An Electric Fence

I think I have to put an electric fence

Between you and me

Don’t I?

Gotta get something

To catch all those shocks

You’re giving off

You want another drink

Before I kick you out?

Now, don’t get mad

You know every bar has rules

And there’s a lot of them here

You want to open up another bar

And give me another job

I’ll play by your rules

Right now, I gotta play by Dave’s rules

Because it’s Dave’s bar

Now that’s just how it is

Your grandson like that fire truck

We got him?

I still think it’s kind of fucked up

Giving a kid a present

From his grandpa’s mistress

But I didn’t sign my name on the card

That was you, Paulie boy

That was all you

Still can’t believe I shacked up

With a grandpa

Damn, I must be getting old

Or just losing my touch

What’s it like being a grandpa at forty years old?

I told my kid that if he made me a grandma before I was sixty

I’d cut his nuts off and mail them to his father

He got all embarrassed

--His mom talking about his nuts

But that’s how I am, you know that

I don’t give a shit

I’ll just say what I gotta say

But you know you should go home, Paulie

You got that big house in East Temple
And you’re hanging out in a dive bar

Keeping some townie girl company

Like it’s the something obvious

Like it’s so obvious

That you would be here on a Saturday night

Instead of out with your wife somewhere

Spending all that money

She makes

I bet you got even more

Now that the insurance paid out, right?

Don’t tell me how much it was

I don’t want to know

None of my business

How much they gave you

It’s your money

You’re entitled to it

It was your bar

That was, hell, that might have been

The tenth or eleventh bar I’ve worked at in my life

Not counting restaurants

Or clubs

Never had one burn down though

So that was a first

You ever, uh…ask her about it?

Your wife?

I just…I always thought it was—

I’m not asking

I’m really not

Like I said

None of my business

But…

I know how much you loved that place

And I know…

I know how much trouble it was

Not just money-wise

Because we always did well

Hell, we did better than that
That place was packed all the time

When you and me were working, but—

I know it caused other kinds of trouble

So I didn’t know if…

Do you think she was home

The night of the fire?

Or do you think she was she sitting

On the street in her car

Watching you and me lock up?

Getting in my car

Going back to my place

And maybe she was thinking

If only he didn’t have that bar…

But that’s crazy, I guess

You said she’s quiet

That she doesn’t care

What you do

Or who you do it with

As long as you come home once in awhile

And punch the clock

Probably better for you and me anyway

We didn’t need, uh—

Uh…

Don’t, okay, don’t

Just let me say

What I’m gonna say

And then I gotta lock up

We didn’t need

You and me

We didn’t—

We didn’t need a place

To be stuck together

Anymore than…

It was just bad news

It was all bad news

And a business into it

Like we did

Booze and gifts for your grandkids

And you saying one day you were gonna leave

When we both know

You weren’t going to

It just—

It’s just better

It happened

The way it did

However it happened

It was either that

Or I was gonna have to put a fence between us

An electric fence

To zap you

Every time you look at me

Like you’re looking right now

Okay, time to call it, Paulie

And do me a favor, all right?

The next time you want to stop by and visit?

Don’t

Just, uh…

Just don’t