She went in the other direction than I did mentally. “My mom is going to be home tonight.”
“Oh, cool.” I was glad to talk about her situation.
“She said she had a surprise for me. I think it might be a cat. Or a kitten. She’s been thinking about that for a while since I asked for one for my birthday when I was a toddler. In the past, the cost was too much. Vets, food bills, meds, but maybe this new job got her some more money. I’d love that. A cat to be with me at night.” She jumped over a large crack in the sidewalk.
“What color do you want? Like a black one?” I made the wrong turn that I had made in the past, which was the right one now.
“I’ve always loved the ones that look like they spilled milk all over themselves. Tuxedo cats?” Her eyes twinkled. “But I’d take anything. Even a guinea pig.”
“That’s cool. We can use it as a ball when we drop this one.” I tossed up the blue rubber orb.
“Gaze Patrick Jones, don’t you even.” She grabbed it out of mid-air.
I hurried our pace when I saw the chain-link metal that surrounded the construction area. “Check it out.”
We were in the seedy part of town, but we were so early, it seemed like the whole place was still asleep. That was fine with me. I pushed on the section of fence that served as a gate. It was padlocked closed with a thick metal chain. But I made enough space for my head to fit through, and the rest of my body followed. I pulled on the fence hard so Pixie had a bit more room to trespass.
“This place looks awful.”
She was right. There were bags of trash, broken glass, and a few needles. I crawled over the first pile of dirt, and the car ramp was still there. It was rusted, but seemed like it was in one piece. I grabbed one side and waited for Pixie to pick up the other side. We lifted it and the roots of the vegetation that had been keeping it locked in place ripped away. After taking on one particularly stubborn one, it was free. And it wasn’t nearly as heavy as I thought it should’ve been.
“We could do this. I mean, if you want to. I can’t imagine anyone can do much with one car ramp.”
Pixie put her head from one shoulder to the other while she weighed the decision. Her eyes flicked to the marks on my face. “Okay. Let’s do it. I want to get started on my arrest record early.”
I smiled at her. I knew that my injuries had swayed her agreement, but I was willing to take it. I liked being connected to her. My building and hers.
It was slow going back over the hill, but the ramp did slide through the gap in the fence quickly. I kept waiting to hear someone yell at us. Someone confronting us about our obvious, daylight robbery, but no one did. Maybe that was the best thing about being in the city. People mostly minded their own business.
We went up through Pixie’s building. We didn’t discuss it, but it seemed like common sense that my father would not be very hospitable today. I felt the shame deeper. Like it was made of cement shoes that lived inside me. I sniffled a few times, and then put my head down to help maneuver the ramp up the stairs. It was light to start off, but now felt like it weighed a million pounds.
It took us a few times to get the right angle getting the straight piece to snake up the stairway. There were a few more dark marks on the walls where we memorialized this ramp’s trip.
Getting it to Pixie’s room was a bit easier because the layout of the apartment was straightforward. The front door was even with her room’s window when her door was open. We set it down and got a drink of water and a handful of baby carrots.
“Let’s get this ramp in place.” I put my glass in the sink and Pixie did the same.
“I want to go stand in the hydrant after this.” Pixie’s hair was wet in the front, and when I lifted my hand, I found mine was the same way. This was hard work.
“Great idea,” I agreed, but then thought of my bruises. The water was pretty powerful, I was sure it would hurt. Plus, more people would see my injuries. “But let’s see how this goes.”
We both picked up the ramp and slid it out as far as it would go until it was hanging in mid-air. I pulled the end in and propped it up so it would fall like a drawbridge—if it was long enough.
“On three, let it go.” I flexed my fingers and checked for anyone underneath. No one was in the alley.
“One. Two. Three!” Pixie counted for us and then we let go. The ramp made a horrible, grinding noise as it screeched into place on my building’s side. As we leaned out of Pixie’s window, a few other neighbors popped their heads out. We tucked back in. The Nerf ball we played with on the wooden plank hadn’t garnered any complaints. It was pretty quiet. I had concerns about the metal ramp. It was for sure stronger, but I didn’t think it was going to be quieter.
Pixie squinched up her nose. “I hope they don’t complain.”
“Let’s not try it until tonight, when it’s late.” I looked at the clock. “When’s your mom due in?”
“Oh. Soon. Lost track of the time. I’ve got to get cleaned up. She and I will have a lot to talk about. Plus the surprise!”
Ms. Stone was thinking of her. Which was good. I had to get out of here and let Pixie have her time. I didn’t want to go back to my place just yet.
“Maybe the cat?” I was excited about the prospect of a cat walking across our new ramp and visiting me. I left Pixie and walked the neighborhood for a bit. I checked on our ramp from below, and it seemed good.
“Hey, look, it’s Assbag without his bodyguard.”
I didn’t think they were talking to me, but they said it again. I turned around and recognized the kids from the playground the first time Pixie and I went to it—Alfie and his buddies.
“Me?” I pointed to my chest before looking over my shoulder.
“Did you get in a fight with your girlfriend? Playing basketball with the big guys?” The three of them came closer to me. The alley between the buildings was slim and cluttered. Running through it was my only way out. I looked over my shoulder. The way the dumpster had been dropped last time had it angled in a way that made it a dead end.
“I’m just headed home.” I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to get in it with three guys. I had nothing against them, but apparently, they were looking to have something against me.
“Oh, are you? What does Pixie’s bitch do when she lets him off his leash?” They laughed amongst themselves, putting their shoulders next to one another.
I didn’t say anything else—they were just going to twist whatever I said. I let my face go flat and darted my glance around, trying to see if I had an escape.
“I want to see if he shits glitter like a girl.” The bulky brown hair one sneered.
I gave him a look and said something like I had just promised myself not to, “You think girls shit glitter?”
The sneer fell from his face and meanness became a brick wall. “Are you talking to me?”
“Well, you’re here in my face, so I guess so.”
Like snakes lying in wait, my words gave them permission to let go.
The three descended on me. It was a shower of punches and kicks. I fought back as hard as I could, even though they fought dirty.
“HEY!”
The brown-haired one, who had a fistful of my hair, suddenly had his knee bent violently from the back.