Louise* (archive story)

I’ve always liked the name Louise and I liked it even more now  that I'm  looking at an angel with that name. Not only looking at, but talking to and buying a drink for. It was a busy night in The Blackbird and I’d had to fight my way through the throng to get to the bar. But the battle had been worth it. Louise, lovely Louise. We’d got chatting while we were waiting for the overworked staff to serve us and I don’t quite know how the conversation had got round to computers but it had and she was telling me about the problems she was having with her laptop.

Now it just so happens that I am a dab hand with computers so I knew exactly what the problem was, and exactly how to fix it. It would take no more than 3 minutes with the right presses of the right buttons. But I wasn’t going to let her know that.

‘Give me your number, I’ll give you a call and I’ll come round and fix it.’ I said with a smile and a wink. It was pretty obvious this was more than just an offer to fix her PC and it was pretty obvious she was up for it, she grabbed my phone off me and punched in her number. She left me with a smile and I headed back through the crowds to my mates balancing three beers and grinning from ear to ear.

‘What have you done?’ Marcus had known me long enough to know the look on my face.

‘Who is she?’ asked Mick taking Marcus’s lead.

I told them about the angel at the bar.

‘Did you say Louise?’

‘Yeah, lovely Louise. Red hair, green eyes, problem with her computer. ah lovely Lousie.’

Now I didn’t know Mick that well but I’d never seen him angry. I’d not really ever seen him bothered, he was about as laid back as you could be without being a West Indies Cricketer. But that was about to change, his face grew red and his forehead crumpled, his eyes burned with rage and his fists clenched, he leaned in so close to me I could smell the stale tobacco on his breath and the garlic that had been in his dinner.

‘You listen to me you little slut, you keep your grubby  paws away from my girl you hear me.’

Lou! I mentally face-palmed. His girlfriend was called Lou, short for Louise. I’d never met her, I only ever saw Mick on Fridays and they had always been boys only nights. How was I supposed to know it was his Louise?

He went to grab me, but Marcus managed to get in between us.

Mick finished his beer, snarled at me and slammed down his glass before heading for the door, leaving me wondering how an ugly, angry bloke like him had ended up with an angel like her.