I wanted to say I was sorry about his wife, but the words got stuck in my throat. "It's nice to meet you," was what I said instead.
"And this boy with the busted-up nose is Daniel King. I'm sure you figured out, by the name, that his family owns the hardware store across the street."
"I was putting that together," I said. I glanced at Daniel. "What position are you looking to hire?"
"Alice was a cashier," Daniel said. "But she was like ninety years old," he added. "You might want to get a job… down at the seawall… or somewhere there's more going on."
I nodded and gave him a little shrug. "I still might want to come by your store though. I'm used to living in a small town."
"You should come by," Daniel said. "Both of you should. I work there. We could hang out sometime."
"That sounds good," I said, nodding. I glanced at Abigail who was nodding also.
"What about tonight?" Daniel asked. "I'm going to a little party at my friend Eddie's house if you want to come."
I saw Abigail look at the door and smile reluctantly, and I glanced that way to find Derek and John had come into the diner. I knew they were going to walk straight up to us.
"We can't tonight," I said to Daniel. "We met these guys earlier and already said we would… drive around with them."
Chapter 6
Billy Castro
Billy did not set an alarm before he went to bed that night. He thought about Marvin Jones and his offer of a boxing lesson, but he talked himself out of going.
In spite of going to sleep late, he woke up at 8am and couldn’t go back to sleep. He went back and forth about it, but he ultimately decided to go to the gym. He didn't have anything else to do at nine in the morning, and he had nothing to lose by going.
He parked on Bank Street, right in front of the gym. He could see the front of the hardware store in the rearview mirror of his Mustang. He was a few minutes early so he wasn't in a hurry to get into the gym.
He recognized the people standing in front of the hardware store. It was Daniel King and he was talking to the two girls who sat next to them at the diner last night. They looked alike, but he could tell them apart.
The one with the darker hair kept glancing at his car. She was the one who had been wearing red pants the night before. Today, she had on blue knee-length shorts and a ruffled blouse. She was nothing like the girls he normally went out with. She was proper, innocent, pure. She was talking to the others, but she had looked at his car several times since he pulled up. She had stared at him at the diner the night before, too.
Billy got out of his car and closed the door. He brought a bag with a change of clothes and a pair of tennis shoes in case his jeans and boots didn't cut it in the boxing ring. He had a small duffle bag, and he held it in his hand rather than strapping it over his shoulder on his way inside.
He glanced at the hardware store on his way into the gym, and all three of the people standing outside were looking at him. He didn't care about anyone but the girl on the left. He stared at her and her alone until he turned to walk into the gym.
"I knew you'd come," was the first thing out of Marvin's mouth when Billy walked through the door. "What's in your bag?" he added.
"What should be?" Billy asked.
"Don't answer a question with a question."
"I really want to know, though. What should I have with me?"
"Shorts, gloves, hand wraps or tape. Some proper boxing shoes, eventually, but I know you don't have any of that yet. I have some equipment here. All you need for today is a pair of shorts and some shoes that aren't those."
"Good, because I have none of that other stuff. I brought a pair of shorts and some sneakers, but they're not boxing shoes."
"Sneakers would work, but I can get you a pair of my shoes for today," Marvin said. "Size eleven."
"That'll be fine," Billy said with a nod.
"We'll work in the ring. Coach Lambert is over there coaching a few other guys by the bags, so I'll take you over here and work with you myself."
Billy followed Marvin to the locker room, where he changed into his shorts and laced up his borrowed boxing shoes. The whole place, the whole process, it was all foreign to Billy. But Marvin had done all of it so many times, that he quickly and efficiently walked Billy through every step.
He wrapped Billy's hands with a strip of fabric for support. Billy made a fist, smiling at the feel of that wrap on his hand. He had never wrapped his hands like that before, and it felt nice. It felt natural. Marvin loaned Billy a pair of gloves, and they made their way to the ring.
The next hour was a non-stop whirlwind of information. Billy had a fresh headwound, and Marvin was sensitive to it being there, but he walked Billy through different punches and stances and boxing principals for a full hour. Billy was competitive and strong-willed, and he was intensely focused on Marvin the whole time.
"Easy, Billy. Easy ones. Nice and easy," Marvin said as they ran through a sequence of punches.
Jab, jab, hook.
Jab, jab, hook.
Jab, jab, hook.
"Let me see jab, cross, hook to the body, and I'm not looking for power, Billy. I just want to see your form. Take it real slow. Easy."
Marvin caught the three punches he asked for. "Easy Billy," he said, smiling as Billy performed the combination.
"That was easy," Billy said. "I was going at about ten percent."
"No, I meant your name. Your nickname. Your fight name. You're Easy Billy Castro."
"I didn't ask for a nickname," Billy said, feeling overwhelmed by all the information and trying not to show it.
"I don't know how many times I said 'easy, Billy' during that practice," Marvin said, shaking his head and wearing a laidback smile.
"I counted three in the last, like, two minutes." Marvin's assistant coach, Dizzy Lambert, chimed in from a few feet away. "I kept looking up there, thinking he was killin' you or something."
"No, but he was gonna kill himself if he didn't slow down. This boy has a two-inch cut on his head, and he's coming in here, wanting to throw a punch like nothing's bothering him."
Marvin reached up and gently slapped the side of Billy's shoulder. "That's all for today, Easy Billy. We'll take it slow while you have that bump on your head. Get changed and come see me in my office."
Billy nodded at Marvin before he started taking off the borrowed gloves. Marvin ducked beneath the ropes and stepped down from the ring using a small set of stairs at the corner.
Billy made his way to the locker room where he changed into his jeans and boots. He made a stack of Marvin's things. He started to leave them on the bench in the locker room. He was going to leave the gym without going to Marvin's office, but he picked up the things and tucked them under his arm.
"Coach's office is right over there."
Billy turned to find Dizzy Lambert was talking to him. Billy had long ago developed an aversion to people in authority, and he almost walked straight out of the gym so Dizzy didn't have the satisfaction of thinking he told Billy what to do. He sucked it up and nodded at Dizzy before he walked into Marvin's office, since he was planning on doing that anyway.