The magic shop short story5/13/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() The remaining tenant in the strip mall, Bailey’s Bail Bondsmen, had shuttered, leaving only a small convenience store that had overpriced candy, dented cans of soup, and dirty bathrooms. When Marcus and me rode our bikes downtown to Dollar General, we saw a banner along the way, strung across a papered-up storefront. There were many places we wanted to go -but church wasn’t one of them. We both had sad-eyed mothers whose beauty had faded in high school and cantankerous grandparents who complained that we should be in church. Marcus and me had an assortment of older siblings who worked fast food, snuck beers from the fridge, and ignored us entirely. But the latest version was tolerable, and families in our town were flexible that way. He’d had several stepfathers, each one meaner than the last. Marcus had been my best friend since I could remember. Besides, I don’t think he’ll be around much longer.” ![]() All he does is smoke and fuss at the dogs. “Maybe your stepdad could coach?” I asked Marcus. Someone tried to get an Anklebiter football team going, but no adult we knew had the time or inclination to volunteer-since working the night shift at Gas-N-Go takes a toll on a body. Ever since the new Wal-Mart opened by the interstate, there wasn’t much for us to do except throw rocks at the old sock factory. ![]()
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