on public licensed premises don’t actually bode well together, do they?’ Alex felt this was suitably gentle but inwardly, he wanted to push the packet, including the plastic, up Mark’s nose.
‘Oh, yeah.’ Mark blushed and averted his eyes. ‘Point taken Alex. Wasn’t thinking.’ Mark could see by the frown on Alex’s face that he had overstepped the line. ‘Are you an anti-drugs man?’ Mark whispered curiously.
Through gritted teeth, Alex flashed a glance at him. ‘I’m an anti-anything man when it’s on my property. But I am not judgemental. People make their own fun in their own way.’ He didn’t say what he really felt, which was that he hated drugs. It was a mug’s game and he had seen too many lives ruined by it. The dealers he had known and mixed with laughed about customers like Mark who thought they were important and worldly because they could buy an overpriced packet of rubbish, because that’s what it usually was. Mark was so drunk, Alex noticed, that he probably wouldn’t realise if it had an effect on him or not. Like his boastings, it just made him look the man in the ‘know’. A deluded nobody, killing the boredom and trying to be a somebody. He’d obviously seen too many movies.
Alex wanted to ask where Mark got the drugs from but decided not to. There must be dealers in the area, he mused to himself, but then again, these days there were dealers everywhere.
Hearing a bell ring loudly, Alex and Mark looked up and heard Maggie’s voice shout last orders. Quickly looking at his watch, Alex hadn’t realised how long he had been out there listening to all the neighbourly stories. It had been enlightening, but it was time to call it a day.
‘Don’t suppose your Maggie is going to allow us a lock-in tonight, Alex?’
‘Not on the first night; she’d have my guts for garters. Probably will anyway considering I haven’t lifted a hand to help her tonight.’ He laughed.
‘Yeah, you’re right. My Olivia will be moaning too. Come round to my house if you ever fancy a few beers and to get away from the women.’
Alex realised that Mark’s friendship was genuine. He was an open book but let himself be taken advantage of by all of the spongers around him, as long as they listened to his stories and let him be the centre of attention. But he was clearly proud of his achievements and why not?
After saying their goodnights, Alex shook Mark’s hand and walked back into the bar. Phyllis, Pauline and Maggie were busy clearing up after what seemed a successful night and so he joined in.
‘You seem to have made a friend for life there Alex, and from what I gather, Mark seems to be popular in the neighbourhood. That’s good because there’s no better promotion for the pub than word of mouth. Just wait until the restaurant starts up.’ Excitedly, Maggie climbed into bed beside him and snuggled up close, gently rubbing the black hairs on his firm and muscular chest. She could feel his instant arousal, which matched her own, thankful that he wasn’t the worse for alcohol.
Turning on his side towards her, he flicked her pert nipple with his tongue, then trailed his tongue up her neck, to her lips. As their kiss turned to passion, his hands roamed over her body. He felt a need to hold her tonight.
Lying on her back, she moved to accommodate him further, welcoming him in between her thighs, gasping and moaning while their bodies moved in unison until Maggie’s body trembled and quivered as she reached her peak and cried out in pleasure.
Throwing his head back and panting, Alex felt his own release. Gasping for breath, they lay beside each other. It had been a long time since they’d made love in such relaxed surroundings. Opening his arms, Maggie laid her head on his chest, satisfied and content as her breathing returned to normal and they both drifted off to a peaceful sleep.
