A Real Conversation

From "The Risk Pool" by Richard Russo.

A conversation between a 24 four year old son and his drunken dad.

Dad says: "This is no life. Believe me. Don't get caught up in this shit. I got nothing. And when I die, that's what you'll inherit. It'd been better all around if I'd got mine in France."

"Thanks, " I said.

He shrugged, not catching my meaning, or not acknowledging it. "Everybody would have been proud of me. They'd have argued about how great I turned out if I hadn't got shot."

"You can still do what you want," I said. "You're what, forty-five?"

"Forty-seven. And anything I was going to do, I did already."

"That's bullshit," I said cheerfully.

"What'm I gonna do now?"

"How do I know," I said. I don't know what I'm going to do."

"You won't either," he said. "You'll just wake up one day and it'll all be done. All fuckin' done."