It was a usual Monday at work. Guys coming in unshaven, disheveled. Girls coming in made up, worn out underneath. Plenty of stories about how much the guys had drank and the girls had forgotten. Oh, they weren’t all like that. One guy had gotten pulled over by the cops and didn’t come in at all. Nobody made his bail.
On break, Ralph asked me how my weekend was.
“Okay.”
“You go out with that girl of yours? Julie?”
“Yeah, we went out.”
“Boy, she’s something. Bet she’s great in the sack, huh?”
I smiled and said, “Wouldn’t you like to know?” He was eating peanut M&Ms and offered me some. “You know, I saw this house yesterday,” I said.
“Yeah?”
“It was for sale and I think I might just get it.”
“Are you and Julie thinking…”
“No, no. It’s not that. I’m just… tired of the apartment. You know…”
“Yeah, it gets to you.”
“So, it’s a great two-story house in the old part of town.”
“Better be careful. Those things are rat traps. You sure…”
“No. This one’s great. I mean, heating costs’ll be out of this world, but…. well, I’ve got some put away.”
“Working in this place? Come on!”
“No, really. I’ve been saving up.”
“Listen, it’s your life. But I’m saying you’re better off in the apartment until you can find a wife that’ll work. That Julie works at the bank, doesn’t she?”
“I’m not marrying Julie!”
“Hey, sorry. It’s none of my business. I, just, well, I just don’t want you rushing into something. It’s tough enough, working at this place, without having a house to care for. By yourself.”
“Yeah. I know. I just, well… I need something.”
“Ain’t Julie taking care of that?” He laughed so hard he coughed up his last three M&Ms. I gave him the change to buy another package. He came back and offered me more.
“You know,” he said slowly, careful in thought, “marriage ain’t so bad as they say. I know I give my wife a hard time, but truth is I wouldn’t know what I’d do without her. She’s a great girl.”
“That’s nice.”
“No, I mean it. Before I got married, I was staying out late, coming to work all hungover. I’m a changed man, and I have her to thank.”
“Well, I don’t drink that much.”
“That’s not my point. Listen, I’m only saying this cause I’m your friend. You better hang on to that Julie. She’ll make a great wife someday.”
I shook my head.
“Just you wait. But not too long. You hear me?” He went off and started talking to a group about drinking beer.
I went back to work and thought about marriage. My grandparents. Constantly yelling and screaming at each other. Especially on Sundays, getting ready for church. Then Mom and Dad. Until Dad ran off and Mom was left with only me and my sister to yell at. That was marriage. A lot of yelling. Especially on Sundays.
Ralph got divorced about a year later. His wife caught him with his pants down parked in the driveway of her best friend. Ralph was never the same. He developed sugar diabetes and started blacking out and losing body parts, one at a time. His ex-wife felt sorry for him and married him again, took care of him until he died. She buried him with a package of peanut M&Ms.
{This is the third entry of a work of fiction called Life (in obvious places) I first wrote in 1985. To follow along with the story, click on the title in the tags below).
A Way With Words 