ALAIN, THE GREAT

“Walk away, Jake. It isn’t worth it. This happens every time he’s here.” The bartender warned.

Jake hissed. “So what if I speak to the lady? He doesn’t own her!” he had his eyes locked on the body of his opponent, he would detect whatever move he made the moment he made it.

“She’s his sister, for Christ-sake. This is what brothers do!” the bartender cautioned.

“Well, things need to change around here. I need to teach him a lesson. He needs to learn to not interrupt people while they’re having conversations!” he said, pointing his finger in his opponent’s face.

Myrtle had done all she could to calm Alain down, but he was past the point of no return. All she could pray for was that he go easy on his opponent. The last time Alain faced off with one of the many men who approached her whenever they were out together, the young man ended up in hospital, and Alain had to pay a huge fine and promise to never fight in public before the police let him go.

She’d tried to help him get a grip on his anger over the years, but she’d long given up any hope of him being transformed into a prince on a white horse. He was a fighter, and he wouldn’t change for the world. While she didn’t enjoy having him chase potential suitors away, she understood his motive. It came from a place of love. 

The last guy she’d been involved with was someone she met in a bar just like the one they were in that evening. They dated for a few months and everything was rosy, but the moment she announced her pregnancy, he suddenly changed. He was busy all of a sudden. His parents and extended family started to frequent his apartment all of a sudden, reducing significantly the amount of time they spent together. And when she paid him a visit one Sunday morning unannounced, she wasn’t surprised to find his apartment empty.

She lost the pregnancy a few weeks after that, but the scars would never heal. He was the first man she truly gave herself to, but rather than love her and take responsibility, he took off and left her to pick the broken pieces. This was why she wasn’t totally against Alain playing the protective brother. Perhaps, his behavior would make it hard for anyone but the right one to stick around. Despite his macho behavior and his bulging biceps, she knew he had a kind heart. Below the gruff exterior, Alain was a gentle soul.

“You have a runny mouth, yeah?” When Alain bit his lower lip, Myrtle knew the situation was about to get worse.

Jake raised his finger again and pointed it at Alain’s face. He was surrounded by his friends, so he believed he had nothing to fear. Even if Alain somehow managed to bypass his quick reflexes, his friends would pounce on him. Who would come to Alain’s rescue? His sister? “I’m gonna teach you a lesson you’ll never forget, and…”

It all happened in a flash. Jake was distracted by the waitress picking mugs off a table behind Alain. He took his eye off Alain for just a split-second, but by the time he returned his eyes to Alain, he felt a hand grabbing and twisting his finger, the pain in his finger was quickly followed by a sharp pain in his nose, which was quickly followed by a pain in his chest. It was when Jake hit the ground that he realized what had happened, and even then, his body had gone numb. All he could do was hypothesize the cause of the pain and how it had happened so quickly.

Alain turned to the others as soon as he finished with Jake. He was particularly interested in one of Jake’s friends, the blonde-haired guy had attempted a move on the girl Alain was having a conversation with that evening. It was a really rude move. She was in no way related to him. He had to pay.

Alain lunged forward and planted his fist in the center of the blonde guy’s chest, just below his collarbone. When the guy staggered backwards and crashed onto a table, Jake’s other friends reconsidered their planned moves. One by one, they backed away from Alain and focused on tending to their battered friends.

Bob had been watching from behind the counter. It wasn’t the first time and it wouldn’t be the last time. As long as Alain kept patronizing his business, there would always be scuffles of some sort. He had considered barring Alain from coming to the establishment on multiple occasions, but he was close friends with his father, Ralph, and he loved the kid; he understood his behavior more than other on-lookers.

“Leave.” He said softly when Alain’s eyes met his. “I’ll send you the cost of the damages.”

***

“Bob called.” Lucy said, icily. She was helping Ralph to a serving of potatoes at the dinner table when they walked through the door.

“At least let us settle-in before you start to interrogate us.” Myrtle retorted.

“You shut your mouth, missy!” Lucy countered. 

“Come on, Lucy, let them…” Ralph started.

She turned to him instantly and ordered, “Shush!!” she stomped her foot on the hardwood floor, causing Ralph to shake visibly. “Pick up your fork!” he obeyed. “Now keep your mouth shut and eat your food!” Ralph raised some potatoes to his mouth and began to chew. She turned her attention to Myrtle and Alain. “How much longer are you going to keep disgracing your father and me?” 

Alain looked away. He had been hoping it wouldn’t come to this, but Bob was rarely able to keep his big mouth shut, especially when he had an excuse to get on the phone with Lucy.

“How long?!” she stomped her foot on the floor again and then slowly approached the duo. She fisted her hands, ready to engage. “How much longer must we put up with your bad behavior?! How much longer must we cope with the ceaseless embarrassment? If you aren’t fighting at the bar or someplace, you’re fleeing people’s homes in the middle of the day, stark-naked! How much longer?!” her anger intensified with every passing second.

“That was a one-time thing,” Myrtle corrected her. “And it was the daughter, not the mother. She…”

“Shut your mouth!” Lucy screamed. “You are his enabler! Keep making excuses for him and he will see no reason to change! You are worthless excuses for children!”

“I just want you to get the facts…” 

Myrtle’s defiance pushed Lucy past her breaking point. “Shut up! Shut up!! Shut your dirty mouth, you manner-less twat!” Myrtle rolled her eyeballs. Lucy turned to Alain. “There will be no more meals for you in this house! You must leave! I have discussed with your father…”

“Discussed? I think you mean ‘ordered’.” Myrtle cut-in.

“Shut up! Shut your mouth!!” Lucy screamed. She raised her hands to the level of her chest and gnashed her teeth. But for the fear of jail time, she would have liked to teach Myrtle a lesson or two. “To your rooms, both of you!”

As they climbed up the stairs, Myrtle made one last ditch attempt to control the situation. “Dad,” she said at the foot of the stairs. “Aren’t you going to say anything? Are you going to watch her treat us like rags in your home?”

Ralph had finished his meal, but he kept his eyes glued to the plate. He was turning his face in the direction of the stairwell when he felt a smack on the back of his head. He returned his eyes to the plate instantly.

***

“We need to do something about this, Alain. We can’t let her treat us this way and get away with it every time! Dad gets weaker by the day, he’s not going to be of any use to us in this cause! We need to do something to defend ourselves, otherwise she’ll kick us out of our own home!” she sighed. “We need to fight back!”

Alain was seated on the floor, in the corner, by the window. He had his legs raised to his chest and he wrapped his hands around them to hold them in place. He had a distant look in his eyes as he rocked forward and back.

“The memories, Myrtle. Remember all she did to me when we were younger? Just after mom died? Those memories haunt me till this day. I can’t even look her in the eye! Aunt Lucy is the devil in human clothing.” He raised his thumb to his mouth and began to suck on it.

“That’s why we need to fight back, to avoid a repeat of those terrible memories. Don’t you want to be free from her dictatorship? Don’t you want to leave the house and return as you please and whenever you please? Don’t you want to liberate dad from the clutches of that demon? Don’t you want to be free?”

With a distant look in his eyes, and pausing from sucking his thumb only briefly to reply Myrtle, Alain said, “All I want is my mommy.”