Bootlegging lesson #50 : Never turn down the right opportunity
“Hey buddy, want to make some spare cash?”
I look up from the parts catalog I was thumbing through, across the counter, to a twenty-something college kid, a bit heavier set, with just enough whiskers on his chin that he may get into a club with a fake ID, but certainly not enough to fool a liquor store clerk in a college town. He stood there in a green plaid flannel shirt unbuttoned draped over a well worn T shirt, holding his arms away from his sides, as if to look a bit bigger, and therefore, older in his head. His right hand grasped a handful of crumpled bills.
“I’m sorry sir, the store is going to close in a few moments” I smiled a halfhearted smile at him, digging for the keys in my pocket to close this place down so I could count the cash tills, and go home and have a cold beer or five. “Is there something I can help you find?” I ask him, knowing he wasn’t looking for auto parts at 9 pm on a Saturday night.
“I-I was just wondering, when you leave here, can you maybe grab me a case of Busch Light from a cross the street?” his voice stammered and cracked. As I looked at him, his eyes darted around, not focusing on me, trying to hide his nervousness.
“How old are you, buddy?” I inquire, knowing the answer would be some bullshit number or a story that won’t actually answer my question.
“Old enough, I just left my ID back at my dorm, and..” I hold up my hand, silencing him.
“Three things. First off, I’m not going to buy booze for minors, sorry. Secondly, there are much better things to be drinking than Busch Light. And last of all, head across the river to Illinois. The clerks don’t look at ID’s very hard, and the booze is a lot cheaper.” The kid looks disgruntled and storms towards the door, I follow him and lock the door for the night. 8:58 PM was close enough to 9 PM, and I was ready to be done and out of work.
I park my truck in front of my buddies house, I hop out, my small town tendancies don’t even make me think twice about leaving the keys hanging in the ignition, the doors unlocked, and the windows down. As I walk around his house to the backyard, I think about how this isn’t the small town I grew up in, that my F150 is a lot nicer than the old stuff I used to drive, and how someday, leaving it unlocked with the keys in it may bite me in the ass, but that thought quickly fades as my buddies cheer at my sight. I help myself to a cold longneck, and collapse in a folding chair, still wearing my uniform from work. It involved a brightly colored polo shirt that was gaudy even by early 1990′s standards, and some black slacks. I didnt care, it was the weekend for me.
“How was work?” T asked me as I pressed the bottle against my lips. T worked at the same parts store as me, we worked different shifts most times, but his years of wisdom always seemed to shine on me in one way or another.
“Had a kid asking me to buy him beer. Not even good beer.”
“Why didn’t you hook him up?” another guy asked me. This was one of T’s other friends, a guy I hadn’t met before, and honestly, probably wouldn’t remember tomorrow. T had a lot of different friends from a lot of different backgrounds.
“I don’t like supplying to minors. I told him that booze is cheaper across the river anyway.”
“How much cheaper?” the friend asks. Apparently, I had gotten his attention. I had no clue who this guy was, but i got a vibe that he seemed like a decent enough guy.
“Cheap enough to justify going for a drive to stock up, that’s for sure” I smirk at him, finishing my beer and grabbing another longneck out of the cooler.
“If I gave you a shopping list, would you go get some stuff? I’ll pay you regular price for beer, you can keep whatever savings you have. I don’t have a license.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bankroll of bills, the sort of thing you don’t expect anyone to be carrying around, and T shoots me a look that screams ‘take the damn money you fool!’
“Get me a list, we can probably make something happen.” I smirk as the bottle hits my lips again.
