5 Word Challenge: Peculiar

"This place smells peculiar," Sarah said.

Her father had to hold in his laughter. It's true that liquor stores have a special odor. Impossible to break it apart into separate components the way a person could, say, with a New York taxi cab. The smell of a liquor store is like a well-known brand. You can't separate it from its logo. The smell is defined by its place, the place is defined by its smell. But still, to hear that word coming from his three year-old daughter's lips was a bit of a surprise.

"I know, honey." He eyed the shelves behind the clerk. "We won't be here long."

The clerk looked up from his newspaper and the college football scores to ask, "You lookin' fer something in particular?"

"Yes, my good man. There's is a bottle of vodka behind you that has kindled no small amount of interest in my person."

Sarah wouldn't know it for years to come, but her father was often embarrassing. The family had very recently moved into this small Texan college town. Her father was a recently hired professor, and liked to have a little fun with this new status. He was completely unaware that he wasn't the first of his kind.

"Okay, Prof, that'll be 13 bucks."

"13 bucks?" He heard the sound of someone's front end squealing as they turned into the parking lot. It could have been the sound of his own panic. He wouldn't know for years to come, but he was not only embarrassing, he was also an alcoholic. "Are you shitting me?"

The clerk promptly pointed to a lower spot on the shelf. "Just outta graduate school? New hire?"

"Yeah."

"It's gonna be awhile before you see tenure, you better learn how to settle for less."

It wasn't like the clerk jabbed him in the ribs while he said this. Absorbed in the blue sky of autumn outisde the store, Sarah did not notice her father's expression as he realized the guy wasn't teasing. This was a prophecy. He bought two liter bottles from the bottom shelf.