entered. The ends of the armrests of his chair were black with
dirt. One had a built-in cup holder that cradled a condensation-covered can of
Bud Light. It was twenty past four. Oh, well. It’s always five o’clock
somewhere, right?
Dee offered me a seat on the couch. Al
swiveled around to face me but didn’t mute the television.
I cleared my throat. “Have you heard
about Michael? And Ashley?”
Dee answered, after a glance at Al.
“Ashley called us Tuesday mornin’, when the police was still there.”
“Oh. I just wanted to come out and say
how sorry I am about what’s happened. Is there anything I can do?”
“I’m gonna try to go see her tomorrow.
Me and her need to talk about what to do about the funeral.”
“One of Ashley’s friends has gotten
together a fund for the burial and is planning a memorial. She’s trying to set
it for next Tuesday. Did you have something particular in mind that you wanted
to do?”
Dee looked relieved, and at the word
“fund,” Al’s gaze snapped to attention. “No, I don’t think so. Whatever her
friend wants to do is okay with me.”
“How are you holding up?”
Al decided to stick in his two valuable
cents. “We’re all right. Cain’t say I’m surprised at what happened. That’s what
you get when you mess with drugs. That kid’s prob’ly better off dead than
havin’ some crack whore for a momma.”
There was no use in defending Ashley; it
would be pointless. But I felt sorry for Dee, stone-faced, next to me. I
continued as if Al hadn’t opened his fat mouth. “I’ll have her friend Nona call
you when the arrangements are finalized. I’m sure if you wanted to say a few
words, she could arrange it.”
The thought of speaking to a crowd of
people clearly made Dee nervous. “Nah, that’s okay. I wouldn’t know what to
say, no how. I got to be at work at five, so I gotta go.” I rose along with her
as Al’s concentration returned to the game. I wondered which team he had bet
on.
Dee picked up her purse and keys from
the messy counter separating the kitchen from the long, narrow living room.
“Bye, baby,” she said to Al.
“Bye.” He took a swig of the beer.
Dee walked me to my car. I said once
again how sorry I was about Michael’s death.
“Thanks. I’m gonna miss that kid. I
don’t know if Ashley told you, but she’d been bringing him up here on the
weekends some. They was up here just last weekend. I got me one of them
inflatable pools and we put it out here in the yard with the sprinkler an’ all.
He had so much fun splashing around.” For the first time since I’d arrived, I
saw her eyes darken with grief. “And Ashley, she was doing so good. She was
thinking about going back to school. Getting her GED, and maybe taking some
classes someplace. She always did do good in school, before she ran off.”
I nodded. “I bet she’d do well.”
Tears began, leaking slowly out of the
hazel eyes that were so like Ashley’s. She wiped them away with her fingers. “I
gave her some money. It wasn’t a lot, jus’ two hundred dollars. Something she
could use to help pay for school someday. Al found out and got so pissed. He
said she’s an adult now and needs to stand on her own two feet.”
The thought of Al Mackey as anyone’s
life coach almost made me laugh out loud. I held my face somber as Dee
continued. “I guess I can see his point, but I just wanted to do something to
help her.”
“If she were my daughter, I’d have done
the same thing.”
“Really?”
“Sure.”
“Now I gotta get me some money together
for the lawyer.”
“Do you know who Ashley’s lawyer is?”
“I found her one Tuesday. His name’s
Samuel Hamilton. He’s supposed to be real good.”
I knew “Sam the Ham” by reputation. He
was fond of high-profile defense cases and courtroom theatrics. And she was
right, he was good. I had one more question to ask her. “Dee, do you think that
Ashley could’ve spent the two hundred
dirt. One had a built-in cup holder that cradled a condensation-covered can of
Bud Light. It was twenty past four. Oh, well. It’s always five o’clock
somewhere, right?
Dee offered me a seat on the couch. Al
swiveled around to face me but didn’t mute the television.
I cleared my throat. “Have you heard
about Michael? And Ashley?”
Dee answered, after a glance at Al.
“Ashley called us Tuesday mornin’, when the police was still there.”
“Oh. I just wanted to come out and say
how sorry I am about what’s happened. Is there anything I can do?”
“I’m gonna try to go see her tomorrow.
Me and her need to talk about what to do about the funeral.”
“One of Ashley’s friends has gotten
together a fund for the burial and is planning a memorial. She’s trying to set
it for next Tuesday. Did you have something particular in mind that you wanted
to do?”
Dee looked relieved, and at the word
“fund,” Al’s gaze snapped to attention. “No, I don’t think so. Whatever her
friend wants to do is okay with me.”
“How are you holding up?”
Al decided to stick in his two valuable
cents. “We’re all right. Cain’t say I’m surprised at what happened. That’s what
you get when you mess with drugs. That kid’s prob’ly better off dead than
havin’ some crack whore for a momma.”
There was no use in defending Ashley; it
would be pointless. But I felt sorry for Dee, stone-faced, next to me. I
continued as if Al hadn’t opened his fat mouth. “I’ll have her friend Nona call
you when the arrangements are finalized. I’m sure if you wanted to say a few
words, she could arrange it.”
The thought of speaking to a crowd of
people clearly made Dee nervous. “Nah, that’s okay. I wouldn’t know what to
say, no how. I got to be at work at five, so I gotta go.” I rose along with her
as Al’s concentration returned to the game. I wondered which team he had bet
on.
Dee picked up her purse and keys from
the messy counter separating the kitchen from the long, narrow living room.
“Bye, baby,” she said to Al.
“Bye.” He took a swig of the beer.
Dee walked me to my car. I said once
again how sorry I was about Michael’s death.
“Thanks. I’m gonna miss that kid. I
don’t know if Ashley told you, but she’d been bringing him up here on the
weekends some. They was up here just last weekend. I got me one of them
inflatable pools and we put it out here in the yard with the sprinkler an’ all.
He had so much fun splashing around.” For the first time since I’d arrived, I
saw her eyes darken with grief. “And Ashley, she was doing so good. She was
thinking about going back to school. Getting her GED, and maybe taking some
classes someplace. She always did do good in school, before she ran off.”
I nodded. “I bet she’d do well.”
Tears began, leaking slowly out of the
hazel eyes that were so like Ashley’s. She wiped them away with her fingers. “I
gave her some money. It wasn’t a lot, jus’ two hundred dollars. Something she
could use to help pay for school someday. Al found out and got so pissed. He
said she’s an adult now and needs to stand on her own two feet.”
The thought of Al Mackey as anyone’s
life coach almost made me laugh out loud. I held my face somber as Dee
continued. “I guess I can see his point, but I just wanted to do something to
help her.”
“If she were my daughter, I’d have done
the same thing.”
“Really?”
“Sure.”
“Now I gotta get me some money together
for the lawyer.”
“Do you know who Ashley’s lawyer is?”
“I found her one Tuesday. His name’s
Samuel Hamilton. He’s supposed to be real good.”
I knew “Sam the Ham” by reputation. He
was fond of high-profile defense cases and courtroom theatrics. And she was
right, he was good. I had one more question to ask her. “Dee, do you think that
Ashley could’ve spent the two hundred
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