ODDS OF LOVE

Episode Twenty Nine

The really fat orange cat jumped up on Luci's lap and purred at her. The cat pushed at her arm with its head until she patted it gently. Once assured of the proper appreciation and affection the cat curled up in a ball on her lap and fell back asleep. Luci felt more peaceful.  She loved animals but her mother wouldn't have any animals in the house. Or even outside. Harvey was allergic or something. She remembered Harvey laughing about some cat that had scratched him as a kid. He said he had choked it to death for scratching him. Then he tossed it in the river near his house. He thought it was funny. And her mother had laughed too. Harvey hated her calling Spencer. He said Spencer and DuBuis were both bad influences on her because of their " sinful lifestyle ". He tried to get her mother to stop the calls she made but her mother said it wasn't that big of a deal. She said talking to Spencer made Luci more calm and manageable. Luci was happy because Spencer felt like her only friend even though he was a grown man. He listened to her unlike other adults. Spencer understood her and didn't think her interest in math and science was strange. The kids at school did and teased her all the time about it. And other things. When Spencer got shot she got so scared. She actually had pictured going to his funeral one day and started to cry so bad that her mother had to slap her to get to stop. She didn't want Spencer to die like her daddy had. She wanted Spencer to be her new daddy. 

A cold feeling crept over her. What if Uncle D and Spencer didn't want her ? Where would she go ? How would she get to Grandma in Florida ? Would her grandmother want her ? Would anyone ? She thought about the homeless people she heard about online. Would she be one ? She didn't want to be homeless. 

" Who you be , gal ? . " she heard a loud and brash young voice say from the screened in porch door that then slammed shut. She looked up with her hand still stroking the cat. It wasn't the neighbor or the cops. It was a boy. A young White boy who looked about her age. He was not cute but he was ok. Average. He had thick flyaway carrot red hair that kept flopping into his curious wide green eyes. His eyes were pretty. He was a chubby boy that her grandma called " husky ". He wore a tight white cotton tee shirt with a shiny police badge pinned to its front and baggy blue denim shorts. He was barefoot and his big feet looked really dirty. He looked nice though. Not like the boys at school who beat her up , took her lunch money and pulled down her pants in public to prove she was a boy because " she had a dick ". 

( " You ain't no girl , freak. You got a dick ! And a puny one too ! " )

" Huh , " Luci said blankly. 

" I says who you be , gal. This here belongs to Doc D and Doc Spencer. They ain't got no kids cause they gay. My MeeMaw said gay people can't have no kids. So who you be ? "

" My name is Luci Moore. I'm their niece. Who are you ? "

" Hmmm. Ain't never seen you before. You talk funny. You from round here ? "

" I'm from New Jersey. I hate New Jersey. "

The boy shuffled his bare feet and stared at her. Then he pointed at the house where the old lady was. " I ain't never been to New Jersey before. I used to live in Alabama. Now I lives here in PG County. I went to Disneyland once. That's in California. I got sick on three rollercoasters. Anyways my name is Solomon Klein. Calls me Sol for short. Don't be calling me Solomon. I hate that name. I watch out for the neighborhood good cause I gonna be in the FBI one day. Maybe CIA. Be a spy and kiss pretty girls like you and beat bad guys. I'm be a good cop. Not one that hurts people that look like you. I lives with my MeeMaw cause they don't rightly knows where my mom is and my dad died in a farm accident. He was drunk and fell off a tractor and it run over him. Me and my brother Jim live with MeeMaw now. Jim is in high school. He's sixteen. He don't like me much. Jim don't like nobody. " 

She eyed him closely. He seemed real sweet and kinda shy. Even if he talked too much. He reminded her of Spencer. " My daddy was a cop. In New York. He died in the line of duty. "

Sol looked impressed. " Yeah ? Cool. You gonna be a cop too ? "

She shook her head. " No. I am going to be a mathematician for NASA. " 

" Really ? You must be smart. I ain't smart. My teachers in Alabama called me dumb as a sack of rocks. Cause I got trouble remembering numbers and I can't spell worth spit. So I'm dumb. "

She was mad. " You are not dumb ! Uncle D says nobody is dumb. Uncle Spencer agrees and says poor learning students is the result of poor teaching. He's a teacher so he should know. I can teach you math. You know algebra ? "

He shrugged and hopped on the swing next to her. " Nah. I barely do two plus two. MeeMaw says I got some learning disability for math or something. You nice but I'm really am dumb. I'm thirteen but I got left back a year cause I'm dumb. I like video games. I play Call of Duty , Sims , Elder Scrolls , GTA. I got a PlayStation and an Xbox.  I like comic books and graphic novels. You like any of that ? Want some chocolate ? I got half a bar if you want it. Ain't supposed to eat between meals. MeeMaw says I gotta lose weight. "

" I like video games. Especially Sims. I can't play at home though anymore because my stepfather says it's sinful. I like to read. Everything. Including graphic novels and Manga. Yeah chocolate sounds good. I'm so seriously hungry. " 

Sol fished out from his pants pocket a half melted candy bar and tossed it at her. She caught it deftly and nearly choked herself wolfing it all down. Sol glanced at her shyly and said , " If hungry and wanna eat before your uncle gets here you can come to my place. We got leftover pot roast and mashed tators you can have. I do like me some tators. I like reading books too but mostly mysteries and thrillers. Wanna hear a secret ? "

She smiled softly at him. She liked him. " Yeah ? What ? "

" Last Christmas I sat on Santa's lap at the mall. Just wanted to see what it felt like cause I'm Jewish. We don't go to temple or nothing but we Jewish. He smelled like beer and stinky feet. "

Luci laughed just as DuBuis opened the screen door and stepped inside. He looked really worried. Her cell phone rang at the same time and she glanced at it. It was Spencer. She answered it and heard him say , " Luci ? Are you alright ? Is DuBuis there ? Don't worry about anything. We will take care of you. You're home now. "