Rick rolled his eyes. “That kid’s a pain in the butt and always in trouble. I’d get rid of him, but he’s my wife’s cousin and he needed the job, so what’re you gonna do? It’s family, you know?”
I nodded because I really did know, and with one last squeeze, Rick let go of my shoulder and moved off to help Wes while I got back to raking.
I kept out of their way as they carried in Mrs. Duncan’s items. She seemed so pleased by the new furniture that it warmed my heart to see her so excited.
As I was loading a big bundle of leaves into the garbage bin, however, I felt a prickly sensation on the back of my neck, and I glanced up to see Wes coming toward me, carrying a small chair. He was staring straight at me. And it wasn’t a nice stare. It was a leer. He licked his lips as he passed by in a way that made my stomach turn.
But what caught me even more off guard was the date on his forehead. I moved to the edge of the lawn then, well away from the truck, and kept a wary eye on him while the rest of the furniture was unloaded. I saw him glancing over at me quite often, and I didn’t at all like the smirk he wore. Finally, Rick had Mrs. Duncan sign the receipt and wished her a happy holiday. Before I could second-guess myself, I motioned him over. He approached with a smile and a curious look. “What’s up, honey?”
I bit my lip nervously. I didn’t know how to tell him, and I knew I was violating Donny’s orders, but this was an extenuating circumstance and I felt I had to take a chance. “Rick, there’s something you should know….” My voice trailed off as I struggled to find the words.
“What is it, doll?”
I cast a nervous glance toward the truck. Wes had reemerged and was pulling on the handle to lower the back hatch.
“It’s Wes….”
Rick immediately stiffened. “Did he give you any trouble?”
I shook my head, deciding not to tell Rick about the leering and simply confess my real concern. “He has the same date as you.”
Rick blinked. “The same…?”
I pointed to my forehead. “His deathdate. It’s the same as yours.”
Rick paled and he turned to stare at his partner. It was a long time before he said anything. “Whoa.”
Wes had now finished locking up the truck, and he was eyeing us warily. I could tell he knew we were talking about him. “What if you didn’t go to work that day?” I asked. “What if you both took the day off?”
Rick turned to look at me again. “You think maybe there’ll be an accident?”
I nodded. That was exactly what I thought might happen. “Maybe you two should avoid hanging out together that day?”
He glanced again at Wes. “Yeah,” he said. “Yeah, okay, honey. I’ll do that.”
I peered at his forehead, willing that deathdate to change, but it remained stubbornly fixed.
“You coming?” Wes snapped when it was obvious his cousin was taking longer than usual to wrap it up.
Rick frowned at him, then turned to me and tried to smile, but it failed to reach his eyes. “Thanks, Maddie. For telling me. I appreciate it.”
And then he headed back to the truck, got in, and started up the engine. From the passenger side I saw Wes turn and stare at me, and this time it wasn’t a leer. This time it was full-on sinister.
Donny was still caught up with his client in the city, so I slept in the house alone that night, which I’d done on a few occasions when Ma was out on a bender, but this time it felt different. I knew there was no chance she’d come back into the house at three or four o’clock in the morning, so I was able to fall into a deeper sleep, but then I woke with a start. My heart was pounding as I looked around the room. The digital clock next to my bed read four A.M. Something had woken me up. Something out of place. Had it been a noise?
Taking great care to be as quiet as possible, I got up and crept to the doorway. I peered into the darkness, but I didn’t see anything amiss. I held my breath and listened. Faintly, I could hear the ticktock of my dad’s clock downstairs, but nothing else. I counted to ten. Then to twenty. Nothing.
With a sigh of relief, I turned back toward the bed, and that’s when I heard a rumble outside. A low, familiar rumble. My breath caught, and I darted to the window. I craned my neck to catch sight of a large pickup cruising to a stop before turning the corner.
I stood there for a long time with my nose pressed to the cold glass. It was then that I realized my arms were covered in goose bumps. It was unquestionably time to tell someone about that truck, no matter how resistant I felt.
The next morning I called the jail and said that I wanted to speak to my mom, but they told me that Ma had been taken off phone privileges. When I asked why, they told me they couldn’t give out that information.
I called Donny and told him about it, and he said he’d see what was up. He called back about a half hour later. “She’s been acting up and throwing her food at the guards,” he said. He sounded really tired.
“She what?” That seemed so out of character for Ma, I thought maybe the guards were lying.
“Kiddo,” Donny said, “you gotta understand. This is the first time your mom’s been sober in a very long time. She’s going through a nasty withdrawal, and it’s making her act out. We gotta be patient and let her get the alcohol completely out of her system.”
“Well, when can I talk to her?”
“I don’t know, Maddie. Hopefully tomorrow, if she calms down and behaves herself.”
I felt a rush of anger. Ma wasn’t some animal at the zoo. “When are you getting her out?” I demanded.
“Her pretrial is set for Wednesday. They’ll try her in drug court.”
“Drug court?” I repeated. “She wasn’t on drugs, Donny. She just had a little too much to drink.”