Broadcasting with Chappy an' Campbell !

Chapter 11

"I really wanna be married to him, Georgie! " Pearl expresses her eagerness, as she meets Georgie in the parked car. "D'you think I look old? Ronnie seems to think so." Georgie asks, paying no heed to her, as she adjusts the rear-view mirror to closely examine the wrinkles that are beginning to form on her middle-aged face. "Georgie, you're ageless! Me,on the other hand....I'm not gettin any younger. An' I don't wanna remain unmarried for too long. D'you think he's gonna propose? I mean, he wasn't too sure about it at dinner last night...when his mum brought it up, ya know? " Pearl worries. "Why dontcha talk to im about it instead, ya worrywort? " her fed up friend suggests, in a bid to silence her. "Well, you certainly talk like an ol lady! " Pearl mutters,jokingly.
She decides to talk to Campbell that evening. She enters the apartment expecting to hear his cheerful greeting. But instead, she finds herself in an empty apartment with no Campbell in sight. A few hours later, she hears the doorbell ring & opens the door to find a drunk Campbell leaning against the doorway! "Hey,uhh....Sorry I'm late, love. Chappy just got her drinkin licence today....An' she hooked me up with one too....illegally, of course! So, don't tell anybody, kay? She might get into trouble, ya know? " he explains, in a slurry,chattery manner. "Ohh...she's not the one in trouble, mister!" she mutters through gritted teeth, closing the door behind him as he stumbles in & makes himself comfy on the couch. "You know how I feel about this, Campbell. You know it brings back bad memories." Pearl scolds, glaring at him. "I'm not that drunk! " Campbell defends himself. "You stink of liquor, Harry! I mean...Campbell! " she shouts at him, losing her temper, before becoming embarrassed by her slip of tongue. "Ya know, I really wanted to talk to you about somethin." she reveals, speaking in a soft, hurt tone. "Well, what is it? " he asks, surpressing a burp. She finds it hard to look at him in this state , so she turns away, mumbling, "Never mind." An awkward silence follows, before Campbell excitedly assumes, "Yer not preggers, are ya? Eddie once told me women always went bonkers an' became ultra-sensitive when they were preggers! ". "No, I'm not, Campbell!" she yells, hurt at the mention of a child. "Campbell, could you gimme some space...please? Just for tonight, could ya sleep on the couch? " she asks, rubbing her temple as she feels a headache coming up. "Uh...ok, sure." he replies, still confused by her behavior. She hurries into the bedroom,slamming the door behind her.