THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME (flash fiction)

The Drama Critic hopped aboard his 5 p.m. Manhattan-bound bus just as he did for the past 17 years. This time, though, his usually-boring trip home was different because ousted mayor Julio Taft was sitting next to him.

The guy seated in back of the Drama Critic leaned forward and with just enough spittle to make the day more annoying said, “Yo bub, that’s Julio Taft…”

The Drama Critic nodded and not thinking much of it, decided to chat up the former politico who was currently awaiting sentencing for a slew of corruption and graft charges.

Between doozy proclamations like, “They can’t prove that I did what they say I did” and “You’ll never see Julio Taft behind bars,” the Drama Critic started taking mental notes – a talent perfected after hundreds of long performances in dark theaters.

As the ol’ mayor hopped off of the creaky 71 muttering proudly, the Drama Critic stared at him and wondered how Taft would feel reading about this on Page One tomorrow morning.