Page 13 of Love Always

As he raises his hand to oblige, I call out, “I’m taking this guy for a drink.”

The toothpick shoots to the ground.

We cross the street in silence and keep walking for a block until I pick out Sammy’s, a craft brew place. We burst into a long low-slung dark brew pub with exposed ductwork. Two guys look up.

“Back door?” I ask.

One guy points, a towel still in his hand and I lead Chris swiftly through the bar and out the back door onto the next street.

“Who are you?” he finally asks when we stop at the next corner.

My leg is on fire. “It’s probably better if we don’t do names.”

Stuffing his hands in his pockets, he nods. He starts to head off in the other direction.

“Don’t go. You just looked like you needed help.”

He stares at me and then looks off to his right. This glance is a tell. He’s about to reveal something. He shakes his arms out and looks up and down the street.

“They want me to distribute.”

“Drugs?”

“Opioids.”

“Shit. Stay away from that.”

“Right? I’m trying to be clean. They want me to work the campus.”

“You’re in school, then?”

“That one guy is in my Comp class. My first paper was about a significant event and I wrote about doing cocaine and then opioids and then getting off them.”

“Is this the first time they’ve asked you?”

His pocket jingles with a chipper ringtone. Reaching in he pulls out his phone. This time his glance is baleful and every short sentence is met with a long pause. “Hi Mom. Yeah. I’m sorry. I know. I just got sidetracked. I will. Love you.”

“That was my mom.”

“I figured.”

“I’m supposed to check in with her after I get back from class.”

“Did you know they were going to ask you to sell?”

He shakes his head. “No.”

I believe him. His answer is short with no qualifiers or explanations. Liars always want to elaborate.

“Why did you go then?”

Now he looks sheepish and I suddenly realize just how young this guy is. He might be a recovering addict, but he’s as naïve as hell. Then it dawns on me, and I answer my own question. “A girl?”

Those big, rawboned hands go back in his pockets.

“That guy from my Comp class said he knew her and he’d introduce me.”

“So a special girl?”