26.5.2009

OH BURGER....YOU TRICKED ME!

    OH BURGER....YOU TRICKED ME!

 

    Clive and Bernard were in the van, everything was going real fine until it started to pour down with rain with loud claps of thunder ringing out and echoing off the buildings close by. There Bernard stood looking out of the service hatch window watching the rain running from off the canopy. "Oh great, its raining so hard now that I can't even see Big Ben."

    Clive sat on a deck chair reading a daily tabloid, "Big deal man! Its only a gigantic grand father clock!"

    Bernard raised his eyebrows before protesting, "How can you say that? This clock is a part of our history."

    "Yeah, and its history that we should forget. Especially the type of history that sits in parliament, the I'm all right jacks who are only interested in lining their own pockets and to hell with the poor man who is out of work and can't even find a place to lay his head for the night. In fact its a damn shame old Guy Faulkes didn't blow that place sky high! Even Gloria would agree with me on that."

    Bernard could see his point about the poor, "Yeah I get your point about the poor. But as for blowing that place sky high would accomplish very little because sooner rather than later the new government would build a new houses of parliament which would soon be adopted by the nation as another great monument." Then something fell into his mind, "Hey Clive! Who is Gloria?"

    The guy went all watery eyed as these words seemed to spill from his mouth, "Gloria was my best friends wife. Sadly he passed away and I had the job of comforting her. I did my best to look after her, at the time I was working at a club as a pianist. But all too soon I let a little thing called drink take hold of me to get me over the loss of my buddy. Anyway cut a long story short we became very close, lovers. We talked about the future and we decided to give it a while to allow us time to think things through, making sure it wasn't just circumstances throwing us together. So I carried on playing and drinking more and more until I couldn't play no more."

    "What? The drink got to your hands?"

    "No man! The club closed and I lost my job, lost my home and all the time I allowed the drink to speak for me, give me courage to cope. In the end Gloria couldn't live with me no more, not with the new love of my life, whiskey."

    The rain hit hard on the steel roof of the van as if to help fill the space where words should have been to express the grief Clive felt every time he relived his one big mistake.

    "Do you still love her?" Bernard asked feeling as sad as the weather.

    Clive felt the pain and replied irritably, "What do you think?"

    "Well, if you do, then fight the booze and win her back."

    "I doubt if I could."

    "If you give into doubt then you can never win."

    "You want me to give up drinking in the vain attempt to win back the only woman I have ever loved?"

    "Only if you want a second chance to bring back happiness by getting Gloria back. After all, by what you said she must still be single and probably in love with you. And you are the only one who can change this scenario."

    Clive thought this through. Then breaking the sombre mood which had cast a shadow over his afternoon like this rain storm had done for the city, he clapped his hands, stood up and said, "Not much point in hanging around here. Lets pack up and head for home, not unless you want to get lost around Piccadilly Circus?"

    "Ah, no. Home will do after this con of a tour of London. Hey Clive, fancy a tour of London? Yeah a tour of London in a burger van!"

    So the big guy was still holding a grudge over the slight twist of the truth. "Sorry man, I'll never lie to you again okay?"

    Bernard held his gaze a little longer before agreeing, "Okay, lets get back home."

    It was at this point Clive found something weird, "Hey, isn't it funny that we call two small rented rooms home, after all we?re really far from home?"

    Bernard smirked, "I suppose it is. Come I'll close up back here and you get the van started."

    Clive saluted before running out into the rain and round to the front. When sitting down and sliding the key into the ignition he looked into the passenger side wing mirror to watch big Bernard pull down the canopy and instantly drench himself with all the water that had collected on the canvass. Now chuckling a little he started up the van.