After school, me ‘n Jack head down Main to Millie’s place. The bell over the door jangles to announce us. Millie looks up with a big grin on her face. She shoos some old dinosaur from one of the tables. “You scoot now, Frank.”
“Why, Millie, I ain’t…”
“You bin setting there drinking my coffee all day. There’s a limit to free refills, you know.” She wipes down the table, slings the bar
towel back over her shoulder, and hands me a menu. “You boys best be hungry. I got me some bills to pay.”
Frank makes his way to the breakfast bar, seats himself on a
swinging stool, watches us with narrowed eyes.
We order a pizza, large—mushrooms, olives, sausage. We watch Millie sashay away, swinging those
perfect hips in just the right way.
Frank puts up his hand.
“I’ll have the same as they’re having.”
“Ya’ ain’t never bought no pizza before, Frank. Ya’all said you had gluten issues.”
“I want a pizza, Millie.”
“You paying for it?
Pizza costs a hell of a lot more than thirty-five cent coffee and there
ain’t no free refills.”
“I got money.”
She sighs and shakes her head. “I don’t know why I trust you,” she says as
she pushes through the double doors into the kitchen.
Jack picks up a package of crackers, smashes them on the
table. He tears them open, smears the
crumbs on the tabletop, crushes them into even smaller bits, laughing.
“You should be
ashamed,” Frank says, after watching for a time.
“Oh, leave ‘em be.”
Millie says. She brings out two
silver platters with our pizzas. “They’re just kids.”
Frank cuts himself a
slice of pizza, rolls it up like a length of carpet, and takes a bite. “I was you boys, once upon a time. Look at me now.” He pulls a twenty from his pocket; tosses it on
the bar.
And the cheese from my pizza sticks to the roof of my mouth
and burns.
Labels: fiction Trifecta Writing Challenge