{"id":1989,"date":"2013-05-17T02:33:57","date_gmt":"2013-05-17T02:33:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/?p=1989"},"modified":"2013-12-30T17:40:27","modified_gmt":"2013-12-30T17:40:27","slug":"man-at-work-by-marijke-hillmann","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/man-at-work-by-marijke-hillmann\/","title":{"rendered":"Man at Work by Marijke Hillmann"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"flowers\"<\/a><\/h1>\n

Man at Work<\/h1>\n

by Marijke Hillmann<\/p>\n

The acrid smells of cigarette butts and stale beer hover above the music blaring from the jukebox and the noisy banter on an early afternoon in the Windhoek pub.<\/p>\n

An outburst of raucous laughter as the door opens and a pyjama-clad six-plus- footer enters, an IV-device strapped to his arm. The regulars greet him. “You managed to escape the nuns from the clinic over the road again, Horst” ?<\/p>\n

He pulls himself up on a barstool, positions the IV drip against the counter and shouts out for a draught beer. “Teatime at the hospital is over in 15 minutes, so make it snappy, please”.<\/p>\n

With a proprietary air, he asks to see the accounts and has a quick browse through the books. “You guys not doing your bloody job, then” he says “the takings are down you skimming me or what?”<\/p>\n

He bangs his hand on the bar counter. “It is filthy in here” you guys thought I had died and gone to hell already, have you? Not before you mop those floors and empty the ashtrays “chop chop!!!”<\/p>\n

Downing two pints, the pub owner gets up with a sigh and bellows: “see you in two days ” you can all have one fricking drink on me tonight?.it is my birthday. Sorry can’t join you \u00a0need to sober up for yet another op tomorrow.”<\/p>\n

He hobbles back to the clinic, crosses the road impatiently and shows his middle finger to a driver who brakes to a screeching halt.<\/p>\n

Horst survives his operation, a car accident, two armed robberies and a devastating fire at his pub, but loses the battle against an ailing liver some five years later.<\/p>\n

###
\nMarijke Hillmann writes a monthly story about Africa for our site. You can find out more about her and the time in her life she is writing about here: African in Short. http:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/africa-in-short-by-marijke-hillmann\/2013\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The acrid smells of cigarette butts and stale beer hover above the music blaring from the jukebox and the noisy banter on an early afternoon in the Windhoek pub.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[86],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1989","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-featured"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t