The Weight of the World Read Free Page B

“You
scared me.”
    “ Sorry,”
he mumbled in the dark. He was sitting on a chair, in the dark, in
the yard next door, holding a tall glass of water. Devon turned on
her father's grill light so she could see him.
    Adam
sat with a can of ginger ale and a jar of peanuts. He was dressed in
a pair of blue basketball shorts and a white undershirt.
    “ You
don’t have to sit in the dark,” she said.
    “ The
bulb back here is burned out. It's more peaceful this way. I like the
moonlight.”
    Devon
dragged her patio chair to the edge of the fence. It was a low wood
structure, meant more as a property divider than a privacy fence.
When she sat down next to it, the top of the fence was the perfect
height to rest her drink on.
    “ Are
you alright? I heard a lot of shouting after I left.”
    “ You
must think we’re crazy,” Devon replied.
    “ Everyone
has fights.” He took a long sip of ginger ale, eyeing Devon
curiously with those dark blue eyes. They had seemed lighter at the
dinner table. She assumed that the low light accounted for the
change. They seemed more mysterious now. “Are you okay?” he
asked.
    Devon
shrugged. “I’m pregnant.” Her parents knew and in a few weeks
she would be shopping for elastic waistbands. There was no use hiding
it. “And Dad tried to beat up Frank-- my boyfriend-- and Frank
broke his gun.”
    Adam
stopped eating peanuts mid-bite. He stared, shocked that she would be
so casual in her recollection of events. “A gun?”
    “ Daddy
wasn’t going to shoot him, just scare him.”
    “ Oh,
sure.” He busied himself with his can of soda.
    Devon
tapped her french-manicured nails on the fence. Adam slowly put the
can down and ran his finger around the rim. “I think every Dad
would want to pull a gun on the guy who impregnates his daughter. I’m
just surprised he actually did it. I pegged him for being more...
controlled.”
    “ You’ve
only known him for half a day,” Devon said. “He’s protective.
I’m an only child.”
    Adam
nodded. “Your Mom?”
    “ She’d
rather Nick Morrisey had knocked me up.”
    “ Who?”
    “ This
guy from school. He’s pretty much the biggest slut I know. But to
anyone over forty he's an angel.”
    Adam
snorted.
    “ It’s
amazing. Frank works a part-time job and cooks and cleans for his
mom. Yeah, he gets into fights, but he’d never hurt me. Nick sleeps
with anything female and has absolutely no responsibility, yet Moms
love him.”
    “ Some
guys have that gift.”
    “ I
don’t really have a problem with him, it’s just ironic. And kind
of racist. Daddy just prefers Nick because he isn’t Cuban.”
    “ Are
you keeping it?”
    “ The
baby? Of course.” Devon took a gulp of water. “I just have to
figure out how. But I am.”
    “ That's
good,” he said. He picked out a peanut (honey-roasted) from his jar
and rolled it in his fingertips. After a long pause, he spoke. “I
was almost aborted. My grandfather, my mother's father, wanted me to
be.”
    “ Mr.
Campbell?”
    He
nodded. “My father wasn't the greatest guy and my grandfather
thought that if she cleaned up her mistake, she could go to college
and take over the family business after that. My mother left home--
left this house-- and had me anyway and Grandpa went on pretending he
didn't have a daughter. Say what you will about a woman's right to
choose, I'm just glad she chose me.”
    Adam
screwed the lid back on his jar of peanuts. He looked back at her as
he crossed to his back door.
    Devon
stood up. “It’s good to talk to someone about anything. Even if
you are a stranger. Thank you.”
    “ I’m
always willing to talk. I mean, literally. I have nothing better to
do than talk,” Adam said. “I don't know anyone in this town.”
    “ I
can fix that. I know lots of people.”
    Adam
smiled. “Alright. Well, you let me know when you want to show me
around.” He tossed a peanut up in the air and caught it in his
mouth.
    Devon
dragged her chair back to the patio. There