Fight Night(39)

Where did they go? I said.

Who knows, man! said Lou. They just left. Here today, gone tomorrow. Hit the road, Jack. Vamoosed! Ken nodded his head in the front seat. That’s right, he said. I miss that guy.

But then if you’re friends with him aren’t the Bulldogs going to come and murder you, too? I said.

Lou said nah, he dint think so. He smiled. Ken smiled in the rear-view mirror, too. Nah, he said, we’re small potatoes. Small fry. Lou said they weren’t even potatoes. We’re on nobody’s radar, he said. Then he laughed and laughed and Ken started laughing too.

Grandma didn’t hear any of the story, really. She just sat there looking into the distance and vibrating with joy and wonder the whole time like she’d never been in a car before. When Lou and Ken started to laugh she started laughing too, even though she hadn’t heard what they’d said. I didn’t want to ruin her happiness by telling her that now we were at risk of being murdered by the Bulldogs probably even before suffocating from bad air quality. Then I remembered that she wouldn’t worry about being murdered or suffocating and had seen a million people die in Fresno already, so what was the point. While they were laughing my cell rang. It was Mom. The truth is, it’s always Mom. Nobody else calls me on my cell except Gretchen one time accidentally, because none of our parents give us enough minutes.

It took me a long time to get my cellphone out of my backpack. “Fever” was playing loudly and Lou and Ken started singing along. Oh yeah! said Lou. Peggy Lee, man! Remember that record, Kenny? I sure do, yelled Ken. Why was Lou singing in a sexy way? Ken was laughing harder. Grandma was deaf and blissed out. I found my phone finally but I couldn’t hear Mom because Lou and Ken were laughing and singing too loudly and then I heard Mom start laughing, too. Sounds like you made it, Swiv! She started to sing “Fever.” Okay! she yelled. This is expensive roaming time! I just wanted to make sure you’d made it! Give those guys a big hug from me! I love you! Make Grandma rest! She hung up.

I’d made “Fever” Mom’s ring tone because the song was about getting the flu from being too close to someone. I thought it was a good choice because she holds me tight and kisses me all the time and she’s always blowing her nose on me and it makes me sick and gives me fever—but now I wasn’t sure it was the right ring tone after all. I didn’t want to have a sexy ring tone for Mom on my cellphone! Lou and Ken were still singing along. Grandma’s head was bobbing. Lou was dancing in a sexy way. He was moving his shoulders around and around like wheels. Ken was making sounds like mmmmm mmmmmm. Righteous, man! said Lou. I love that Mooshie has “Fever” for her ring. Who the hell is Mooshie? I thought. I said yeah. I smiled. I forced my lips to keep smiling.



Believe it or not we ended up getting to Ken’s house alive. There was a woman in it making sandwiches for us. Ken told us she was his lady friend. Her name was Jude. She didn’t live in the same house as Ken. She would show us her house later. Ken was helping her do work on it.

Grandma hugged Jude for a long time and said she’d heard so much about her. Jude grabbed Grandma’s hand. Oh, what’s that called? said Jude. Swiv? said Grandma. Lady Balls, I said. Oh, I love it! said Jude. Jude hugged me too. She said she adored my jean jacket and was so excited that Grandma and I were there visiting. What’s written on your jeans? she asked me. Freewheelin’, I told her. I said it quietly. Oh, yeah! she said. She liked that. She told Ken to look at it. She said, Look at this, hon! Ken came over and crouched down and looked at my jeans and smiled and nodded. That’s awesome, he said. That’s really good. He stood up and said freeeeeeeeeee wheelin’! as he walked back to the kitchen. He asked us if we wanted a beer. Then Jude held my hand and looked at me and said I had eyes like Ken! Does he have Nike swooshes? I asked. She peered closer at my face. He does! she said. You both do! I love it! Don’t you love genetics? I nodded.

Ken showed me and Grandma the room we’d sleep in. It had a bathroom attached to it! There was a large painting of a Chinese man. That’s whatshisname, said Grandma. She pointed at the painting. Mao, said Ken. Grandma said, What? Ken said Mao. Grandma kept saying What? Finally Ken and I shouted Mao! Grandma, it’s Mao! I said. Whoever he is. Okaaaaay, I hear you! said Grandma. Fun and games! Ken thought that was funny in relation to Mao. Ken told me that Grandma was always hard of hearing, even when he was a kid.

Lou became more quiet when we ate lunch. He was suffering. That’s what Grandma said. That’s why we came to California. Ken asked him questions. Int that right, Lou? he’d say. He didn’t want Lou to suffer. Grandma sat beside Lou on one side of the table. She put her arm around his shoulder. He smiled at her. He said, I missed you, Auntie Elvira. Grandma kissed him. She held his old face between her hands and kissed him. Lou put his arms around Grandma and then he put his head on her shoulder and they stayed like that until Ken said we could all go sailing later.

Then Lou let go of Grandma. He had a tear on his cheek. She kept her arm around his shoulders. Her cup was shaking when she lifted it up for a sip of coffee. You didn’t shake like that the last time I saw you, said Lou. I know! said Grandma. Isn’t it just ridiculous? Look! She tried holding her cup on the saucer in mid-air. The cup shook and slid all around the saucer. Get a load of that! said Grandma. She laughed. Watch out, Grandma! I said. Lou said he shook sometimes too. I hoped we wouldn’t watch him die in Fresno.