The Violinist

The man with the long grubby overcoat has a particularly strong musty odour. Everyone he passes smells him before they see him. The stench comes, not from the coat, but from his hair, which is down to his shoulders and has not been washed in many months. The man’s name is John but no one uses it anymore. His mother called him Jack, until she died. Now he doesn’t know if he is John or Jack.

Every day, John walks the short distance from his terraced house on the river to the big supermarket. He buys bread and sausages usually with tea and milk whenever he needs them. On Saturdays, he buys a cake. His mother always liked to have cake on Saturdays.

When John returns home, he hangs his grimy coat on the hook in the dimly lit hall and puts away the groceries in the bare kitchen. Then he picks up his violin and begins to play.

Mark and Joanne bought the house next door, in the spring. One day they are painting the bedroom walls. The haunting melody drifts in through the open windows and they smile at one another. Soon the paintbrushes are abandoned and they make love on the sheets covering the floor. Daniel rents the house on the other side. Daniel is sitting on his back doorstep, smoking a cigarette when he hears the tender music. Daniel begins to cry. He is thinking of his boyfriend who moved to the other side of the world. Daniel had been too scared to go with him. He picks up his phone and writes an email.

The next day Mark and Joanne walk past John with his shopping bag. They make a face at one another and giggle. Daniel looks out of the window and feels sorry for John. Then he looks at his new suitcase and smiles.

John goes home to his violin.

by Susan Stewart Miriam Byrne Face 2