The Game

As JP or ( 'JayPee' as his friends called him ) cycled toward the hostel , the rain/sleet whipped his face . He wondered , not for the first time , how he got himself into this situation . He COULD be at home now sitting by a blazing fire , possibly eating one of his mother' s freshly baked , hot , apple tarts , instead , here he was heading for the Morning Star hostel to do his two-hour voluntary duty . One of his work collegues had ' talked him into' joining the Legion of Mary and volunteering to do at least two hours per week helping out at the nearby hostel 'for down-and-outs' , as homeless people were referred to , at the time.
He was a little bit later than usual and most of the men ( it was an exclusivly male hostel ), had already 'checked-in' , which meant paying a six-pence or a shilling , deemed a fair amount for that time in the early sixties . No one was ever refused admission for not having enough but most of the men were able to raise that small amount .The other conditions were simply that , if required , they should take a shower in the hostel before being assigned a bed , that they behave in a responsible way .
Recently JP had spent his evenings in the hostel serving tea or conversing with the men and lately he had begun to play chess with a man called John C . John turned out to be an expert chess player who , on occasions after about five or six moves was able to inform JP that he (JP) could not win that particular game . John C had come from a very well off family and , JP learned later , had probably fallen on hard times due to alcoholism and a psyciatric disorder caused by drink.
The huge open blazing fire had the usual compliment of men sitting in a semi-circle around it . Some were holding their outer clothes to dry in front of the flames .JP noted the two men whom he knew to be 'deaf and dumb' 'chatting 'together beside the fire using sign language to converse animatedly with each other , completely oblivious to the noisey clamour around them of up to 150 other homeless men filled the large room with noise . This was probably the only communication each of those men had had all day .
John C was waiting as usual , chess board ready , to once again demolish JP's feeble strategy and latest cunning opening gambit .JP apoligised for being late , wondering what would have happened if he had not arrived at all ,would John C have waited all evening watching the door ?
In fact tonight would be the last night that JP would be able to visit , having been given a new assignment to help set up a new Presidium in another part of the city for an even more marginalised group of people.
As the chess game continued John C , as usual ,carefully wrote down on a grubby piece of paper , each move made . Apparently he recorded every game he played in this way .
An obviously very intelligent man , the game of chess must have had a special significance for him . Did all the pieces represent the world as he saw it ? The King , of course , was AUTHORITY , being protected by castle walls , white knights and black bishops , controlled by a powerful Queen using the pawns ( the ordinary people ) as ' gun- fodder'.
When the game was over , with JP the loser again they shook hands as they did after each time they played .When JP told him that he would not be coming back John C showed no reaction , but as he walked away , JP heard John C say '' thanks for coming Paul ''.It was the first time that John C had used his name and how did the old chess player know that ''Paul'' was his middle initial ? A small mystery in an almost forgotten incident when two different worlds meet.