‘I have to say, Jez, I have never known anyone to pick up the job as quickly as you. Tell me, did you come out here with the idea of never returning home?’
Jez smiled and shook his boss’s hand. Three weeks, and from the first night he’d been working in Rafa’s Bar. What had been planned as a boy’s holiday had turned into a career opportunity almost as soon as he found the bar in the resort they’d booked to stay in.
Jez thought about his life back in Glasgow and shook his head. ‘No, I just love it here and I’m young enough that I can give it a go.’
Rafa looked at Jez and it was obvious he knew that Jez wasn’t being fully honest. But Jez wasn’t about to tell his boss about the crap back in Glasgow. How he had left trouble back home and had no intention of going back to face it. He had no family there anymore, so there was less chance he would ever have to.
‘Well, keep up the good work, Jez. If you do, you might go far in this business.’
Jez wanted that to be true. He could imagine himself living his life out in Spain. It would be like one big holiday, but he would be working to earn his living.
Jez headed back out to the bar and stood back, happy to have a permanent job there. He’d told the boys that he was planning on staying, but they hadn’t believed him except for Billy. Marty and Stevo just laughed it off and stuck more coke up their noses.
‘So, it’s official,’ Jez said as Billy approached the bar. ‘I’m staying.’
‘He offered you permanent work?’ Billy asked.
‘Aye. Looks like Scotland is a distant memory now.’
‘Well, I’ll drink to that. Congratulations mate, fucking brilliant.’
Jez poured them both a holiday measure of Jack Daniel’s and Coke and they drank quickly. Jez wouldn’t miss Scotland one bit. It had only ever brought him problems.
‘Where’s Marty and Stevo?’ Jez asked.
‘Where do you think they are?’
‘They’re at the strippers again? Filthy fuckers,’ Jez laughed.
‘Aye, they said that they wanted to see as much tits and arse as they could before heading back to Glasgow. Now, this is a direct quote, “the burds in Glesga are bogging compared to the wee Spanish hotties out here.”’
Jez laughed harder this time. ‘Do you think they realise that the girls in the strippers here are mainly British?’
‘Are you kidding? With the amount of booze and drugs they’ve had since we got here three weeks ago, I’m surprised they can even see. I’m telling you, they’ll end up like the rest of the jakeys in the scheme if they don’t watch what they’re doing. The end of Marty’s nose is already glowing red and he’s only fucking twenty. And Stevo’s permanently sniffing as though his nose is on the hunt for a line every second of the day.’
Billy sat down on a bar stool and leaned on the surface of the bar. Jez could see that he was mulling over what he was going to do when he got back to Scotland. He had a decision to make about his life and he still hadn’t spoken about it even though Jez knew about it all. Jez knew Billy better than he knew himself most of the time and even though Jez didn’t agree with the choices that Billy was making about his career, he still respected him. Billy had a life-changing opportunity and if he decided to go for it, it would mean that their lives would take very different paths. Jez would be living it up in Spain and Billy would be up to his neck in his work back in Glasgow, so their friendship was likely to take a back seat, diminish over time. It was something they’d both silently accepted. Billy would likely distance himself from Marty and Stevo. He’d have to if he was going to make a go of a decent future.
‘You cool over there?’ Jez asked as he watched Billy stare into space.
‘Aye, just thinking.’
The bar was quiet tonight, only a few people in and out. It was the start of the season, so things would pick up soon, according to Rafa.
As soon as the boys had arrived in Majorca, Jez had seen the advertisement taped to the door of the bar. Barman wanted. There was no thinking involved; Jez had simply gone inside, asked to see the owner and within thirty minutes he had the offer of a trial shift. At the end of that first night, Rafa offered him a permanent job. And that was when Jez had decided that he was definitely not using his return ticket to Glasgow. Getting a job while on holiday was the perfect solution to starting his life over, although it meant he hadn’t really been able to spend any time with the boys. But if he wanted to get a head start on his plan then that meant making the sacrifice. The strange thing was, he didn’t feel like he’d missed out on the carnage of a boys’ holiday. It was all part of the bigger picture.
‘Thinking about what? Whether or not to go to that college? You got in, didn’t you?’ Jez asked, pretending not to know much more than that, while keeping his eye on the door for more punters to arrive.
‘Aye, I got in. Got through the interview stages and everything. I didn’t think I’d manage it. But somehow I did.’
‘So what’s the problem?’ Jez poured Billy a pint and passed it across the bar before sliding some of his own money into the till.
‘Och, I don’t know. I mean, is it really me? Will that life suit me?’
‘You’re only asking that because it’s real now. You’ve got a start date. This will probably be the last boys’ holiday you’ll have. And if I’m staying out here to do my thing, then we’ll not be seeing each other as much. It’s the end of an era, mate. We’ve been mates since the beginning of primary school, Billy, it’ll be hard to adjust without my brother by my side. But that doesn’t mean you can’t come out here when you’ve got time off. Just don’t bring those two twats with you, eh? They’ll try to shag every stripper on the fucking island.’
Billy laughed and Jez smiled. That had been his intention. As much as he agreed with Billy that the life he’d chosen for his future didn’t suit him, he wasn’t about to voice his opinion and alter his mate’s choice. It wasn’t his future to change.
A few hours had gone by; Jez had been serving a few punters as they came and went. But there was one guy at the end of the bar. He’d been there all night by himself, drowning his sorrows by the looks of it, Jez thought. He’d noticed Billy talking to him a few times. Two guys at a bar by themselves, why not? But Jez saw that something wasn’t right. A look on the guy’s face, a glint in his eye. He looked like the typical trouble-maker, always wanting to stir shit up after a few drinks.
As Jez was about to take his break, he saw Billy heading outside for a cigarette. After a few moments, the other guy went outside too. Jez decided to keep an eye on things as soon as he’d finished cleaning the tables ready for the next group of drinkers to come in. Quickly clearing away the glasses, he stacked them inside the dishwasher under the counter and grabbed his cigarettes from his pocket before heading out to the back to join Billy.
Opening the door, he heard the unmistakable crunching sound of fist meeting face.
He flung the door wide, rushed out to the concrete at the back of the bar and found Billy acting in a way he’d never seen before. Jez had always been the more aggressive and violent of the two, but here Billy was, stamping on this guy’s head. The sound of bones cracking under the force made even Jez wince.
‘Jesus, what the hell are you doing?’ Jez said, launching himself at Billy and dragging him off the guy. ‘You’ll kill him.’
But Billy wasn’t aware of Jez’s presence. He was in a daze, far away in another place like he was having an out of body experience. Jez shook him, gripping his shoulders as hard as he could. Billy glared down at the body which lay perfectly still on the ground and then back up at Jez. His eyes slowly filled with terror.
‘Is he…? Is he dead?’
Struck with horror, Billy stood as though paralysed, before Jez gave him a sharp shove.
‘Go. Now.’
Turning, Billy left, running up the hill and along the back streets of the main drag. Jez hoped that Billy would be covered by the darkness of the night – that they both would.
Jez looked down at the body, the face a mash of blood and more blood. Unrecognisable. He shook his head, wondering what in the fuck had possessed Billy to do this. Right now, Jez couldn’t think about that though; he had to get rid of the body before Rafa saw it. Before anyone saw it.
Glaring at the large bins lined against the wall, Jez had an idea. Rafa had recently had new carpet laid in the office. The old one was sitting up against the wall. Glancing back at the lad on the ground, Jez bent down and listened for breath. Of course he was dead; Billy had stamped all over his brain. Jesus, what a mess, Jez thought, although to be fair, this wasn’t the first body Jez had had to deal with and he was now a little desensitized to it.
Getting back up, Jez glanced around the grounds. There was no one around, not a single soul. Without finishing his thoughts, Jez gripped the guy by the ankles and pulled him towards the wall. Then he stopped, held his breath. There was someone coming. Footsteps, stumbling. Looking at the doorway, he saw Marty and Stevo standing there. Swaying a little, they glanced down at the body at Jez’s feet and then at each other. Jez could tell they were off their faces.
‘What the fuck did you do?’ Stevo asked, his eyes wide and his jaw tense.
‘Bastard tried to jump me and I sorted him out,’ Jez lied. It came out of his mouth so fluently because he knew he had to protect his friend and his future. ‘So, you two going to help me with this or what?’
Marty hesitated, but Stevo was by Jez’s side in a second, the coke in his system clearly making him feel more macho than he was. Looking up at Marty, it was obvious to Jez that he hadn’t taken as much, or the drugs weren’t having the same effect as they were on Stevo.
‘Marty, if you’re not going to muck in then fuck off.’
Marty didn’t respond; instead, he moved closer and eyed the body at their feet.
‘Not a fucking word to anyone. Just get him wrapped up in that old carpet and into that bin. Let me worry about the rest.’
The three of them did the job as quickly as they could before Jez told them to go back to their apartment, get cleaned up and ready for their flight home the next day. He’d expected an argument from them, but they said nothing and followed his instructions. Marty and Stevo weren’t people Jez classed as true friends. With Billy it was different. They’d been friends since they were five years old, so of course Jez was going to sort this out for him.
That’s what friends did for each other.