“Guess what?” Devlin had written. “There’s going to be a meteor shower tonight around midnight. I thought we could watch it in the park down the street from our apartment. What do you say?”
I made sure not to smile because I was aware that both Seth and mom were watching me closely. “I’d love to,” I replied. “Sounds like fun.”
I sent the text and put my phone away. Then mom brought out dessert, and we spent another hour talking and eating and enjoying one another’s company. It was nice when there was no drama, and it was just the three of us. I thought of Devlin immediately and realized that he would never have this with his parents.
I was glad that he had me now, at the very least. I was looking forward to the meteor shower with Devlin in the park. It sounded magical, and I needed a little magic in my life.
21
Devlin
“So?” I asked. “Will you come with me?”
Zack paused. “You want me to come with me to your parents’ house?”
“Well… yeah.”
“Because your mother called up out of the blue and asked you to come over?”
“Yes.”
“Because… why?”
“Because apparently I have some stuff at the house that they need me to come and collect… or they’re just going to throw it away. She was very clear about that part.”
There was a pause.
“What?” I asked.
“Why didn’t you just tell her to throw it away?” Zack asked. “Why go there… you know they’re only going to give you grief.”
I sighed inwardly. I knew that much was true, but I guess I was just a sucker for grief. And at the end of the day, they were my parents. Could I really just ignore them to the point where I could forget about them altogether? Of course, I couldn’t. Experience had taught me that their decision to cut me off had affected me to my core. At the end of the day, I was still the same young kid who craved his parents’ approval.
“I just… want to see what they have there,” I said, lying smoothly because I didn’t want to admit to Zack my issues where my parents were concerned. “I mean… it could be important to me.”
“If it was, don’t you think you’d have collected it a long time ago?”
“Will you just go with me man?” I asked impatiently. “My father’s always loved you.”
“Yeah because I chose a sensible, stable career,” Zack said. “Because I wasn’t brave like you. I doubt your father would have given me the time of day if I’d gone with my first dream to become a carnival clown.”
I smiled. “To be honest, I might not have liked you much either if that were the case.”
“Rude.”
“I hate clowns.”
“I remember,” Zack laughed. “Ok fine… do you need me to pick you up?”
“Yes please,” I nodded. “Can you be here in an hour?”
“Sure thing.”
He got a little late, but I didn’t care. Being early wouldn’t get me brownie points with my parents anyway. I slipped into the passenger seat and realized that he had worn dark trousers and a collared shirt and I realized he had dressed the way that my father liked. I cursed loudly and looked down at the cut off trousers and t-shirt I had opted to wear.
“What?” Zack asked.
“Of course you would dress like a professional, and I would dress like… a hobo.”