more sugary pastel than the previous. Thank God for middle-youth.
Anawah, on we trudge. Send me a joke.
Lots of love
Gemma xxx
On the way home from work that evening - like most evenings — I popped into the chemist to get something for Mam. This time it was athlete's foot ointment - I had no idea how she caught that, considering that the most athletic thing she ever did was open a packet of biscuits. But before I even got to ask for it, the nice man behind the counter said, ' 'You were in good form on Saturday night.'
All the blood that had been milling around in my face began a sudden and speedy exodus and my legs and hands started their shaking lark again, which was very annoying because I'd only just got them to stop.
'Where did I meet you?' I asked through bloodfree lips.
He paused, looked surprised, then uncomfortable and said, 'In Hamman.'
'In Hamman ? Jesus Christ, who else had I met in Hamman on Saturday night?
'This comes as a… surprise?'
Too right it did. All of it. That I'd met the man from the chemist in Hamman and remembered nothing about it. And that he'd been allowed out from behind the counter. What had he been wearing? I couldn't imagine him in anything except his white coat. And was he with a gang of other chemists, all in their white coats?
'I was scuttered,' I whispered.
'It was Saturday night,' he said, but then he went just a little bit stern and said, 'Didn't your doctor tell you that you shouldn't drink while you're taking anti-depressants?'
Now was the time. 'No, he didn't,' I said, 'because you see, the thing is, the prescriptions that I've been picking up from you, they're not for me, they're for my mother. I'm sorry I haven't told you before now, the time just never seemed right.'
He stepped back, did a long stare and tiny head-nods while he absorbed the info, and eventually spoke. 'Was any of the stuff for you?'
I thought back over the long list of medication I had got for Mam; not just the anti-depressants, the tranks, the sleeping tablets but the antihistamine stuff for her rash, the antacids for her stomach, the painkillers for her sinuses…
'The nail varnish was mine.'
'You know what?' he mused. 'I feel like a right fool.'
'Don't,' I said. 'It was my fault, I should have told you straight away and I enjoyed someone being nice to me even though there was nothing wrong with me.'
'OK.' He still looked uncomfortable.
'Just out of curiosity,' I asked, 'what's Hamman like?'
'Ah, it's alright. The crowd was a bit too young.'
Straight away I wondered how old he was — up till now I'd never thought of him having an age. In fact I'd never really thought of him as human, just a benign presence who dispensed tablets that kept my mammy from going totally doolally.
'It's the white coat,' he said, reading my mind. 'Very dehumanizing. I'm probably not that much older than you, Maureen, and I've just realized that that's probably not your name.'
'No, it's Gemma.'
'I've a name too,' he said. 'It's Johnny.'
TO: [email protected]
FROM: Gemma [email protected]
SUBJECT: Wonders never cease
Guess what? The youth rang me. The youth I met the night of Cody's birthday. Owen or whatever he's called. He wants us to go out. 'For what,' I asked. 'A drink,' he sez. 'It took you nearly two weeks to call,' I said. 'I was playing hard to get,' he replied.
Anyway I told him I couldn't and he said, 'I understand. You want to spend more time with your coal scuttle.'
Obviously it's not that, it's because there's no way I'll get a pass from Mam at the moment. She only lets me out to go to work and collect her prescriptions from the chemist and I don't have the energy to resist, especially after I disgraced myself so badly on the night of Cody's birthday…
Anyway, let me know how you are. Any fellas yet?
Love
Gemma
Speaking of prescriptions, Mam was out of sleeping tablets — she was eating them like Smarties - so I hopped into the car and as always the nice man in the white coat was
Anawah, on we trudge. Send me a joke.
Lots of love
Gemma xxx
On the way home from work that evening - like most evenings — I popped into the chemist to get something for Mam. This time it was athlete's foot ointment - I had no idea how she caught that, considering that the most athletic thing she ever did was open a packet of biscuits. But before I even got to ask for it, the nice man behind the counter said, ' 'You were in good form on Saturday night.'
All the blood that had been milling around in my face began a sudden and speedy exodus and my legs and hands started their shaking lark again, which was very annoying because I'd only just got them to stop.
'Where did I meet you?' I asked through bloodfree lips.
He paused, looked surprised, then uncomfortable and said, 'In Hamman.'
'In Hamman ? Jesus Christ, who else had I met in Hamman on Saturday night?
'This comes as a… surprise?'
Too right it did. All of it. That I'd met the man from the chemist in Hamman and remembered nothing about it. And that he'd been allowed out from behind the counter. What had he been wearing? I couldn't imagine him in anything except his white coat. And was he with a gang of other chemists, all in their white coats?
'I was scuttered,' I whispered.
'It was Saturday night,' he said, but then he went just a little bit stern and said, 'Didn't your doctor tell you that you shouldn't drink while you're taking anti-depressants?'
Now was the time. 'No, he didn't,' I said, 'because you see, the thing is, the prescriptions that I've been picking up from you, they're not for me, they're for my mother. I'm sorry I haven't told you before now, the time just never seemed right.'
He stepped back, did a long stare and tiny head-nods while he absorbed the info, and eventually spoke. 'Was any of the stuff for you?'
I thought back over the long list of medication I had got for Mam; not just the anti-depressants, the tranks, the sleeping tablets but the antihistamine stuff for her rash, the antacids for her stomach, the painkillers for her sinuses…
'The nail varnish was mine.'
'You know what?' he mused. 'I feel like a right fool.'
'Don't,' I said. 'It was my fault, I should have told you straight away and I enjoyed someone being nice to me even though there was nothing wrong with me.'
'OK.' He still looked uncomfortable.
'Just out of curiosity,' I asked, 'what's Hamman like?'
'Ah, it's alright. The crowd was a bit too young.'
Straight away I wondered how old he was — up till now I'd never thought of him having an age. In fact I'd never really thought of him as human, just a benign presence who dispensed tablets that kept my mammy from going totally doolally.
'It's the white coat,' he said, reading my mind. 'Very dehumanizing. I'm probably not that much older than you, Maureen, and I've just realized that that's probably not your name.'
'No, it's Gemma.'
'I've a name too,' he said. 'It's Johnny.'
TO: [email protected]
FROM: Gemma [email protected]
SUBJECT: Wonders never cease
Guess what? The youth rang me. The youth I met the night of Cody's birthday. Owen or whatever he's called. He wants us to go out. 'For what,' I asked. 'A drink,' he sez. 'It took you nearly two weeks to call,' I said. 'I was playing hard to get,' he replied.
Anyway I told him I couldn't and he said, 'I understand. You want to spend more time with your coal scuttle.'
Obviously it's not that, it's because there's no way I'll get a pass from Mam at the moment. She only lets me out to go to work and collect her prescriptions from the chemist and I don't have the energy to resist, especially after I disgraced myself so badly on the night of Cody's birthday…
Anyway, let me know how you are. Any fellas yet?
Love
Gemma
Speaking of prescriptions, Mam was out of sleeping tablets — she was eating them like Smarties - so I hopped into the car and as always the nice man in the white coat was
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