Jacob sat down outside the natural food
store cum cafe, stirred some brown sugar into his organic, fair trade mocha and
sighed. He was dying for something unhealthy to eat but he'd promised his wife
that the days of guzzling saturated fats and grease were over. Beside him, in
her pram, Jessica clenched and unclenched her tiny fists. She was the reason
for many of the lifestyle choices imposed upon him in the past eighteen months.
Jessica struggled as she reached for the fabric giraffe that adorned the front
of her pram.
She was four months old and content.
Jacob and Jessica had gone for a walk go escape the house they shared with
their wife / mother. Post natal depression had taken a toll on the relationship
between them all. Mummy needed time alone to have a bubble bath and knock back
a bottle of Lidl's finest wine. Jacob stared into his coffee and absentmindedly
put another sugar in, feeling guilty as he did so.
"You look bored, mate." opined a
voice from an adjacent table.
"Sorry?" asked Jacob.
"I'll bet you are." responded the
bald man seated nearby. "Bet you've always been sorry, usually about the
things that are beyond your control."
"I've no idea what you mean."
"Sure you do. Wife's not giving you
any attention. Told you to get that kid out of the house before she had a
nervous breakdown I’d guess. Boss ignores your ideas; you haven't made a single
friend since you moved to this town."
"Greystones is fine." Jacob
protested. "There's some good cafes..."
The bald man looked down the street and
noted the dozens of cafes, each providing broadly the same menu to the denizens
of Greystones.
"There is, but it's missing something
isn't it? It's too safe, too normal, a bit dull. People come here to raise
their kids, not live their lives. Am I right?" The bald man finished.
A lot of what the man said rang true. Jacob
had secretly thought much the same thing. Moving there wasn't his decision,
like most of the life choices made in the past eight years. Angela had decided
where they were going to buy the house because it was near some reasonable
schools. She'd rejected his plans for a home cinema and an exercise room
because they wouldn't have time for those things with the baby coming. Jacob
realised with a start that nothing had turned out the way he wanted it to.
Jacob took a sip of his ethically sound overpriced coffee and nodded to the
bald man.
The man smiled and then spoke.
"Course I'm right. Tell you what; I'm
starting a club for people like us, calling it Greystones F.C. You're welcome
to join. We're meeting in Reynolds' field near the windgates. We have matches
every Tuesday at 8. See you there."
The bald man got up and left, heading down
Church road to do some more recruiting. Jacob finished his coffee. He and baby
Jessica went home.
On Tuesday, Jacob showed up in the right
place at the right time to join in on the match. He'd come kitted out for a
soccer game, a decent run around the pitch would help him blow off some steam
he had reasoned. Angela had protested his leaving her alone with the baby but
he told her he needed some time alone as well.
Jacob looked around the field. It wasn't
really suitable for a soccer pitch, there were rocks strewn around and the
grass was too long. Six other men were there, standing around in a small
circle. The bald man was one of them. Most were around Jacob's age, mid-thirties,
and they all had the look of the sort who crunched numbers or pushed paper all
day.
A couple of the men nodded greetings as he
approached.
"Right lads, we playing soccer or
what?" Jacob asked.
The others laughed nervously.
The bald man spoke: "Running around
kicking a ball isn't what we need. I've planned something a little more
exciting. Take off your rings and jewellery if you've got them lads." The
bald man pointed to a tall, thin man on Jacob's left. "Trevor's your
opponent for tonight."
With that, Trevor, an estate agent
originally from Malahide, stepped forward and punched Jacob in the face. Jacob
fell flat on his back.
"What the fuck?" Jacob said,
feeling the anger burn inside him.
"This isn’t football mate; it’s a lot
more primal than that. What did you think “F.C.” stood for? The anger your
feeling is how we’re supposed to feel. That's good, use it and hit Trevor
back." The bald man said.
Jacob got to his feet and charged at
Trevor. They collided and tumbled to the ground. Jacob ended up on top and
commenced pummelling Trevor. He hadn't felt this alive in ages. With every blow
he felt his power, so long neutered in this clean and boring town, return.
Trevor walloped him on the side of his face with a quick jab; Jacob smiled and
continued to punch. He kept going until the bald man pulled him away.
"That's enough, there's another round
coming up. Take five."
One of the other men handed Jacob a bottle
of water. Jacob took a drink, sloshed it around his mouth and spat it out. The
water had turned brown from the blood in his mouth.
"Right." The bald man said.
"Ready to go again?"
Jacob and Trevor faced each other. Jacob
felt the bloodlust rise in his chest and stormed in towards Trevor, flailing
his arms about like a madman.
Four minutes later, it was over. Jacob and
Trevor sat down beside one another and slapped each other on the back. Both of
them were nursing bruises and split lips but were ecstatic at having felt like men again, even if only for a moment. As they watched two more competitors
circled each other, fighting their cares away. Jacob smiled and relaxed for the
first time since he had moved to the town. He finally felt like he was at home.
