I had the worst crush on Mikey Pierce's dad. As excited as I was to graduate high school and go away to college, what I looked forward to more was returning home a grown man who might fit in with the guys Mr. Pierce invited over for poker at his place. Whenever I spent the night at Mikey's, I always wanted to join in their game.<br><br>The week before leaving for college, I stayed at Mikey's one last time. While Mr. Pierce and his buddies gambled, Mikey and I stole a couple of beers and watched movies upstairs. By the time it was my turn to sneak downstairs to get more drinks, the card game was over and I thought all the visitors had left.<br><br>But Mr. Pierce was in the dining room. He wasn't alone. The man in there with him owed Mr. Pierce a couple hundred bucks from playing cards, and I had a ring-side seat as he paid up.

My Best Friend's Dad

An eternity seemed to pass as Mikey and I


stared each other down. That moment, more than any other before or


since, was the single second when I knew our friendship was


changing. I was moving on, coming into my own, becoming myself and


Then RC slapped me on the back and laughed.


“You boys have fun,” he said, heading into the dining room after


Mr. Pierce. He didn’t look back, didn’t invite me to join him, and


“Come on,” Mikey said again. When I


took a step toward him, he turned and hurried to the stairs. “Jeez,


these bottles are damn cold, I’m telling you.”


And I was eighteen again, on the cusp of


manhood, snickering with my best friend as we stole some bottles of


beer right out from under the watchful eye of his dad without


anyone knowing. I had the rest of my life to grow up. I didn’t have


Upstairs Mikey showed me what he had snagged.


Two bottles of dark Killian’s Red beer were tucked into the


Chapter 10