CHAPTER 220: LOVE IN THE TIME OF CHAPERONES

Carmen stopped by a tree and sat down next to it, motioning for Antonio to have a seat with him so they could talk.

"Unlike you, Tony, I don’t have a family anymore. One day when I was 11 years old, I came home to find the apartment door open and a note on the door. It read ’We moved, Mama and Papa’—my clothes in a sack in the middle of the living room floor, and believe me, there weren’t many. No change, no money, no food, no nothing. The old nasty landlord walked in with some new people, showing them the apartment, and told me to gather my junk and leave and never show back up."

"The first night it got cold, I scrounged some food out of a dumpster and covered up with old newspapers that were lying beside it. The next morning I was awoken by the garbage trucks picking up the dumpsters. I grabbed my sack and I ran. I can tell you, at 11 there’s no jobs for you. Nobody sees you—they walk by you, not wanting to pay attention to you. You hold your cup up and they sneer down at you. Some of them curse you, some of them throw things at you, some spit on you."

"After four days with no food other than what I could scrounge, I met a couple of the other street kids. They talked about hummers and how the old fat men would pay you with a sandwich if you did good. One of the guys I met there, Chucky, he showed me what it was to do a hummer, and I was disgusted."

"It made me sick to think that I would have to do this to get a sandwich or anything to eat, but hey, I figured I needed a sandwich more than he needed his money or anything else, so I sucked a few dicks, got pretty good at it—not that I’m proud."

"If you sucked and spit, you got a half a sandwich. If you sucked and swallowed, you got a full sandwich. Hand jobs would get you a soda. A few of the boys went all the way and they got the full meal deal and a sore ass. But I’ll let you know right now, I’m not ashamed—I sucked dicks for a sandwich because I was hungry. I might even have given a few hand jobs, but my backside is pristine territory. Nobody touches that."

Antonio felt bad for Carmen. He thought with 18 brothers he had it bad, but at least he had family and Mom made sure they were all fed. She told them in all their stories that there were a lot of kids less fortunate—they might not have the best of food, but it would keep the stomach from grumbling from emptiness and they wouldn’t have to lower themselves to survive. He never understood what she meant by that, but hearing Carmen’s story, he knew what she meant.

Carmen took a deep breath. "So, you see, Antonio, we are the lucky ones. The guys that live in the bachelor’s dorms—we are very fortunate we got out of the jungle of that city. One day we were all just hanging around the alleys, older and younger guys and geeks waiting for our next meal, when these well-dressed men came through and they were passing out leaflets about a new way of life that was beginning away from the city. If we didn’t mind hard work and we wanted food in our belly, a roof over our head, we could come out to the Township and work at the Z1 or the Hawthorne Ranch. It would be a new beginning for everyone."

"I had been talking to my friend Chucky about it, showed him the brochure, and he didn’t think too much of it. I finally convinced him to try, to give up the way of life that we had. When he decided to go do one more hummer, something happened with the guy and he grabbed Chucky and snapped his neck. Everyone walked right by him as he lay on the side of the dumpster, dead from a monster."

"I decided right then and there that I would never end up like Chucky. I took my brochure and presented my free pass to the driver for my future, and I got the hell out of that city, that alley, and I’ve never looked back. I’ve made myself a promise I was not going to end up like Chucky. Every day I get up, I’m thankful for the blessings of the Z1, Mr. Zack and all the residents here, Mr. Jake for the job, and Mr. Ed for all he does for us here too. For the first time in my life, I’ve got clothes that fit, a roof over my head, plenty of food, people that I consider my brothers, and if it wasn’t for your mom, a lot of us wouldn’t know love—she has plenty for everyone."

"If I’m lucky, I’ll find somebody to share my life with. Who cares if it’s a genman? They’re just people capable of love and affection just like anyone else. Look what your brother has in his life—did he have any of that before he came here? I think not. That’s the reason your mom sent him and Jeremiah here, so they can be somebody and find someone to love them."

What Carmen said to Antonio really struck a deep chord with him and began to crack open the darkness he had around his heart.

They decided to walk back to the dorm, and on the way over, who else was Antonio to run into but none other than young Bailey. He nodded his head and told him good afternoon, but as he walked away, he thought to himself, "I really fucked up with that one. I can’t believe that I really screwed that up so bad."

Bailey turned around and hollered at Antonio, "Yeah, you did, but at least it’s a good start to mending the fences. Maybe some night we’ll see each other at the soda shop—who knows, you might even get lucky." Then he walked away.

Carmen looked at Antonio. "Do you know that young man?"

"Well, put it this way—I didn’t make a very good impression on him, but I do have to say he’s cute for a genman."

Carmen chuckled. "Who knows? Maybe we can make it a double date—you and your cutie, and I could possibly ask your nephew out."

Antonio’s mouth fell open. "You and my nephew? Are you serious? You and Chadwick? Really? You think you can ask him out and you would be allowed?"

"Hey, a guy’s got to aim high in life. We can’t always stay in the gutter," Carmen replied, and he smiled.

Antonio broke out in a moment of laughter. "Can you imagine how many chaperones we would have?"

"We would definitely need a transport for that date—there would be too many chaperones for anything serious to go on." Carmen punched Antonio in the arm.