“What’s the matter, love?” asked Norma, sitting next to Jack at the table.

“I’ve just been sacked!”

“What!” said Chris and Norma together.

“How come?” asked Chris.

“The firm was going bust, so they decided to close down a couple of sections, including the one where I work.”

“But, Jack, you’re their longest serving employee!   Surely they could find you a job in another section?” said Norma.

“It’s because I’m their longest serving employee that old Withers gave me the bad news as soon as he heard it”

“When does your section close down?” asked Norma.

“This Friday, apparently they want to get the ball rolling as quickly as possible.”

“But don’t they have to give you some notice?   To give you time to find another job.”

“They’re giving me two months’ severance pay to tide me over until I can get another job.”

“Two months!   You’ll be lucky if you can get another job that quickly,” said Chris.

“No worries, I’ll find another job long before two months is up.   I’m not a bludger to spend years of my life on the dole!”

“That’s right dad, I forgot, you’re a forty-year-man.   You’ll have to carry around a bit of four-by-two to beat away the prospective employers!” Chris shouted.

“What did you say?” demanded Jack, jumping to his feet, and leaning over Chris.

“You heard me!” said Chris, standing and glaring a challenge back at his father.

“Well, maybe you’d like to repeat it?   Sometimes I’m not too fast on the uptake!”

“You said it dad, not me!”

Jack raised his fists and moved toward Chris.   Norma rushed between the two men only to find herself being jostled on both sides, as Chris and Jack tried to reach around her to get to each other.

“Chris, go to your room, I’ll bring you your tea,” said Norma.   When he hesitated, she added, “Now, Chris!”

Chris turned to leave the room.

“If you’re old enough to cheek me, Chris, perhaps you’re old enough to think about leaving home!” shouted Jack.

“Maybe I am!” Chris shouted back, as he left the kitchen.

Norma turned to glare at Jack and demanded, “How can you be so heartless!   You know he can’t afford to live away from home!”

“Oh hell!” said Jack, slumping back into his chair.   “I don’t intend to drive Chris out, but why did he have to talk to me like that?”

“Because,” said Norma sitting on a chair beside Jack, “after four years on the dole, he needs your sympathy, not abuse.   So naturally he couldn’t resist the chance to get a bit of his own back.”

“How about a bit of sympathy for me?   How do you think I feel, having a son living on the dole for four straight years?”

“No worse than he is feels, being on the dole for four straight years!” said Norma, going over to attend to the food cooking on the stove.

“Whose fault was that?” asked Jack, turning in his chair to face Norma.   “I didn’t want him to leave school so young.   I had to leave school myself at seventeen to get a job, because the old man couldn’t afford to support me any longer.   So I wanted Chris to get a better education than I had.   So what did he do?   He turned around and knifed me in the back.”

“You mean he knifed himself in the back.   All you’ve got is hurt pride, Chris is the one who has had to live with being unemployed for years.”

“And I’m the one who now has to live with the shame of being unemployed, and having a son already ahead of me on the dole.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that any more,” said Norma.   “Chris isn’t on the dole any more.”

“You mean he’s finally done the right thing and found himself a job?” asked Jack.

“No, I mean those bastards down at the employment centre have finally done the wrong thing, and have thrown him off the dole!”

THE END

(c) Copyright 2011

Philip Roberts, Melbourne, Australia