Gus was a good man and very affable but lonely without anyone to share his life.
Outwardly he appeared to be happy, mostly because he sampled the moonshine he made (best in four counties according to his customers). Schooled no further than the sixth grade, life had been his teacher and he survived nicely, just without anyone close to him that he could get comfort from. He had been unwilling to take the risk to love someone for fear that he would get his heart broken.
He was about to get a lesson in what love and sharing with another person was like when one day a stranger dressed in a suit, tie, and all the trappings of one of them revenuer fellas came to visit. Gus greeted him with two buckshot loaded barrels of a shotgun intending to run him off his property for snooping around but Gus was won over by the stranger’s friendly enough manner and the two got along well so eventually Gus invited him for dinner instead. The two men sat drinking Gus’ corn squeezings for a good part of the evening until Gus fell into a deep stupor.
