CHAPTER 16 #2
He shrugged like they were no big deal. “Yeah, kids from the neighborhood.”
She took a breath, like she was trying to figure out what to say. “Do they … bother you? I mean, if I hadn’t been there, would they have done something to those girls, or to you?”
Devon shook his head fast, mouth dry. “No, no, nothing like that.” The last thing he needed was her sticking her nose in.
That would guarantee his head on the bully target for sure, not to mention maybe cause problems for her, too.
“Really, they’re okay. They were playing.
We’re all kinda like ... friends. Sorta. ”
They were still at the stop sign, and he turned to look back at the school.
The guys were a good distance off, but Devon could see they’d stopped and were watching their car.
Miss Becca needed to put the pedal to the metal.
They didn’t need to draw attention. Maybe next time he could meet her on the corner, or early, while there were still lots of kids around. And teachers.
Rebecca looked at him a long moment, finally nodded. “Okay.”
She looked like she wanted to say more, but he rubbed his belly. “I can’t wait for one of those Harold shakes. They’re the best! So what’s a number-cruncher day?”
She opened her mouth, then shut it and smiled, stepped on the gas. They turned onto Aberville Road, and he let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding.
“I’m trying to raise more money for the newspaper, but it’s not always easy.”
He’d never considered that before. The newspaper was a business just like Mr. Allen’s store, and Mr. Allen was always complaining about customers and sales. He thought a moment.
“You could do a sale. You know, give stuff away when people buy stuff, and then they come back for more?”
She glanced at him. “We don’t have anything to give, really.”
“Give a newspaper. You know, get a subscription or something if you buy an ad.”
Her lips twisted. “That’s not a bad idea.” She tossed him a look. “You’re a smart kid, Devon.”
The way she said it sounded like she meant it, like she wasn’t trying to baby him, and he was still smiling a few minutes later as they pulled up to Harold’s and took their seats at the diner booth.
After they ordered, she leaned in. “So who do you think I should interview next? Got any ideas?”
Devon dug in his pack, pulled out a square of notebook paper. He unfolded it and spread it out on the table.
“These two here said they’d definitely talk to you. Cheyenne wants to ask at home first, but Diego said his mom wouldn’t mind and you can call him tonight and set something up.”
Miss Becca leaned back. “You got me names already? How in the world—”
He shrugged. “We had circle time after lunch and I showed them the paper, and some of the kids said the story was cool. So I asked them at recess.”
“Nice! I’ll give Diego a call tonight, and then when I go to the school to talk to him, I can chat with Cheyenne, see what she thinks.
” She started writing on the paper, making notes, and he grabbed one of the Saltines from the little white box on the table.
“What kind of gift card should I get for him, McDonald’s or something? ”
“Nah, that’s too far for some of them. A lot of the kids go get candy and sodas and stuff from Mr. Allen’s shop. I help out there, and I’ve seen Diego come in a few times. I bet Mr. Allen would do a gift card. Want me to ask?”
“That’s a great idea. Thanks!”
His burger and shake came—Miss Becca just got fries—and she told him stories while they ate, about where she used to live, all the way in New York City, and the paper she used to run. He told her about the safe stuff, like Mr. Allen’s shop, and Rev, and the camp.
The door tinkled, and he looked over to see a man and a boy about his age come in.
The boy had more freckles than anyone he’d ever seen.
They walked past him to a booth, but when they passed, the man stopped short and was smiling down at Miss Becca.
It was a big smile, the kind that showed all his teeth.
“Well, hey there, Becks. How’ve you been?” The man turned to the boy. “Son, you remember Miss Rebecca, from the river?”
The kid waved at her, cast a curious look at Devon. “Hi again! Catch any fish lately?”
“Would you believe I haven’t been back to that river since the day I saw you?” Miss Becca motioned to Devon. “This is my friend, Devon Robinson. Devon, meet JJ and, well, JJ.” She laughed and looked up at the man. “I guess I’d better start calling you ‘Josh’ now, huh.”
“Nice to meet you.” Devon shook their hands, and then the man, Josh, started talking to Miss Becca about fish and stuff, and Miss Becca looked really happy.
Devon tried to study the kid without him noticing.
The kid had on good shorts, the kind that looked like they came from a real department store, and one of those soft mini backpacks with the cords that sucked in the top tight, and shoes with fresh white laces.
The ends weren’t torn up, either. Not a single bit.
“How old are you?” he blurted to the kid.
“Ten today. It’s my birthday.” The kid smiled at him. He looked nice. “How old are you?”
“Happy birthday! I’m eleven.”
“Cool. You like to fish?”
Devon shrugged. “Never been.”
“You’ve never been fishing?”
Devon felt embarrassed then, but the kid must’ve noticed, because he shrugged, too.
“Hey, it’s okay. My buddy from school didn’t go till three weeks ago. He caught a huge bass, too. Guess they call that beginner’s luck, huh.”
“Guess so.”
The kid talked fast, like he’d just had a bunch of sugar. Devon decided he liked him. JJ.
“Maybe you can come with us sometime. We usually go every week after church, but today, Dad got the day off, on account of it being my birthday’n all, and we always go to Mama’s grave and put flowers on so she can say happy birthday, too.
And now it’s—burger time!” JJ held out his arms wide like he was saying ta-da.
Miss Becca seemed to pick up on that last part, because she stopped talking to the dad, turned to look at JJ. Her mouth hung a little open. “Your mama’s grave…?”
“Yeah, she died giving birth to me,” JJ said matter-of-factly. “She had a heart condition, so my dad gets to be mom and dad. It’s a boys’ house. Me, Dad, and Choco.”
“The ultimate man cave,” Miss Becca said and smiled, but her eyes looked sad. “Well, you and Devon here have something in common.”
“My mama died too, two years ago.” He tried to sound as casual as JJ. JJ gave him a surprised look, and then a nod. The No-Moms Club.
JJ and his dad moved off a few moments later to their own booth, but not before JJ invited him again to come fishing at the river on Sunday.
It sounded like fun. It would be a good long ride on his bike, and it would get him out of the house for the day.
Between that and church and helping Mr. Allen, he could probably manage to stay out all day long and avoid Uncle T.
As they walked off, Mr. Josh slung his arm around JJ’s neck, and Devon felt a pang of something settle in his stomach. For a moment he wished—no. No matter. His dad didn’t know what he was missing, like Mama had always said.
“You got kids?” he asked Miss Becca after JJ was long gone, and she laughed.
“Not me. I’m too busy at work to be anybody’s mom.”
“Mama used to say the work would always be there, said if she’d known before how great it was being a mom, she would have had twenty more.”
“Twenty!” Miss Becca giggled, and for a moment, she sounded like a kid. “Your mom sounds like one amazing woman. I wish I’d known her.”
Mama would have liked Miss Becca. He told her as much, and her cheeks got a little pink then.
“Thanks, Devon. I know I would have liked her, too.” She clicked her pen. “So talk to me about how the camp is going? You’re, what, two weeks in now?”
After, she dropped him at the school. To his relief, the guys were long gone, and the afternoon had settled into that soft glowy time, when the evening was just starting to build and the sky was changing, like it had whispers at the edges.
He spotted his bike still in the rack, and the tightness that had gripped his chest a moment ago was suddenly gone in a flood of gratitude. Thanks, God.
“See you tomorrow, maybe?” She smiled at him. She had a nice smile.
“Hope so.” He meant it. “Thanks for the burgers, Miss Becca.”
“Thanks for the help with my story. You want a ride home?” She glanced nervously at the small clump of trees up ahead past the school, like she was worried someone was going to come jumping out of them like in the movies or something.
“Those guys won’t come back and bother you, will they?
I can fit your bike in the back, I’m sure. ”
“Nah, thanks, though. Besides, I’m supposed to meet my friend, uh, CJ here.
” He made a showy move of looking around, like he expected CJ to walk up any second now.
He felt bad for lying. He was doing a lot of it lately.
But there was no way he wanted Miss Becca bringing him home, seeing Uncle T.
Or worse, Ray or one of the other really rough guys. “It’s fine, I promise.”
She bit her lip. “If you’re sure. Bye, Devon.”
He watched her drive away, watched her little gray car turn right at the stop sign. JJ and his dad came to mind then, and the arm slung around JJ’s shoulders like they’d walked like that a thousand times before.
And suddenly Devon felt very, very alone.