Page 138 - Demo

2030-JONE
in his armpit. The guard had stepped away from the two men expecting one or both of them to dart away from the other.
“Just act as if we had a good time all the way back to the cabin,” Tom whispered to Paul.
Both stood up and headed for the gates with Leonard trail- ing.
“Hey man,” said Paul, “we’ve got to get some of those burnt peanuts before we leave. Is it okay?”
The guard shook his head in the affirmative.
“Man, I love these things!” Paul said, giving Tom his tweedy bird to hold along with a host of the other prizes he had won. The bar under Tom’s arm was starting to hurt as he clung to it desper- ately. Paul purchased his treat and resumed walking with Tom.
“Wait a minute,” Leonard put in, “I like these things too.”
When Paul stood between Tom and Leonard, Tom took the opportunity to adjust his load by reaching inside his jacket be- tween the stuffed animals and grabbing the pipe with his right hand. He closed his eyes for a moment feeling the pain relief from his armpit’s grip and wished he could just club Leonard and be done with it.
Paul was blocking Tom’s movements, but he could see the relief in his friend’s expression. Finally, Leonard’s turn was com- plete at the concession stand, and Tom locked the pipe back into position under his arm. The movement of walking now brought excruciating pain from the raw sweaty skin being ground by the edge of the pipe. He thanked God when Paul opened the car door for him.
“We can put all of that in the trunk,” Leonard said indicating the prizes Tom won.
“Nah, that’s okay,” said Tom. “It’s been awhile since I’ve been a kid, and it kind of feels good to act like one again. I’ll hold them.”
Paul got in on the opposite side, and Tom slowly released his grip on the pipe allowing it to slide to the seat inside his windbreaker.
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