The Falling Man

Chapter 12

Ethel POV

As I arrive home from my date with rodent man I am surprised but happy to see Frances lounging in my living room. I had given her a key long ago. "Well hello you!" She calls out to me. "Your lucky I don't skin you alive." I tell her. She lets out her familiar cackle, "Oh no! Don't tell me it went horrible." I hold out the stolen note in my hand. "No!" She says while gasping. I grab a bottle of wine and two glasses, deciding to continue drinking and sit next to her, "Another man mistook you for a whore?" She whispers to me. I shake my head. "I stole it." I whisper back. "Shhhhh." I hold a finger up to my lips. "Miss Ettie Switzer you did what?" She cackles and asks. "Frances, he was such a foul looking man. And he never stopped talking. He was telling me about the colors of suits he likes to wear. I couldn't get a word in the entire time." I tell her with a pout. "Oh nooo!" She says while wrapping her arms around me. "Yes. It was terrible." We sit there for a second in silence. "So what color suits does he like to wear?" She asks in a quiet tone. I sit up and pour our glasses of wine. "He loves brown but can't resist a maroon." I reply. "Oooo" She says, "Maroon sexy!" "Quite the opposite I promise you." I tell her. We cheers our glasses. "I'm sorry Ettie, I didn't know he was foul looking and over talkative." She tells me. "That's okay. I know you didn't." I smile at her before slamming my glass of wine down my throat and signaling her to do the same. As we put down our glasses I fill them right up again.

Frances sighs before taking off her sweater and getting comfy. I can tell she realizes she's going to be spending the night. "Ohh sing a song for me Frances. Would you? I could use the cheering up." I say to her with a sweet smile on my face. She dances to herself in her seat. "Another drinkkkk, another failed dateeee." She lets out quite off key. I grab a pack of cigarettes I keep for times like these. I light one and then hand one to Frances and light it for her. "Another cigaretteeee, another twooo" I join in singing. "Fuck men, cigarettessss" We sing together. We often sing this tune just with different words pertaining to whatever situation we're in, when things aren't going our way, to cheer ourselves up; but the song always ends the same. "But were happyyyy!!! So happyyyy!!! To be strong womennnnn!!!" We smile at eachother as we sing with our cigarettes and wine. We started singing this song in France after terrible days saving and sometimes not saving men's lives and now we usually sing it after a long draining service at the pub. "You, come here." She says to me and grabs my face. "We don't need anyone for anything. They don't get it." She tells me. I nod to her, "Your right." She nods back to me. "I'm right."

We have finished the bottle, Frances doing most of the work to catch up with me and we now are roleplaying? "Oh a pub eh?" Frances says to me in a obscure manly sounding British accent. "Yes." I reply to her. "On your own?" She asks me in the same weird voice. "Uh. Mostly." I reply. Frances gives me a smack on the arm. "Strange man please don't hit me. That's not very nice." I tell her. "Mostly? Go on." She says again this time her voice sounding more like a Scottish man. "Well, it's a funny story, actually." I tell her, laughing. "Oh. That's good. I can't wait to hear it." She replies, now Irish. "Shoot." She says after a moment. "I opened the pub with my friend Frances." I tell her. "Cute name." She replies. "Yes. Yes, she's dead now." Frances gasps. "She got murdered by a flock of birds. It wasn't her intention when approaching the birds, you know?..being murdered. But it happened..She actually always had a fear of birds, and then the one time she tried to overcome it." I swipe my finger across my neck and play dead. I continue before Frances can say anything, "You see, her husband was obssessed with birds and she was worried he would fuck someone else and wanted to show him that she can be a bird lover too and that he didnt need to go look at birds with other women anymore. So she walked up to a big flock of geese." Frances shutters. "She wanted to become one with them. They started with her fingers...As it turns out Geese are very hungry creatures and if there are a lot of them they can flip you about quite easily. They ate her whole in 3 minutes. She was so stupid." I look at Frances laughing. She doesn't say anything for a moment before smacking me repeatedly, "You know that's my biggest fear!" She yells at me. "Ah!" I yell trying to block her hits. She continues smacking me for a bit before stopping and chuckling. "So yeah mostly on my own." I tell her giggling. She just shakes her head at me.