Black Beans & Vice by J. B. Stanley Read Free Book Online Page A

Quincy's Gap. He breezed through the lobby
doors as though it was completely typical for him to have left work
for a doughnut run. Still, when James raised the white and green
Krispy Kreme bag in the air so that Francis could see it over the
head of the elderly patron he was assisting, the younger man's eyes
sparkled with delight.
    James placed the bag in the center of the round table in the
break room, removed a blueberry cake doughnut from the bag,
and placed it on his desk blotter for later. Returning to aid the patron waiting at circulation, James looked over his shoulder and
smiled as the Fitzgerald brothers circled the pastry bag like sharks,
bickering good-naturedly over which treat to enjoy first.
    "We'll cut them in half, bro," Scott suggested. "That way we get
to try them all."
    "Totally!" Francis happily agreed. "Do you think this will become a new tradition? The Monday morning sugar rush?"

    After a pause in which James imagined his employee's mouth
was crammed with a glazed cruller Scott said, "Nope. The professor
is going to be hypnotized after work today, remember? This might
be the last time we'll walk into this break room and find one of Milla's cakes or Mrs. Waxman's pies or Mrs. Goodbee's brownies."
    Francis groaned. "That would be a total tragedy for us, bro." He
sighed. "Well, at least we've got Willow's chocolates to eat at night."
    "You got that right!" The brothers exchanged high-fives while
James loaded the last two books in the Harry Potter series into
a Friends of the Library canvas tote bag. "You're going to enjoy
these, Mrs. Gibb."
    "Oh, I know I will!" The old woman cackled. "I saw the boy
who played the movie Harry Potter onstage in England." She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "What a play! That boy
was as naked as the day he was born! Cute little tush on him too."
She patted her tote bag. "It's gonna be real hard to picture him
back in the old Hogwart's robes again, but I'll do my best!"
    Doing his best to hide a grin, James set to work on the hold
and transfer requests until Scott reappeared from the break room.
His upper lip was lined with chocolate frosting and a sprinkling of
powdered sugar covered the front of his navy polo shirt.
    "I don't know how you're going to live without it, Professor.
Sugar, I mean. All the best-tasting food is filled with loads of sugar
or loads of salt. Your giving that up would be like Francis and me
being hypnotized to lose our love of video games."
    James indicated his protruding belly. "But video games aren't
bad for your health. Being sedentary is, yes, but you boys get plenty
of exercise. I need to do this so I can live a fuller life with my son."

    Scott nodded. "For what it's worth, Francis and I think it's really cool of you to give this alternative treatment a shot" He fell
silent for a moment and then began brushing the flecks of sugar
from his shirt. "You've given me something to think about too.
Maybe I'm not living a full life either. Francis has been spending
more and more time with Willow and they're super happy together. I think they might be the real deal. But me? I waste countless hours trying to complete missions with a bunch of online
friends I've never met face-to-face"
    "It's a hobby. I don't see any harm in that," James replied kindly,
but Scott remained rather distressed.
    "But life's about making connections," Scott continued. "For
example, there's this person I team up with every night. She even
lives around here somewhere, because her User ID is Shenandoah
Shutterfly. For an entire year we've sent instant messages about all
kinds of stuff, but I don't even know her name."
    "Can't you just ask?" James inquired.
    Scott shook his head. "That would be poor gaming etiquette,
Professor. We're all on there pretending to be brawny barbarians
or powerful mages. For example, I've never told anyone I'm a librarian. I've got to stay in character. When I'm playing I become
Fitz the Fierce!"