“Some mouse,” So Big says. “Up till now all I
get is pigs, dogs and dragons.”
Jo Jo asks, “What’s a dragon?”
“A pig with make-up.”
Lighting her cig, Francine says, “What is this,
the animal kingdom?”
The drinks arrive.
The waitress, a cute redheaded kid on a fast
track to old age, says, “That’ll be a buck twenty.”
Jo Jo digs out his roll, peels off a five. “Here
you go, honey. Keep it, okay?”
She looks at it like it’s milk for a baby that
doesn’t have a daddy. “Thanks, mister. That’s real okay.”
She drifts off and So Big has big eyes for Jo
Jo’s roll of green.
“Man, catch the bundle on the boy,” he says.
“You’re traveling loaded tonight, more ways than one!”
Jo Jo pockets his roll. “Fun money, son. It’s
playtime. Where that came from, there’s plenty more.”
Francine’s eye
