Gibbs- the Early Years by Wayne Marinovich

Author:Wayne Marinovich [Marinovich, Wayne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Umduzu Publishing
Published: 2014-04-06T22:00:00+00:00

Chapter 7

Aberdeen, Scotland, UK—2005

A slight drizzle drifted through the streets of Aberdeen as a small group of drunken men traipsed into the well-known whiskey bar called The Grill. Tradition dictated that they bade farewell to a good season at sea by drinking a glass of single malt in the historic old establishment that had been trading since 1870.

Gibbs stood in the doorway, taking in the history of the place. The dark wood bar stretched for almost the entire length of the bar and behind it, guarded in small cabinets, were some of Scotland’s finest whiskeys.

Their noisy group found a small table at the back to huddle around. ‘Come on, Gibbs, it’s your round,’ someone shouted.

Gibbs staggered up to the bar and stood swaying, looking at the wall of whiskey. A grey-haired barman walked over to him. ‘What’ll it be, laddie?’

‘Twelve single Obans, please,’ he slurred.

‘Sure, along with some ID please.’

’You are joking, right? I am eighteen.’

‘Sure you are. Run along now and come back with proof of your age.’

Gibbs walked back to the table and stood swaying. ‘The old man has bloody lost it. He wants proof of age and won't serve me.’

The men all roared with laughter.

‘We all know you’re only sixteen, Gibbs,’ one of the men shouted.

The skipper put his arm around Gibbs’s shoulders. ‘Don’t worry about it, laddie, you do the work of a fully-grown man,’ he said, turning to the others. ‘Someone get the money off Gibbs and get us all a drink.’

They all burst out laughing again, all except for Jim Gray, who sat cross-armed at the periphery of the group. Gibbs tauntingly smiled at him. Although deep down inside he knew it was a mistake to antagonise Jim, he felt bulletproof.

‘So, the truth is out, Gibbs. You took a man’s place on the ship illegally, and out there a proper fisherman’s family are probably starving. You’d better not come back next season, pretty boy,’ Jim slurred, slamming his hand down on the table.

‘Okay, Jim, leave it alone,’ said the skipper. ‘I make the decisions on whom to employ on my ship, not you. Bite your tongue, or you will not be back next season.’

Gibbs stood up, stared at the grumpy fisherman. ‘Jim, belt up, or I will be forced to shut you up.’

The men roared with laughter at the outburst. Everyone looked across at Jim, waiting for his reaction.

‘You’re so very brave with the skipper around, laddie. I heard you whispering to your boyfriend, Ross, over there, that your father used to beat you around a bit. That doesn’t surprise me. You’re such a waste of skin, that if I were your father, I would also have beaten you and put you out with the dogs each night.’

Gibbs grabbed a pitcher of water and threw it in Jim’s direction. The surprised fisherman raised his hands to ward off the glass and sent it crashing to the wooden floor. He looked up at Gibbs, eyes filled with years of hatred, then lunged across the table, sending dirty pint glasses flying all over the seated men.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.