THE WHITE HART

Ashley Chantler

David puts the pints on the table and sits.
           ‘Cheers, Dave.’
           ‘Good to see you, Mike.’
           ‘Bottoms up.’
           ‘Down the hatch.’
           ‘Nice.’
           ‘Ringwood’s Young Scrumper.’
           ‘Tasty.’
           ‘Tangy.’
           ‘Cheeky.’
           ‘Naughty.’
           ‘This place never changes.’
           ‘You always say that.’
           ‘Because it never changes.’
           ‘They’ve sorted out the loos.’
           ‘The cubicle?’
           ‘Yep.’
           ‘How’s Kathy?’
           ‘Breaking my balls. Penny?’
           ‘Ditto.’
           ‘Work?’
           ‘Painful.’
           ‘Yep.’
           ‘Did you get away over the summer?’
           ‘We had a week in Hove.’
           ‘Cool.’
           ‘I had a raspberry and pomegranate kombucha.’
           ‘Get you.’
           ‘You?’
           ‘Week in the New Forest.’
           ‘Nice.’
           ‘Do you remember us finding that derelict Nissen hut in the woods?’
           ‘Jesus. Where Andrew Ford was taken. That must have been …’
           ‘At least forty years ago.’
           ‘At least.’
           ‘‘I must’ve had my Grifter then.’
           ‘Really?’
            ‘I think so.’
           ‘So I must have been riding …’
           ‘I can’t remember.’
           ‘Me neither.’
           ‘A Chopper?’
           ‘I never had a Chopper.’
           ‘God knows.’
           ‘Did you take home any of the magazines?’
           ‘Some of the pages.’
           ‘Same.’
           ‘They didn’t smell too good.’
           ‘‘You wonder why he wasn’t more thorough.’
           ‘Remember his name?’
           ‘Graham Evans.’
           ‘Why he wasn’t more what?’
           ‘Thorough.’
           ‘Perhaps it wasn’t him that burnt them.’
           ‘I guess.’
           ‘Do you think Andrew ever …? He didn’t come back to school.’
           ‘Are you sure you had your Grifter then?’
           ‘I think so.’
           ‘Cracking bike.’
           ‘A belter.’
           ‘Didn’t it get nicked?’
           ‘Fuckers.’
           ‘Fuckers.’
           ‘Shall we order some food?’
           ‘Yep.’
           ‘What do you fancy?’
           ‘Sausage and mash.’
           ‘I thought you went veggie.’
           ‘At home.’
           ‘Man’s gotta have meat.’
           ‘Yep. Another pint?’
           ‘You’ve twisted my arm.’