Sal awoke from a restless sleep to the sound of a lawnmower. Everything was blurry, and for a second he didn’t know where he was. Once his brain began to process, he remembered.
That awful display in front of The Diner yesterday.
He cringed by the very thought of it.
Carl’s words had been like a bee sting; an injection of venom into his skin. He wondered what time it was and hoped no one was home.
He climbed down from the treehouse and like a thief in the night, crept up to the house. The bus wasn’t there, so they must've taken Carl somewhere else, and he was happy about that. He was meeting Charlie later that day, and he didn’t want his mood spoiled. Sal thought about his poor phone in Carl’s pants. He'd have to use the landline in the house to call Charlie.
The front door opened and Vickie and the kids came out. He wanted to hide, but it was too late.
“Hi, Sal.” His sister, Joanne, smiled and waved. “We’re going to the pool at Giantsfair—wanna come?”
“No, thanks. I have stuff to do, sweetie.”
“Where's your bus?”
“Jack has it.”
“Where have you been?”
His brother, Anthony, joined in. “Probably at some girl’s house. Dad says it’s because you have so many girlfriends, and it makes it hard to keep up.”
“Let’s go, kids,” Aunt Vickie interrupted, slightly embarrassed.
“Bye, Sal,” the twins yelled and hurried into the car.
Sal waved as they drove off.
He stood still for a while after the car had left. “It’s like Carl said," he told himself, "the world thinks I’m a whore.”