The Sexy Spacatron.
I love Bennett. We went to the pub a few times one month when he recommenced the path of alcohol goodness. As soon as he got back on his feet he ditched me like the cheap drinking buddy whore that I am. It hurt inside, but I was too prideful to show it, looking back that was the start of my troubles. The next few months left me craving for the attention I once had; although at the time I didn't put the events together. I found myself drinking alone in empty pubs, desperately trying to befriend anybody who came through the doors. I'd only last a week or two in each pub before the landlords would get fed up of me putting off the other customers, but I'd be on to the next establishment soon enough, where the cycle would continue.
It was around this time when I walked into a tiny little pub that I'd never noticed before. Hidden away by the avenue tree's dotted unevenly along the sides of the road, and the Jesus loves you posters from the church next door. The landlords name was Jim. Jim was of a timeless age, maybe a young 70 or an old 50, but definitely not 60. Irish, or at least by descent, he had the look of a man who'd seen much in his life; most of it through others eyes. There was a simple complexity about Jim, he knew what he wanted to say and he knew just enough words to say it, yet there was a sort of poetry to his speech; a rhythmic rhyme, a sort of bass line to the wise content of his words.
There was never a clue to the day or date in Jim's pub, the clientèle were regular in their frequent irregularity, but every one of them was a character....
The first other customer I saw in Jim's pub was a little old man. One day I came in and he was sat in the corner, half hidden by smoke, with a battered newspaper and a pint of stout that I didn't recognise from any of the taps. I automatically went to go over and say hello, but Jim caught my eye and shook his head. I tried to ask Jim about the man but he wouldn't say much. I gathered that his name was One-Eye Bill, and that from the silent rebuke I got, that I should leave him alone
After a while One-Eye Bill seemed to be a constant fixture in the corner, I got the impression from Jim that he'd been there long before I had, but any of my more inquisitive questions were left silently unanswered. As I was sat sipping through my pints, I'd often peer across to get a better look at One-Eye. Even through the smoke it wasn't hard to see that both his eyes were fairly conspicuous in their presence. I never asked Jim why One-Eye had Two-Eyes, by that point I knew that all I'd get was a knowing smile, possibly with a slightly worn out shaking of the head for good measure.
One day I went into Jim's and One-Eye wasn't there. I noticed his absence but didn't think much of it, yet Jim seemed a bit on edge. A few pints in to my session, One-Eye wandered in looking confused and distressed. I went to help him out but he looked straight through me. Jim quickly reached into a cupboard stacked full of yellowing newspapers, grabbed the first one and passed it over to One-Eye.
As Jim passed over the newspaper, One-Eye seemed to calm down. It was then that I managed to catch the date on it. July 16th 1991. Jim must have caught me reading but he didn't say anything, he walked out round the bar and say One-Eye down in his corner.
From that point on I'd always try and inconspicuously walk past One-Eye, which wasn't easy with him sat in the corner. Every time I managed it, the paper always had the same date on it: July 16th 1991. Jim would never say anything, but I later found out from one of the other customers that Bill had found his wife dead on the morning of July 17th. I guess Jim must have had a quiet arrangement with Bill's carers, but I never found out for sure.
By that point I'd become friendly with some of the other frequent drinkers at Jim's pub, and an odd bunch they were. Yet One-Eye Bill was always left alone, whilst still watched out for. I'm glad that One-Eye was the first regular I became aware of, because it set me up for the strange mutual respect the other locals had for each other....
