On the Other Side of the Bridge (16 page)

“We have so much for which to be thankful today,” Lonnie's grandpa Rodríguez said, standing at the head of the table. “Our country, our health and our family. We're also grateful that Richard and Lonnie could be with us, especially after their loss.”

Rita, who was standing next to Lonnie, squeezed his hand.

“Before we eat, is there anyone who would like to lead us in a word of prayer?” Lonnie's grandpa asked.

Everyone looked around, but no one offered. Finally Lonnie's dad said, “Lonnie knows how to pray. He goes to church.”

Lonnie stared at him, aghast. “Dad, I …”

“All right! Go for it, Lonnie,” Henry K said.

“Lonnie! Lonnie! Lonnie!” he and Julián and Rita chanted.

Lonnie didn't know what to do. He had never prayed in public before, but all eyes were on him. He bowed his head and searched his mind for the right words. Everyone grew silent and bowed with him.

“God is great …” Lonnie started slowly. “God is good …” He paused, thinking how ridiculous it was to recite a baby prayer on Thanksgiving Day.

Rita, Henry K and Julián came to his rescue. They finished the prayer in unison. “Let us thank Him for our food.” They ended it with, “Amen, Brother Ben. Shot a goose and killed a hen.”

Lonnie's grandpa looked at them and said dryly, “Well, that was different.”

In addition to turkey and dressing, ham, green beans, mashed potatoes, plus tamales, refried beans and Spanish rice were served, along with tortillas, rolls and cornbread. Some of the adults sat at the dining table, the little kids sat at the breakfast table and everyone else sat wherever they could find a place. Lonnie and his cousins took their food to the front porch and sat on the railing.

“I have an idea,” Rita said. “Let's go to the show tomorrow. I've been dying to see that new movie,
Fatal Dreams
.”

“You like horror movies?” Lonnie asked. He had seen the trailer for
Fatal Dreams
, and it looked scary.

“I love them,” she said. “They always give me nightmares, but I watch them anyway.”

“I saw that movie last week,” Julián said. “It was terrible. The special effects were so lame. They didn't even show the demon until the last few minutes of the movie, and he looked like that little red devil on the potted meat can.”

“Thanks for spoiling it for us, dum-dum,” Rita said. “But I still want to see it.”

“Me, too,” Henry K said. “And on Saturday, we'll take Lonnie to Frontier Texas.”

“What's that?” Lonnie asked.

“It's a museum with lots of cool stuff about the Old West.”

“Or we could go to the zoo,” Rita suggested.

Lonnie wished he could do all those things, but he knew he wouldn't be able to do any of them. His dad was running short on cash, and he had griped about how much money he had spent on gas to make the trip.

Nevertheless, Lonnie told his cousins, “I'll talk to my dad and see what he says.”

After they had eaten, they gathered in the den with the other football fans to watch the game between the Dallas Cowboys and the New Orleans Saints.

During half-time, with Dallas leading 14 to 3, everyone got up to take a break. Lonnie went to the kitchen to get another slice of pecan pie and some more soda.

On the way back, he heard what sounded like an argument coming from one of the bedrooms. The door was ajar, so he stood outside and peeked in. His uncles, his aunt and his grandpa were gathered around his dad.

“But I don't need it,” Lonnie's dad said, pushing Tío Daniel's hand away. “Really. Me and Lonnie are doing fine.”

“
Ándale
, Richard, take it,” Tío Daniel insisted, holding a wad of money in his hand. “We know you're going through a hard time right now, so Lydia, Rogelio, Armando and I chipped in two hundred dollars each to help you out.”

“No, that's okay. I'm good. As a matter of fact, I just got a job. Starting Monday, I'll be working at a furniture store warehouse in Marsville.”

“Really? Congratulations, man,” Tío Daniel said. “That's awesome. I'm glad you finally found something. Still, it'll be awhile before you get paid, and the eight hundred dollars will tide you over until then.”

“No, Daniel. I'm not gonna take your money,” Lonnie's dad said. “But thanks for thinking about us.”

He started to walk out of the bedroom when his father muttered, “If you'd gone to school like I told you, you wouldn't be in the bind you're in now.”

Lonnie's dad wheeled around, his face filled with indignation. “So you're telling me that if I'd gone to college, Becky would still be alive? Is that what you're telling me, Pa?”

“No, but maybe if you'd gone to college and gotten a degree, Becky might not have had to work as a security guard to help make ends meet.”

“She didn't have to work as a security guard. It's what she wanted to do. And I already had a job that paid me plenty of money.”

“Working as a truck driver?” his father scoffed. “Come on, Richard. Who do you think you're kidding? You threw away a perfectly good opportunity for a real career. Everyone else went to school, and look at them now. Rogelio and Daniel are engineers, Armando's a high school principal and Lydia's an accountant. And what did
you do? You became a truck driver, and you couldn't even make a go of that.”

“Yeah, that's right. Go ahead. Let the whole world know that I'm the dumb one of the family!”

“I didn't say —”

“Yeah, you did. You think I've forgotten how you used to call me
burro
when I was little?”

“You were failing all your classes, Richard,” his father said. “Instead of studying, you'd sit in your room for hours, playing your guitar. Do you think you deserved to be praised for that?”

“I didn't deserve to be called names! Lonnie's not doing too good in school, but I don't make fun of him for it.” He pointed at his siblings. “That's why I don't wanna live in Abilene, Pa. 'Cause all you'll do is hold me up to them and say, ‘Look,
burro
, that's what you could've become!'”

He stalked out of the bedroom. Seeing Lonnie standing in the hallway, he took him by the arm, making him spill his soda. “C'mon. We're going home.”

“But I thought we were spending the weekend here.”

“We're not spending another minute in this house. Get your jacket and let's get outta here.”

When Rita saw them, she exclaimed, “Oh, my
gatos
! What happened?”

“I'll tell you later,” Lonnie said and hugged her goodbye.

“Lonnie! Let's go!” his dad shouted, hurrying him out of the house.

As soon as they got in the car, he tore out of the driveway, sped down Ambler Street and headed toward Interstate 20.

“I shoulda known this wasn't gonna work,” he said.

“What wouldn't work?” Lonnie asked.

“Coming here. I thought that as long as we were in town, I'd talk to my parents about me and you staying with them for a little while. You know, till things got better.”

“You were considering moving us to Abilene?” Lonnie asked, astounded. “But what about your new job?”

“I ain't got no job. I only told my family that to get them off my back. The truth is, I ain't got nothing. No job, no prospects … and pretty soon, no house.”

“Dad, what are you talking about?”

He sighed. “I ain't got the money for the rent, buddy. I hate to tell you this, but it looks like we're gonna have to move out of our house by the end of the month.”

“We're moving? Where?”

“I don't know yet. I'll have to see what's out there.”

“Wait a minute,” Lonnie said. “If you knew you weren't going to be able to pay the rent, why didn't you take the eight hundred bucks they were trying to give you?”

“'Cause I wasn't gonna let my brothers and sister treat me like some charity case. I was about to talk to your grandpa about us living with them, till they showed up and started getting all uppity with me. Then … well, you saw what happened.”

“So you were serious about us moving in with Grandma and Grandpa?”

“It don't matter 'cause it ain't gonna happen.”

“But it could. I mean, if you were to go back and apologize …”

“Forget it. I ain't apologizing to nobody. Besides, you got your school.”

“That's not a problem. I could easily transfer to Adair and go to school with Enrique and them.”

Lonnie hated his school. He didn't have any close friends, except for Axel, and that relationship was going nowhere. Yvette was the only bright spot. But when he learned that she had been hanging out with Michael de Luna, the Wyatt Wrangler's quarterback, he knew he had no chance with her.

“As soon as we get back, I'm gonna start looking for a place for us to move to,” his dad said.

“You mean to another house?”

“I don't know.”

“An apartment?”

“Maybe. I don't know. Stop asking so many questions.”

“Dad, you need to turn back,” Lonnie said, fear now dawning inside him. “You have to apologize to Grandpa and tell him we need help. At least we'll have a place to live.”

“Are you crazy? I ain't gonna do that.”

“Dad, please. We can't go homeless.”

“We're not gonna go homeless!”

“It's not fair! Just 'cause you don't want to work!” Lonnie snapped.

“Watch your mouth, buddy. It ain't that I don't wanna work. I'm trying my best to find a job, and as soon as I do, things are gonna get better.”

“No, they're not!” Lonnie burst into tears. “Things are never going to get better 'cause you don't want them to. We could move in with Grandma and Grandpa right now, but you'd rather us go homeless than to do that.”

“You don't know what you're talking about, so just keep your mouth shut, okay?”

“It's not fair! It's not fair!”

“H
EY
,
KID
. C'
MERE
.”

Lonnie turned around and saw Moses perched on top of a boulder behind him. His legs were crossed, like a little kid in a reading circle. Lonnie started to run away, but for some reason, he didn't feel threatened by him.

“I ain't gonna hurt you,” Moses said, motioning him over. “I just wanna talk to you.”

Stepping away from the creek bank, Lonnie climbed up the hill and walked toward him, maintaining a safe distance, in case he decided to try something.

Moses stroked his long beard. “You got any money on you?”

“No, sir,” Lonnie lied, thinking about the thirteen dollars in his wallet.

“Sir,” Moses said quietly. “It's been a long time since somebody called me
sir
. What are you doing here, anyway?”

Lonnie shrugged. “Sometimes I come to Catfish Creek to get away from things.”

“Yeah?” Moses brought down his legs. “What are you trying to get away from today?”

“Just some problems me and my dad are having.”

“I know what you mean,” he said. “Me and my old man didn't get along too good, either. Sit down, kid. Take a load off your dogs.”

Something about the sound of his voice made Lonnie feel he could trust him, so he sat on a boulder across from him. “Do you live out here?” he asked.

Moses laughed. “Naw, I live at the Waldorf Astoria in New York. I like to come to Catfish Creek on vacation.”

“You're homeless, aren't you,” Lonnie said matter-of-factly.

Moses stopped laughing. “What gave you your first clue, Sherlock?”

“I've seen you standing by the bridge at the corner of I-27 and Peyton Avenue, panhandling.”

His eyes crinkled with joy. “Ah, yeah, that's a real sweet spot. I usually make pretty good money there.”

“How did you become homeless?” Lonnie asked. “I mean, if you don't mind telling me.”

“You sure are a nosy parker,” Moses said. “Now, I'll tell you what you wanna know, but information costs money.” He rubbed his fingers together. “You positive you ain't got any on you?”

Knowing he would have to give him something in order to keep the conversation going, Lonnie pulled out his wallet and removed a dollar bill from it.

Moses made a face. “What am I supposed to do with that? Blow my nose with it? C'mon, kid. You can do better than that.” He snatched the wallet away from Lonnie and took out the rest of the money. Tossing the wallet back, he said, “Okay, what do you wanna know?”

After his aggressive behavior, Lonnie wasn't sure he wanted to keep talking to him. But Moses had his thirteen dollars. “How did you end up on the streets?”

Moses grinned, as if he was about to answer with something sarcastic, but then his grin faded. He looked down and shook his head. “Bad decisions, kid. Bad decisions.”

“What kinds of bad decisions?”

“Bad decisions don't come in different kinds,” he said. “Bad is bad.”

“I guess what I want to know is, what was your life like before you became homeless? Did you have a job? A family? A house?”

“Yeah, I had all those things, but I lost them all.”

“How?”

“Why are you asking me all this?” Moses asked, now sounding irritated. “You writing a book or something?”

“No, sir, but … um … well, I have to write a research paper for school, and I thought I'd pick homelessness as my topic.”

That fib seemed to calm him down. Or maybe it was that Lonnie had called him
sir
again.

“Okay, professor, here's your scoop. For me, it was the drink. I started drinking when I was in high school, and I never stopped.”

“Do you, um … do you do drugs?”

Moses glowered at him. “Do I look like a druggie to you, kid?”