Storm and Silence(187)

Most of the men here were drinking from mugs or glasses that were a lot smaller than the ones out front. I slumped down at one of the tables, where another man was already sitting, and waved the maid towards me.

‘I’ll have what he’s having,’ I’ll ordered. ‘And there'll better be no donkey’s hoofs or bull’s horns or other animal parts in there!’

The maid blinked at me in confusion. ‘Sorry, Sir?’

‘Oh, forget it! Just get me a drink!’

‘Aye, Sir.’

I watched her bustle away and gave a derisive snort. Blast Mr Ambrose! Don’t drink any more my foot! I would show him!

‘Here, Sir.’

Ah, my mug had arrived. I took the tiny little thing, sniffed - and broke out into a coughing fit. By George, that smelled sharp! But I had already ordered it now, so I might as well drink it. And anyhow, it wasn’t as if it could do much harm. The mugs were much smaller here, after all…

*~*~**~*~*

I had to confess, after a while I got rather fond of the stuff that came in small mugs. Admittedly, at first it made your throat burn and your eyes water, but in the long run, it had the most interesting effects. For instance, not so long ago, a troop of jolly little yellow pigs had come out of the chimney and started to dance on the back wall. They were performing quite excellently, all thanks to this amazing liquid that had opened my eyes to a new world.

I pounded the table with my fist.

‘Another one! Another cow’s ear… or was it pig’s tail… Darn it! Another cup of this stuff!’

The maid hurried to my table and deposited another cup in front of me with an anxious expression. Was she afraid of me? Maybe it was this miraculous substance that I was consuming, making my voice all rough and manly, that made me more intimidating. I grinned. I liked the idea.

Swiftly, I grasped the metal cup and gulped down its contents. Yes, I could really grow to like this drink. It made you feel pleasantly woozy.

‘Ey there, little fellow! Are ye planning to drink the whole River Thames in one night? Leave something for the rest of us.’

Somebody laughed. I looked up from my empty cup and saw that the words had come from the other chap sitting at the table. He hadn’t said a word before, but now he was grinning at me.

I gave his question a few moments of serious contemplation.

‘No,’ I finally decided. ‘I don't want to drink the Thames. There’s too much crap swimming in it.’

That got another laugh from him and a few of the other people around us.

‘Blast it,’ my table partner told me, raising his cup to me, ‘I’m impressed. Ye 'old your licker well, considering.’

‘Considering? Is that supposed to mean that wom- that little people can’t drink as much as a big fellow like you?’

He grinned, displaying several missing teeth that gave his gnarled old face a jaunty look.

‘No. They just usually end up unconscious under the table if they give it a go.’

‘Well, I’m not nearly drunk enough for that yet!’

‘Let’s drink to that.’ He raised his cup. ‘Bottoms up!’

‘No,’ I told him, raising my cup but shaking my head. ‘Bottoms down. I won’t take my bottom off this chair until I am completely intoxi… intoxiwhatsy… well you know what I mean.’

‘No, I ain’t got no clue, to be honest, lad.’

‘Doesn’t matter.’

We sat there and drank for a few minutes in companionable silence. I studied my counterpart as I did so. He was an old chap, sixty years or more, a sailor’s cap covering his bald head, and his wiry figure wrapped in an old, faded jacket. I liked him. He didn’t seem to be in a very good mood, though. He was staring into his cup dejectedly, and whenever he showed his charming toothless grin, there was a tinge of melancholy to it.

‘The world just ain’t what it used to be no more, lad,’ he said, smiling sadly and raising his cup again.

‘We can agree on that,’ I said, and we clinked cups and drank. After all, I was sitting in the back room of a disreputable pub in the East End, getting thoroughly and royally drunk. If somebody had told me a few months ago I would be doing this, I’d have suggested they see a doctor.

‘No honesty, you know,’ he added dejectedly. ‘Nowhere.’

‘Quite right.’

We clinked cups again. We drank.

I wondered what would happen if I told him that he was having this conversation with a girl in disguise. Maybe he would be angry about my dishonesty? Though something about the glassy look in his eyes made me think that maybe he’d laugh at the good joke, or maybe just not understand what I was saying.