Living On Three Continents: Domus
Domus speaks of a private matter to a friend, in Richard Mallinson's short story. But Domus's revelation comes back to him as a challenge from an unexpected source.
Domus spoke of a private matter to a friend of his called Tom. Then he heard from another friend that Tom was telling people all about it.
Before long every member of their circle knew.
Three of them in the local pub, the Crown, had laughed long and loud at the retelling - though Jane, the barmaid, hadn’t joined in.
A few days later Domus said to Tom, ‘I thought I was speaking to you in confidence and now you’ve turned me into a laughing stock.’
Tom apologised but not as effusively as Domus had hoped.
A month later Tom lost his job at the firm where he’d worked for years alongside Domus.
Then he lost his car, his house and his wife in that order.
After that, he became a wino in a squat at the low end of town and one day Domus was taken to visit him by Tom’s ex-wife, Celia.
She stayed in the car.
‘Hullo, Tom,’ Domus called through the open door of the place.
‘He’s not here,’ came Tom’s drunken voice.
‘You silly sod,’ said Domus, and left.
Back in the car he told Celia that nothing could be done because Tom was too far gone.
He also told her that she should now begin to look forward to her new life, which, he reminded her while stroking her thigh, would soon include a new husband.
‘On one condition,’ she said.
‘What is it?’ he asked.
‘That you stay away from that barmaid, Jane, at the Crown.’
‘But I’ve never…been…near her,’ he babbled.
