Saturday's Storyteller: "He spent his last few dollars on tea and jam, and he hoped he wouldn't need anything else before getting home."

by Belinda Roddie

He spent his last few dollars on tea and jam, and he hoped he wouldn't need anything else before getting home. Both were blackberry, by the way - blackberry tea and blackberry jam. He thought his mom would approve because when he was young, he would go blackberry picking with her, and they'd eat half of what they'd pluck from the prickly branches. They would also purposely run their stained fingers across each other's shirts, coloring them purple as if attempting to create some sort of natural tie dye.

Nathan grimaced. He remembered that, while the gas tank on his car was mostly full, the tires were getting old and he'd have to replace them. Given the meager paychecks he received, he wasn't thrilled to spend a good chunk of it on new rubber. Still, he stayed positive that he wouldn't have any problems driving back to the dingy apartment that he shared with his half-brother. No flat tires, no skidding or hydroplaning while the rain came down.

Buttoning his heavy black jacket, Nathan trudged through the downpour and slipped into his battered hatchback. He pressed his forehead against the cold steering wheel and tried to breathe. The plastic bag that held his tea and jam wound up in the passenger seat, and he could almost taste the sweetness on his tongue before he even started driving. The nape of his neck itched. His hair was getting too long, and he was in desperate need of a shave. He wasn't used to using a razor at least every other day - he got scruffy quickly, and instead of making him look like some sort of cool hipster, he was more similar to a sad twenty-something hobo who had failed to get a good job out of college.

The tires on his car screeched as he whipped out of the general store parking lot. As the tiny town disappeared behind him, he readied himself for the two hours or so drive back to his place. He had originally come to this literal neck of the woods to visit his parents. It had not gone over very well.

This week's prompt was provided by Arden Kilzer.