Page 81 of The Other Guy

“Point taken.”

It doesn’t take us long to get to Liberty. He maneuvers his way through town and pulls up to a little white building that looks like a shack attached to an old garage. “Chains,” is all he says.

He leaves the pickup running while we go inside and I laugh at the ease of being in a small town.

“Hey, Kyle, how’s it going?”

“I take it you’re a regular?” I ask him.

“Kyle’s been coming around a while,” the man behind the counter confirms. He’s wearing a blue work shirt with the name Ron embroidered on his left pec. His hands are stained black which I assume is from grease and is wearing a curved bill ball cap that looks like it’s a staple in his daily attire.

“This is my niece, Sierra. She just dropped her good for nothing ex and is staying with me.”

“Kyle!” I admonish but can hardly deny the truth in his words.

“Do I not speak truth, girl? Jeff was lucky to have you.”

“Well, duh,” I say, grinning.

Kyle places the chains on the counter and writes down something on a sheet of paper.

“You the one who makes clothes for pets?”

I grin and look at Kyle who shrugs.

“He talks about you,” the man, who I assume is named Ron, explains. “I’m glad to finally meet you. I’m Ron.”

“Figured,” I say, shaking his hand and then pointing to his shirt.

“Right. So, just sharpen these?” he asks, lifting up the chains.

“Yeah. We got a few more places to go then I’ll pick them up in a bit. That work?”

“Sure thing.”

“Thanks, man. See you later.”

“Bye, Ron! Nice to meet you.”

“You, too, darlin’. You know, if you just dumped your guy, I’ve got a son…”

“She ain’t interested in datin’ Ron Jr.”

“How do you know?” I ask, feeling like he’s absolutely correct but he doesn’t know that.

“Trust me.”

“He ain’t wrong. ‘Sides, Ron Jr’s in the county lockup.”

“Okay, so maybe you were right,” I joke to Kyle. He gives me a look that says he told me so.

I wait in the pickup while he runs into the bank, not asking what he’s signing because I don’t figure it’s any of my business. I check social media while I wait and am a little bummed to discover that Jack isn’t very active. He has accounts on the typical sites, but rarely does he post anything. Though, we aren’t friends so maybe he does post and I just can’t see it because of his settings. I request to follow him.

Jeff, on the other hand, posts almost daily. I scroll through his page and roll my eyes. Why I ever went out with him is beyond my understanding. The most recent post is a gym selfie with the caption: “Feels good to drop the extra weight I’ve been carrying.”

“You fucker,” I grumble, knowing he’s talking about me without coming out to say it. “I’m the one who broke up with you, not the other way around.”

The previous posts are less douche-filled but still annoying. A lot of selfies, because he loves himself more than anything, a few random memes or shares to news stories. A link to a movie trailer that I know he’s been looking forward to seeing with the caption: “Who’s coming with me?” In the comments someone’s tagged me, he liked the comment and replied, “She can’t wait either.”

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