Death of Hope

‘Do you want to meet me after work for a drink?’ Maria asked Max.

‘Yes, where do you want to go?’

‘I was thinking of the Shipwrecked Life’

‘Sounds like my kind of pub.’

‘Yes, and it is nearby.’

‘Do you have a small bag in which to catch bodily fluids?’

‘We are going to a bar not a brothel.’

‘Damn... you always take me to the boring places.’

It was always difficult for Max to bring himself to venture out to a pub, bar or club; he preferred to be at home, alone, with his two cats and a generous supply of ice-cold bottles of beer. At home there was good music, a good toilet, no queue for drinks, and no people. Bars were always filled with desperate and lonely men who outnumbered the women by at least five to one. If a woman should ever be in there alone, she was waiting for a date to arrive or hoping to meet the best looking and wealthiest guy there. Groups of men sat around joking and laughing; it was all a cheaply disguised mating call. They attempted to impress each other in the hope that a woman might be watching and be impressed herself. This form of behaviour is common throughout the animal kingdom yet few other animals do it with as little style and grace as human beings. Never the less, When Maria asked Max if he wanted to go for a drink after work he thought that it was probably time to force himself out before he lost all ability to communicate with human beings. Also, he quite liked Maria for her unusual humour and view of life.

Maria had chosen a bar just outside of town so that there would be no rumours, no unwanted encounters; just the two of them having a drink. Also because she was married and really didn’t want to run into her husband whilst having drinks with Max.

Pulling into the car park, Max was impressed by the look of the place and even more so upon walking into the traditional old building. However, walking to the bar proved a disappointment as there was very little choice in beers and lagers. Maria ordered a Gin and Tonic, Max ordered a Guinness.

‘I’m sorry, sir, we are currently out of Guinness and I don’t know how to change the barrel.’

‘Ok, I will have a Corona.’

The barman handed Max an extremely warm Corona, which Max considered returning but simply thought ‘this is England, all the fucking drinks are warm. We charge a fortune for everything and we are terrified of using refrigeration for fear of the costs.’

Maria and Max chose a quiet and empty table around a corner in the hope that they would be undisturbed.

‘So, your friend just broke up with his girlfriend?’

‘Yes’

‘Why?’

‘Well, he said that he would just rather be at home getting drunk. He was at her house, it was a Saturday afternoon, and they were drinking tea. He said that he realised right there and then that it wasn’t going to work, so he left.’

‘That is hilarious.’

‘Hilarious and sad and wise.’

‘What about you, Max, why did you and Ella stop seeing each other?’

‘She wanted to have children, she tried to convince me that I would be a good father but, as much as I was in love with her, I couldn’t lie, I told her that I truly didn’t want children. She decided to stick with the guy she had been with for years because, even though it had become sterile and boring, he wanted children as much as she did, he wanted to buy a house and he wanted the stable family life. To avoid feelings of guilt we stopped seeing each other.’

‘And how do you feel about that?’

‘She is pregnant now... that feels like a death to me. It is certainly the death of hope for me.’

‘Why did you and your wife divorce?’

‘She wanted children.’

‘hmm, I see a common theme.’

‘Yes, I think that the majority of my relationships, if not all of them, have ended because I have not wanted to have children and my partner has.’

The barman walked over to the table and informed Max that Guinness was now available once more. Max struggled to control the urge to tell the barman what he truly thought of Guinness but it was the best of what this particular bar had to offer... and that really wasn’t much.

‘Ok, bring me one.’ Max immediately scorned himself for giving in. ‘And please bring us a seafood platter to share.’

The Guinness arrived and, shortly afterwards, what this establishment described as a seafood platter arrived. It was more like a little tray of finger foods in the form of marine-like sludge with a few pieces of bread. £11 for the pleasure. This British standard – warm beer, lack of choice and crap food - was getting to Max and made him feel a strong desire to either leave in search for a better place or to open a bar with waiters and a wide range of drinks from around the globe. He realised, however, that the downfall was probably not necessarily a lack of creativity on the proprietor’s behalf  but more than likely heavy restrictions by some form of committee or council. England was full of them. British law had two things in mind:

-          Make sure nobody has any fun

-          Make sure the guys in power get richer every day.

Upon finishing the horrendous food and warm beer in dirty glasses, Maria and Max walked out into the car park and walked towards Maria’s car. She had to drive home to prepare dinner for her husband, who would be home from work soon, so there was no time to delay, she was already late. They hugged and Maria moved her face towards Max’s. They kissed.

‘Get into my car for a minute’ Maria demanded

Max got into the car. Maria got in and whispered ‘Oh, God.’ Whilst pouncing onto Max. They kissed passionately and started to tear at clothes. Max had one hand down the back of Maria’s jeans, inside of her underwear, holding her behind, whilst the other hand held one breast. Maria had already opened Max’s jeans, pulled down his boxers and was holding his penis in her hand while she kissed him. Suddenly Max pushed her off saying ‘you should probably be on your way.’ Saddened, Maria started the car as Max got out. He watched her speed out of the car park and then walked to his own car. ‘What is wrong?’ he asked himself. ‘You just don’t feel anything anymore.’ came the unwanted answer. Max started his car and drove off into the empty night.