Antonio Stays and Keeps Drinking

• • •

“Nah, I’m good,” he says. The alcohol is making him feel more brave than usual, less concerned about what happens or what people think.

“Lemme show you the fence,” he says. “I think I can fix it for you.”

Vanessa follows him out, looking nervous but saying nothing.

“See? They just bent it over,” he says, grabbing hold of the chain link. “I bet I could straighten it out.” 

Antonio is not athletic and not good at fixing things, but he feels like he could do anything right now. He grabs hold of the fence and jumps up, locking his elbows and knees. To his shock, the whole top of the fence starts leaning and crashes down on the other side. The bottom of the fence has popped up too, and is horizontal.

“Omigod!” Vanessa says, her eyes widening. She’d like to bust out laughing if she weren’t so shocked. “Are you alright?”

Just then, Pepe, Vanessa’s dog, comes running at them, attracted by the noise and commotion. Thinking it’s a game, he runs straight at them and under the fence, jumping on Antonio and licking him wildly.

“Pepe no!” Vanessa says, struggling to catch him. The dog looks at her and takes off, galloping toward the street. “Pepe!!”

There’s a squeal of brakes and a terrible thud, and Pepe is lying motionless by the side of the road. People start running over, and Vanessa is hysterical, screaming and crying.

Antonio is barely able to take this all in. He tries to stand up, but Vanessa pushes him back hard.

“You killed my dog!” she shrieks, punching him.

Antonio sits back down, numb. He realizes with a terrible thud that all the good feelings he got from the tequila were an illusion. 

This is the reality.