David Gates - A Hand Reached Down to Guide Me

Another minute, not a second more. Could you just go?

At least this might give me something to do with Seth on Monday. But longer range, I’d better see what sort of a fare I could get to L.A. I was due for a visit anyway, and didn’t this come under the heading of Sudden Personality Change?

I knocked on Seth’s door so he wouldn’t sleep the day away, then opened it a crack and saw a dark-haired girl sitting on his bed, knees up, barefoot with black-painted toenails, a book open on her chest. Pretty little round face, a bruise below one eye. Her skirt let me see too far up her pale thighs.

“Sorry,” I said. “So you must be…”

“Kendra?” she said.

“Right, Seth told me you might be coming over. I just didn’t expect—I’m Seth’s dad. I mean, obviously.”

“He went out for his run,” she said. “Is it okay for me to be here?”

“You’re certainly welcome . You just took me by surprise.”

“We tried to be quiet,” she said. “You look like Seth. Yeah, well duh.” She dog-eared the page, set the book aside and hugged her knees, from which I intuited—I know this sounds crazy—that she let Seth fuck her.

“I always thought he looked like his mother,” I said.

“Yeah, but not so much,” she said. “Anyway she doesn’t like me. Listen, before he comes in? You know he worries about you, right?”

“That’s just him,” I said. “But I’m glad he talks to you.”

“Doesn’t he to you ? Sorry, that sounded bad. I didn’t mean it like, you don’t communicate.” She took a breath. “I talk too much, that’s a big problem I have.”

“No, I appreciate your saying something,” I said. “Listen, it’s good to have you here.”

“You don’t really know that,” she said. “But thanks. I like your house.”

“Actually, it’s not really—”

“I know, Seth told me, but it just feels like it’s a home , you know? Like my aunt’s house, I mean they’re real poor and everything, like my cousins have to share a bedroom, but it’s like, I don’t know, I don’t even know what I’m basing that on.” She shook her head. “You don’t have to keep listening to me. Is it okay if I just stay here till he gets back?”

I was pouring more coffee when Seth came in the kitchen door, his tank top sweated through. I pointed back outside, mindful of Wayne’s thin walls, and shut the door behind us. “I wasn’t prepared to find your friend here,” I said. “When did she arrive on the scene?”

“I don’t know, you were asleep. I just told her, if things got weird she could come here. Could you not call her your friend ? She has a name.”

“I know. She had to introduce herself. Now what’s the deal?”

“Okay, so her mom’s seeing this guy. Who’s like married? And the guy’s wife keeps calling their house, and so last night Kendra picks up the phone and the wife is like, ‘You’re going to die.’ Like, ‘I know who you are and you’re going to die.’ ”

“And where was her mother?”

“I don’t know, I guess with the guy?”

“So I take it the father’s not in the picture.”

“Kendra thinks he’s in Wyoming or something,” Seth said. “She said not to tell you any of this.”

“Has she tried to reach her mother?”

“Like fifty times,” he said.

“So her mother doesn’t know where she is. Did she call the police?”

“Are you kidding? Her mom would beat the shit out of her.”

“Jesus,” I said. “Here, can we sit a minute?” I took the top step; Seth sat on the concrete. “How did she even get here?”

“Yeah, I knew you’d ask that.”

“You didn’t take my car keys?”

“It was only over to—”

“Good Christ,” I said. “You know you can’t be driving without an adult. When was this?”

“I don’t know, late.”

“And so she slept in your room,” I said.

“Yeah well it’s not like she slept very much.”

“Okay,” I said. “You realize this isn’t cool, right?”

“So what was I supposed to do ? Listen, can she just stay here until she gets ahold of her aunt?”

“Absolutely not.”

“That’s fucked up,” he said. “What about when you didn’t have anyplace to go? Sorry I said ‘fuck.’ ”

“How old is she? Is she even sixteen?”

“She’s going to be.”

“Sweet,” I said. “Well, we’re not getting in the middle of this . She needs to keep trying her mother—at least let her know she’s safe.”

“You don’t get it.” He unfolded himself and stood up. “Look, she’s freaking out. I have to go talk to her.”

I waited until I heard his door close in the house, then took out my cell and got Sarah’s voice mail. “Call when you get this, okay? Everybody’s fine, but we’ve got sort of a situation here with the girlfriend.”

—

When she called back, I was in Wayne’s recliner watching the day game; the kids were still holed up, doing whatever. “What’s going on?” she said. “I assume the girlfriend in question is Seth’s wounded bird. Or is it one of your projects?”

I muted the TV. “Let me go outside.”

“She’s not there , is she?”

I shut the kitchen door behind me and sat on the step. “Apparently she got some crank call, and she just showed up.” Better, I thought, not to go into the when and the how. “Nobody seems to know where her mother is. Obviously this isn’t tenable.”

“So you haven’t heard from the mother? You will.”

“Wait—this is a thing?”

“Welcome to my life,” she said. “Seth told me she was visiting her aunt this weekend. I assumed you’d be spared.”

“Look, I hate to ask you, but would it be at all possible to bring them over there?” I said. “This could look pretty sketchy, him and me and a fifteen-year-old.”

“Fourteen-year-old,” she said.

“ He told me —Jesus. What the hell is he doing ?”

“Learning to lie, for one thing. I can’t imagine where he picked that up.”

“Okay, can we not right now?” I said. “So you’ve dealt with the mother?”

“Well. Let’s say I’ve encountered the mother. The girl turned up here—this was last weekend—eleven thirty at night, mother’s off somewhere, she’s afraid to be home alone, blah blah blah, she’s in tears, so I let her stay in the guest room. Anyway, the next day mama bird shows up at the door and she’s accusing me of kidnapping. I think she’s a cokehead.”

“Shit,” I said. “I bless the day God brought us to Connecticut.”

“Is that really where you want this conversation to go?” she said. “I could start blessing a day or two myself.”

“Sorry,” I said.

“No, I should’ve given you a heads-up. I guess you’d better bring them over. You know, I did have plans this weekend. Actually, maybe I’d better be the one to drive her.”

“Yeah, good thought. When could you get here?”

“I don’t know, an hour? I have to make some calls.”

“I hate to put it off on you .”

“I know you think I’m a bitch,” she said. “That’s why I’m going to be gracious about this.”

I went back in and knocked on Seth’s door.

“Change of plans,” I said. “Your mom’s coming to pick you guys up.”

He stuck his head out. “How come?”

“We just thought it was a better idea,” I said. “Your friend’s mother is going to be looking for her.”

“Listen, we need to talk to you.” He opened the door for me. The girl was still sitting on his bed. “Kendra can’t go back there.”