Money Can Buy Happiness
“I HOPE YOU’RE HAVING YOURSELF AN ESPECIALLY WONDERFUL TIME”
Victor Ralston welcomed the man with the angry eyes to MargsonMart. The man stared at the flaming rattlesnake tattoo on Victor’s left forearm and then told Victor “ Now I hope you’re having yourself an especially wonderful time”, it gave Victor the shivers. Maybe it was the way this man’s expression changed when he saw Victor’s tattoo, and maybe it was the sound of this man’s voice. But it was definitely those words. “Now I hope you’re having yourself an especially wonderful time”…
Those words were familiar to Victor, they lurked somewhere deep in the back of his mind. He couldn’t quite remember where those words were from, but he knew they meant something bad; he just couldn’t quite figure out why this man seemed so damn familiar. It was two months ago when Victor took this job as a MargsonMart greeter. One month ago this man showed up for the first time and immediately started giving Victor the dead eye. Everyday this man would show up to glare angrily at Victor and stare at his left arm. Victor had broken his arm four months earlier and had a cast covering his tattoo. It wasn’t until last night that he had the cast removed. This was the first time the man had seen his tattoo. And now he looked angrier than ever.
Victor then realized where he knew this man from. It was over twenty five years ago, but as he thought more about this man he could see the resemblance. He remembered it all. Back then the man would’ve been thirty; Victor would’ve been close to the same age. At that time Victor was a full-blown cocaine addict and he supported his bad habit by stealing anything he could, sometimes even beating up and mugging the elderly, sometimes through home invasions. This was where Victor had first seen this man: during one of his home invasions. Victor couldn’t quite remember where this took place but he was certain it wasn’t near the location of this MargsonMart.
That night Victor was just
Victor Ralston welcomed the man with the angry eyes to MargsonMart. The man stared at the flaming rattlesnake tattoo on Victor’s left forearm and then told Victor “ Now I hope you’re having yourself an especially wonderful time”, it gave Victor the shivers. Maybe it was the way this man’s expression changed when he saw Victor’s tattoo, and maybe it was the sound of this man’s voice. But it was definitely those words. “Now I hope you’re having yourself an especially wonderful time”…
Those words were familiar to Victor, they lurked somewhere deep in the back of his mind. He couldn’t quite remember where those words were from, but he knew they meant something bad; he just couldn’t quite figure out why this man seemed so damn familiar. It was two months ago when Victor took this job as a MargsonMart greeter. One month ago this man showed up for the first time and immediately started giving Victor the dead eye. Everyday this man would show up to glare angrily at Victor and stare at his left arm. Victor had broken his arm four months earlier and had a cast covering his tattoo. It wasn’t until last night that he had the cast removed. This was the first time the man had seen his tattoo. And now he looked angrier than ever.
Victor then realized where he knew this man from. It was over twenty five years ago, but as he thought more about this man he could see the resemblance. He remembered it all. Back then the man would’ve been thirty; Victor would’ve been close to the same age. At that time Victor was a full-blown cocaine addict and he supported his bad habit by stealing anything he could, sometimes even beating up and mugging the elderly, sometimes through home invasions. This was where Victor had first seen this man: during one of his home invasions. Victor couldn’t quite remember where this took place but he was certain it wasn’t near the location of this MargsonMart.
That night Victor was just