Neighbour grinned from this top window with fat Missis behind him, provoking.
Neighbour’s hair was going where fat Missis had made it go, and what was left was scrabbled back.
“Open the window” fat Missis grinned into Neighbour’s balding head.
She laid a hand on his shoulder.
“Hup”.
She stuck her hand out of the open window. Feel the air. Draw this dust in. Look at it on my hands, black in the creases, dust.
The gunstock came back and hit her high in the thigh
“Oh Christ, Oh Christ.”
Neighbour beseechingly proffered the gun.
“This”.
Turning, he watched from this top window, over the night backyards. The black sides and rain sparkled roof of the garage.
“Oh bloody Lord”.
“Hup”.
She hit him with the gun, grinning.
Neighbour swiped the gun, tucked it under his arm, lovely thing. He rested it on the sill.
Missis, you Missis.
“Why the hell can’t we have the light on?”
Grinning, fat Missis reached up and took the bulb. She balanced it on her nose. Still smiling, she tipped it out of the top window.
Neighbour stuck his head out. The bulb pearled down with a crack on the ground. He watched far below for his bulb.
“My bulb”, he said out of the window’ “Oh Christ, Oh Lord”.
He felt himself falling. someone grabbing at his feet. He felt himself stop falling and said “My bulb”.
“Bugger your bulb”. That was fat Missis with his feet in her hands. She kicked him in the behind, twice, hard. A numbing pain shot through his belly. He hauled himself back into the room and rubbed his stomach.
Fat Missis stood grinning, her legs apart, complacent. Neighbour kicked her and she selldown, hugging with both hands. His lips parted in a grin as he hit her with the gunstock across the backside.
Neighbour waggled a warning finger at the black heap of woman. He hooked it inside her blouse and leant her out of the window.
He was fascinated by the spatter of vomit on the broken glass of his bulb. He listened. Picking up his gun Neighbour stood in the centre of the dark room. Look at this carpet. Boards. Look at this wallpaper. Ain’t none. MY gun though.
“For crying out loud Missis. We ain’t got all night”.
Fat Missis lumbered and straightened. Her face was pale, with strands of watery fluid hanging from lip corners. She wiped with her sleeve across her mouth. Her brow furrowed. She grinned.
“Hup. Here. What’s the time?”
Neighbour peered at the mantlepiece, then remembered there was no clock.
“Don’t know. Doesn’t matter.” He moved to the window and looked out..
The moon was high, bright and very yellow. He strained his head upward at it.
He leant further out to look along the tenement block. There was a scuffling behind him and a great weight landed on his back. Clutching hands scratched his neck and closed round it. He toppled into the room, grappling.
“Oh Christ the Lord!” he yelled into fat Missis’ leering face. “What’s this?”
Fat Missis tightened the grip round his throat and grinned.
Neighbour gripped his gun and stove it into her body. It sank a long way in before it made its mark. He withdrew it and endeavoured to hit her arms. He hit himself in the face and it hurt. Finally he succeeded in knocking one arm loose. He grabbed it and pushed. Fat Missis was grinning, but her eyes were full of fear.
She fell down and writhed. Her clothes fell to pieces and Neighbour stood above, hating.
He jumped hard on her belly. A curious hissing noise escaped from fat Missis and her eyes filled with pain.
Neighbour busily heaved her to the top window. He propped her head on the sill, then pushed her body half out.
“No” fat Missis breathed
“Hup”, Neighbour mimicked, and thrust the gun barrel up her backside. He pushed.
Fat Missis fell long and headlong from the window. She somersaulted once and pitched awkwardly into the brown dark of the back porch and the bicycle shed.
Neighbour listened and hoped for the sound of crushed bulb glass and slime.
He hung his head out and vomited on fat Missis.
Withdrawing into the room, Neighbour sat down and waited.
“Where are you, bird?” he shouted. “Come on”, and a beseeching “Please”.
This time it was a serious matter. This time he did not grin.
“Whoo-hoo” he called.
“Whoo-hoo” and then added “-hoo”.
The faintest twitch of a smile puckered his mouth. He had heard the flutter of a bird’s wings alighting on the garage roof.
“Whoo-hoo-hoo” Neighbour crooned joyfully.
“Whoo-hoo-hoo” said the bird.
Neighbour ran to the window and squinted outside. He brought the gun to his shoulder. He sighted, and leaned out.
“Hup” he said, and fired. Then he, too, fell from the top window.
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