A Holiday For Hyman - Part 2

Part 2

A Holiday For Hyman 

by Paul McCann

The maid turned off the water taps and put the  shaving mirror back in the position where it had been on the vanity cabinet . The she put the heater on in the bathroom she said , 

“Your bath is ready now sir ” .

Hyman grabbed the bathrobe from the wardrobe and made his way over to the bathroom . They both met at the doorway . The maid squeezed past him and acted shy as there bodies rubbed together  . Hyman looked at her and said , 

“I don’t think doorway’s are the best places to meet . Do you agree ?”

“Yes indeed sir .  Would it be ok while you’re in the bath if I change your sheets and make your bed sir ? “

Hyman smiled and said ‘

“Certainly Molly . Do your think . Don’t worry about me  .”

 

She went over to the bed and Hyman closed the bathroom door .

Hyman undressed and slipped into the bathtub and she quickly stripped back the quilt and blankets . 

“What’s for breakfast then ?”

Hyman shouted .

 

As the maid pulled the wallet from under the rug she replied, 

 

“Sorry I don’t do the menu’s sir  .”

 

She opened the wallet .

 “Molly . That’s a beautiful name.”

Hyman said .

Molly almost choked when she saw the wad of notes Hyman had in the wallet .

She took everything that was there and put the wallet back under the rug .  

“Thank you very much sir .  ”

Molly replied as she stuffed all the money in a pillow case . 

“Has anyone ever told you how pretty you are ”

Hyman said .

“No sir .”

Molly said .

“Stop with the sir business . Just call me Hymie .”

Molly took a look around the room and softly cleared her throat .

“Well you are very beautiful .”

Said Hyman .

“You are very kind sir .”  

She replied as she opened the door quietly and left the room . 

Molly was only gone a few minutes when another maid entered the room .

She opened the drawer and took out some clean sheets .  She walked around the room checking things . She plugged in the phone and TV set .

Hyman was happily singing away in the bath tub . Still thinking that Molly  was making his bed he shouted out ,

 “ Have you been working here long ?”

There was no answer .

Hyman waited moment before a saying ,

“Hello are you there ?”

He never suspected anything .

“Yes sir . I’ve been here five years ?”

Hyman recognized her voice was different  .

 

“Is that you Molly ?”

He asked .

“Sorry sir but my name is Bridie .”

Hyman sensed something was not right . He got out of the bath and put on the bathrobe . He was uneasy as he opened the bathroom door .

 

“Where is Molly ?”

He asked .

“There is nobody called Molly who works here sir ?”

Came the reply .

He looked at the rug near the bed . His alarm bells started ringing . He rushed over and lifted back the rug . Opening his wallet he screamed  .

“Bitch ! “

“There’s no need to talk like that sir .”

Said Bridie who was shocked to see Hyman throwing things around the room .

His outburst continued .

“That bloody red haired bitch ! ”

He rushed down the stairs in his bathrobe to the reception .

His face was red with rage .

The girl at the reception could see there was something wrong and said .

“Is everything all right Mr Cohen ?”

Hyman tried to remain calm  and said .

“ I’ve been robbed .”

The girl called for the manager on the phone .

When the manager arrived Hyman was arguing with the girl at reception .

Who was trying to explain . 

“I’m telling you we have never had a Molly here Mr Cohen .”  

“What’s is the problem ?”

Said the manager who was now standing beside Hyman  .

“Who is the red head ?”

Hyman asked .

“The what ?”

The manager replied .

“The maid in the green uniform with the red hair .”

Hyman strongly replied .

“We don’t have anyone of that description in this hotel .”

The manager said .

Hyman was getting a little upset and started to shake . The manager tried to settle him and placed his hand on his shoulder and said , 

“Calm down Mr Cohen .”

Hyman grabbed him by the throat and yelled .

“Let me tell you what’s wrong .”

His voice echoed all through the guest house .

Some of the other residents were disturbed and came out of their room . 

There they saw the manager of the hotel pinned against the wall by Hyman who continued to scream .

“I’m only in this bloody country less than an hour and I’ve been robbed of every thing I had by a maid who was wearing one of your uniforms .”

 

“Please keep your cool Mr Cohen . There must be some mistake . ”

The manager said .

“There is no mistake . Let me show you what mistaken means .”

Hyman furiously answered back . Suddenly he grabbed some things from the reception counter .  He started to toss ash trays and telephones around the place  . He smashed a glass door with a paper weight and in a fit of temper Hyman pushed the manager to the floor .  

“I think you should let him go .”

Said one of the male guests who approached .

As he reached out to pull Hyman’s hands away from the managers throat Hyman let go a right uppercut that caught the guest by surprise and knocked him to the floor . A few more guests entered into the a fight .  Eventually Hyman was carried out from the hotel . 

The manager of the guest house stood there at the front door . He was winded and worried but not hurt in any way . 

“I’ll forget about the damage to the glass door and everything else . I will have your belongings out shortly . I’m not going to charge you for the time you have spent here in my hotel but you will not be allowed back in this establishment so I’d appreciate it if you could move away from here and find somewhere else to stay .“

Hyman was stunned .

“I want my money back . I want everything that was taken from me .“

One of the staff handed the manager Hyman’s overnight bag and clothes . The manager threw them at Hyman and said ,

“Oh when you get dressed leave the bathrobe outside the door if you would . 

 Now please  move along before I call the Garda .”

Hyman took his things and said 

“You have not seen the last of me .”

The manager replied ,

“We have had freeloaders like you before . We are not stupid here in this country .  Now please if you don’t mind the paying guests here do need to get some sleep . So hit the road .”

Hyman clenched his fist and replied ,

“You be hearing more about this .”

“Enjoy your stay in our country .”

Came the harsh reply .

Hyman took off the bathrobe and threw it at the manager . He dressed in his own clothes and walked away towards the centre of town .

Hyman lost the plot for a while . Living on the edge , a few times he tried to take his own life but was rescued by an ex-priest who had found him lying in the church car park one cold rainy night . The priest became Hymans friend and provided some shelter and support for him until he got his head together . and felt ready to confront the world again . 

Hyman took up a part time job in a clothes warehouse , but that job soon closed . One by one every job he started ended up the same way . Eventually Hyman became homeless and hungry again . Driven by the torment of being an out of work private detective living below the poverty line he made his way around the various doors of the cities charities and received whatever handouts were going . He knew one day he would have to return across the water to his office but that was not something he really wanted to do in a hurry Hyman slotted into this new life as a vagabond roaming from Liberty street to the Quay and knew many spots where he could get the head down  unnoticed  He actually liked being where he was and began to find himself in the shadows of hungry men and beggars .  It didn’t matter to him if people looked down on him and he hadn’t a care in the world . 

 

Early one Friday morning when Hyman crawled out from a bus in the depot where he sometimes slept he wandered through the cold morning along the empty streets looking to kill a few hours before finding some lunch . 

He passed by the Quay and on down to the custom house . He noticed a hole in a security fence around the old building and intrigue got the better of him 

as he decided to go and have a look around . 

He opened the door of an old derelict building and went inside . He sat down among the rubble and garbage on the ground and there before his very eyes  he saw a suitcase . 

Hyman opened it up and found he had hit the jackpot . The suitcase was full of money . Hyman jumoped up and began to scream , 

 

“Thank you God , for coming through , I knew I  could depend on you “ 

 

Hyman knew the suitcase had been abandoned and that Gods hand had left it there for him to find and for whatever the reason , fortune had smiled on him .

Hyman decided that now he was in a position where he could change the circumstances of his life as well as improve the quality of life in some others who he had got to know in the time he jad spent on the streets .

Hyman was a changed man and had got to know life from both sides .

Now after spending many years walking the cold streets, in a place where his detective life had been forgotten , he had experience life on a different level with the vulnerable , the unwanted . the poor , the homeless and the hungry . 

He had once thought he had a problem until he met people with real problems and now he discovered a kind of spiritual awakening he had never known .  Hyman had met children runaways , old folk afflicted with conditions , the addicted , refugees , victims of circumstance who had slipped through the welfare system into an abyss of helplessness  . He found an empathy that he never would have if not for all the hardships he went through and now he knew he was a changed man . Hyman took a look down at the rags that he wore and decided the first thing he would do was to change his wardrobe . It was that time of the morning for the stores to open and the perfect moment to  change his appearance . He stuffed a bundle of cash in his coat pockets and left the suitcase at the left luggage at the train station .

He went for a haircut and a shave before trying on some suits at the department store . He looked at himself in the mirror in the fitting room and for the first time in a long time he felt human again and ready to look the world in the eye . What an amazing turn around  . 

Hyman bought a briefcase and returned to left luggage where he transferred about half of the money that he had found  leaving the remainder in the left luggage at the railway station . 

 

Now dressed like an executive Hyman made his way to an upmarket restaurant and sat along side the swells . He ordered steak with the works and desert with coffee and cake . It was intriguing how the waiters spoke to him and how he was treated by those around him , who gave him the nod of approval , as if he had made it into their high society . 

He thought to himself how plastic it all was , however he did enjoy it for a while . 

 

As soon as he had eaten the meal , he paid the bill and the next thing he wanted to do was visit some of the street people he had come to know around the shelters and city squats  . 

Hyman quickly made his way to Liberty Street with his briefcase in hand as he knew it was time for a food handout at one of the outlets fun by the church . 

 

Along the way he saw small numbers of the street community who he recognised but they never knew him as a well  groomed gentleman dressed in  a suit . 

Hyman  had the choice to remain a stranger in their eyes or to stop and say hello to them but being aware of time constraints he didn’t want to get trapped ijn conversations and explain how fortune had found him so he passed them by on the street knowing well that he could catch up with them at a  later stage . When he reached the church on the corner , the tall steel gates that surrounded the granite stone building of street kitchen were just being opened and the line up of regulars were filtering into the courtyard .

Making their way down to the basement went all of the hungry men and women of the street for some food . 

Hyman walked in with them and stood amongst them there. 

 

He saw an Old Skin , as always sitting there on a milk crate by the door . Still half insane and answering to no one as he sat talking to himself . He spotted  Nailer who used to be a carpenter before he had escaped into liquid paradise and beside him was Tucker , who was a chef before he completely lost touch with reality, due to his mind being hi jacked by narcotics . He noticed Dapper the Derelict who once owned a chain of clothes stores before the global downturn and economic crash had evicted him to the poorhouse . 

 

There was Mackster in his old boots with no laces , looking into everyone’s  face as if he wanted to speak but he never could because he was deaf and dumb since birth .  There was Stitch in the same well worn donkey jacket and jeans . Stitch used to be a tailor before his wife died and after she was gone he forgot how to look after himself and eventually bent his elbow towards  alcohol and lived off the welfare system . Hyman had got to know many characters of the city . They all had one thing in common , which was hunger . They were all accepted by each another , even Hyman in his new suit . 

As he took a seat with them no one looked at him wrongly . He too was accepted . Nowe as the meals were being handed out everyone lined up with a large deep bowl in their hand that was soon filled up with a hot broth followed with a thick slice of bread that had been buttered thickly from edge to edge . 

Hyman took a seat beside Old Skin and looked on without speaking a word . 

He smiled as Skin finished the soup in seconds . 

Like an animal he had devoured the bread and soup . 

Now nourished and satisfied Skin lifted his eyes and looked into PJs face . 

Hyman smiled and said . 

“I never seen anyone eat like that before .” 

Skin replied , 

 

“I haven’t ate since last Friday .” 

Hyman reached out his hand and said , 

 

“Don’t say nothing to nobody , ok Skin , now this money is for you .“ 

He handed over large bundle of notes . 

 

Skin grabbed it and said . 

 

“Thanks Mister , do I know you . What’s your name sir ?” 

“It doesn’t matter Skin because I know you and this is our secret ok . “ 

 

Skin nodded and smiled and before he left he said , 

 

“Here I’m glad to know you .“ 

With that Skin got up and left the building . 

 

During the lunch Hyman quietly took a seat with everyone and did the same thing to everyone handing over an amount of cash to them . 

Everyone that day who had come for a free feed left like Millionaires . 

Hyman himself was feeling as rich as anyone could ever hope to be . 

His next thought was to book into a hotel for the evening and plan the holiday of a lifetime . His mind was somewhere elsewhere , he wasn’t focused on where he was going and without looking sideways he crossed the street . From nowhere Skin appeared and grabbed hold of Hyman and threw him out of danger as a speeding truck driver blew the horn and shouted out something as he thundered past narrowly missing Hyman who lay on the pavement bewildered but still alive . 

 

“Sir you’ve got to be careful when you’re crossing the roads you know .” 

Then off Skin went . 

 

Hyman got up and picked up his briefcase . Suddenly from out of nowhere a  young well dressed man grabbed hold of the briefcase and ran but never even made it to the corner , as Stitch stepped out from a doorway with a bottle in his hand and put his shoulder to the thief , who fell fair and square to the ground landing hard with a thud . Within seconds Stitch took hold of the briefcase as handed it back to Hyman .

Stitch said,

“ Stay safe sir .“

 

“Thanks Stitch “

Said Hyman . 

 

“No bother at all . I guess we’re square . The thing is some people don’t know what they’ve got until its gone . Now have a good day sir .” 

 

 

End Of Part 2 

 

Part 3 link

 

https://www.abctales.com/story/mcscraic/holiday-hyman-part-3