Postcards to America (12 page)

“Punctual” Mary took a day off work at Liam’s suggestion and they headed for the coast. As neither of them owned a car, they settled on a bus as their mode of transport. The ancient bus trundled along and seemed to stop at every crossroads to pick up and leave off passengers. As the morning grew to maturity the hot sun beat through the windows and raised the interior temperature of the bus to unacceptable levels. At “Punctual” Mary’s suggestion Liam stood and opened the ventilation hatch on the roof of the bus to let in additional air. After half an hour “Punctual” Mary laid her head on Liam’s shoulder and dozed off to sleep. Liam watched the scenery rolling by for a time but eventually his eyes unfocused and his thoughts ran wild.

In what direction did he want his life to go? Some of the boys he went to school with now had houses and families… and mortgages. Most days while walking in the local park he saw men pushing prams. A sign of changing times perhaps. Did he want to end up like that? Did he want 2.5 children, a thirty-year mortgage, dirty nappies, in laws, sinks full of dirty dishes, a dog that needed daily walks, weekly visits to supermarkets to purchase food that ended up only partially consumed and then thrown out? Did he want “Punctual” Mary at his side every night, children that called him dad, winter nights in front of the fire with his family and the look on a child’s face at Christmas time? At the end of the day life could not be decided like a balance sheet with plusses on one side and minuses on the other side. At the end of the day marriage required an act of faith, a belief that the union would be greater than the sum of the individual parts and that enough good memories would be laid to enable the couple to overcome the inevitable bad patches.

The bus driver avoided a final pothole and with a screech of brakes guided the bus into the seaside terminal. “Punctual” Mary woke when the vehicle stopped, she stretched, and said, ‘Here already? I must have dozed off. Let’s get to the beach.’ She lifted a bag containing the swimming gear, towels, drinks and sandwiches and headed towards the door of the bus.

In the near distance, Liam could see a range of sand dunes shimmering in the heat haze. Above, a few puffs of cotton-like cloud decorated a blue sky. Stepping from the bus he felt a light breeze caress his face and make the heat bearable. Surprisingly the beach seemed sparsely occupied. Only half a dozen colorful sunshades were to be seen dotted about. Liam surmised that the absence of people could be attributed to the day being in midweek. At weekends, this beach would be crowded with people soaking up the sun.

Walking on hard packed sand and avoiding drifts, they selected a spot between two sand dunes and out of sight of the other bathers. “Punctual” Mary spread two large towels for them to lie on. Liam stripped and put on his swimming trunks. “Punctual” Mary asked him to look away as she prepared to change into a bikini. Liam pretended to look at the ocean but glanced in her direction when he though she wasn’t looking.

‘You like what you see?’ she asked when finished. Her eyes twinkled.

‘Maybe,’ Liam replied, laughing. ‘You want me to rub some sun cream on you?’

‘Let’s go for a swim first.’

‘OK! Last one in the water is a tortoise.’

The couple raced down to the waters’ edge, both whooping as they touched the cool water with their feet. Not breaking his stride Liam waited until the water came up to his knees then dived beneath the surface. Resurfacing, he shook water from his face and looked towards the shore. Mary stood in knee deep water making a gesture as if freezing.

‘Come on,’ Liam shouted, ‘it’s lovely when you are in.’

“Punctual” Mary rubbed some water on her hands to acclimatize her body to the lower temperature of the water.

‘Come on! Come on!’ Liam encouraged “Punctual” Mary again. He floated on his back apparently ignoring “Punctual” Mary but actually drawing nearer to her. As he drew closer to her she guessed his intention and turned to make a dash for the shoreline. However, Liam caught her by the arm and she fell beneath an incoming wave.

‘You pig! You pig! I’ll get you for that,’ “Punctual” Mary said as she resurfaced. She cupped her hand and used it to splash water at Liam’s face.

After a period of frolicking, they swam parallel to the beach for a distance, always keeping their clothes in sight. Eventually, cooled from swimming, they returned to their spot on the beach. Lying on the towels, they let the sun and breeze dry them. After a while “Punctual” Mary removed her bikini top and started to rub sun cream on her breasts.

‘I hope you realize what that’s doing to me,’ commented Liam, observing her hands circular motion.

‘You want some of the action? Then come and get it,’ “Punctual” Mary replied, teasingly.

Liam duly obliged.

“Punctual” Mary lay on her back and absorbed the tactile sensations as Liam started to rub cream on her breasts before moving to her belly and then her thighs. Any more of this rubbing and there will be no need for sex, she thought. What a perfect day this was turning out to be with the sun shining and Liam by her side. She knew on their first date that she wanted him for her life partner. OK, he wasn’t perfect, didn’t have a great job, and bent a few corners here and there but all that could be worked on. Her parents on the other hand would take some convincing but she had reached adulthood and would have to find her own way in the world. Anyway, her parents always caved in to her demands in the end. At last Liam finished, leaving her in a high state of excitement.

‘Lie down and let me do the same for you.’

‘There’s no need to. I can manage.’ Liam replied jokingly, while lying on his back and complying with her wishes.

“Punctual” Mary poured some cream on Liam’s chest and started rubbing in the cream with a circular motion. Then she moved her hand lower to where a knotted cord supported his trunks. She could not fail to notice the bulge in his trunks.

‘What about there? You want some cream there?’ She asked jokingly.

Liam remained silent.

With a quick motion “Punctual” Mary undid the knot holding the trunks and slid them down exposing Liam’s genitals. She placed her face close to Liam’s face and kissed his salty lips. She kissed him twice before he replied with a passionate kiss of his own. Then he grabbed the hair on the back of her head and pulled her into him and suddenly she was looking at the blue sky and felt her bikini bottom being removed. After that her mind blanked and her body pushed and shoved for what seemed an eternity before final release

After their exertions, they lay in each other’s arms. Liam brushed a spot of sand from “Punctual” Mary’s nose and kissed her forehead.

‘I love you, Mary.’ Liam couldn’t believe that he had never told her this before.

‘And I love you.’

Liam tried to put words to the way he felt. ‘When we first dated, I thought, here goes another “one night stand”, but as time has gone by I have come to realize that our relationship is much more that that. It is growing and can continue to grow if we let it. I know I am just a lowly security guard and may not add up to much in your parent’s eyes…oh shit this… what I am trying to say is… Will you marry me?’

‘Will you repeat what you just said?’ “Punctual” Mary heard him properly the first time but wanted to prolong the moment.

‘Will you marry me?’

“Punctual” Mary looked at her watch.

‘Why are you looking at your watch?’ asked Liam.

‘I want to remember the exact time that you proposed to me. I know the day already and now I know the time too.’

‘So you’re saying yes?’

‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’

Liam kissed her long and hard.

Then he realized that this proposal had come about so spontaneously that he forgot to buy a ring. Slipping into his swimming trunks, he searched the beach until he found a small round shell with a tiny hole in the center. Using his nail, he enlarged the hole to finger size.

Returning to “Punctual” Mary, he slipped the shell on her engagement finger. “Punctual” Mary laughed when he said; ‘I couldn’t find a jeweller on the beach so this will have to do as an engagement ring until tomorrow.’

‘I will always keep this shell as a reminder of this day,’ “Punctual” Mary told him.

They went for several more swims before “Punctual” Mary noticed the time and suggested that they board the bus for the return trip.

The taller of the two men approaching the charity shop wore his hair long and tied the strands with an elastic band. The bottom half of his left ear was missing as a result of a prison melee that occurred while serving time for GBH. Two days’ growth on his chin did not add anything positive to his already menacing appearance. A lucky escape from a stolen car left him with a slight limp but did not impair his ability to run if the occasion warranted it. The smaller of the two men wore a hooded jacket with the hood pulled up over his head making it virtually impossible to see his face. However, his general facial features resembled those of his taller brother.

The two men entered the charity shop and looked around. A young assistant stopped tidying behind the counter and greeted them.

‘I wonder if you can help us?’ asked the taller man. Experience gained over the years told him that sometimes it worked better if one were polite at the start. Violence could come later if required.

‘If I can I will,’ answered the assistant, wishing she were someplace else.

‘We want to know,’ continued the taller brother, ‘If a person bought a red polka dotted dress in this shop.’ He went on to give the assistant a description of “Corner” O’Conner.

The smaller of the brothers ignored the conversation and went looking in the shop interior.

‘I’m afraid I can’t help you there. I only returned to work today. Been off on holidays to Spain with my family… First time there…You should try…’she stopped speaking. She could see he wasn’t interested.

‘And the assistant who filled in for you while you were away?’

‘She won’t be able to tell you anything. She has trouble with her sight and her hearing is not too good either.’

‘Do you keep receipts for goods sold or any records?’

‘No. This is a charity shop. All the goods you see here are donations. We adjust our prices to the customer’s ability to pay.’

The tall man reflected for a few moments. It looked like another dead end. Ever since the tip-off they had visited every shop within a large radius to no avail. The large retail stores they skipped, mainly because red polka dotted dresses would have vanished from the fashion scene a quarter of a century ago. Now they were drawing another blank and were no nearer to catching that bastard O’ Connor.

Just then, his thoughts were interrupted by a whoop from his brother who approached the front of the shop clutching a red polka dotted dress. ‘Looks like the one described to us,’ the smaller brother said, handing the dress over.

‘Did you have two of these in stock?’ the taller brother asked.

‘No. I’m nearly sure we had none in stock when I went on holidays. However, stock sometimes comes in and goes out on a daily basis. I’m sure I would have remembered them they’re so old…so old – fashioned.’

‘Are there any clothes missing?’ The tall man switched his gaze away from the polka dotted dress back to the assistant.

‘It would be impossible to tell. We could have a dozen of the same looking coats or dresses in stock at any one time.’ The assistant wished the two men would go away and leave her alone. She harboured no illusions about the capability of these two men to inflict harm on her if she did not cooperate.

The tall man took a moment to reflect. This looked like a cold trail. This polka dotted dress might or might not be the one O’ Connor wore. On the other hand…

He took the assistants hand in his as he described O’Connor in detail. ‘If he should come in then ring this number – he gave her his mobile phone number – and we will give you a hundred Euro reward. You understand?’

Behind her the smaller brother removed a small knife from his pocked and busily cleaned under his nails.

She understood.

Day three in the mock police uniform and “Corner” felt pleased with himself. No other incidents needing his attention occurred in his vicinity since the crash and he moved freely around the city. Pedestrians saluted him and one shopkeeper invited him in for tea. He duly accepted and spent the best part of an hour engaged in a discussion about the latest crime statistics. Once an immigrant asked him for directions to the social welfare services office and as far as he knew, the man is still walking.

Mention of social welfare brought the subject of money into his thoughts. Since his present difficulties arose, his savings – accumulated when he worked at various jobs – were getting low. Luckily the squat was clean and in a nice district.

Suddenly a shout sounded above the murmur of traffic. ‘Stop that thief!’ Stop that boy!’

A stout moustached man wearing a bib stood next to a fruit stall waving wildly.

“Corner” glanced in the direction of the shouting and spotted the youth running in his direction. The youth looked disheveled and his leg could be seen through holes in his pants. Looking behind to see if he was being pursued, the youth failed to see “Corner” standing in his path. “Corner” grabbed the youth by the shoulder.

‘Let me go. Let me go,’ the snotty nosed youth cried. ‘I’m hungry.’

‘What’s your name?’ asked “Corner”.

‘Adam Carmody. Are you going to arrest me?’

“Corner” could see a red coloured apple clutched in the boy’s hand and he looked malnourished.

Parents probably killed by outlaws he thought and the boy left to fend for himself. Life here on the frontier could be tough.

‘Give me the apple.’

The youth hesitated and then reluctantly handed over the apple.

“Corner” took a small bite then handed the apple back. ‘A nice taste but I prefer the green variety myself.’

The youth looked at him in astonishment.

‘Let’s go and sort this problem out.’

Still holding the youth by the shoulder, “Corner” marched him back to the stallholder.

‘Nice work, officer. Stealing all my fruit, they are. You are going to charge him? The man’s nostrils flared with indignation.

‘Most certainly. Please come down to the station tomorrow and make a statement.’

That pleased the stallholder and he turned to serve a customer. At that moment “Corner” slipped an apple into his pocked and walked away still holding the boy.

Out of sight of the stallholder, “Corner” released the boy and handed him the apple.

‘Are you really a policeman?’ the puzzled youth asked.

‘Of course, I’m a law enforcement officer. Ask me a question about this “Wild West”.

Is he loony? He must be loony. The youth kept his thoughts to himself as he threw away the remains of the red apple and started on the green one. Still, better to humour him. What question could he ask? He racked his brains for a few minutes before inspiration came.

‘Who shot Billy the Kid?’

‘Pat Garrett shot Billy the Kid.’

Now listen to me, Adam; if you stick with your education, keep out of trouble and practice daily with your six-gun then you can grow up to be a law enforcement officer like me. Now get out of here before I put you in the caboose.