incident at papa gino's

by nick nelson

al williams wished he had a more interesting life. he was known to have occasional fits of despair. but then he practiced dr hello’s rules for positive thoughts and then he was usually good to go. today he was assigned the task of following ed walsh, another unfortunate victim of despair. al was parked a quarter of a mile from the entrance to the great highway. he was not thinking about matters of life and death. he had an infinity of things to choose to think about, as he waited for ed walsh to emerge from the papa gino’s on the other side of the road. ed’s black 2017 gmc suv was parked outside. what he was thinking about was winning the lottery - his favorite and most recurring object of cojnemplation. the world spun a little too fast for al. but nobody understood him, not even his boss, daisy miller. it never occurred to al that he might be obsolete. that was not how his brain, infinitely capacitated as it might be, worked. suddenly the scene outside his car window sprang to life. incredibly - to al - he heard what sounded like gunshots coming from the papa gino’s or from behind it. he, al, was only being paid to follow ed walsh, not to run any risks. he was still a young man in his own world and his own mimd, nobody could tell him what to do - except maybe daisy miller. daisy herself was still fairly young and not bad looking. but that was neither here nor there - only she could tell him what to do in this sudden matter of life and death. al punched daisy’s number on his phone - and got her voice message. another gun shot - if that was what it was - echoed down the highway. terror gripped al’s guts. but he found himself starting the car up and crossing the road. although al had worked for miller and miller security for almost two years , he was not a licensed “professional” anything, and did not carry a firearm. and he was still a young man. he parked behind a black 2020 subaru and got out. everything will be all right, he told himself, and i will grab a slice or two when i am inside. daisy noticed that al had called her, and that he had not left a message. what is that goof up to, she wondered, as she punched his number.