It was silly of me to think I could go into town without getting into trouble after I'd been drinkin' most of the day. Livin' off the grid miles from town is great until you realize your supply of whiskey has run out before you figured it would. It was just rotten luck my old truck started on this cold night. The battery had been giving me fits lately, a sure sign I needed to get a new one.

I pulled into Ed's Liquor just inside the city limits. I left the truck running so as not to chance it not starting. I noticed a beat-up old Ford in the parking lot as I staggered a little toward the front door. Damn, that miserable piece of shit Larry Johnson's in here. The guy was a thief, a liar, a no-good low-life that I've known all my life. He never has amounted to anything. I wonder who's stuff he stole and pawned off this time so he could buy booze.

The smell of filth and cigarette smoke touched my nostrils as I entered the store. The smell came from Larry who cut in front of me as I walked toward the counter. "Damn Larry, you ought to buy yourself a bath instead of that rotgut wine." I barked. "Blow it out your ass Jack, you ain't got no room to talk." Larry replied. That's all I had to hear. With my left hand, I grabbed his left shoulder and turned him towards me. My right fist came in contact with his jaw on the left side of his face. I heard a woman scream as he fell into a display of something in the aisle, causing stuff to fall all over the place. I stepped over Larry's sprawled out body and focused on the counter to place my order. To my surprise, Ed was not working tonight, and behind the counter stood a guy with a turban on his head and he was holding a double-barreled shotgun pointed right at me. A smirk came across my face and I almost said something sarcastic, but my heart just wasn't into it. I turned around without sayin' a word, and stepped over Larry again, who was just starting to come to. I chuckled a little as the fresh air hit me on my way out the door.