Just A Nip

“Keep the crack going,” said Mayuk.

“I’ll do my best, but I’ll need a sample of the cider to wet my whistle,” replied his friend.

After Mayuk retired from the circus, he returned to his childhood home to live with his cousin Malak.

The two had been close in their youth. Mayuk had been away for forty years. Still, the cousins picked up as if they had seen each other yesterday.

“You have zip in your step today,” said Malak about his cousin’s dancing.

“Not every day I get to dance like the old days,” replied Mayuk.

After playing their favorite tunes, the two sat and drank hard cider. Later, they gossiped about family stories no one talked about.

“Did you know Grandfather had a thing for the widow Bessy?” asked Malak.

“Well, after Granny died, he was like a cat on a hot tin roof. Why Tom Baker tells a tale of him trying to sweep Miss Lucy, the librarian, off her feet,” said Mayuk.

“You mean foot, she lost the other one chopping down an oak mid-winter,” replied Malak.

The sun was hanging low. The two packed up their instruments. They grabbed the cider jug. Then, they headed home for leftover meat pies and a glass of blackberry brandy.

“Let’s go fishing tomorrow,” said Mayuk.

“Why, cousin, you were reading my mind,” said Malak with a wry smile.

You can pick your friends, but you’re stuck with the family you’re given, as the saying goes. Malak and Mayuk were lucky enough to get it right both ways.

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