Evening Street Read Online Free Page A

risen now, and gotten stronger. “Look what it done to my kid. Look.” He plunged his hands back in the frayed pockets of his jeans. “Told her. Told her it weren’t right, specially once she was having a kid. Other folks tried to tell her, too. She wouldn’t listen.”
    Bell waited. She half expected Hinkle to blow up with rage; he seemed that upset. But it didn’t happen. After a minute or so, his body relaxed. The anger drifted away.
    â€œThey’re taking real good care of him here,” Hinkle said. “I can see that. And I’m real grateful.” He crossed his arms. The leather of his jacket made a creaking sound as he did so. “You never know how you’re going to feel. When you have a kid, I mean. People can try to tell you—but it ain’t the same. Hearing about it ain’t the same as feeling it. As knowing. Then it happens and it’s like—it’s like—” He groped for words. “It’s like there’s a whole new idea about the world, living right there inside you now. And it’s a new world, too. Fresh-made.” He gestured toward the basinet. “All on account of that little guy over there. Changes everything, right? He’s all you think about. Night and day.”
    Bell let him bask for a moment in his love for his son. The agitation in him continued to loosen up and spread out, like a rope being gradually uncoiled.
    â€œSo you and the child’s mother didn’t plan on becoming parents,” she said.
    â€œ Plan ? Hell, lady, we barely knew each other’s names.” Instantly Hinkle dropped his head. “Sorry. Sorry. No call for that kinda talk. Specially not here. I got to keep control of myself. Not go flying off no more. I got responsibilities now. See, I’m a lot older’n Tina. She’s nineteen. I’m fifty-four.”
    â€œQuite a gap.”
    â€œYeah. And Tina—she’s wild. Always has been. Still is. But me? I’m ready to start acting my age. Ready to be a dad to my boy over there. Got a good job now—pushing steel over at the Macklin factory. I’m getting rid of my trailer and moving into an apartment. It’s got a washer-dryer right there on the premises.”
    Bell felt the beginnings of worry. Did Hinkle understand just how ill his child was? Did he realize that Abraham might not be coming home at all? She was certain that the doctors had explained to him the severity of the infant’s condition. But sometimes, she knew, a river of words could wash right over you, and you never got wet. Because nobody hears what they don’t want to know.
    â€œSo you and Tina won’t be raising him together,” she said.
    He shook his head. “We ain’t a couple no more, if that’s what you’re asking. Ain’t seen her for a while. She called me when Abraham was born, but that’s about it. I’m gonna go see her in the hospital tomorrow. Tell her what I’m thinkin’. I’m gonna raise him up by myself. My mama’s gonna help. No way Tina can raise up a child. No way. She’s pretty much still a child herself, if you know what I mean.”
    â€œAnd that job you have. It’s full-time, right? With benefits.” Bell kept her voice casual, but she was asking as a prosecutor, as a protector, as someone who had responsibility for the welfare of a child in her jurisdiction.
    The truth was, any child born at the Evening Street clinic would instantly qualify for the court’s protection. A scarcity of resources, however, meant that Bell didn’t have that luxury. She had to choose. She had to decide which children had the direst needs. If there was even the slightest chance that a parent or parents might be able to give a child a decent upbringing—then Bell had to let that child stay with the family. She had to save the county’s money wherever she could. She thought of it as a grim kind of infant