Two Men In A Club (Part One)

When Steve and Mary moved in together there wasn't a house warming party, or a 'flat warming' party. Mary had lived there for around three years so the place was warm enough without us. It sounds bad, but I shudder to think what that flat looks like. A wrestler who is also a Goth, living with a forty-odd year old rocker who thinks he used to be a roadie. My imagination gets the better of me sometimes and I just imagine sweaty wrestling gear lying about the place, next to old studded belts and rusty key-chains. Framed pictures of vampire ladies and loads of those World Of Warcraft models he bangs on about all the time. You can hardly have a flat warming party in those conditions, can you? You don't want sweaty wrestling gear lying next to the drinks and nibbles.

Although Mary and Steve were still living together, they weren't working together. Mary was days into her new checkout contract and busy dazzling middle aged women with tales of super-kicks and chair shots that come with women's amateur wrestling. And as for Tommy..well...

'I mean...' Steve sighed heavily and looked out from our sheltered trolley bay. 'He likes the XBOX and everything, but...he's just a whiny little shit.'

It's almost as if having a mutual addiction to idiotic, pointlessly violent video games aren't enough to make someone a decent, likeable person.

'You probably should have gotten to know him before getting him to work with us.'

Steve looked at me the way he often looks at me. The same look I get whenever I say the obvious to show his mistake.

'At least you get the pleasure of working with him tonight.' Steve smiled.

He was right, I was working with him that night. The fact that he actually turned up was shocking, considering the heavy rain lashing down. He told us he was afraid of thunderstorms and hated the rain. I'm beginning to think he should have taken that into account before taking an outdoors job in England. He was armoured for the night, though. With a full, bright yellow waterproof suit on, a hat, a pair of gloves and huge Wellington boots. He looked like one of those fisherman not content with fishing in a boat, they got into the water with those big trousers on.

'Evening, Tommy.'

'Oh, all right...what was your name again?'

'Dylan.'

'Dylan..yes.'

'Named after Bob.' I smiled.

'Bob?'

'Yeah.'

'So...why aren't you called Bob?'

It was going to be a long night.

Two hours into his shift I'd learned a lot about him. He was only working here until a job came up at his Dad's computer shop, he loves Top Gear and has a sister who works on the checkouts.

'She's called Allison.' Tommy said. 'She basically got me a job here in the first place.'

I immediately pictured Allison to look just like Tommy, only with less spots and longer curly red hair. But in the canteen later she sat at our table, asking her brother about bus times whilst crunching on a bag of quavers.

'Oh, Allison.' Tommy piped up. ' This is Dylan.'

'Dylan, hi!' She smiled.

I didn't want to explain the name again, even though it wouldn't be as painful this time around. It's like teaching someone to play pool. You do it with a girl and it's flirty and cute. You do it with a boy and it's just weird.

'Like Bob Dylan?' She smiled again.

'Yes.' I replied, a bit too loud.

'I've mixed a couple of his tunes in the past.'

'I'm sorry?'

'She's a DJ.' Tommy said.

'Oh, right...brilliant. Where at?'

'Down at Spence’s? On Hester Street?'

Allison spoke in questions, turning each sentence up at the end in a higher tone, so you're inclined to answer.

'Oh yeah.' I nodded.

'Playing there tomorrow night.'

'Cool.'

That sounded as if it needed a 'cool' kind of answer, which made her casually invite me with a calm come-or-whatever shrug. I nodded with a smile and looked down at my empty can of fizzy vimto. She had Tommy's green eyes but with short, brown hair that shaped her rosy, freckled face.

'Liz and Beth dropped out so I've got 2 tickets If you're up for it?'

Liz and Beth? Two tickets? Up for it? Hell, yeah!

'OK, whatever.' I shrugged.

Two tickets to Spence’s on Hester Street tomorrow night. First I needed to find out what the hell Spence’s was, find out where Hester Street was and then find someone to go with. The trouble was that I didn't have many friends. I had them, at uni and college and that, but I wasn't lucky enough to grow up with those 2 or 3 close friends who live just around the corner from you. So close that it takes no real effort to meet up, knock a football about and talk about girls. I couldn't go to this thing on my own. I'd just prop up the bar for an hour and leave without talking to her. And that was the whole point of going.

'Alex?'

'Yeah?'

'Are you free tomorrow night?'

'Naa, going to Fran's parents house. Wedding plans..'

Damn.

'Darren?'

'Dylan, come in.'

'Are you free tomorrow night?'

'Why?'

'Wondered if you fancied going out...you know, to a club?'

'...No, no thanks.'

Shit.

'Tommy?'

'What?'

'...Nevermind.'

I was struggling. Allison had given me two tickets to a club she was DJ'ing at. I'd be stupid not to go and stupid to go on my own. I had to find someone. That someone was Steve.

End of part one.