Good and Straight: 500 Words a Day Fiction – Day 2
“When a man puts shit in your face, what are you gonna do but smell it?” Robert said to him. Pops was never very good at using expressions like this at the right time.
“I told ya, my back hurts,” Jim responded. Jim wasn’t the smartest either but the son of a bitch could drink. Drink with the best of em.
“I tell ya though, Packers lookin good this year, don’t ya think?” Dad continued.
“Yeah Pops, you know how they do, every year lookin slow then them bastards end up gettin angry and back-slappin every damn asshole gets in there way.”
I’m in the kitchen and can’t see their faces but I know there is great bewilderment on both of theirs. Each sentence comes outta their mouths is like somethin that they seen on CNN or one of them other nice stations with them men their earpieces and microphones.
“I tell ya though boy, you should really watch that drink you got goin there, wind you up bein one of them dumb fuck Allen boys down the street standin there all day on that pavement thinkin bout what it’s like putting two blocks together over and over til their mom comes outside and drags them little two cent monsters in for dinner. Not even sure what you feed them boys be honest with ya.”
“You know that ain’t right Pops. Them Allen kids did something wrong one day, like God wasn’t watchin and they playin somethin stupid and then, bam, next thing you know them boys is retards. I ain’t like that Pops,” Jim responded.
Now I gotta believe they is tryin to have a heart ta heart or somethin like that, like somethin I seen on one of them talk shows with that colored woman always makin those people cry. So I just peek my head round the corner right quick and have a look myself see what I see. And sure enough they is both standing there talking with their arms folded across their chests, you know, like neither them care nothing that the other there talkin back, and both them assholes have a drink in their hands, short glass straight brown with a couple ice cubes, all liquor in those cups because Pops never saw the reason for wasting a spot of whiskey. And I swear to God it’s been 10 minutes I’m standing here and neither of them said a damn word. They just swaying back and forth and Pops, his eyes keep closin and he catch himself about to fall over and make this noise like he rustled up and bout to fight someone but there ain’t no one there but Jim and Jim is swayin pretty good too only he younger so he keeps his eyes open better.
“Pops you think them guys on the TV playin all that football, you think they got it pretty good?” Jim asks.
“Ah hell son, ain’t nobody got it better than this house right here boy. Look at us, we are livin it good and straight. Couple times here and there maybe I done somethin I ain’t proud of but I keep my eyes forward I don’t see no sense in lookin back on things that way if they ain’t doin nothing bring me back to this kinda place, spendin time with my boys.”
At this point I know he seen me somehow outta the corner of his eye that seem like it movin whatever the hell direction it want because that old bastard ain’t lookin nowhere on purpose. I’ll go over and give em both a pat on the shoulder, hell they dumb as it gets standin there talkin bout sports or life like they know what the hell they sayin just a couple of drunks standin in the hallway not givin a damn about makin anything outta their lives. I’ll give em a pat on the shoulder cuz tomorrow I’m leavin this place and I’m gonna talk to people bout them things that matter like that woman on the TV always doin.
And that’ll be that.
