til you make itA work of serial fiction

Bankfaced bills

Jake’s wallet was a brown leather billfold with visible stitches, proof that it was handmade by the leatherworker he bought it from in the Pike Place Market. He always carried it in the right front pocket, never the back. When opened, the right side held cards he might need to take out often, including his Washington State driver’s license, credit union debit card, credit union credit card, American Express credit card, Alaska Airlines credit card, and REI credit card. On the left side, each slot bulged from holding too many cards. There were coffee and restaurant punch cards, nearly all with only one or two punches. Another slot was jammed with business cards from people Jake knew he was never going to call. In the bill pocket, he kept his bills bankfaced like he was taught back when he worked the register at Borders in high school, faces forward and never upside-down. He had $65 mostly in fives and ones. In front of the cash were his credit slips in various sums from used book stores around the city. $65 to Twice Sold Tales, $32 to Magus Books, $23 to Left Bank Books, $6 to Ophelia’s Books. More business cards were stuffed behind the cash into the bill pocket, also from people he was never going to call. The business cards were collected on either side of the bill pocket so they did not interfere when folding it.