The crew in the freight forwarding department where I work often go out for a beer after work on a Friday and we have a great time together. Over a few drinks we get to relax, unwind, and take the piss out of each other depending on what has happened during the week. As a team we turn over a hell of a lot of freight each week to all parts of the world. Often there is about 20 of us hitting the pub and sate our thirsts with a couple of pints, then the group might thin out as some head home and the rest of us order some food to soak up the booze and start to make an evening of it. A couple of hours later the group has thinned down to about ten or twelve when we head out to hit a few bars and then end up in one of the city's many clubs. On some occasions a few of us have gone through the night, had breakfast in an all night café and then headed into work to get a few bonus hours in sorting the early morning airport freight.
As I've said we are a good team both at work and out on the piss; but we look after each other as some of us have worked together since leaving school many, many years ago. Some of us are God parents to the kids of some of our work mates, and often spend the weekends together with families of the team. All in all a great set of mates that can be relied on when times get hard or there is some upset.
Ellen and I have been workmates & friends for more years than I care to remember; she is a single mum with two teenage daughters, Claire & Patricia, Pat for short. They are both a handful for a single mum as any teenagers are. But it is hard on Ellen trying to manage a tough job, a home and two daughters who live life to the full. Most of the team have helped out Ellen and the kids in some way over the years as the kids have grown up. But the lack of a man in the home has made it hard for Ellen in the last couple of years as her daughters have grown larger than Ellen, and a little wild in their outlook. Many a time Ellen has been close to tears at work due to something one of them has said or done.
Claire was recently 18 and we all brought a plate and did a BBQ in Ellen's backyard for her party and had a great night. But since then Claire has become an uncontrollable bitch to her mum and sister, definitely a wild child that is starting to drag Pat the same way, especially when she hears the way Claire talk to her mum. Some of the girls in our team have comforted Ellen on many occasions and offered advice as parents with their own daughters as experience. Some of us have discussed going around whilst Ellen is working a late shift, sitting Claire & Pat down and putting them right by a bit of plain talking, and maybe laying the law down. But at the end of the day they are Ellen's kids and we would only go in if asked.
Tonight we had finished a couple of beers apiece and were just starting into some food when Ellen's mobile started its distinctive ring. We were all sat in a semi circular booth and so Ellen couldn't easily get out to take the call. It was Claire on the phone and we could hear her demanding that Ellen come home to drive her to a party as her boyfriend had to work late and couldn't pick her up. Ellen gently explained that she was out for the night with her mates, was just about to start her dinner and couldn't come home. Well I could hear Claire shouting & swearing down the phone at her mother demanding that she leave straight away; and Ellen looked embarrassed as she tried to calm her daughter down in front of her mates. The call went on for ten minutes and it wasn't pretty to say the least, Ellen showed herself to be a tremendous mother trying to bring up her kids in the best way that she could, but it just wasn't happening for her. The final straw was when Claire screamed at her mother that she was a selfish bitch who only thought about herself. Ellen started to cry at this moment, wounded by the brutal words of her daughter and she hung up. Kathy who was sat on the other side of Ellen put her arms around Ellen's shoulder and pulled her in close to offer support. Other members of the team, mostly the girls, offered comforting words and advice; some of us blokes just looked at each other grateful that our kids weren't like that.
As we ate our dinner Claire's' words and attitude played on my mind and quickly pissed me off as I looked at Ellen, who appeared to be totally gutted. 'The fucking selfish little bitch,' I thought to my selfish and I brooded on the subject and ate my dinner.
Twenty minutes later I knew that this was going to play on my mind all night and I had to do something for my friend who was trying to bounce back under the encouragement of the team and her own determination to enjoy some time for herself. But it was clear to see that the episode had deeply wounded her and I didn't like to see my mates hurt. After finishing my dinner I got up and went for a piss. As I stood there watering the porcelain I realised how angry I was towards Claire and that I needed to do something about it. After zipping back up I slipped out the back door of the bar and hailed a cab to Ellen's place.
As the cab dropped me off outside her home I could see every light on in the house and hear loud music blaring out, 'typical teenager,' I thought as I made my way up to the house. I stood and the front door and listened whilst steadily growing angrier with every minute as I considered how hard Ellen worked to provide for her kids. Instead of knocking on the door I went around the back instead as I knew Ellen left the back door unlocked most of the time.
I walked into the kitchen and found it a mess; damned sure that Ellen hadn't left it that way when she had left for work earlier that morning. There were unwashed cereal bowls left on the sink, a cereal packet & milk left on the kitchen table, and a half bottle of coke left on the table without a bottle top. I followed the noise into the house, through the open lounge door I could see a half empty pizza box on the coffee table and Claire stood dancing around to the music with a beer in her hand. I shook my head, totally disgusted with the way she was treating the place like a dustbin. Just at that moment she stopped dancing and bent down to lift a small ziplock bag off the table from which she removed a small pill and popped it in her mouth before washing it down with a long swig of beer. As I stepped forward into the lounge door way I could see four or five empty beer bottles lying on the carpet. Claire stood there in a tight mini skirt showing off stunning long, tanned legs; above that she wore a halter top that seemed to be struggling to contain a pair of 34C tits that bounced as she danced around. 'Shit, this girl looks hot to trot,' I thought as I stepped into the room and Claire turned towards me as she noticed the movement out the corner of her eye.
"What the fuck are you doing here old man?" she demanded.
'Old man my arse,' I thought, 'the cheeky bitch,' as I took another step towards her and closed the distance between us. "You and I are going to have a little chat," I said over the blaring music.
"FUCK OFF," she shouted back.
My blood started to boil.
"I heard what you said to your mother tonight Claire, and that wasn't right," I started only to be rudely interrupted.
"FUCK OFF OLD MAN," she shouted as I stepped up face to face.
"You are going to learn some manners young lady, you don't speak to your mother or me for that matter, like that," I said in a low cold voice as I stepped toe to toe with her so I was bearing over her.
"Who the fuck do you think you are?" she demanded.
"A friend of the family who has cared about Ellen, you and Pat for many years; and I don't want to see you destroy this family by your selfish attitude," I plainly explained.
"Ah, Fuck off," she said condescendingly.
Well that was just one fuck off to many for my ears and my patience. I reached out and grabbed her upper arm in my strong fist, "Now listen to me young lady..."
"GET YOUR FUCKING HANDS OFF ME OLD MAN," she screamed back, as she tried to pull away from me.
Looking beyond her I could see the dining table & chairs so I eased forward letting her pull me that way. As I gripped her solidly in one hand I reached out to pull out one of the high backed chairs and turn it round. Claire was still fighting too much to get loose to notice.
