Landlocked
Hando and Boz were out on the beach, late the moon was already rising from the horizon. “I don’t know Boz, sometimes I think I’d like to get in my car and take off ya know just drive to the end.”
“The end of what?”
“Whatever…car blows up or I find something worth stopping for.”
“Sounds like a waste of gas to me…what about Bet I thought that was worth stopping for…you stopped here.”
“Yeah I know but she’s talking about getting a proper house and all…I’m not looking for shit like that.”
“She don’t like the accommodations at the garage no more?”
“I don’t know,” he rested his head on the rolled up shirt around his arm.
“Well, I thought you and Bet had the love thing going on maybe that’s your problem…are ya in too deep to get out?”
“I can get out anytime I want to. Love don’t have anything to do with me.”
“Me either, Nina ain’t talkin’ to me. She went and straightened up her act and now she’s looking down on me for mine. She don’t understand about my back.”
“Ah Boz that’s just an excuse to lay drunk all the time. If you can be sober on Saturday you damn well can be sober on Monday.”
“I don’t like that Hando, that’s no way to talk to me. You don’t know the pain I’m in…all the time man.”
“I don’t wanna know, Boz.”
“What’s got into you, mate?”
“I’ve been here too long,” he raised his head up, “it’s like this place has got me, sending me places I don’t want to go.”
“What place, Coffs?”
“Yeah this whole area first it was The Glen…”
“I didn’t know you lived at The Glen, ya never told me.”
“I probably did…you were too far in the bottle to hear it.”
“Where abouts did you live in The Glen?”
“It’s not there anymore…doesn’t matter.”
“Where is it you don’t want to go?” Boz lit up a joint.
“I don’t want to go to fucking jail put that thing out. Don’t do that shit around me.”
“I think I should of stayed at the garage…”
“Why didn’t you?”
“I wanted to look at the sea…for as far out as your eyes can go.”
“Yeah but you know what…we can’t go there we’re stuck here on land. Stuck…”
Boz looked at him a minute and found a cigarette in a half smoked pack and offered one to Hando. “This is what I thinks wrong with you…you’ve gone and fell in love with Bet. Say what you want to about it but I see you looking at her. It’s got serious for you.”
“It’s not fun anymore. Too many things jamming up my mind.”
“So…toss her out nothing says you got to live with her.”
“I can’t do that,” he took a draw off the ciggie, “I just can’t fucking do it.”
Boz caught his eye, “Cause you love her.”
Hando locked eyes for a moment and then looked out toward the sea, he didn’t answer.
