for a while. Maybe Mom was only jiving.
[Yeah, right. And I’m a prima ballerina.]
The food comes, served by a stone-
faced waitress. Want anything else?
Let me see. How about a place to go to
when I get off work later? “Not right now.”
The sandwich is greasy and tasty and I eat
it slowly, not to savor the flavors, but to kill
time, three-plus hours until work. At least
it’s warm in here. Safe. Warm. Safe. That reminds
me of a night, spent in Trey’s arms, at his
cousin Brad’s house. Brad! He has that big spare
room. It’s kind of far from work, but hey,
there’s a convenience store in Red Rock, too.
And guess what. Now I’ve got cash
register experience. Brad, who’s cute.
Brad, who’s cool. Brad, who has the best
connection this side of Mexico. [Give him a call.]
Brad Is Home When I Call
I tell him what happened—that my
loving mother kicked me out
and kept my baby—omitting a little
information he doesn’t need to know.
“So…any chance I might be able
to stay with you for a while?”
[Tell him you’ll make it worth
his while.] I tell him exactly that.
He hesitates. Uh, well, I never
really thought about taking in
a renter. He thinks a bit. First