alabama 2:4

At the gas station, I filled the tank with premium without pre-paying. My hand shook on the pump lever. I felt like I was being pursued, although I was surely not. I had documents to verify my bank account, even if it was empty. Was there a law against trying to withdraw funds that didn't exist? I hadn't been doing that. HOT GAS, I thought. I went in to pay with the credit card from a different gas station. I'd done this before. They had little choice but accept it, and the card-issuing company paid, charging me ten dollars or more as a fee. Before I went to the counter, I picked up a quart of milk for the kids, some orange juice for me and a handful of Hersey bars for emergency rationing. I wondered if I had a deliquent look about me. I'd shaved that morning, and we'd laundered that week, so I was presentable, but other, less concrete factors could be giving me away, a lack of bulge in my wallet-pocket, doubt on my breath.

move on...