AmyStrange & the Criminal
(Part 1: the Escape)
                              Copyright © 2019 by David P. Ayotte
THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR CHILDREN
[ TABLE OF CONTENTS ]
CHAPTER 10: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29th

<<  137 |  138  | 139  >>



     I knew the owner pretty well. He  
was also the only bartender there. His 
explanation was that he liked to keep  
expenses to the minimum, and sometimes 
I’d help out by take a shift when he   
had something important to do, or by   
just jumping behind the bar, when      
things got busy.                       
     I never expected any money for it,
because he was a buddy. Besides, I     
enjoyed it, and I didn’t get to do it  
very often anyway, especially since I  
met Beth.                              
     Every time he tried to give me    
money, we’d get into this fake argu-   
ment, but then I'd quickly give in,    
grumble, and hide the money some place,
where he’d find it later.              
     Or, I’d keep buying beer after    
beer, tipping him five dollars each    
time, and that also fake pissed him    
off, because he knew my motto and      
couldn't refuse it.                    
     Sometimes, I'd just keep buying   
drinks for everyone in the house until 
it was gone, and that fake pissed him  
off even more, and since it was fake,  
he'd have to follow it all up with a   
little show.                           
     Now that I think about it, it’s a 
lot like what Beth and Barry did last  
Tuesday, except they didn’t look like  
they were faking it. She really didn’t 
like taking money for taking care of   
all her babies.                        
     I think Joe appreciated my help,  
and also that I kept refusing the      
money, but that didn’t stop him from   
pretending that it really did piss him 
off anyway.                            
     First, he'd thoroughly clean a    
shot glass, over and over, grumbling   
under his breath about my being a      
somabitch. After a couple minutes of   
that, he’d come over, slam the glass   
down in front of me, pour me a shot,   
and then forget to charge me for it.   
     He did that until he figured he   
didn't owe me anymore.                 
     Even if I didn't come in for      
months, he'd remember. When I tried to 
pay for the drink, he’d pretend, quite 
convincingly I might add, that he      
didn’t know what I was talking about.  
     “Do you have a receipt for that?” 
he once asked me, and added with a     
sorry look on his face, “No refunds    
without a receipt, and you’d know that 
already, if you ever bothered to read  
what's written under the toilet bowl in
the Men’s Room.”                       
     “Joe, I don't want money from you,
I want to give you money.”             



<<  137 |  138  | 139  >>


CHAPTER 10: WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 29th
[ TABLE OF CONTENTS ]

PART 1 IS FREE:                          
  You can copy and distribute it to any-  
one and everyone,  as long as it's dis-  
tributed for free* and in its entirety,**
including the COPYRIGHT PAGE.            

*This does not apply to AMAZON.COM, **or REVIEWS