Story Excerpts

Tree of Heaven
by Kevin Egan

Doonan’s Pub, owned by an Irish expat, observed a daily holy hour like the pubs back home. At two p.m., the bouncer strongly urged the white-collar lunch crowd to return to their fancy offices. He locked up, keeping the pub immaculately empty until three p.m. when the first of blue-collar guys—the true backbone of the pub’s clientele—scratched at the door.

And then there was Bobby Beck. For years, Bobby yearned to become a tradesman, though his manifold attempts to learn an actual trade came to naught. His grandfather had been a master stonemason; his father had been a finish carpenter. But the skills, the patience, and the work ethic needed to learn a trade eluded Bobby, as did most of the tradesmen who arrived at the close of Doonan’s daily holy hour. Still, Bobby affected a blue-collar vibe with work boots, jeans, flannel shirts, and, occasionally, a bandanna. And he burned with the fervent desire to take his place among the men who had fired him, refused to hire him, or simply laughed at the thought of him during those long years before he finally “made it.” READ MORE