“I told him, Benny,” Alex said. “I told him not to open up a liquor store in the city. I told him that liquor stores get robbed all the time. Why didn’t he listen to me? I’m his oldest brother.”

“Mack always went his own way, Alex.” Benny said, “and you know how stubborn he always is.” Benny sighed. “Always was, I mean, always was.”

Alex leaned in and hugged his brother when he started crying again. “I know, I know, Benny. I can’t believe he’s gone, either.”

“I showed him an article that advised retail store owners to give the robbers whatever they asked for and not try to be heroes. That’s when he told me that he bought a shotgun and if anyone tried to rob his store they’d be hauled off to the morgue,” Benny said.

“He was a proud man,” Benny said, “a man who wasn’t afraid to be a hero. But what’s a shotgun going to do against two hopped-up thugs with semiautomatic rifles? And now it’s our brother who is in the morgue.”

The two men once again embraced.

---

Written for Sadje’s What Do You See prompt. Photo credit: Josue Escoto @ Unsplash.