The Big Bust Up – Grahame May (25th)

A recent obituary notice in the local paper and a chance meeting with an ex- neighbour prompted me to recollect and recount , to the best of my failing memory, the following incidents.
We became friends in the early part of 1970 when four of us worked for the same company. They were me, Cyril, Arthur and Ivan and we were later joined by Ken who was self employed. We all lived within a reasonable walking distance of each other and were all married except Ivan, who was a bachelor still living with his parents. We started off as patrons of a nearby village pub and eventually formed the nucleus of their darts team, playing every Friday evening in a local league. Ivan, being teetotal , drove us to away games and dropped us off later so that we could stagger home safely. After several years the pub changed hands and the new owner went upmarket and had no time for a common little darts team, so we moved, as social guests, to the local rugby club which had a bar, games room and dance hall. This was very handy because we always used to go out here and there together with our wives for birthdays, anniversaries, Xmas and New Year etc and now we had it all on our doorstep. After a while we gave up darts and switched to playing cards or snooker as well as having a regular syndicate on the fruit machines. We became a fairly happy group of friends with plenty of good natured banter and leg pulling but In 1990 Ken’s wife died after a short illness. He soldiered on and kept to most of our regular routines. but he could be rather unpredictable and a little too overly sarcastic at times We all gave him some slack, as any mates would, but things were never the same.
Then one Friday night, several years later, we were all playing no limit poker at the club when I suddenly came over queasy. I had downed my usual fair quantity of ale, but this seemed quite different. My senses and reactions were blurred and I seemed to be unable to speak or hear clearly. I was aware of people being around me but that was all. I came to at home lying fully clothed on the kitchen floor. where I had been dumped, and promptly threw up. My wife had seen it all before but this was different as it was another 24 hours before I was able to put two and two together. I then went round to see Ken and got the shock of my life. He produced a handful of IOU’s which I seemed to have signed and they totalled almost eighty pounds. I felt cheated and said I wanted an explanation, but he just shrugged and indicated that I should just pay up and look happy! I told him what to do with his IOU’s, went home and rang Cyril who was strangely unhelpful. I then rang Arthur and he said I should have a word with the barman at the Rugby Club. I walked downtown, withdrew the money from the bank, and went on to the Club just as it was opening up. I cornered the barman but he would not talk and this convinced me that there was a plot of some sort. By chance I ran into Ivan in town and he spilled the beans because he said his conscience was bothering him. He confirmed that my drink had been spiked and said Ken and the barmen were in on it but he could not speak for the others. He said he felt terrible and had no idea that things would go so far. He then asked me to forgive him. I did so without hesitation because he was one of life’s innocents.
When I got home Arthur came round to see how I had got on at the club and I put him in the picture. He echoed Ivan’s plea of innocence and then spilled a few more beans. Did I remember the time someone emptied a full ash tray into your pint of beer, when you were otherwise engaged? Ken was the only one who thought it was hilarious. Did I remember the poker game in which you had four Queens and Ken said he had a straight flush? He never showed his hand and you were too gullible not to believe him. Remember how quickly he gathered the cards and shuffled them? Then there was the time he left you behind when we were all going to the Cheltenham Gold Cup races in a minibus. We made him wait in an Oxford car park, rang you, and your wife had to drive you out to meet us! Ken’s excuse was that he did not think you wanted to go. I believe this happened again , sometime later, when you were supposed to be going to a golf tournament together. This time he claimed that you preferred to drive there yourself and then let you take the blame for the late arrival! Arthur went on to say that maybe all this was due to the fact that Ken probably had become to envy you because of what you have had and he had not. All this came as a body blow because I thought Ken and I were the closest of the lot. ( We had met by chance one evening shortly after the wife and I had moved into the area. Our car had run out of petrol and Ken and his wife stopped to help and then drove us home. It was then that we realised we were near neighbours and that was the start of our friendship. ) Meanwhile the full realisation kicked in and I went straight round to his house and we nearly came to blows. He then blamed everything on the death of his wife and said he was going to sell up and move. Suddenly the whole thing seemed rather pointless and pathetic so I flung down his money and left. There was no further contact and it was a neighbour who confirmed that he had moved out, but had no idea where to. It was the end of our Friday night card sessions and we all drifted apart.
Sometime later I heard that Arthur had left his wife and had ran off with a female from his office. I believe they set up home together somewhere further down south. Then, sometime later, came the biggest shock of all ! Ivan , of all people, met and married a widow who had two youngish children. They also moved away and I believe they might have had kids of their own. I once spoke to his mother and got the impression that she was still reeling from shock and surprise as she did not really remember who I was. This left Cyril who I presume is still around. We used to meet on the odd occasion, but there was no real warmth and very little conversation. I recall that his wife always thought that Ken was the bee’s knees which probably accounts for his reticence to commit himself one way or the other. Therefore, after roughly 22 years of friendship, the bust up was well and truly over!