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MITCH CLOCKED OUT WHEN the morning shift arrived at 7:00 a.m. and lifted a hand to them in greeting as he left. If he hurried, he could be at home in bed, before Mom was up, and wanted to talk. He pulled out of his parking spot just as the sun broke above the horizon. He squinted and pulled down the visor. It was already hot and was likely to get hotter. He was glad he was going to be at home, asleep in a dark, air-conditioned room during the worst of the heat. He couldn’t remember the last time he had a proper meal but wasn’t hungry. The fact that his jeans were hanging loosely on him had nothing to do with his eating habits, he was certain.
It didn’t matter. Nothing mattered.
He was half-asleep when he turned the last corner towards home. He wasn’t really watching when he veered into the driveway, as he just wanted to get inside and go to bed. His head was pounding, and he tried to ignore the constant, nagging nausea in his stomach.
The rending crash jolted him fully awake. The pressure of his seatbelt prevented him from impacting the steering wheel, but it still knocked the wind out of his lungs. He didn’t have time to wonder why the airbag didn’t deploy, but the car was so old, they probably didn’t work anyway.
“What the hell?”
When his vision cleared, he looked up and realized that he had clipped the fence running along the length of the driveway, knocking a couple boards out of the fence.
“DAMMIT! Mom is going to kill me,” he yelled at no one in particular.
He unhitched his seatbelt and got out of the car to assess the damage. The bumper folded in a bit on the driver’s side, but the fence took the most damage. The car was probably still drivable, and while he could probably ignore the misshapen bumper, he couldn’t hide the broken fence from his mom.
“Shit. Shit, shit, shit, shit,” he told the clear morning sky, rubbing fingers over his tired eyes. In a sudden burst of rage, he picked up one of the broken fence boards and began beating the hood of his old car, smashing the splintered wood down on the faded paint job repeatedly until small dents began to appear. He continued with the front corner of his car, pounding the bent fender and raining blows on the headlight until he heard a satisfying shattering of glass. He didn’t realize he was sobbing and venting his anger in vicious snarls and shouts of unhinged rage. He didn’t even realize his mother had come out of the house until she wrapped her arms around him and dragged him away from his car, pulling the shattered fence board from his shaking hands.
“Come inside Mitch. Come on. Just leave it. Let’s go inside. Come on.” She led her sobbing son up the porch stairs and through the front door, ignoring the curious looks from neighbors who had come out of their houses to see what was going on.
She lowered Mitch onto the sofa and sat down next to him, wrapping her arms around him as he curled into a ball against her, crying like a baby.
“What’s going on baby? Talk to me. What’s going on?”
“I broke the fence,” he said, he cries muffled by her arms.
She chuckled. “No Sweetie. I mean, what’s going on with you?”
He pulled away and sniffled, wiping his eyes against his sleeve. “It’s not fair, Mom. None of it. Nothing’s fair.”
“I know, Sweetie. You’ve probably lost more than any of us. I know you’re hurting.”
“I’m just...mad, that’s all. It’s just one damn thing after another.”
“I know.” She was silent for a moment, rubbing his back soothingly. “When was the last time you talked to the counsellor?”
He sniffed again and dropped his head in his hands. “It’s been a while. It’s hard to make an appointment when I work nights.”
“I think you need to go talk to her.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right.”
She patted his arm. “Are you all right?”
He looked up at her and forced a small smile. “I will be.”
“Okay. Why don’t you get some sleep and we’ll talk later when you wake up.”
He glanced out the front window. “What about my car?”
“Don’t worry about it. I’ll move it. We’ll deal with that later. Right now you need to get some rest.”
“What about the fence?”
She chuckled again. “Well, it’s easier to fix than the car, but it doesn’t matter right now. Okay? Go to bed. We’ll talk later.”
***
MOM WAS HOME WHEN MITCH woke up several hours later.
“There’s some spaghetti on the stove. Get some food and we’ll have our chat.”
Mitch filled his plate and carried it to the table while Mom poured him a glass of iced tea.
“This is good,” he said, stuffing his mouth. “I can’t remember the last time I ate a solid meal.”
“Don’t talk with your mouth full,” she said. “Listen, Mitch, I’ve been talking to Pam, and she’s gotten me an interview at the university. I’m going to fly out there tomorrow and check out apartments and such in the vicinity of the university.”
He looked up at her, but didn’t say anything as he worked his way through the pasta.
“Honey, I want you to come with me - not tomorrow, mind you, but if I move out there. There are good opportunities around a university, and maybe you can take some classes and work towards something.”
He finished his bite and took a sip of the iced tea before he answered. “I’d have to think about it, Mom. All my plans have been changed and I need to figure out what I want to do. I don’t know if I’m ready for college yet.”
“You don’t have to decide right now, you understand. Just give it some thought.”
He nodded. “I will.”
***
MITCH WASN’T THINKING about anything in particular as he strolled down the dark city street. It was his first night off in two weeks and he didn’t want to go home. Mom was pressuring him to move to the university with her, and he didn’t want to discuss it. Yes, he wanted to leave this town. No, he didn’t want to go with his mother and sister to a university town. He couldn’t explain it to himself, much less explain it to his mom. He needed some time to think.
A familiar voice called his name softly as he passed a dark alley, and Mitch smiled.
“Hey Kenny, what are you up to?”
The younger boy stepped out of the shadows, grinning in the dim streetlights. “I just talked a kid out of handing some drugs off to a gang leader. He figured he would get full price for them, but I showed him what his cut would actually be, and the people he would be hurting. He decided to go home instead.”
“You did a good thing.”
The two boys continued down the street while Kenny filled him in on some of the rumors circulating on the streets.
“There are some who think the new construction is for a research facility, and that the government is going to start rounding up street people to use for bizarre experiments,” Kenny was saying.
“That’s ridiculous. It’s a controlled greenhouse to help bring fresh food to the town. Every city is getting them.”
“That’s what they are telling us, but you know the government. They only tell us what we want to hear.”
“Don’t believe it Kenny. The government has to find a way to take care of everyone. My dad...” he choked on the word. “My dad said they are doing everything they can to help as many people as possible.”
“Well, I don’t know about that, but I do know that there are people here that need help. I don’t have much, but I’m helping where I can.”
Mitch thought of the bee on the dandelion. “No one can ask any more of you, my friend.”
They heard the quick whoop of a police siren behind them, and a squad car pulled up to the curb. They turned to look as a uniformed police officer got out of the car and walked towards them.
“Good evening, Officer,” said Mitch with a friendly tone. “What can we do for you?”
The cop leaned forward and took a good look at Mitch. “Hey, you’re Harvey’s kid aren’t you?”
“Yes sir.”
He looked at the younger man. “Kenneth, staying out of trouble are you?”
Kenny put his hand on his chest and gave a small bow. “Always.”
“What are you boys doing out here in the middle of the night?”
“I had the night off,” said Mitch. “Just felt like taking a walk downtown and seeing what was up.”
“I get that.”
“Hey, I’d love to stay and chat,” Kenny interjected, “But I need to check on someone. Catch you later Mitch?”
“Yeah, keep in touch.” He lifted a hand in farewell as Kenny pulled his hood up and hurried away.
“He’s a good kid,” said the cop. “He’s gotten pretty useful to us downtown. We get our best tips from him.”
“Yeah, he’s...he’s been a good friend to me too.” Mitch watched Kenny’s retreating back disappear around the next corner.
“Look, Mitch, I know you’ve heard it a lot, but your dad was an excellent cop. We could use more like him. Now that you’re done with high school, we could use you on the Force.” He looked at Mitch expectantly.
Mitch looked at the cop for a moment, and then turned his gaze down the street. The streetlights created dim yellow islands on the empty sidewalks. The street appeared deserted, but Mitch knew better than anyone that there was a lot more going on than he could see. A lot more than anyone could see. There are people here that need help. Kenny’s words rang in his head. Running away didn’t help anyone, and the thought of travelling alone left a sour feeling in Mitch’s stomach. He would be just another working stiff in a university town, and worth nothing to anyone as a backpacking drifter.
Dad cared about this town. Kenny cares about this town.
There are people here that need help.
“I know, officer,” he finally said. “My dad always wanted me to be a cop. I think I could be of use to the police force. I know it would make my dad proud.”