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guess other parents ask their kids all the time. "'And then . . .' He paused and looked like he

wasn't going to go on.

"'What?' I pushed.

"'He got mixed up with a woman who drinks

more than he does. I can't stand her. A lot of garbage

comes out of her mouth and when he turns his back or

leaves her alone with me, she . .

"'She what?' I asked

"'Never mind,' he said. 'Luckily, most of the

time he's at her place. That's probably where he's at

tonight,' he told me.

"He was so full of rage, he made my anger look

like a little drizzle. We were both quiet for a long

moment, both trying to keep our blood calm. "'What does your father do for work now?' I

asked him. He had told me his father once had a good

job with the water department but got fired because he

came in late too often and drunk once.

"'He works at a garage. I think it's a chop shop,

myself,' he added.

"I asked him what that was and he said a place

where they bring stolen cars to tear off parts and sell

them. Of course, that frightened me a little, but he

shrugged and said, 'Like the man told me, ignore him.' "In the fading, purplish light of the falling day,

his glimmering eyes met with mine and we stared at each other for a long moment. Though I knew his heart had been shredded even worse than mine, I could sense his longing to put it together and fill it with some sort of love and he knew what I was thinking, Like I said," I added with a small smile,

"two magnifying glasses on my thoughts.

"'You're a really nice girl,' he said.

"'Thank you,' I told him.

"'I don't mean just nice,' he continued. 'I mean

you're pretty in and out.'

"I smiled, not really knowing what he meant.