__so far so good__
justin barrett
the young girl
behind the counter takes
my credit card
from the countertop
and, with dramatic flair,
cuts it in half.
“what the hell
do you think you’re doing?”
i yell at her.
“your card was declined,”
she says.
“but why the
hell did you cut it up?
just because it’s
declined doesn’t mean
it needs to be cut in half,
it just means i’m a
dipshit that didn’t
keep track of his spending!”
“oh, sorry,”she says.
then, “well, do
you have any cash or
another credit card or a
check to pay for
this?” waving her hand over
my six-pack and Hustler.
“yeah,” i say and i
hand her a twenty.
when she gives
me back my change
i ask her for the
remnants of my
credit card.
she says that it would be
against company policy
for her to do that, but
thanks me for
shopping at Piggly Wiggly
and wishes
me a good night.
i grab my beer and
magazine and
head for home hoping
to make this
night exactly that.
