I’m fed up with my celibate life and doubt I have a vocation to the priesthood—if I have any inclination at all it’s toward being a hoodlum, and Jack and I are headed on that downward path to perdition.
Besides, the Lord’s distant right now—giving me the silent treatment—and I don’t do well handling rejection.
Well, that’s my story, I suppose, and I’m stuck with it
We get to The Pig and the joint’s hopping—it’s a big cavernous hall, divided into two sections by a low half wall. The left side’s like an old fashioned beer parlor and the right side’s where the action is.
There’s a line-up to the women’s section, so we go to the left, to the men’s side, knowing what courage a glass of beer can light in us.
Fast Eddie drops a tray of drafts and Jack hands him his fiver—that’s it for him for the night. I’ll be buying until lights out, unless we get lucky.
Jack chugs two drafts in quick succession and gives a satisfied belch. “Nothing like cool draft and hot chicks,” he says and his eyes are already glassy. I smile.
With any luck, he’ll pass out after the second round and I’ll save some cash on the evening.
“They’re going to put strippers in here, “ he enthuses. “I’ll be here every night.”
I believe him. He’ll be one of the pitiful regulars nursing their beer and hoping to win a few bucks by betting on the shuffleboard. I’m beginning to feel a little nauseous, but I force myself to have fun.
Jack’s struck up a conversation with a dude at the next table and they’re going on about the Varsity hockey team. My eyelids are starting to flutter—like the votive candles in the chapel.
“Hey Stephen!”
I glance over to the women’s section and see Rita sitting at a mixed table of girls and guys. She waves me over and I leave Jack engrossed in his hockey dream while I navigate through wobbly tables to the doorway where I’m confronted by a huge bouncer.
“He’s with me,” Rita smiles up at him and grabs my arm, pulling me across the divide that separates the men from the boys.
“I never see you in here—what brings you out tonight?”
“Boredom.”
“Aw, c’mon—a handsome guy like you? Don’t give me that.”
“Well, to tell the truth, a friend’s been ignoring me.”
She assumes I mean Jack and she looks over at him in animated conversation with the guy at the next table.
“He’s a loser anyway. You shouldn’t hang around with losers, Stephen—it’ll give you a bad reputation.”
Fast Eddie appears and his eyes widen seeing me here. He drops two trays of drinks and I pay the tab.
Hey, big spender!
“Did you hear that?” I look around wildly.
She shakes her head. “How can you hear anything in this joint?”
Her eyes widen. “I’ve got an idea—let’s go back to my place!”
Mom told me about girls like Rita, but the mood I’m in, I don’t give a damn.
Did you hear that God? I don’t give a damn.