I Don’t Want to Live with Monkeys

K. A. Laity

‘Another year, eh?’ Norman said as he set the pints down on the table in the usual corner.

‘They seem to go so faster every time around,’ Stanley agreed.

‘What surprises await us in the coming year, I wonder?’

Stanley grimaced. ‘None. That’s my hope. No bloody surprises and everything getting back to normal.’

‘There’s no normal to get back to,’ Lennie muttered from the bar. He was polishing the glasses as if to get ready for a big night that wasn’t going to happen. Strictly speaking they weren’t even open but the two regulars had begged admittance when Norman saw the bartender pull up and unlock the door. After they each gifted him with a tenner he said it was no business of his if they should want to drink from the pints he pulled ‘just to test the…