Despair had its claws into my heart, bleeding me dry of hope. Does that seem a bit melodramatic? Maybe so, but when you’ve been kicked in the teeth by life so many times that you’ve lost your lower jaw. then you’re allowed to be a bit melodramatic. At least this time it was just a punch in the gut by my cousin.
“Larry, you disappoint me. Why don’t you have my money?” Cousin Antonio punctuated his sentence with another punch that would have sent me to my knees, if it wasn’t for his two associates who were kind enough to help me remain standing by pinning my arms. “You’re family, but I can’t let you just walk over me. I want my five Gees.”
We may be family but I doubt anyone would be able to tell without coming to one of our Family get togethers. Or was that family get togethers. I always get the two confused, but of course both he and I were both. I was six foot four and wiry, brown hair grown a bit wild and shocked to attention every morning. I was my dad if you put him on one of those racks and pulled real hard, which might explain the hair. Well except the piercing blue eyes that mom gave me. Now Antonio, he had the short dark hair, was as wide as he was tall, and had a chip on his shoulder that allowed him to tower over me right then and there.
I spit out a bit of blood from where I had bitten my lip. “You caught me at a bad time.” Of course anytime was a bad time since I didn’t have the money. “Just give me a couple more days.”
Cousin Antonio lifted his chin and his associates released their hold. Unfortunately for me, gravity didn’t see Cousin Antonio’s cue to let me go and I fell to my knees. Damn that hurt. “Only because I love you Larry. Get it to me by Thursday. Otherwise I might not be in such a generous mood.”
Generous, yeah, that’s what I was thinking. “Thanks a lot cuz. I mean it.”
Cousin Antonio flipped me the bird. “Tell my favorite aunt I said hi. Come on boys. Let’s go see a man about a horse.”
“I hope everything comes out okay.” That earns me another bird, but it’s worth it. If you can’t get a rise out of family then why bother living.
I collect what I can of my dignity and head back out of the fine alleyway that Antonio had deemed needing to redecorate with my bodily fluids. I checked my watch to see that all thoughts of getting lunch had gone to hell. Oh well, Sheryl was telling me I needed to lose some weight. I mean come on, you can still see me when I turn sideways. That can’t be healthy.
Never Short On Words 