Interlude Stories: Paul Beckman

DATE NIGHT - PAUL BECKMAN

Jack showed up at Tina’s door Thursday evening. His regular day was Tuesday, which he missed and Thursdays belonged to Big Gino, who was sitting on the screened porch in his shorts smoking a Cuban and drinking a Mohito. Tina always had a batch of Mohitos ready on Thursdays.

She told Jack that he couldn’t come into the house and to please go away. Jack pushed Tina aside and walked in trailing behind his whiskey breath. He looked around and found Big Gino calmly sipping his drink through a curvy straw.

“Haul ass,” Jack said in his don’t-mess-with-me voice.

Big Gino puffed on the stogy and ignored him. Jack walked over to Big Gino, bent over and got into his space, glaring with an eight-point scowl and graveled, “Move it!”

Big Gino stood and grabbed his shirt and put it on.

“Hurry up,” Jack ranted as Big Gino reached under his jeans and pulled a .38 and shot Jack in the gut. He added another shot to his forehead, picked up his glass and sipped the rest of his Mohito.

He spoke for the first time. “Sorry you had to see that, baby,” he said to Tina.

“It’s alright,” she said breathing hard and turned on like all get out.

“No. It’s not,” said Big Gino and did her the same way.

BIO: Paul Beckman is a real estate salesman & writer of short fiction. Sometimes his fiction inadvertently shows up in his real estate ads.

Some credits: CONNECTICUT REVIEW, ONTHEBUS, PLAYBOY, 5 TROPE, SOUNDZINE, SCRUFFY DOG REVIEW, LITRO, FICTION WAREHOUSE, WEB DEL SOL, LONG STORY SHORT, PITTSBURGH FLASH FICTION GAZETTE, RIVERBABBLE, EXQUISITE CORPSE, OPIUM, CONNOTATION PRESS and POSTCARD SHORTS.

Collections: Come! Meet My Family & other stories, Web del Sol Chap book, Maybe I Ought To Sit Quietly In A Dark Room For A While (flash & micro fiction chap book), Silken Worm Chapbook.

Novella: Lovers and Other Mean People (Sugar Mule)

Web: www.paulbeckmanstories.com