“Hi Hippo, How have you been?” I shook his broken hand very gently.
“My head hurts.”
“How is your hand?”
“It hurts too. Jake and I slept at ‘the heater’ last night — not together, just in the same place. The streets aren’t safe anymore.”
“Hi Jake, How are you?”
“I’m drunk. Hippo and I started early.”
“I guess that’s a good thing.”
Shakes was sitting on the lawn and was having trouble getting up. “I’ll use this wine bottle and this container as a crutch to help me up.” He made it half way then tumbled over. Jacques stood up and took Shakes’ arm to help him to his feet. “Did you know that Rocky got jumped last night. It was the same guys that jumped me. He’s in about the same shape as I am.”
“Do you know why they jumped Rocky?”
“Because they’re assholes.”
“Hi Donald, how are you?”
“I have my methadone treatment at one o’clock. Everybody hates me. I don’t know why. They make fun of me.”
“I’ve never heard anybody say anything against you.”
“I appreciate you being my friend.”
“Hi Shark, how is Irene feeling today?”
“She’s with Anastasia. They’re drunk to the tits. They bought a case of Labatt Maximum Ice. It’s 7.1 % alcohol. I bought myself a twenty-six ounce bottle of watermelon vodka. It’s 37 % alcohol. I thought I should get something to catch up. You don’t need any mix with it. Have a swig.”
“That’s smooth. I’ve never tasted that before.”
“I had to kick Irene out at eleven o’clock last night. She was drunk. When she gets like that her mind goes on retard. She’ll have about five conversations going and she keeps repeating them. I guess she forgets that she’s said the same thing five minutes before.
“We’re planning to get an apartment together, the problem is she wants to go through the Salvation Army. I want to get something through my landlord. He owns a bunch of buildings. If we get these workers involved, one group doesn’t talk the same language as the other group. I’ve been in the Welfare system for twenty years. I know what to say to them, so they’ll understand it and I’ll get what I want.
“Maybe it would be better if Irene and Joy got an apartment together. The only problem is that Irene drinks more than Joy. Joy has her drinking fairly well under control.
“Anastasia wants us to go with her to her mother’s house near Goderich. It’s on Georgian Bay, so there would be boating, swimming, fishing. The water isn’t very deep but you can still catch bass. The only problem is Anastasia is a bit nuts. You must have noticed that yesterday.
“I have to be back every week to see my doctor and pick up my meds.”
“How old is Anastasia, and how old is her mother?”
“I guess Anastasia is about sixty-one, her mother is in her nineties.
“The problem would be getting back. I guess we could arrange something with the bus. It’s a long trip. Something to keep in mind though.”
Chester and Outcast were going over Chester’s bank statement. Outcast said, “We were playing cards last night and then I left. What’s the last thing you remember buying.”
“I bought beer at the Beer Store.”
“Okay, that’s listed here. Then, there’s a purchase in Scarborough. Did you go to Scarborough?”
“No.”
“There’s also a purchase at an Exxon gas station. You don’t drive a car, so that’s not you. There are withdrawals of two hundred, three hundred. These are since you lost your card. Do you remember giving your card to anyone?”
“No.”
Silver said, “Look at Donald, he’s never going to make his methadone appointment. I’ve been drinking since four thirty this morning and I can stagger straighter than that. I get up at four thirty, have a shower — yes, I drink beer in the shower. It’s okay as long as I don’t fall and hurt myself.”
“Hello Wolf,” I said.
“Have a look at my dog.”
“Is that a different dog? That doesn’t look like Shaggy.”
“That’s Shaggy, they clipped her, did all kinds of stuff to her. I brought her blanket and her bed so she’ll get acclimatized. Is she breathing?”
“Yes, I can see her chest going up and down.”
“I was just joking. I guess I haven’t known you that long. You haven’t seen Shaggy when she’s been clipped? I have her done once a year.”
“No, I only met you in January, so it’s been about five months.”
Donald didn’t make his methadone treatment. He was too drunk to walk. Even if he had made it there, they wouldn’t have taken him in his inebriated condition.
~~~
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