Out After Curfew

Chapter 3

Gerard Hudson sits solitary at the bar of 'Don's', one of Dale City's many drinking establishments – a place that until recent times was filled nightly with crowds of merry revellers, drinking and filling the place with hearty clamour, chuckles and often bellows of drunken laughter. Now it is a place that attracts steady lunch time and afternoon custom after adapting its business model and refocusing its priorities to serving food rather than targeting just drinkers with its former model of cheap alcohol and a late closing time.

With this rebranding came not only a change in what is served by the business, but also in its décor, layout and furnishing. More windows have been added, brightening up the formerly dark bar. More space has been opened up to accommodate all the new tables which are laid out for those buying food.

This place, unlike many, has adapted well to the imposition of the curfew, and although still in the infancy of its reincarnation, has managed to survive while many other businesses have not.

The place is mostly empty now, it being late in the afternoon and getting towards curfew. Gerard is one of the few customers still remaining while others continually flow outwards at an increasing rate. He sits at the bar swigging from a bottle of Becks lager and watching the muted television mounted high on the wall opposite.

"Another one when you're ready, Don." Gerard says to the man on the other side of the bar, catching his attention as he walks past.

Don doesn't stop. He keeps going at a rushed pace, picking up empty froth-stained pint glasses from a slightly sticky and wet bar surface, turning back and putting them in a grey plastic crate full of others to be washed. He glances at his watch quickly.

"I don't know that you've got time for another one, Gerard. Anyway, aren't you driving home after this?" Don, the barman and owner of the establishment replies, slightly concerned for his regular customer and friend.

"Yeah. You're right....I don't know what I'm thinking." Gerard says, knowing that he shouldn't even have been drinking at all. "Although, I'm not exactly likely to meet anyone else on the roads, am I." he continues rhetorically, eluding to the rural roads that lead back to his isolated country house which are so often quiet and vacant, no one venturing outside of the city after the sun has set, or leading up to that time.

"It's still against the law, Gerard." Don says picking up a bar towel and wiping the surfaces.

Gerard says nothing in response, but merely gives a display of acquiescent agreement with a micro-nod of the head as he takes another swig from his drink. Don then returns to a topic he has brought up many times before, one to which Gerard always responds in the same way.

"I still don't think you should be living out there, you know." he says.

"I know you don't, Don."

Don stops wiping the surfaces behind the bar and sighs, looking at Gerard.

"Look, I know you've got ties to the place. But is it really worth putting yourself in danger every night for?"

"The place is reinforced, just like all the homes in the city are. Even more so, in fact."

"But there are more lights here...more people. If you got into trouble out there, there's no one to help you."

"Noted."

Don sighs again. "I'm just trying to look out for you, Gerard."

Gerard looks away, contemplating the display of ungratefulness he knows he is projecting, his voice having sounded overtly despondent and dismissive. He then looks back at Don and adopts a new, more sincere tone; "I know you are, Don." he says, continuing to look at Don's face, trying to establish eye contact. "I appreciate it."