Sebastian picked up the bottle and chugged the remains of the bottle. He loved his beer. Nothing would ever outweigh his love for it. Not even his wife or daughter.

He stood and threw a dollar on the bar and went out the swinging doors. Walking to his car, he grumbled about having to go home to a whiny woman and a daughter who cried too much.

Slamming his car door, he revved out of the lot. Pulling into his driveway, he spit out the gum he used to wipe away his beer breath. The front door opened and Maria stood there with her arms crossed. “Sebastian. Your late. Dinner has been on the stove for an hour. I already sent Lizzie to bed.”

“Mind your business woman. I don’t like when you whine.”

“I’m not whining. I’m tired of dealing with you. I’m leaving.”

Sebastian reached out and slapped her. “You ain’t leaving. It’d look bad on my part.”

She touched her check and winced. Turning on her heal, she walked to Lizzie’s room and wept silently.

Sebastian rolled his eyes and went to his room. Women these days. He slammed his door, threw his boots off, tugged his shirt off, then flopped on the bed.

Walking up in the morning, his head pounded so he went back to sleep. 4 hours later, he woke again, feeling sick to his stomach. He sat up and looked around. 12:31pm. His wife wasn’t in bed and he couldn’t here them. _Ding_! His phone showed he had a text:

“Sebastian, your fired. You’ve missed 21 days of work, unexcused and came in late for 52 days. We’ve tried being patient, but your not consistent. Thank you for your work. Your wages will be sent soon.”

Sebastian rubbed his face, sure he had read that wrong. Reading it again, he threw his phone. He stomped to the living room and found his house seemed empty. Walking to the beer cabinet, he saw a note:

“Seb. I said I was done. Divorce papers should come in the mail soon. Also, Lizzie is legally mine now. Those papers will come soon also.”

He crumbled the paper and tossed it to the side. He didn’t care. He chugged a bottle real quick and went to check the mail. The box had 4 envelopes. Junk. Junk. Scam. Wait, what’s that? Car insurance? He tore it open as he walked back to the house.

“Sebastian Thompson, you haven’t paid your car insurance in months. As return payment, the car is no longer yours. The tow company will be picking your car up soon.”

He ripped it in half. Surely it was scam. Maria had paid it… right? When he got inside, he flipped the lights on, but they didn’t come on. _Ding_! His phone showed another text.

“Sebastian, you haven’t paid your electricity bill in three months.”

Another text:

“Sebastian. Your phone bill has been unpaid. Your phone will shut off in approximately 9 minutes.”

Sebastian kicked the wall, which put a new whole in it. Ran to his cabinet and guzzled another bottle. His phone shut off. His electricity was off. His car was being towed. His rent was probably unpaid. His wife and daughter left him. He lost his job.

Why had he ever picked up a bottle of beer?