POST SCRIPTUM English__ Feb 2021

I’m dancing with the Drunk Bitch as
she smiles brightly. She is the only girl
I know who can smile like that. Even
her eyes laugh. She has this special
glow. I notice Suzy has nice breasts
and very beautiful legs. I can see it
now. Usually the girl wears jeans and
jumpers, which hide her perfect figure
well. When I think about it, I come to
conclusion that she has better legs
than Margaret. Not to mention her
bum. I still remember these curves
from when I brushed her off from
the sand. We dance. She didn’t even
stumble once. Just in case, I hold her
close. I can smell her perfume and the
scent of slightly sweaty skin and her
freshly washed hair. Beautiful, long
and thick hair. She looks into my eyes
and I get the first punch to my stomach.
Not a real one. Metaphorically.
For the next dance I invite Margaret.
I am here, bending in front of her, as
if my stomach really hurts, trying to
shout over the loud music. Maybe my
stomach really hurts after all. Out of
fear.
“Thanks, but no. I need a rest” says
the girl.
Then she looks at her friends,
who burst out laughing, as if I said
something funny. I don’t dance well,
that’s probably why. I go to my table,
where Suzy is still grinning and sit
down next to her, disappointed. I can
see some guy coming over to Margaret
and she goes with him to the dance
floor without a second thought. That
was a quick rest! Not even a minute
had passed. I know this man. He is a
manager from quality control. He had
called us several times because he
wasn’t happy with something we’d
done. There was some scratch or
something. A terrible crud, but doing
what he does, being a crud is probably
an advantage. The crud dances with
my Margaret, as the Drunken Bitch
puts her hand in mine as if we were
a couple. It’s good that nobody saw
beneath the table.
“Don’t give the bitch any alcohol,
she’ll be rubbing the floor with her
boobs.”
Several youngsters from the assembly
line pass by our table. They laugh. I see
Suzy’s face thicken and feel her fingers
clenching my hand. I want to get up,
but she stops me. That’s probably for
the best- there were four of them. Not
to mention the fact that the entire hall
is filled with their colleagues. Nobody
would help me. I sat back in the chair.
It would be nice to hit the twat in the
teeth, but it would also be nice not
to get my teeth knocked out. I just
realized that I am not much better
than them.
We leave the ball. I hold her waist
tight as she hugs me. I feel strange.
Ridiculously, incomprehensibly
pleasant.
My grandfather founded this factory. I
won’t mention its name because then
you’d know everything. About me and
my family. That’s why I won’t tell you.
I won’t even reveal the name of the
city or the state in which the factory
is located. My father’s idea was for
me to start with simple jobs and
understand workers. He was afraid
that they would quickly decipher me
at the factory, that’s why he placed me
at Frank’s. Frank wasn’t aware either.
Somehow, my father managed to
arrange all that through someone. A
few days ago, the change finally came.
I became managing director. I don’t
know French, but I know German,
Russian and Mandarin. And a little bit
of Japanese.
I walk with Margaret hand in hand.
She is joyful and smells good. Maybe
she sprayed her perfume a little too
intensively, but the smell is pleasant.
Not as sexy as Suzy’s skin, but still
nice. We are pass the windows of my
former workplace.
“I’ll say hello to Frank,” I say.
“You must stop hanging out with that
pleb,” my Margaret says, cursing her
lips in contempt. “I am your girlfriend,
so you bring shame not only on
yourself, but also to me.”
I know she’s right. We pass Frank’s
department. With the corner of my
eye, I see him covered in a plume of
sparks from the grinder. It’s good that
he can’t see me. I breathe a sigh of
relief.
“I’m afraid” Suzy cries in my arms.
“what if it all goes wrong?”
Then you’ll continue to stagger
walking down the street and people
will still call you the “Drunk Bitch.”
And I will still love you. I think that in
my head, but don’t say anything. We
are sitting on a big bed in our new
home. Suzy is naked, I hug her body
and kiss her neck. I love the smell of
her skin and her hair. For a long time, I
knew nothing about her illness. Frank
never told me. I only talked to him
about this once, if you could even
call it a conversation. I suggested that
Suzy should drink less. He looked at
me furiously. Weird, my ex-boss is the
gentlest guy I know.
“I like you, Josh,” his voice changed, it
was as rough as sandpaper “You are
a decent boy: smart and hardworking.
That’s why I’ll pretend you didn’t say
that. Okay?”
And that was that.
At some point I did find out. Suzan
had never been drunk in her life.
After having an ordinary flu, she
got complications an ear infection,
damaging the workings of her inner
ear. That’s why she walks like a drunk.
Not always. Sometimes she’s normal,
and sometimes she can’t maintain
her balance. I now have access to my
father’s money and I have arranged
for her surgery, which is very likely
to restore her health. At least the
doctors say so.
I enjoy the fragrance of Suzan’s skin,
hugging her even tighter.
And Margaret?
“You have to stop associating yourself
with the pleb,” she said in front of
Frank’s department.
And I understood that she was right. I
passed some large, dirty windows and
pulled my hand out of hers.
“Goodbye, Margaret. Call me
sometime!”
I looked into her big, surprised eyes
and started to laugh. I wasn’t laughing
at her. Not at anybody. I laughed out
of happiness that I’d finally freed
myself from her. And I ran home to my
“Drunken Bitch” who was just packing
lunch for Frank. [JP]
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