Easter Spam by John Weagly
It started as a joke. I was sitting around with some friends and we were talking about Easter ham and wondered why nobody ever made Easter Spam. I came up with several recipes that we all laughed at, but the following Easter, I put one on the menu – Honey-glazed Spam, scalloped potatoes and spring […]
A Night for Chicken Pizza by John Weagly
It was 10:30 after a long Saturday and Cassidy and I were hungry, so we bought a chicken wing pizza at Currie Valley Pizza Works – wing sauce, chicken and cheese. Not my preference, but it was Cassidy’s favorite and I wanted him to have something he liked. Then we picked up a six-pack of […]
A Knife Fight on Christmas Avenue by John Weagly
“I’m gonna cut out your fucking eye,” Ricky Timmons said with a growling smile, red and green blinking lights reflecting off of the blade in his hand.
“Come on, asshole!” Isaac Claudio answered. “Give it a try – Just give it a fucking try!”
Ricky and Isaac had never been friends. They grew up a few blocks from one another. As adults, they ended up living on the same street just two blocks apart. Their meager lives had been crisscrossing since the third grade. They had a lot in common – low grades in school, little ambition in life, an underlying obedience to short cuts.
But they’d never been friends.
“You need to understand,” Isaac said, switching his knife from hand-to-hand. “There’s an asshole in Missouri who walks with a limp because of me!”
Ricky’s smile grew. “There’s an asshole right in front of you that doesn’t believe your shit.”
Lucky by John Weagly
“I see a wedding in your future.” Jeff almost asked the fortune teller for his money back. A wedding? For the King of the One Night Stand? Ridiculous! He’d come to Venice Beach to get lucky. Everyone said Venice girls were easy, and easy was his style. Having his palm read was just a […]
The Rustle of Bed Sheets and One Lost Cow by John Weagly
Sidney Pitt never expected to be gunned down in a whorehouse, but it looked like that was how he was going to meet his demise. “It’s just a cow!” Sidney called down from the second floor window of the Eternal Rest Bordello, his muscles tying themselves into knots. His dusty, discarded pants and gun-belt were […]
Terry Tenderloin and the Pig Thief by John Weagly
“This is about the pig,” I said. Daniel nodded. “Terry Tenderloin.” Daniel Sampson and I had just arrived at a Cape-Cod style farmhouse on the outskirts of Currie Valley. The off-yellow two-story home was on the smallish side, but had a large back yard surrounded by an American-Dream white picket fence. The aromas of a […]
Six Bullets in F Minor by John Weagly
Claude Wooley lost Theodora in a saloon fight. The fight was of a common variety – one cowboy got mad at another cowboy, punches were thrown, tables and bottles were smashed and, before you knew it, just about everyone in the establishment was involved. The saloon was also of a common variety – Smilin’ Jack’s […]
The Complete Pinscher by John Weagly
“I need the balls.” “I’m sorry. You need the…” “The balls, the nuts, the testicles.” We were standing in one of Dr. Victor’s examination rooms. Metal table, sink, wood cabinets, pet-sized scale, a box of tissues for when things didn’t turn out well. The air smelled like bleach and sterilization. “We don’t…” Dr. Victor’s eyebrows […]
Words Fall Like Nothing by John Weagly
“Kiss me before you go,” Janis said. I grabbed her and forced my lips onto hers. “Christ! You need to relax, baby,” she said. “Loosen up. Kissing you is like kissing a brick wall.” I got out of the car. She leaned across the seat as I closed the door. “Get out of there as […]