By Jeffrey A. Paolano
Randall lay on the horn.
The man in front dismounts; a massive arm sports a tattoo sleeve.
Deliberately the man walks towards Ran; with each step, Ran quakes and quivers. Formulating responses to the brute, Ran finds none suffice.
The man approaches Ran’s window, rapping with massive knuckles. Ran lowers the glass.
The man observes, “Quite a mess. I live over in Brandoff. Have a three bedroom on a cul-de-sac. I got two kids. Nice wife, good cook.”
Ran, blinded by the sunlit nimbus crowning the man, suffers the gabber.
In rank servility, Ran extends an offering of juicy fruit gum.
Didn’t get this one. The different tense for just the first sentence threw me, and I still can’t see the point of it after many re-reads. Can’t see past the immediate moment of the crash, and not much of that either, just that one person is intimidated by another.
I found your story written intelligently and the ending just right. Nice work.
Surprise ending; loved it.
Juicy Fruit® … I like the peace offering. Did Randall need Depends (also a registered trademark) too? LOL
Diplomacy in the face of overwhelming odds is usually the way to go. Good story.
I would have offered to chew the gum for him