Silenceheard

I knew my father in weekends and cigarette smoke the two cases of Budweiser he shared with a friend more often than I wanted him too I knew what it tasted like because I used to drink it out of a child size Maple Leafs novelty mug, coveted by my siblings and I I remember my tip jar that had been a joke because I knew my way around twist offs and bottle openers; the plastic yellow cup, wearing a card reading "tips," only housed dimes and nickels until I got a toonie from TJ because "I was pretty" I also remember the car ride after those two cases where I, at age ten or eleven or twelve, didn't know if I was going home to see my mom ag