He had
a new car. It was dark maroon and hardly made a sound as it slid down
the street. The horn honked as he pulled into the driveway, two quick
taps. Dan stabbed the ground with his shovel. He couldn’t believe
he bought a new car.
Dan
kept shoveling, pretending not to notice the car stop or his father
get out. He yelled “Danny!” as he walked up the path. Dan
leaned the shovel up against the house and turned around. Can’t
ignore him forever.
“Hey.”
“I
wondered if you heard me, Danny.”
It’s
Dan. “Yeah.”
“So
what are you diggin’ up the front yard for?”
“Mom
wants to plant some flowers, I’m getting rid of the old dirt and
putting in some new topsoil.”
“Hope
she’s payin’ you well,” he said with a wink. “How
is your mom anyway?”
Dan
stared at him.
His
father looked down the road, “Anyway, let’s go grab some grub,
kiddo, I’m buying.”
Dan
took his gloves off, set them next to the shovel, and stomped lose dirt
off of his feet as he walked to the car. It had that thick new car smell
and there were newspapers spread out on the floor on the passenger‘s
side.
X
X X
They
ate at Richard’s. Big surprise. Dan got a milkshake. He didn’t
know why, he never drank milkshakes anymore. It made his dad smile when
he ordered one. Pretend Dan was still Danny.
His
father talked about work and his new place and asked Danny about school
and his friends. Danny didn’t have much to say.
“So
you wanna come over for a little bit tonight? See the new place?”
“I’ve
already got other plans. Maybe some other time.”
Danny
could remember a time when they used to talk, at least. He pushed the
thought away, some things were more important then communicating.
X
X X
When
his father dropped him off, he squirmed in his seat and tried to say
something. Dan had nothing to say.
Maybe
next time. He got out of the car without saying goodbye.
He
walked into the house just in time to catch the phone ringing. He picked
up the phone and watched the new car drive away.
