2 Pieces About Family

Johnny Be Good

“I haven’t seen him in months.” Handing back the picture I marked the gun on his hip. “Anything else?”

“I’ll tell you what, Mr. Mann, you think of ‘anything else’ – you give me a call,” he tucked his card in my shirt pocket and I smelled his burnt coffee breath.

I followed him to the door and watched him drive away. I pulled the chain across the door, slammed the bolt home, and spun my closed sign. “Johnny!” I hollered. I walked behind the bar, yanked up the piece of floor that hid the steps, and descended. “Johnny!”

“Yeah, bro?”

“Don’t ‘yeah bro’ me – he was asking about you. You’re my brother, but I am not going to jail for you. You better get that through your head. I won’t go to jail.”

“And I won’t go back. Ever. He didn’t have a warrant and he was just asking. You’re fine.”

“That’s not the point, bro. The point is – I lied and I think he knows it. You can’t stay here.”

Johnny’s teeth flashed at me, anger or a smile – did it matter? Somehow it was always my fault. “I don’t have to go home, but I can’t stay here?”

“I didn’t say that, did I say that?”

“You didn’t have to, I know. You’re there for me, but you’re not. When it gets hard – it’s ‘good luck Johnny, don’t let the door hit you on the way out.’ I’ll go. And I might not be back, bro.”

I watched him leave. He always said crap like that. This time it might be true. He might never come back. I unlocked my door, twisting my ‘Open’ sign back to the window. As I made it behind the bar, I felt a breeze.

THE END

Friends or Family?

Plastic flowers
sit in my neighbor’s window.
She must be
too busy for dirty hands.
I don’t see her
often. Good.

I Remember when I held
my baby?
I do,
but when did he become
so big?

That bitch hasn’t mowed
in three weeks, it’s
embarrassing.
Everyone can see it.

My sister doesn’t
want my son around
hers.
She came into town,
I saw her car next door,
but I never
got a call.

THE END

Thanks to everyone at The Writer's Block that helped me prepare these pieces. They are an amazing discord community that can provide help with fiction, non-fiction, technical writing, songwriting, poetry and plays. Check them out if you want to improve.