guess other parents ask their kids all the time. "'And then . . .' He paused and looked like he
wasn't going to go on.
"'What?' I pushed.
"'He got mixed up with a woman who drinks
more than he does. I can't stand her. A lot of garbage
comes out of her mouth and when he turns his back or
leaves her alone with me, she . .
"'She what?' I asked
"'Never mind,' he said. 'Luckily, most of the
time he's at her place. That's probably where he's at
tonight,' he told me.
"He was so full of rage, he made my anger look
like a little drizzle. We were both quiet for a long
moment, both trying to keep our blood calm. "'What does your father do for work now?' I
asked him. He had told me his father once had a good
job with the water department but got fired because he
came in late too often and drunk once.
"'He works at a garage. I think it's a chop shop,
myself,' he added.
"I asked him what that was and he said a place
where they bring stolen cars to tear off parts and sell
them. Of course, that frightened me a little, but he
shrugged and said, 'Like the man told me, ignore him.' "In the fading, purplish light of the falling day,
his glimmering eyes met with mine and we stared at each other for a long moment. Though I knew his heart had been shredded even worse than mine, I could sense his longing to put it together and fill it with some sort of love and he knew what I was thinking, Like I said," I added with a small smile,
"two magnifying glasses on my thoughts.
"'You're a really nice girl,' he said.
"'Thank you,' I told him.
"'I don't mean just nice,' he continued. 'I mean
you're pretty in and out.'
"I smiled, not really knowing what he meant.