Rock Bottom (Flash Fiction)

Brad Stevens counted the worn bills before folding them into his wallet. Only $300 for his watch, less than a tenth of what it was worth. The Rolex had been a gift from his parents when he graduated medical school. The stethoscope turned out to be worthless. No call for them, the guy behind the counter had laughed when Brad pulled it out of his pocket.

“Come on, buddy. You done yet?” A man wearing a polo shirt with the name of a taxi service emblazoned on the breast pocket stood behind him.

“In a minute.” He looked out the windows of the pawn shop at his motorcycle. “How much for that bike?”

The clerk followed his gaze. “The Kawasaki?”

“Yeah. It’s a Ninja ZX. I paid almost $13,000 for it and it’s only two years old. Not many miles on it either.”

“I’ll have to have our motor guy take a look.” The clerk picked up a walkie-talkie. “Bob, need an appraisal on the black Kawasaki parked right by the lawn mowers.”

A disembodied voice responded. Moments later a chubby man in a Harley Davidson t-shirt appeared and began inspecting the bike.

“You wanna step aside while you’re waiting for that appraisal?” The cab driver took a step closer.

Brad ignored him and handed the keys to the clerk, who carried them out to Bob. The two men started the bike then conferred with the Harley guy pointing out different features to the clerk. Brad watched, trying to read their lips. His heart crawled into his throat.

“That’s a nice bike.” The cab driver had turned to watch out the window. “Shame to have to let it go.”

Brad just nodded.

The clerk returned to the counter. “We’ll give you $3,000 for it. Firm.”

Brad chewed his thumbnail. The realization that he’d likely never be able to reclaim the bike or the watch rendered him mute. He nodded his acceptance.

Keeping his eyes on the floor, Brad stuffed the money into his pocket and turned to go.  The cab driver touched his arm. “If you can wait a couple of minutes, buddy, I’ll give you a ride on the house.”