You, In Particular

The second part of The Completely Accurate Story Of My Real Friend Bargo, which I will continue posting on my Patreon page from here on out.

(Parts three and four were posted previously.)

---

II.

​My father didn't think that Jeanine          who ran the cash register at the closest thing our town had to a convenience store          liked anyone          while I thought it was just kids in general          and you           in particular          she hated

You          reading the latest Fantastic Four issue          your hands still damp from swimming

You          in a towel and no shirt          leaving wet sandy footprints          a Scooby Doo clue revealing you as the Peanut Butter Cup Bandit

You          sobbing and wheezing about how much you missed your dead father          while he waited patiently and alive in the parking lot

I would have hated you too          but that missing tooth          those afternoons doing lines of Fun Dip while your mother was in rehab          that snort laugh that only occurred when I was being cruel