A.G.E's Joint

Note: this is a rewrite of a story from several years ago. It fit the prompts and I wanted to go back and revisit it. The cabin was a weathered gray stack of sticks sitting squat on the bluff near the inlet. There were four rooms and a dock on the side. The boards on the porch were groaning under the breeze. It had been gracious of Jack to let him use the place for a few days. They had had their differences over the years, but guilt and shame have a way to loosen these kinds of favors. It wasn’t every day your daughter twists the knife into her ex and made you pay for it. He sat in an Adirondack on the screen porch, watching the tide flow out to sea, like his life. It felt like astral projection , this trip to Kiawah. He’d killed a half a bottle of Wild Turkey and the rest of the case was in the trunk. Somehow, he kept it between the lines and the State Patrol was none the wiser. The breeze freshened. Gun metal clouds were gathering on the northeast horizon, lightning flashing u...

Rrrrrnng! I look down at my cellphone. A number I don’t recognize. DECLINE! Turtle, remind me to block the number. Aye! Aye! Captain! Rrrrrnng!! Again? Oh...Kathryn. “Yeah. I think I’m about done...Got the two trail loops done I wanted. I’m deciding now if I want to hit the beach for some more shots...what’s that? Can’t get the TV show to work? You’re going to blow our data limits doing that. Besides, it isn’t what we came to the beach for...I should be back in an hour or so...Yeah, I should be all right on water until I get back. See you in a bit.” Used to be one could take a walk like this with no interruptions. Now, of course, we have to be tethered to the shepherd 24/7 with our exact locations. It makes me want to breakaway . I can see it now. “Runaway retired sheep lost in the marsh! Couldn’t take the surveillance!” Gotta remember the new phone goes into the pocket screen out. I’ve already butt-dialed two people this morning. Maybe that belt clip would be...