Romancing the Bean, A Series of Short Stories
By the CAFFEINE COWBOY
By the time I met Tom Robinette, he was walking with a cane to help him bear the years he carried on those stooped shoulders. I didn’t know it then, but now I know that years are like gravity.
His short cropped balding head was usually covered by a worn and venerable cowboy hat. All scrunched up and sweat stained, that hat was usually tilted to one side. Tom would scratch the side of his forehead when he was contemplating serious questions. I caused him to scratch a lot.