While playing billiards with my compadre, a boy approached and placed his hands on the table. “Careful!” I said. I looked around; no one to claim his fatherhood. I lifted the kid and showed him how to move the cue. The cleanest shot was far. He flinched, sighing. “We try again,” I said. Together, we hit the white ball. It struck number five into the opposite pocket. He looked at me, eyes wide with joy. I set him down and he ran off without looking back, leaving behind a changed man and a silent promise: I will feel this again.
Eduardo Winck’s work appeared on The Good Men Project. He teaches with Writing Class Radio and seeks representation for his memoir The Winner Takes It All.