Linguistic Erosion

Contributor: Gary Clifton - - Rain splattered the sidewalk fronting Red's Discount Palace in evening darkness. A sign inside the front glass promised "a gift for every child from Dave the Magician". Inside, along a jewelry counter, a small crowd of adults and children watched Dave in a gaudy clown costume sitting on a raised platform. Slender, laconic, with oddly distant eyes beneath the paint, he performed magic gags. A jagged scar, poorly disguised by the makeup, ran from his left eye to disappear beneath his ear. Ritzy, a leggy redhead assistant in skimpy shorts and large red-rimmed glasses, filled balloons. Dave's cellular rang. He eyed the display, put it back in his pocket. Ritzy boosted a little boy onto Dave's lap. "Damn Dave, I hate this place. Maybe a Margarita when we close?" Her accent was hillbilly. Dave's cold eyes said...

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