Mrs. Broadside’s Bones
Axel was right. According to their press release, Best Friends’ Bank & Trust expressed “sincere regret” for “the actions of this bad-apple employee,” which in no way reflected the institution’s “corporate values.” They condemned “all forms of racism” and had already “reached out to the Pax family” with “an effusive, carefully worded, and heavily focus-grouped apology.” They hoped “the family’s pain” had been “mitigated at least in part” by the knowledge that Best Friends’ had “decided to terminate” their relationship with Mrs. Broadside “effective today.” Lastly, they offered Herbert Pax “a complimentary checking account, complete with a $200 bonus and a 0.1% APY.” It wasn’t immediately clear if he’d accepted either the apology or the account.
Josh Cook is an MFA candidate at Lindenwood University. In 2009, he earned an MA from Indiana University with a thesis on Kurt Vonnegut’s The Sirens of Titan. His fiction has appeared in journals including Across the Margin, Fiction Kitchen Berlin, Idle Ink, and Sage Cigarettes. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife and two dogs. Josh recommends the Kheprw Institute.
