The Disposables Read Online Free Page B

you could’ve. I didn’t want to give you the emergency signal but … but I was worried about Alonzo, his asthma medicine is running low, and Alonzo, he wants to see you something fierce. I know it’s not fair to you with what you got going on, but it kills me to see him so sad.”
    â€œIt’s okay. You did right. I left you enough to last you through.”
    I fought a lump rising in my throat and tried not to think about Alonzo or I’d probably tear up again. “Did Chantal say what it was about?”
    â€œYeah, something about a guy named Ben something.”
    I sat back on my heels. “Ben Drury?”
    â€œYeah, I think that’s it.”
    â€œI have to go.” I got up and kissed him on his forehead. Ben Drury meant bad news, the worst. Chantal wouldn’t have risked calling unless Ben meant to make a home call. I had to roll fast. Parole agents didn’t make home calls on Sunday. Something was up.
    â€œI talked to Marie tonight, she said she was going to have some meds dropped off tomorrow, okay?”
    He nodded.
    â€œShe’ll check over Alonzo. And, I think I forgot to take theGatorade bottle down. Can you have Toby do that for me, old man, right away so I’ll know the next time?”
    His hands were crippled up with arthritis. He patted my arm with a weathered claw, “You take care, son, you hear?”
    â€œI always do, Dad. I wish I could stay longer. I have to go.”
    He closed his eyes and nodded. I started for the back door and then switched direction, went down the hall to the bedroom. I stroked Alonzo’s soft hair and kissed his forehead one more time. In his sleep he mumbled the name, “Alfred,” his brother. Alonzo was small for a three-year old, so vulnerable in such a violent world. The clock ticked in the back of my brain. I had to go. Soon it would be over. Then I’d make it up to him.
    I grabbed a cookie from the cookie jar on the kitchen counter on the way out, stopped at the door, and looked back at Dad, Alonzo’s great-grandfather, who stood at the entrance of the living room. “Tell Alonzo, no matter what, I’ll come see him tonight. Okay?”
    â€œI shouldn’t tell him that if there’s any chance at all you won’t make it. It’ll break his little heart.”
    For a second, I thought about Ben Drury, calculated the odds, then said, “You go ahead and tell him.”

Chapter Five
    On the porch I gave Junior the cookie and patted his head. There was nothing else to do but run for it. Taxis didn’t come into the ghetto when it was dark, not this far south. I had to make it back to Killer King, the farthest place a cab would venture down from Imperial Highway, and only if the money was right. Short of carjacking, a taxi was the only way I was going to get to Chantal’s in time.
    Five blocks west and thirteen long blocks north. I couldn’t run the whole thing and had to walk-run, my face and hands throbbed, my old body yelled that the brain had gone off line into the red zone and threatened a full meltdown.
    At Killer King I used the pay phone out front, hoping Marie wouldn’t come out for a smoke and see me. She didn’t know about Chantal. She knew about the apartment, but not about Chantal. Marie wouldn’t understand. I paced in the shadows waiting as the sun broke on the horizon. I wasn’t going to make it.
    According to my parole officer, I was supposed to be home in bed on Sunday mornings. I was labeled High Risk because of my commitment charge. Drury had my work schedule, my entire life schedule. He had the ability to drop in on me at anytime. Until now, Ben had been cool and always called first, a professional courtesy only extended from parole agent to ex-cop.
    The situation now called for a serious two-step shuffle, lie to him about how my job was going, and hope Mr. Cho wasn’t mad enough to call him to rat me out. Then hope Ben