A few yards up the road Sam noticed a boy no more than 10 years old riding a bicycle with a metal halo on his head.

“Hey kid, where’d you get that?” said Sam jogging toward the boy.

“I wanted a bike for Christmas but Mom said we didn’t have any money so then I asked for it for my birthday but she said no again but then she got a new boyfriend and they told me they wanted me to play outside so then..” said the kid.

“Not the bike,” said Sam. “The thing on your head.”

“Oh, I found it over there,” said the boy pointing at the stoop outside Amy’s apartment. “It’s my new helmet. It’s way cooler than my old one.”

“Yeah, well it’s mine,” said Sam reaching lunging toward the kid. “Didn’t your Mom ever tell you about stealing?”

“Gotta catch me first,” said the boy as he began riding circles around Sam. “Hey, what does this button do?”

“No! Don’t!” said Sam, but it was too late. The child was gone.

Dejected, Sam started the long walk into town. “Never too early to start drinking,” he thought to himself.