“He’s not breathing,” said Jon.
“Sweep,” replied Kyle.
Jon hooked his finger and he suddenly jammed it into Mongo’s open mouth. He dug around and found no obstruction.
“Get him breathing,” ordered Kyle.
Jon never paused for a second. He moved to Mongo’s side and pinched Mongo’s nostrils between his thumb and finger. A moment later, he was blowing into Mongo. Jon pulled away as Kyle pressed on Mongo’s diaphragm with steady pressure. Jon’s breath wheezed out of the big man, but there was no change in his condition. They repeated the process five agonizing times before Mongo suddenly began to cough.
“Holy crap,” said Rowdy.
Gladys and Shari gave each other a look and they walked around from behind the bar. Shari stood over Jon, who was still keeping an eye on Mongo. “Is this guy gonna live?” she asked. “Should we call an ambulance?”
“No!” Rowdy shouted. “I mean… Look at him; he’s going to be fine. We can’t afford no doctors.” Shari, Kyle, Gladys, and Jon exchanged a look and Rowdy was just sharp enough to catch them. “Stash, let’s do it!”
From out of nowhere, Stash produced a snub-nosed Saturday night special and he was now covering the room with it. He looked uncomfortable with the gun and he twisted it awkwardly to show everyone that he was in charge.
“These guys… just saved my life,” wheezed Mongo. “And you’re going to rob them?”
“Put the gun away,” Kyle said, pointing to Stash. “Do it now.”
Jon got to his feet; he and Shari stood between Rowdy and Stash. Stash looked completely confused now and he looked to Rowdy for support.
“Shoot him if he makes another sound!” Rowdy bellowed in anger. “You two,” he said, pointing at Jon and Shari. “Hit the floor, now!”
Shari dove to the floor and slid under a table. Jon didn’t move. Kyle got to his feet and stood next to Jon.
“I’ll have him shoot you both, don’t kid yourselves,” growled Rowdy.
“He isn’t going to shoot anyone,” said Jon. “Not tonight he isn’t.”
“You got that right,” added Mongo, who was still holding his throat. “Those dudes just saved my life. Stash, put the gun away.”
“I’ll kill you if you do that,” said Rowdy, but his voice wasn’t half as strong as it once was.
“I don’t know… I don’t know… I don’t know,” said Stash.
“You know,” said Gladys.
“You’re right,” said Stash. “I do.”
Rowdy smiled confidently at Jon and Kyle, but the smile suddenly vanished as Stash tucked the handgun back into his belt.
“Remember what I said about going for your eyes?” Jon asked Rowdy in a voice just above a whisper.
“Go ahead, I don’t give a shit,” said Stash.
“Asshole,” muttered Mongo.
“Hey guys,” Rowdy said, diving into his good guy act. “You didn’t think we were serious, did you? We’re just having a little fun, isn’t that right, Stash?”
Jon began to move toward Rowdy and the air became very still.
“Stash, man, help a brother out,” Rowdy said, backing away.
“Kiss my ass,” replied Stash.
Jon was on him in less than a second and Rowdy experienced a series of great pains. Jon never went after his eyes, but he paid close attention to Rowdy’s right hand and fingers; he never wanted him to have the opportunity to do to someone else what he had planned on doing to them. Kyle grimaced as Rowdy screamed in agony. One by one, Jon snapped each digit all the way back on Rowdy’s poor hand. Jon calmly stepped away from him and left Rowdy curled up on the wooden floor. “You’re going to need to get him to the hospital,” he said to Stash. “He’ll lose that hand if you don’t.”
“Shit…” said Stash, looking at the trembling man on the floor.
Mongo got to his feet and walked back to the bar and grabbed half a bottle of Bud. He finished it and set it back on the bar. “Check please?” he asked Gladys.
“On the house,” hissed Gladys. “As long as you never come back.”
Mongo nodded and finally smiled. He looked at Stash and nodded to Rowdy. “Let’s roll; we can drop him in Saint Cloud. I say we leave him there.”
“I can dig that,” said Stash.
“But… I’ve got Warrants,” moaned Rowdy. “They’ll send me back to the joint.”
“You know what, bro?” asked Mongo. “You should go back to the joint. You’ve been nothing but trouble since the day you got out. Mom even thinks so.”
“She said the same thing to me,” echoed Stash, who was already helping Rowdy to his feet.
Shari gave Jon the, I’m about to die laughing, look. Jon returned it. They watched Gladys hand Mongo back his credit card, which he tucked away in his wallet. “My compliments to the chef,” Mongo said.
And with that, the new King of Wings walked over to the front door and he held it open for his dysfunctional family. There was a sudden flash of headlights in the windows and then they were gone. The party was moving to Saint Cloud, which was just fine with the people at the City Limits.
“I’ve had enough,” said Gladys. “Hit the lights, Shari.”
Five minutes later Jon and Kyle were driving the quiet mile back home. It was just after ten and the night was as black as coal. “I can’t believe you’re leaving,” said Jon.
“Just let it go,” replied Kyle, who was driving his Mazda slowly, scanning the ditches for deer. “My folks want me home, what with the failing economy, you know that. I can’t let them down, they need me. I’m sorry that they don’t understand about us, they never would.”
“They would if you came out of the closet.”
“No, they wouldn’t.”
“When are you going to quit living the lie? You don’t have to live like this. Trust me; you’ll feel so much better after you’ve come out.”
“I’m sorry, Jon,” Kyle said, flipping on his blinker on the deserted stretch of road, one hundred yards from Jon’s driveway. “But you have never met my family. You have never met their friends. No, I wouldn’t feel better after coming out. I would be all alone in the world.”
“You’d still have me.”
“I’m sorry Jon, but that just isn’t enough.”
The words hurt Jon in a way that no punch ever had. Kyle was leaving him to move back into his parents’ home in Chicago. If what was being predicted came to pass, Jon doubted he’d ever see Kyle again.
And Jon was right.
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