Terrence McManus

Close Call

Pistol shots were heard coming from the hardware store. Suzie and Bobbie sat doe-eyed in the backseat wondering if their uncle was shot or if he was the shooter. They waited. Uncle Lloyd edged his way past plumbing supplies and hunkered down to wait. He could hear his own breath. Lola, Lloyd’s ex-girlfriend, reloaded her pistol and started for the back of the store. She was going to kill Lloyd no matter what. At this point you are probably wondering what this scoundrel Lloyd did to make her so mad. That’s not important. Lloyd must find a way to get out of there. He must get out alive. He slowly reaches over and grabs a ball of twine. He takes the twine and sets up a trip wire across the plumbing aisle. Next, he takes a bunch of sink parts and tosses them down the aisle. Lola charges down the same aisle, firing shots with a vengeance. She hits the trip wire and falls flat. Lloyd runs the other way and heads out the door. He jumps in the car and speeds off out of town. Uncle Lloyd acted like nothing happened and told the kids he was just in a hurry. They believed him and went back to playing road trip games.