itâs gone in five minutes. A decent cup of tea can take twenty minutes of sipping.â
âBut it was your tea you threw.â
âYeah, I make them both like that so I can down mine in a hurry too. No excuses then. If weâre done riding and both staring at empty cups, she pretty much has to fuck off, doesnât she?â
âFor fuck ⦠okay. Well, I sâpose thatâs something. Are you sure?â
âIt was piss. Definitely. Before I thought she was trying to kill me, I thought she was trying to get me to ride her. Man, I wanted her the fuck out of there before she started dropping the cacks. The tea was grand.â
âWell ⦠thank fuck for that anyway. But we still have to call Norman, man.â
âChrist. Whatâs he going to do?â
âI donât know. But Iâm going to guess that he wonât be happy with you.â
âHeâll kill me.â
âHe wonât kill you.â
âHe will! Jimmy, he never gets his hole. Heâs finally getting some now and then I go and drown his bird in Barrys and then run out of the house screaming like a little girl. Sheâll think weâre all fucking mad.â
âProbably. Fuck sake, I would. Can you imagine the fright she got?â
Aesop nodded.
âShe wouldnât have been expecting it all right. Fuck. But I was just so freaked out. The stuff she was saying and then when she went for the bag ⦠Christ. And anyway, it was you that told me to keep an eye out and be careful.â
âSo itâs my fault now, is it?â
âWell, you canât blame me for all of it.â
âI bloody can. And another thing, â¦â
Jimmyâs phone rang and they both looked at it.
âIâm dead,â said Aesop.
Jimmy picked up the phone to look at it and nodded.
âNorman,â he said. He switched it on. âNorman? Yeah ⦠yeah, I know ⦠heâs here. Yeah ⦠Sorry man, Iâm not sure exactly. It was a misunderstanding ⦠I donât know. Is she okay? Right ⦠right. Well thatâs good ⦠where is she now? ⦠Okay. Okay, hang on a minute ⦠here he is.â
Jimmy held out the phone but Aesop just shook his head and backed away.
âAesop, he wants to talk to you.â
âTell him I ran away.â
âHe knows youâre here.â
âTell him Iâm gone to Australia.â
âAesop â¦â
But Aesop just sat down with his arms folded and his eyes shut tight. Jimmy sighed and put the phone to his head again.
âSorry man ⦠heâs afraid youâre going to kill him. Yeah ⦠I know ⦠I know. Aesop, he says Australia isnât far enough ⦠and he is going to kill you ⦠Okay Norman. Yeah ⦠Right ⦠Iâll tell him.â
Jimmy hung up and looked over at Aesop.
âHeâs coming over.â
Aesop swallowed and went green.
*
âA photograph?â said Aesop.
âYes,â said Norman. âYou total fucking langer. She was showing you a photograph.â
âOf what?â
âShe was out with her mates in the Baggot years ago for a birthday. They got talking to you and Jimmy after the gig and one of them took a picture. Trish found it in a box last week and stuck it in a frame. She was going to give it to you. She was being nice. A photo of you surrounded by girls. She thought youâd like it.â
âWell it looked like a knife. It was shiny.â
âThe frame was shiny. Are you going to come out of there?â
When Norman had arrived earlier, Aesop locked himself in the toilet upstairs and said he wouldnât come out until Jimmy had explained that there was a stalker after him and thatâs why he freaked out with Trish.
âAre you calm?â
âYes.â
âJimmy, does he look calm?â
âHeâs grand. Will you come out of there, you eejit? He wonât do
âBut it was your tea you threw.â
âYeah, I make them both like that so I can down mine in a hurry too. No excuses then. If weâre done riding and both staring at empty cups, she pretty much has to fuck off, doesnât she?â
âFor fuck ⦠okay. Well, I sâpose thatâs something. Are you sure?â
âIt was piss. Definitely. Before I thought she was trying to kill me, I thought she was trying to get me to ride her. Man, I wanted her the fuck out of there before she started dropping the cacks. The tea was grand.â
âWell ⦠thank fuck for that anyway. But we still have to call Norman, man.â
âChrist. Whatâs he going to do?â
âI donât know. But Iâm going to guess that he wonât be happy with you.â
âHeâll kill me.â
âHe wonât kill you.â
âHe will! Jimmy, he never gets his hole. Heâs finally getting some now and then I go and drown his bird in Barrys and then run out of the house screaming like a little girl. Sheâll think weâre all fucking mad.â
âProbably. Fuck sake, I would. Can you imagine the fright she got?â
Aesop nodded.
âShe wouldnât have been expecting it all right. Fuck. But I was just so freaked out. The stuff she was saying and then when she went for the bag ⦠Christ. And anyway, it was you that told me to keep an eye out and be careful.â
âSo itâs my fault now, is it?â
âWell, you canât blame me for all of it.â
âI bloody can. And another thing, â¦â
Jimmyâs phone rang and they both looked at it.
âIâm dead,â said Aesop.
Jimmy picked up the phone to look at it and nodded.
âNorman,â he said. He switched it on. âNorman? Yeah ⦠yeah, I know ⦠heâs here. Yeah ⦠Sorry man, Iâm not sure exactly. It was a misunderstanding ⦠I donât know. Is she okay? Right ⦠right. Well thatâs good ⦠where is she now? ⦠Okay. Okay, hang on a minute ⦠here he is.â
Jimmy held out the phone but Aesop just shook his head and backed away.
âAesop, he wants to talk to you.â
âTell him I ran away.â
âHe knows youâre here.â
âTell him Iâm gone to Australia.â
âAesop â¦â
But Aesop just sat down with his arms folded and his eyes shut tight. Jimmy sighed and put the phone to his head again.
âSorry man ⦠heâs afraid youâre going to kill him. Yeah ⦠I know ⦠I know. Aesop, he says Australia isnât far enough ⦠and he is going to kill you ⦠Okay Norman. Yeah ⦠Right ⦠Iâll tell him.â
Jimmy hung up and looked over at Aesop.
âHeâs coming over.â
Aesop swallowed and went green.
*
âA photograph?â said Aesop.
âYes,â said Norman. âYou total fucking langer. She was showing you a photograph.â
âOf what?â
âShe was out with her mates in the Baggot years ago for a birthday. They got talking to you and Jimmy after the gig and one of them took a picture. Trish found it in a box last week and stuck it in a frame. She was going to give it to you. She was being nice. A photo of you surrounded by girls. She thought youâd like it.â
âWell it looked like a knife. It was shiny.â
âThe frame was shiny. Are you going to come out of there?â
When Norman had arrived earlier, Aesop locked himself in the toilet upstairs and said he wouldnât come out until Jimmy had explained that there was a stalker after him and thatâs why he freaked out with Trish.
âAre you calm?â
âYes.â
âJimmy, does he look calm?â
âHeâs grand. Will you come out of there, you eejit? He wonât do
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