I KNOCK TWICE. “Anybody in there?”

Carolina standing outside the room next door. “Go on. Open it.”

It take a minute for my eyes to adjust to the dark after I walk in. Then I see him. Running like I’m thirsty and he the only water around, I wrap my arms and legs around him, cry on his shoulder.

He let me get it all out: the tears, everything Carolina said and done to me, how much I want to go home. It don’t take him long to say he’s disappointed in me. I seemed so mature, he tells me. So responsible. “Did I make a mistake choosing you, Charlie?”

“No, Daddy. It’s just that—”

It’s a little thing he’s asking me to do, he say. “The first time is the hardest.” He holding on to both my hands. “After that it’s a piece of cake.”

Breathing in and out, fast and hard, I tell him I think I might faint. He rub my back till I calm down. My throat dries up like I swallowed dirt, so I ask for a drink of water.

“Charlie, you want to make me happy, right?”

I nod.

“I can’t hear you.”

“Yes, Daddy. I want to make you happy, Daddy.”

“Then do what you’re told.”

All of a sudden, I start shaking all over. Like I’m in a cold shower. He hold me close, tells me everything is gonna be all right. I believe him. He believes I can do it. That I’ll earn a lot of money for him and me. I’m still shaking after he leave.