and after shows at the Fillmore, Winterland, and The Matrix are busy times.”
He caught her gazing at him intently. It felt like her eyes were probing his soul. He squirmed a little in his seat.
“I’ll be walking up to the park again this evening after I tuck in the children. I’d like your company if you have no plans.”
“I’m free tonight.”
“Good. I thought you might be leaving us.”
He thought of his close encounter with the swing and was about to ask her how she knew of that event, when he saw her looking at his back.
He glanced over his shoulder, briefly startled by the green canvas backpack. Between Sherry and Sarah, and a breast thrown in for good measure, he had forgotten he was carrying it.
He stared at it for a moment, trying to place its reason for being there, when it came to him.
“Chick took me shopping for some clothes,” he said with more than a little pride.
Sarah shook her head. “Please tell me you didn’t let Chick influence your buying decisions.”
He explained to her his preference for shirts of a solid color and pants without patches. He did not tell her about the maroon sunglasses however.
“Good for you Alex.” She was once again staring at him, but this time her eyes were playful and her voice mischievous.
“Be who you want to be. Dress anyway you like. Do not let anyone try to shape you into something you are not. It’s important you stand up for your beliefs, even if others think them wrong.”
In the lobby, a girl screamed. It was loud enough to cause Alex to flinch.
“Sarah, you have a customer,” a male voice said from opposite the door.
“Tonight then, on the porch,” Sarah said.
She touched his arm, very close to the spot where Sherry’s breast had been, and led him out of the room.
“I see fire!” the girl in the lobby shouted. “It’s bright! My eyes! It’s burning my eyes!”
Her male companion, who looked panic-stricken, held her up as she came through the door. For a brief instant, she looked at Alex as she passed him. Her eyes were blood red.
“Fire!” she cried to him before she was ushered into the calming room.
Alex felt the need to address the drug issue as they worked their way back to the house. The spectacle at the Free Clinic had shaken him to the core. Chick, however, wanted no part of it.
“As I said before, some have problems, especially first timers.”
Alex let it go at that, and, for the remainder of the trip, they walked in silence.
HOME
After they arrived at the house on Ashbury Street, Chick disappeared and Alex went to the bedroom to try on his clothes.
He went with black pants, a white, loose fitting shirt, the vest and boots. He completed the ensemble with a belt buckled by a brass peace sign. He felt a bit silly and was thankful no mirrors were present to confirm that conclusion.
No mention was made of his manner of dress at the dinner table where, once again, everyone present, including Sarah, ignored him. He wanted to know what happened to the fire girl and was hoping Chick would bring up the subject, but he never did. The talk again centered on the day’s events of all seated with the exception of Sarah, who had the most exciting day of all. She did not speak one word during the entire meal.
Conflicted and confused, Alex decided to skip Sarah’s storytelling. The embarrassment of the previous evening meant he would need to part the beads this time and enter the domain of the women and children. So far, no man in the house had crossed that threshold and lived to tell about it. Even his desire to see and hear Sarah would not allow him to be first.
After dinner, he sat on the porch, on an old rocking chair, with Jezebel, his sole companion, on his lap. The warm evening brought out many of the streets residents. Flower children roamed the sidewalks and the street. He thought of downtown Baltimore during a weekday lunch hour, and the heavy foot traffic of working men and women.
He would sometimes eat
He caught her gazing at him intently. It felt like her eyes were probing his soul. He squirmed a little in his seat.
“I’ll be walking up to the park again this evening after I tuck in the children. I’d like your company if you have no plans.”
“I’m free tonight.”
“Good. I thought you might be leaving us.”
He thought of his close encounter with the swing and was about to ask her how she knew of that event, when he saw her looking at his back.
He glanced over his shoulder, briefly startled by the green canvas backpack. Between Sherry and Sarah, and a breast thrown in for good measure, he had forgotten he was carrying it.
He stared at it for a moment, trying to place its reason for being there, when it came to him.
“Chick took me shopping for some clothes,” he said with more than a little pride.
Sarah shook her head. “Please tell me you didn’t let Chick influence your buying decisions.”
He explained to her his preference for shirts of a solid color and pants without patches. He did not tell her about the maroon sunglasses however.
“Good for you Alex.” She was once again staring at him, but this time her eyes were playful and her voice mischievous.
“Be who you want to be. Dress anyway you like. Do not let anyone try to shape you into something you are not. It’s important you stand up for your beliefs, even if others think them wrong.”
In the lobby, a girl screamed. It was loud enough to cause Alex to flinch.
“Sarah, you have a customer,” a male voice said from opposite the door.
“Tonight then, on the porch,” Sarah said.
She touched his arm, very close to the spot where Sherry’s breast had been, and led him out of the room.
“I see fire!” the girl in the lobby shouted. “It’s bright! My eyes! It’s burning my eyes!”
Her male companion, who looked panic-stricken, held her up as she came through the door. For a brief instant, she looked at Alex as she passed him. Her eyes were blood red.
“Fire!” she cried to him before she was ushered into the calming room.
Alex felt the need to address the drug issue as they worked their way back to the house. The spectacle at the Free Clinic had shaken him to the core. Chick, however, wanted no part of it.
“As I said before, some have problems, especially first timers.”
Alex let it go at that, and, for the remainder of the trip, they walked in silence.
HOME
After they arrived at the house on Ashbury Street, Chick disappeared and Alex went to the bedroom to try on his clothes.
He went with black pants, a white, loose fitting shirt, the vest and boots. He completed the ensemble with a belt buckled by a brass peace sign. He felt a bit silly and was thankful no mirrors were present to confirm that conclusion.
No mention was made of his manner of dress at the dinner table where, once again, everyone present, including Sarah, ignored him. He wanted to know what happened to the fire girl and was hoping Chick would bring up the subject, but he never did. The talk again centered on the day’s events of all seated with the exception of Sarah, who had the most exciting day of all. She did not speak one word during the entire meal.
Conflicted and confused, Alex decided to skip Sarah’s storytelling. The embarrassment of the previous evening meant he would need to part the beads this time and enter the domain of the women and children. So far, no man in the house had crossed that threshold and lived to tell about it. Even his desire to see and hear Sarah would not allow him to be first.
After dinner, he sat on the porch, on an old rocking chair, with Jezebel, his sole companion, on his lap. The warm evening brought out many of the streets residents. Flower children roamed the sidewalks and the street. He thought of downtown Baltimore during a weekday lunch hour, and the heavy foot traffic of working men and women.
He would sometimes eat
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