Pizza

when my brother and i were kids
Godfather's Pizza was our favorite

one particular time
i was 12
he was 6
the pizza came to the table
while he was over playing an arcade game

i was quick to plate a piece for him
cover it with a ridiculous amount of crushed red pepper flakes
and disguise it under a layer of parmesan cheese

he came back to the the table
and i said
"here, i got you a piece all ready."

"thanks, brother,"
he said
silly son of a bitch
actually thinking his big brother
did something nice for him

he took a huge bite
almost immediately started crying
and i could not have laughed harder

fast forward six years
the two of us are back at Godfather's

the pizza came to the table
while i was in the men's
taking a piss

i came out to find a piece
covered in parm
sitting in front of my seat

i rolled my eyes
"do you really think you're gonna get me
at my own game?"

"i didn't do anything to it,"
he insisted

i scraped the parm off
and sure enough
there was no red pepper

i felt bad for doubting him
"i'm sorry, dude."

silly son of a bitch
actually thinking his little brother
did something nice for him

i took a huge bite
my tongue lit up
and he could not have laughed harder

he'd lifted the mozzarella up
and put the pepper underneath

my mouth was on fire
but i was too impressed with his cunning
to be mad

so i laughed
too