Chapter 3 Do for a Brew
Cid sulked silently as he rode in the front passenger seat of Aunt Eva's run down old station wagon. He'd made a desperate pull to race after Gene that morning, because Cid's aunt had cornered him to give him yet another pointless lecture. This time, it was in response to Gene's driving.
"Naw dun drive too fast, Gene!" She demanded in her slow drawl, shaking a crooked finger at the portly fellow.
"I dun drive too fast, Eaver." He said sternly.
"Ya do too!" "I drive the speed limit! No faster nor slower!" With that, Gene had stormed out. Cid had hurried to follow the man, as little as he actually wanted to be around the man, he wanted to be with 'Eaver' less.
"I dun believe that boy!" Aunt Eva huffed. "That boy's got'ta learn some 'spect!" She declared. "Ah pay that boy /twelve/ gil a day!" Cid winced. Twelve gil couldn't buy you a pack of gum these days. Not that Gene needed another twelve gil a day. He did fine on his own. "An all ah ask of th' boy is to give me some respect! …And ta wear underwear!" She added snapping her fingers. She was really getting worked up. "Yeh kin see right down his a--" There was a loud, impatient honking from outside, drowning out the rest of Eva's sentence. Cid's face lit up and with a wave, he scooted out the door to an impatient Gene, waiting already with the car running.
"Bye Aunt Eva!" Cid called over his shoulder as he dashed out the door. He wasn't going to give her a chance to drag him back into one of her speeches.
Cid's heart fell a little as he laid eyes on Aunt Eva's car, however… The thing must have been older than he was, soaked in mud, its original color so faded it was hard to guess what it had been. It was a low station wagon of sorts, long and heavy and severely worse for wear. The inside was no better, seat covers just as faded and muddy. Gene began to pull out of the muddy drive, only to have Eva come running out faster than any woman half her age should have been moving.
"Dun ferget ta check th' breaks! Ah think th' breaks aren't working'!" "The breaks work fine, Eaver!" With that, he peeled out angrily, leaving the woman in the dust.
Cid had thought he was safe, until Gene turned on the radio. Now, Cid was relatively tolerant of other people's music, but there were two types that particularly irked him: rap, and country. As it turns out, Gene was not only gay, but a gay hick, with a penchant for singing along to every cowboy song under the sun. Cid groaned, sinking into his seat a little as they drove on. It was a good hour's drive or more to the nearest store, eyes fixed on the never ending road, long, and straight, though a bit wavy vertically.
"She thanks mah chocober is seeeeeexxxxxxxaaaaaaahh!" Gene sung, loud, and terribly out of tune. Cid groaned a little more, his stomach sinking as they dropped over yet another mini hill in the road. He didn't know what was worse, the car ride with 'Cuzin Gene' or the prospect of returning in a couple of hours back to 'Aint Eaver's'. Cid felt ready to cry by the time they finally reached the little run down shack of a store, standing, with a slight lean, out in the dead middle of nowhere. Its signs were grayed and its screen door hung kind of crookedly. Cid's heart lightened, though, as he wandered into the musky old building after Gene, when he spotted the sign that read proudly 'We Have Beer!'. Cid was practically skipping inside.
Cid scoured the place. There indeed was a lot of beer. Cases of it stacked against one wall, chest high, but try as he might, he couldn't find a single cold brew to save his life. Finally giving up his search, he did the one thing no man ever wanted to do: He shoved his pride down the crapper, and went and asked for directions.
Walking stiffly up to the man behind the counter, Cid did his best to look dignified.
"Hey, uh, where do you keep your cold beer?" He asked, trying to sound cool.
"We dun sell cold beer. Onlys warm'n." Said the man, maybe half again his age older, but looking worse for wear. He looked a bit dim.
"You don't sell cold beer?" Cid pressed.
"We /only/ sell cold beer." Replied the man in his slow, dim drawl. Cid blinked.
"Excuse me?" "Yep. Wes only sell warm beer. Ahs could shaw'er it to yeah if yer want." He added. Cid glanced over his shoulder at the tower of twelve-packs directly behind him.
"No. That's fine." The dusty parking lot outside was beginning to look more and more like a barren wasteland to Cid. The man went quietly thoughtful for a moment.
"Yep…we's only sell warm beer… but we do sells ice!" Cid groaned, dropping his head painfully hard against the countertop.
"Hey Sidney!" Cid lifted his head slowly, and turned very slowly to face Gene.
"OH! Yer name's 'Sidney!? Mah dog's name's Sidney!" The man behind the counter said, perking up. He looked excited that he'd remembered his dog's name, but he still spoke very slowly. Cid's eye twitched.
"Go grab sum ice from that dere freezer!" Gene instructed, pointing to the sputtering ice freezer in the back of the store. "Ah gotta get me a brewskie!" Cid obeyed, shuffling his feet irritably, glancing out the dusty window as he walked towards the back of the murky store. "Hey Gene?" Cid called, then choked a little. He was picking up a slight drawl in his voice. He hoped he'd go mute for it.
"Yeah, Sidney?" "Get me a case or two too, will ya?"
Reno tripped for the umpteenth time, falling face first into the mud. Again. It had grown dark, but there was one glowing glimmer of hope as he sat up, spitting out swamp sludge and a few bugs. Not too far away, he could spot the shape of a decrepit old house, its windows glowing a sickly, but warm yellow in the dusk. He smiled, showing a little bit of mud in his teeth.
"I think we finally found the place…" He said in awe.
"Yeah, I spotted it a half hour ago." Rude said casually. Reno made a sour face.
"Screw you, Rude." "No thank you." Reno groaned.
"Well, c'mon!" And off he tromped, taking a straight line towards the house, only to trip over a gnarled root a few yards off. There was a soft squishy thump as he again hit mud. Rude sighed as he stepped over his companion.
Hehe. The beer story is true, too :) And the mention of Gene driving too fast and the car breaks...and his butt hanging out...lol. The rest is fictional :) (the boring stuff, ya know, lol) I would also like to mention that I mean no offense to anyone who A: enjoy's country, B: has a southern accent of some sort, or C: is gay or a lesbian. I hold no grudges against any of these types of people, and any slurs or anything even /close/ was for the sake of writing and not my own personal opinion, nor was it meant to insult anyone. :) That being said, hope I didn't piss anyone off, but damn, this has been fun to write. (sorry its been slow. I wrote nearly this entire chapter when the program shut itself down. same thing happened with New Life, which is why THAT hasn't been updated... sigh but they're coming! they really are... :)
MRE
Cid sulked silently as he rode in the front passenger seat of Aunt Eva's run down old station wagon. He'd made a desperate pull to race after Gene that morning, because Cid's aunt had cornered him to give him yet another pointless lecture. This time, it was in response to Gene's driving.
"Naw dun drive too fast, Gene!" She demanded in her slow drawl, shaking a crooked finger at the portly fellow.
"I dun drive too fast, Eaver." He said sternly.
"Ya do too!" "I drive the speed limit! No faster nor slower!" With that, Gene had stormed out. Cid had hurried to follow the man, as little as he actually wanted to be around the man, he wanted to be with 'Eaver' less.
"I dun believe that boy!" Aunt Eva huffed. "That boy's got'ta learn some 'spect!" She declared. "Ah pay that boy /twelve/ gil a day!" Cid winced. Twelve gil couldn't buy you a pack of gum these days. Not that Gene needed another twelve gil a day. He did fine on his own. "An all ah ask of th' boy is to give me some respect! …And ta wear underwear!" She added snapping her fingers. She was really getting worked up. "Yeh kin see right down his a--" There was a loud, impatient honking from outside, drowning out the rest of Eva's sentence. Cid's face lit up and with a wave, he scooted out the door to an impatient Gene, waiting already with the car running.
"Bye Aunt Eva!" Cid called over his shoulder as he dashed out the door. He wasn't going to give her a chance to drag him back into one of her speeches.
Cid's heart fell a little as he laid eyes on Aunt Eva's car, however… The thing must have been older than he was, soaked in mud, its original color so faded it was hard to guess what it had been. It was a low station wagon of sorts, long and heavy and severely worse for wear. The inside was no better, seat covers just as faded and muddy. Gene began to pull out of the muddy drive, only to have Eva come running out faster than any woman half her age should have been moving.
"Dun ferget ta check th' breaks! Ah think th' breaks aren't working'!" "The breaks work fine, Eaver!" With that, he peeled out angrily, leaving the woman in the dust.
Cid had thought he was safe, until Gene turned on the radio. Now, Cid was relatively tolerant of other people's music, but there were two types that particularly irked him: rap, and country. As it turns out, Gene was not only gay, but a gay hick, with a penchant for singing along to every cowboy song under the sun. Cid groaned, sinking into his seat a little as they drove on. It was a good hour's drive or more to the nearest store, eyes fixed on the never ending road, long, and straight, though a bit wavy vertically.
"She thanks mah chocober is seeeeeexxxxxxxaaaaaaahh!" Gene sung, loud, and terribly out of tune. Cid groaned a little more, his stomach sinking as they dropped over yet another mini hill in the road. He didn't know what was worse, the car ride with 'Cuzin Gene' or the prospect of returning in a couple of hours back to 'Aint Eaver's'. Cid felt ready to cry by the time they finally reached the little run down shack of a store, standing, with a slight lean, out in the dead middle of nowhere. Its signs were grayed and its screen door hung kind of crookedly. Cid's heart lightened, though, as he wandered into the musky old building after Gene, when he spotted the sign that read proudly 'We Have Beer!'. Cid was practically skipping inside.
Cid scoured the place. There indeed was a lot of beer. Cases of it stacked against one wall, chest high, but try as he might, he couldn't find a single cold brew to save his life. Finally giving up his search, he did the one thing no man ever wanted to do: He shoved his pride down the crapper, and went and asked for directions.
Walking stiffly up to the man behind the counter, Cid did his best to look dignified.
"Hey, uh, where do you keep your cold beer?" He asked, trying to sound cool.
"We dun sell cold beer. Onlys warm'n." Said the man, maybe half again his age older, but looking worse for wear. He looked a bit dim.
"You don't sell cold beer?" Cid pressed.
"We /only/ sell cold beer." Replied the man in his slow, dim drawl. Cid blinked.
"Excuse me?" "Yep. Wes only sell warm beer. Ahs could shaw'er it to yeah if yer want." He added. Cid glanced over his shoulder at the tower of twelve-packs directly behind him.
"No. That's fine." The dusty parking lot outside was beginning to look more and more like a barren wasteland to Cid. The man went quietly thoughtful for a moment.
"Yep…we's only sell warm beer… but we do sells ice!" Cid groaned, dropping his head painfully hard against the countertop.
"Hey Sidney!" Cid lifted his head slowly, and turned very slowly to face Gene.
"OH! Yer name's 'Sidney!? Mah dog's name's Sidney!" The man behind the counter said, perking up. He looked excited that he'd remembered his dog's name, but he still spoke very slowly. Cid's eye twitched.
"Go grab sum ice from that dere freezer!" Gene instructed, pointing to the sputtering ice freezer in the back of the store. "Ah gotta get me a brewskie!" Cid obeyed, shuffling his feet irritably, glancing out the dusty window as he walked towards the back of the murky store. "Hey Gene?" Cid called, then choked a little. He was picking up a slight drawl in his voice. He hoped he'd go mute for it.
"Yeah, Sidney?" "Get me a case or two too, will ya?"
Reno tripped for the umpteenth time, falling face first into the mud. Again. It had grown dark, but there was one glowing glimmer of hope as he sat up, spitting out swamp sludge and a few bugs. Not too far away, he could spot the shape of a decrepit old house, its windows glowing a sickly, but warm yellow in the dusk. He smiled, showing a little bit of mud in his teeth.
"I think we finally found the place…" He said in awe.
"Yeah, I spotted it a half hour ago." Rude said casually. Reno made a sour face.
"Screw you, Rude." "No thank you." Reno groaned.
"Well, c'mon!" And off he tromped, taking a straight line towards the house, only to trip over a gnarled root a few yards off. There was a soft squishy thump as he again hit mud. Rude sighed as he stepped over his companion.
Hehe. The beer story is true, too :) And the mention of Gene driving too fast and the car breaks...and his butt hanging out...lol. The rest is fictional :) (the boring stuff, ya know, lol) I would also like to mention that I mean no offense to anyone who A: enjoy's country, B: has a southern accent of some sort, or C: is gay or a lesbian. I hold no grudges against any of these types of people, and any slurs or anything even /close/ was for the sake of writing and not my own personal opinion, nor was it meant to insult anyone. :) That being said, hope I didn't piss anyone off, but damn, this has been fun to write. (sorry its been slow. I wrote nearly this entire chapter when the program shut itself down. same thing happened with New Life, which is why THAT hasn't been updated... sigh but they're coming! they really are... :)
MRE