Part 10 (2/2)
”What are you talking about?” Joshua replied.
”One day I'm gonna go,” she said. ”I just wanna know if you're coming.” Her eyes were pensive, her voice soft and serious. She looked past him, at the trees behind the park bench on which they sat.
”Where do you think you're going?”
”Don't know,” she answered hesitantly, her eyes still looking elsewhere. ”Don't matter.”
”I thought things were okay now.”
”What's okay?”
”You know, your father don't hit you and Jerome any more. And you and I are okay, too.”
”Oh.” Impa.s.sive.
”Oh what?”
”I guess you're right,” she said without conviction.
He let it drop, but was still worried. He wanted to tell her he would go anywhere with her, only he couldn't. A year ago there wouldn't have been a question, he would have packed his bags on the spot. But now things were different. He'd been off the streets, getting straight A's in school, and his mother had been treating him like a man. Moreover, Loretta was growing tired and needed him around. He wanted to be with Celeste, but he had responsibilities. He hoped she would understand that he couldn't choose between her and his mother, and prayed he wouldn't have to.
The next day, Celeste didn't show up in school. Joshua wanted to ask Jerome if everything was okay, but they hadn't spoken since the stabbing incident. It would have been a poor ice breaker for him to remind Jerome of his continued involvement with Celeste.
Joshua couldn't figure Jerome out. He believed Jerome hated his father, and might one day even kill the man himself. In any event, Jerome had become quite the ”holy roller.” He attended church several times a week, and spent most afternoons and weekends at Roy Sharp's home, studying religion with Roy's father, the preacher. Joshua wondered if it helped.
After lunch, Joshua noticed that Jerome didn't return to cla.s.s, and wondered if Jerome had also been concerned about Celeste's absence. He rea.s.sured himself that she wouldn't have run away without him.
Or would she?
Just as the cla.s.s was about to begin, he got up and hurried home.
He tapped on her bedroom window, but she didn't appear. Harder, and still nothing. Something was wrong. He tried the back door to the building, but it was locked, so he decided to go around to the front.
He ran up the alley and down the block. As he approached the building, he saw a large crowd gathered out front. In the street sat two police cars and one unmarked car with a flas.h.i.+ng red light. On the sidewalk, he saw Mr. and Mrs. Williams and Jerome talking with two plain clothed policemen whom he recognized: good ol' Detectives McQuade and What's-His-Name.
He came a little closer, and was about to ask a bystander what was happening, but before he could, Mr. Williams spotted him, pointed angrily, and yelled. The next thing he knew, the police were running toward him.
Now, there were many things Joshua had learned on the streets, and paramount among them was that when the cops run, so do you. It didn't matter why, or what they suspected he may or may not have done; he could ponder all that later. For now, fleeing was the only option.
He ran up Rochester, onto Eastern Parkway, and by the time he pa.s.sed Dubrows Cafeteria, it seemed the police had stopped giving chase. He slowed down, caught his breath, and started walking. He a.s.sumed Celeste had probably run away, and that the police were betting he had something to do with it. Now that he had run, they would be certain.
He had to find her. He wandered the neighborhood, searching alleys all afternoon, and once it was dark, he ventured back out to the street. He figured the night would camouflage him, for these days there were lots of ”brothers” roaming around the neighborhood, and to the cops they all looked alike.
It was past midnight. He'd been searching for almost twelve hours, was tired, hungry, and worried about his mother. Celeste had either disappeared or had already returned; in either case, he was convinced he was wasting his time. He decided to go home and face the music.
As he sauntered down Rochester, he noticed some hookers across the street, outside the park. He knew there was prost.i.tution in the neighborhood, but had never been out late enough to actually see it. He stopped, stood still, and watched for a while as several cars cruised by.
Suddenly, he was grabbed from behind and lost his balance. Someone was pulling him backwards into an alley. He couldn't tell who it was, and tried to resist. His sneakers sc.r.a.ped the concrete as he struggled to free himself, but his a.s.sailant was too strong.
Once in the alley, he was thrown to the ground, and noticed a third person watching. He got up slowly, looked at his foes, and swallowed hard. Faces from the past.
Big Bob wore a cool expression. ”Well, well, look what we got here,” he said.
Bones grinned, but said nothing.
Joshua was also silent.
”Long time no see, Peanut, my man,” Big Bob continued. He smiled widely, revealing a large mouth of browned teeth and gold caps.
Joshua nodded. It was a good time to be agreeable.
”You got nothing to say for yourself?” Big Bob asked.
Joshua looked at them; he had to figure a way out. ”You know, the police are looking for me all over. So is my Mama and her friends. They're probably not far.”
”Poss-ib-ly,” Big Bob responded, ”but seems they ain't found you yet, don't it?”
”But they will, probably soon.”
”I suppose we should be scared,” Big Bob said as he and Bones chuckled.
Joshua realized he was stuck there. His fear was showing.
”I heard about you and that girlfriend of yours,” Big Bob said. ”Seems you bought yourself some trouble.”
”You know about that?”
”I know everything, don't you realize that by now? Ain't nothing happens on these streets I don't know.”
Joshua didn't respond.
”Another thing I know is what that young girl's daddy been doing to her, and I don't mean those little beatings.”
”Huh?”
”I'm saying her daddy been doing her.” He and Bones chuckled again.
”Bulls.h.i.+t!” Joshua barked.
”Now, you ain't that stupid, are you?” Big Bob asked, looking directly into his eyes. Bones was still laughing.
”You were always a liar!” Joshua said, shedding his fear. He didn't care what they did to him at this point.
”Suit yourself,” Big Bob said.
<script>