It wasn’t long before Scary Barry got wise to what had happened.  He summoned me to his trailer.

     When I walked in, I knew something was wrong.  Scary Barry wasn’t squinting anymore.

     “I got some bad news, Travis.”  He was staring at my boots.

     “It’s not your sister in Oklahoma, is it?”

     He looked up at me sharply.  “How did you know about her?  Who told-” he caught himself.  “No, it’s entirely different.  I’m gonna have to let you go, Travis.  You’re fired.”

     Fired?

     “Fired?”

     “Yes.  You’re fired.  To put it in language you can understand, Travis McKluskey, later!“

     Well, I can take a hint.  I zoomed on out of there, thinking of all the whiskey I was going to buy.

     And all the newspapers, too.

2026 R.M. Reliable Electric