{"id":2841,"date":"2015-10-29T00:01:41","date_gmt":"2015-10-29T00:01:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/?p=2841"},"modified":"2015-10-28T22:01:03","modified_gmt":"2015-10-28T22:01:03","slug":"the-right-kind-by-j-galvin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.everywritersresource.com\/shortstories\/the-right-kind-by-j-galvin\/","title":{"rendered":"The Right Kind by J. Galvin"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"library1\"<\/a><\/h1>\n

The Right Kind by J. Galvin<\/h1>\n

My dad tapped the top of his beer can and turned Tom Petty up louder.<\/p>\n

“Make sure you get the right kind.”<\/p>\n

He eyed me in the passenger seat. I clutched my doll to my chest. I knew the right kind was a carton of cigarettes in the red box and a book of free matches.<\/p>\n

He swung the Jeep into the parking lot of the corner store. As he smoothed his mustache in the rearview mirror, he nodded to me to get out. I held onto my doll, trying to gauge his reaction.<\/p>\n

“Leave that damn doll here.” I shouldn’t have held onto her so tightly.<\/p>\n

I maneuvered out of the Jeep, my gangly legs getting in the way of the long drop to the pavement. I heard his booming laughter behind me.<\/p>\n

I entered the musty store that smelled of cigars. Old men sat along the counter and stared at me. They took in my skinny legs and mismatched shoes.<\/p>\n

“Can I help you little lady?” The clerk rested his hand on his huge stomach.<\/p>\n

“Just this please.” I took the red carton off the shelf.<\/p>\n

“Aren’t you a little young for those?” I curled the five dollar bill between my fingers.<\/p>\n

“They’re for my dad. He’s in the car.” The clerk stepped to the side and glanced out to the parking lot.<\/p>\n

“Is that there your Dad in the Jeep?”<\/p>\n

“Yes, sir.”<\/p>\n

I placed the money on the counter and put my hand over the carton. I felt the relief spill out of me. I was happy, elated even. I knew the ride home would be fine.<\/p>\n

“Well little lady, I can’t give them to you, but holler to your dad and I can give them to him.”<\/p>\n

My stomach dropped like a stone.<\/p>\n

“Please.”<\/p>\n

“Sorry.”<\/p>\n

The old men seated at the counter started to lose interest. I felt like the fireflies I caught at dusk in glass jars.<\/p>\n

“Please.”<\/p>\n

The clerk turned his back to me.<\/p>\n

I glanced out the window and saw my dad tapping his fingers on the steering wheel. I knew my time was up. I fingered the red carton and looked around. The old men and the clerk were fighting about the Red Sox’s losing streak. My heart raged. I looked around one final time. I grasped the carton to my chest. I turned and ran. I felt light headed, giddy with relief.<\/p>\n

I hopped up into the Jeep. I was sweating with the exertion. I wanted to throw the cigarettes at my father, but handed them over nonchalantly.<\/p>\n

“They were out of matches.”<\/p>\n

He lifted the beer can to his lips and took a long, thoughtful sip. He popped a cigarette into his mouth and put the Jeep into gear. I was sick with release to be moving away from the store.<\/p>\n

He blew smoke in my face.<\/p>\n

“Next time buy a lighter.”<\/p>\n

I held my doll, not too tightly, and nodded my head in agreement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My dad tapped the top of his beer can and turned Tom Petty up louder.<\/p>\n

“Make sure you get the right kind.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2613,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[273],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-short-short"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t