Houston shook his head and leaned against the doorjamb.
“Get your clothes on,” said Eddie. “We’ll eat lunch and then you’re going to work.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
“I don’t give a shit if you puke all over their lawn; they sure as fuck won’t notice. Get dressed.”
Houston nodded and began looking for his clothes.
Eddie drove them to a Greek diner and they sat in the back, in the bar, and he ordered Houston a beer.
“Drink it,” said Eddie, “and then eat lunch. We’ll buy you a six-pack on the way to the job site. I don’t want any shaky lines today.”
“I don’t know if I can eat,” Houston whined.
“Try a grilled cheese and some soup, you sorry sack of shit,” Eddie said. “And if you complain one more time I’ll make you buy.”
Houston nodded; the beer came and he drank it. He ordered another. They ate lunch, stopped at a mini-mart for a six-pack, and then went back to work. Houston threw up twice but kept at it and the beer finally settled him and he got through the day.
That evening Eddie parked the van in the carport. He took out a bucket holding the dirty brushes in water. He passed the Le Mans and when he did he saw that the rest of the old batteries were gone. He walked to the back door, let the dog out, grabbed a beer from the refrigerator, and sat on a lawn chair and smoked a cigarette. The old dog wandered around the yard and then came back to him and sat by his feet.
Russell came through the gate minutes later. He walked hunched over and Eddie realized just how small the boy was, how thin his legs and arms were. As Russell got closer, Eddie looked at the boy’s hands and could see blue paint on them.
Russell stopped ten feet away. “I waxed the car,” he said.
“You did a good job,” Eddie replied. “It’s hard, isn’t it?”
“It wasn’t that hard, but I couldn’t get the hood.”
“I’ll get the hood,” said Eddie.
“Do you need the brushes done?” the boy asked.
“There’s five in the bucket. The big one, the three-inch, is pretty trashed so don’t worry about it too much.”
The boy moved toward the bucket.
“Why don’t you come over here and say hey to Early before you get to work?”
But Russell wouldn’t come closer to Eddie or the dog.
Eddie looked at him. “Can I ask you a question?”
The boy nodded.
“Why do you have blue paint on your hands?”
Tears fell down the boy’s face.
“You can’t always cry, man...Get me a beer and yourself a Coke and then come over here and sit.”
Russell nodded and went into the house. He came out with two cans and sat across from Eddie.
“I bet you tried like a mother to wash that paint off your hands.”
Russell nodded.
“But it wouldn’t come off?”
“No.”
“That’s ’cause it’s oil paint. I’ll get you some thinner. You have to use thinner with oil.”
“I didn’t mean to steal them, Eddie. I didn’t. Curtis made me.”
“Why?”
“He takes them somewhere and they give him money for them.”
“Is Curtis home?”
Russell shook his head. “I told him you were my friend and that he shouldn’t take them. But...but then he made me take them.” Tears again filled his eyes. “You have to believe me, Eddie. I didn’t want to take them but he made me.” The boy pulled up his shirt and his small chest was black and blue.
Eddie took a drink off the beer and lit a cigarette. His face didn’t change. He said quietly, “Follow me to the garage and we’ll get the paint off your hands and then you’re going to wash my brushes. After that we’ll get something to eat. Are you hungry?”
“I am if you are,” the boy said.
“Good. You get the brushes done and we’ll get a quick bite to eat. I have some errands to do tonight so we’ll just get tacos.”
“From Alberto’s Truck?”
“Sure, we’ll go there if you want.”
“I want to go there if you want to go there.”
Eddie laughed.
“I was worried you’d never like me again,” Russell whispered.
“It’s your brother who’s in trouble,” Eddie said and put out his cigarette. “Not you. How old is he again?”
“Fifteen.”
Eddie nodded, got up, and waved to Russell to follow him. The blue paint came off the boy’s hands with a rag full of thinner and then Eddie sent him to the basement with the bucket of dirty brushes to clean. When he could see the light in the basement go on he went next door to Russell’s home. The side door was open and he called out and the old woman, Russell’s grandmother, yelled from a back room for him to come inside.