Trauma Town

By Larry Grogan

In this darkly comic tale, we find out that it's a difficult task for Des to get over feelings of mistrust and bitterness for his fellow humans, but he feels it's his duty to do so. Through self-help groups, medication and swimming, he's getting much better. He's just picked the worst town to do his healing, that's all.

The thievish gloating and generally scummy mindjerkers of Trauma Town would get on anyone's nerves and this leaves Des with a choice. Will he sink into the murky oblivion of buffalo's tinkle juice that's readily available in Trauma Town or will he swim and surmount his own trauma?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 7, 2014
• ISBN: 9781291824728

Book preview

Trauma Town

Trauma Town

Larry Grogan

Copyright

©Larry Grogan. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-291-82472-8

This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal.

All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

First Printed: 2014

I enjoyed writing this story and hope you enjoy reading it. Comments and feedback are welcome and much appreciated.

[e-mail]

Table of Content

PART 1

Harry Burning Ants

Des Phones Home

Mom’s Room

Jack Puts His Shoes On

Jack Invites Mary Lou

Guy With Sofa

Bus Ride

Swimming

Wily and Loudmouth Jeffers

Anger Management Help Group

Hotel Trauma

Lionel and his Mate

Des in his Room

Wily and Loudmouth Jeffers look for a Room for the Night

Post-Coital Lionel and his Mate

Loudmouth in Toilet

PART 2

Itchy Butt

Des Takes a Leak

Lionel and Mate Hire Dogs

The Store

Des Goes Home for a bit

Des Wants His Money

Surreal Swim

Tumbler

Hideaway Drinkery

Bandanna Rabbits

Des Gets Chased

Des Swims

Dog Attack

Wily and Loudmouth find a Derelict Warehouse

Des Returns to Hotel Trauma

Half Way Up The Stairs

Tucker

B.J.

Des Escapes Hotel Trauma

Wily and Loudmouth Ended

PART 3

Des Goes Back Home

Jack at the Water Front

Des Gets Home

The End

Part 1

Harry Burning Ants

Harry was sat on the flagstones in the backyard. The sun was high up and the sky was cloudless. Perfect. He pin points the beam of light on an ant. But ants are a moving target. So he had to move the magnifying glass smooth and steady. Following, chasing and keeping the flame focused on the ant. Sunglasses would have come in handy, but he couldn’t find any. Mom had some in her room, in her chest of drawers. But not worth the trouble. She might ask him to do something he didn’t really want to do. Like, go get me some smokes. Go get some liquor. 

Harry was trying to cook the ant until it popped. He’d done it before, a couple days ago. Chased an ant for two feet, keeping it under the white heat of the focused beam and then it burst.  Most of the ants just sizzle and fizzle out, an explosion is a rare treat.

His older brother Jack calls to him from the house. ‘Go check on Mom.’

‘I’m busy,’ replies Harry.

‘Go on.’

‘You’re closer.’

‘You want me to pull you hair?’ asks Jack. Harry, being ten years old, saw this as one of them trick questions adults use. It’s acute acidic pain masquerading as a cool-headed question. A wolf in sheep’s clothing. When Harry’s an adult, he wouldn’t ask such things.

Harry flings the magnifying glass on the grass and walks through the back door into the house. As expected, his brother Jack was looking out through the window. Harry stops a moment and looks again at his older brother. There was something different about him. He’d combed his hair and put on some good clothes, making Jack look ordered and neat. Pretty unusual.

Harry went up the stairs to check on his mom. He’ll deal with the ants later on. He thought of popcorn kernels. How they are small and hard. When heated they become a penny-weight big bang. After explosion they are soft, exposed, vulnerable and naked. Stretched beyond recognition and therein lies the story that follows.

Half way up the stairs, he had thoughts along the lines of: after checking mom, I’ll check in the kitchen for any packets of popcorn. There are no packets. They would have been eaten by now. So instead, rake for any loose popcorn kernels that may have wandered off to the bottom of a kitchen cupboard. See if I can pop them with the magnifying glass. If it works, it’s something to show off about to Jack.

On top of the stairs, the cell phone in his pocket starts to vibrate. He takes it out and looks at a number he didn’t recognize. Must be dad. He’s the only person who knows his number. He was not sure to answer the phone or not. Dad tends to ring when he’s stressed out or drunk or both.

Des Phones Home

Brring Brring. Brring Brring. Busy street, traffic streaming, people feeting past. Des is hunched in a call box, finger in one ear, phone pressed hard against other. More bring brings on the phone. Harry, his son, answers his cell phone.

Harry: Hello.

Des: Hi, it’s me. How are ya?

Harry: Not bad. Where are ya?

Des: Trauma Town, you know where I am.

Harry: I meant like where specific, it’s noisy.

Des: On some street. I need to tell ya…

Harry: You coming home?

Des: Not yet. I need to say that…if anyone is bullying you, don’t put up with them, stab the fuckers in the head, yeah.

Harry: Have ya been drinking?

Des: No. Just listen…don’t let anyone get you down and you can be a millionaire when you get older, you hear me?

Harry: You sound mad, again. You need to take your meds.

Des: I do take them, but listen…

Harry: Ya shouldn’t drink and take meds, you said that.

Des: I haven’t been drinking, I swear. I do feel a bit strange though. I haven’t slept very well, last couple of days. You make sure you get plenty of sleep, fuck everyone else. You look after yourself.

Harry: Mom’s legs gone all funny.

Des: How d’ya mean?

Harry: She cut it when she fell over and it’s gone all smelly.

Des: Tell her to go to the doctor or something.

Harry: She won’t listen.

Des: Fuck her. I don’t want to know...she’s an adult, it’s up to her. You just worry about your fucking self. She does my head in…..don’t tell her I said that.

Harry: I wasn’t gonna. Why don’t you go swimming. You always feel better after swimming.

Des: I do, don’t I? Can’t be bothered though, feel tired.

Harry: You might as well, you talk better…less mental, after swimming.

Des: I’m not mental, I’ve never felt more normal in my life.

Harry: You wanna talk to mom?

Des: Nah, make sure she don’t start no fire with dropped cigarettes.

Harry: Jacks down stairs.

Des: Nah. They don’t like me, do they?

Harry: They do.

Des: They don’t though, do they? You’re my favorite. Don’t tell them that though, will ya?

Harry: Go for a swim?

Des: I wanna talk.

Harry: I mean after we’ve talked.

The pay phone starts beeping. Money running out.

Des: I’m not mad though, am I?

Harry: No……………..bit mad.

Des: I’m not completely around the twist though, am I? Like Hannibal Lector or Freddie Kruger.

Harry: No…go for a swim.

Des: I will, it’s a good idea….

The credit is going going gone, the sound hums and Des puts the phone back in its cradle. He walks off down the street.

Mom’s Room

Harry puts his phone away and looks in on mom. He walks around her, as she sits in the chair. She hasn’t seen or heard him come into the darkened room, although her eyes are kind of open and her ears are awake. She holds a cigarette like a zombie and Harry sees the long ash on it that’s ready to fall off any moment. He empties the piled up ashtrays into a tin bin and then flicks the ash from mom’s cig. He takes the burnt down cig from her hand, she groans a little, he sucks on it and then puts it in the bin.

He must look at her leg again. He doesn’t really want to, but he must like people must identify a dead relative, who have been turned into car crash meat. He pulls back the blanket, and in the dim light he sees the left leg all bad and smells all bad. He puts the blanket back quickly and heads for the door. He kicks an empty liquor bottle by accident, making a noise. He looks back to see if she noticed. She didn’t and he left the room.

He wished he was 18 or 21, when everything will be out of the way. Mom will be out of the way, school, dad, brother, everything unhappy gone. He’ll be a man, he will have a car, and drive away all across the country. He’d visit his family, but only at Christmas for a few days. Or Thanksgiving for a bit, but he’d after to get back in the car and go to his own family. A normal family, as far as normal can be. He will have a plastic card that adults put into the machine in the wall and money comes out. His money. He goes down stairs a little more hopeful.

Jack Puts His Shoes On

Downstairs, Harry empties the tin bin out through the backyard door, his brother Jack is looking out the front window as he normally does. Harry notices Jack has put his shoes on. Harry asks, ‘Why you put your shoes on?’ ‘Shut up,’ replies Jack. Then without any warning, the shaky Jack bangs open the front door and bombs out, barreling up the front yard path. What’s going on now? What’s Jack doing? Harry goes to the window. He sees Jack gunning towards a woman, she hasn’t seen him, not just yet.

Harry thinks: That’s the woman Jack looks at all the time. That’s the woman Jack gets up early Monday to Friday to watch her walk past the house as she walks to work. That’s the woman Jack hides behind the thick curtains, with his binoculars. Sometimes tugs himself with a tennis sock over it. Jack is running towards her in his polished shoes and neat clothes.

Harry thinks there is always some shit every day. Normally the same worry but changed a little. Like a hole in the bottom of his shoe that lets in stones and water. Or a hole in the top of his shoes that makes kids point and laugh, or kids look at it and hate you. But, this is different. All this running at a woman, Harry never seen this shit before.

Jack Invites Mary Lou

Jack grabs the woman by the arm and smiles at her with his mouth closed, not to show his tea colored teeth. She pulls an O with her mouth and eyes as she pulls her head back. Jack grabs her by the back of her neck, and pushes her towards indoors. Looking out through the window, Harry laughs a little and sticks his tongue out, thinking now this is weird. Harry sees the woman has to walk as fast as Jack as he holds her neck and pushes her like a shoplifter being brought back into a store, by a security guard. Jack sits her down on a wooden chair, Harry looks on but stays out of the way.

‘Hi,’ says Jack and smiles. She is breathing heavy. Jack puts his hand down his trousers, but pulls it out again.

‘This is my brother Harry. He’s ten. I’m Jack, I’m 20. You’re Mary Lou, 18 years old. Say hello, Harry.’

Harry says hello. Mary Lou says she wants to leave.

‘Don’t say that, you have only just arrived….I’ve something to tell you.’ Jack crouches down on one knee, next to her and looks at her white round face.  ‘Oh, I nearly forgot.’ He gets up again and takes a vase of flowers.

‘I want to go home, I’m scared,’ she says in a scared way that wants to go home. Jack ignores it.

‘I got you these flowers. They are plastic, because I didn’t know when the day I’d have the confidence to speak to you. Plastic will last forever.’ He kneels down again and says, ‘I have to tell you….I love you.’ He looks into her eyes waiting for her response, to reciprocate. Waiting for her to say, I love you too.

‘I’m scared,’ she says loudly. ‘Let me go.’

‘Shush,’ he says, ‘don’t keep saying that, it’s annoying. Didn’t you hear what I said, I said I love you.’ He nods at her and smiles. He goes in for a kiss. She stiffens and hardens her face and body. But he stops short of her lips and stands up. ‘Harry, come here. She beautiful ain’t she?’

‘Yeah,’ replies Harry indifferently, not wanting to get involved.

‘Come here.’ Jack grabs Harry’s ear and puts Harry’s red face in front of the woman.

‘Kiss her then.’

‘I don’t want to, Jack.’

‘I want to go home, let me go now, and I won’t mention anything to anyone, I promise, I’ll just leave,’ she says in a strongly weak voice.

Jack slaps the back of Harry’s legs. ‘Shut it, and kiss her.’

Harry leans forwards, with his teary eyes and lips perched. The woman’s face is close to his, her face grows deader, she looks a little slow or dumb close up. Jack grabs both heads and pushes them together.

‘Kiss, kiss,’ says Jack.

Harry kisses dead lips.

‘With tongues, both use your tongues,’ says Jack.

Harry can feel the woman’s tears on his cheek. Harry tries putting his tongue into her mouth. But her mouth is shut solid and her blue eyes are scary close and car crash corpse cold. But, Harry thinks little of it. He knows he won’t get told off for it, he was just following orders, and he continues kissing.

She pulls away and screams, ‘Help, Help.’

‘Shush, you’ll wake mom up, shush Mary Lou,’ says Jack, in a friendly concerned way. This just makes her scream more. Harry walks back to the corner and covers his ears. Covers his ears, but continues to watch.

Guy With Sofa

Des was waiting at a bus stop, with loud traffic traipses past him. Noisy wheels, humming engines and drivers and passengers staring hard and cold at him. Enough to do anyone’s head in. Des continues shouting and rambling to himself, not really aware he’s doing it.

‘You alright there, fella?’ says a man who was pushing a leather sofa down the path.

Des continues barking to himself, about hating everyone – and not just the people who’ve been doing his head in – but everyone.

‘Everything alright with you?’ asks the guy again. He’d stop pushing the sofa now. He’s stood looking