Once we made it to our room, I give a sigh. As i go to open my mouth, the little birdy storms over to the bed and tucks himself into bed. His back is to me as he nestles in. I raise an eyebrow as I walk toward him. If he thought I ain't notice how quiet he got as soon as I lifted him up, he got another thing coming.

"You ain't gonna let me talk?"

"Goodnight."

I shake my head and say, "Really? That's it?"

"That's all I have to say to you."

I look at the back of his head and shake my own. What does it matter anyway? This is just an exchange of contracts.

"Since ya gonna be travelin' wit' me for a while; afta I do this...thing for the otha bartender, I'mma have to teach you 'bout targets. That fine wit' you?"

I'm met with silence as the sound of blankets shuffling come and go. I run my hand through my hair as I walk over to my own bed.

If I could call it a bed.

I take off my boots and lay back. Maybe tomorrow, he'll be in a better mood.

Not for nothing, I can't remember the last time I had a horrible night's sleep. The most I ever slept was atleast four hours. I threw on my boots and headed downstairs to smoke. While I could have smoked in the room, I didn't want to disturb the little birdy's sleep.

As I sit outside the hotel, puffing on a cigarette, I look over the bottle I was given by the bartender. It looks like a regular bottle of whiskey. But like anything, looks can be deceiving.

I pop the cork out and take a whiff of it. Like i thought, it smells mostly like whiskey. But I notice there's a whiff of something else. It's the very faint scent of bitter almonds mixed with the strong smell of whiskey. I re-cork the bottle and take another drag from my cigarette.

Given how small the bottle it, it seems to be a small gift for this rival bartender. While I know this seems to be petty business and I shouldn't be involved, given the money I was promised...This isn't a bad exchange. I tuck it back in my coat pocket and look up to the sky.

I sit and wonder if my Daddy is watching me from up there. Maybe, maybe not. Who knows. All I know is that I hope he knows I'm gonna get revenge for me. Damn Calvin James and his bullshit ass railroad company. I take one more drag before putting out the cigarette and heading upstairs. Once I finish this business for the bartender, it's gonna be the birdy's first lesson in flying.