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Chapter 16: Howie

I love the Street Festival. It’s a chance to just hang out and do the neighborhood thing, where everyone gets together and kind of gets reacquainted. For the most part, there’s not any trouble. Everyone’s still got that Thanksgiving glow and are already in the Christmas spirit. The kids love the merry-go-round and the double Ferris wheel; even young couples stand in line for that stuff. But me, I just like the feeling of a happy crowd, the smiles everywhere and the wonderful smells and sounds and tastes that the Festival is famous for.

For some reason, the Alley Cats rarely cause trouble with us Garrisons during the Festival, even though the action takes place in Granby Park, which borders on the edge of the territorial line. Neither gang can consider it their territory, so I guess we just let things slide for those three days a year.

I went to the first evening, which is always the quietest night. It was the time all my family went, and I was in charge of the little ones. Of course, I ate too much and spent most of the evening taking a zillion trips to the restrooms… expected, with four little ones under the age of eight. Ah well, it was still a good time.

The second night was the one I was looking forward to the most. It was when the gang got together, and I had no responsibilities but to have fun. This year, Brian was bringing Precious; he wanted to show her off, which I thought was kind of cute. She was a pretty girl, and I don’t think anyone could have been more smitten than Bri.

I got there early and waited by the carousel. I was eating some popcorn and watching the gathering crowd when I heard my name called. It was AJ, with his girl Sadie.

I don’t like to speak ill of anyone, but I was sure AJ could do better. She was okay, I suppose, but she was way into the image thing, where I liked girls with a little substance. Still, AJ liked her, so of course I treated her with respect. The last thing I would ever do was to hurt Alex. He’d had plenty of tough breaks in his life, and he deserved a little loyalty. He’d never let me down in all the years we’d been friends. That was something you just don’t see much of these days.

We chatted a bit, then she began whining about wanting a stuffed animal souvenir. AJ pretended to hesitate, although I knew that he’d do just about anything for her. Sure enough, it wasn’t long before they had headed over to the games. I stayed where I was, and maybe three minutes passed before I spotted a blond-haired bundle of energy otherwise known as Nick. The kid was totally jazzed, and I couldn’t help but smile. He had cotton candy in one hand and a hot dog in the other, and looked like he was going to last all night. It was his first Festival without being stuck with family, and he intended on having a ton of fun.

Of course, Nick’s folks knew he’d be hanging with us; we were sort of like older brothers to him and Brian. They thought he’d be safe; after all, it was just the Festival, so what could really happen?

If only we had known.

It didn’t take long for Nick to find Brian and Precious strolling down the main walk, and before I could blink twice the three of them had gone on to the rides. I caught my name being shouted from across the playground, and saw Harry and Texas meandering over. I joined them, and we sampled some of the ethnic food that was offered for sale. We sat on a bench and watched the pretty girls go by; there were plenty, and it was harmless entertainment. It occurred to me, eventually, that we hadn’t seen Lance or Kevin yet. Brian had told Harry their cousin had promised to attend; I liked Kevin, even though he wasn’t a part of our gang, he was considered one of us by proxy. Plus, he always treated us to some cool stuff: ice cream, a round of games, and a handful of tickets for whoever wanted them. He seemed to like doing it, although every year we insisted he didn’t have to spend money. His philosophy was that life was too short not to enjoy.

I heard the strains of a Brazilian band warming up across the venue, and asked my friends if they wanted to come with me to watch. They declined, saying something about trying to get dates with a couple of girls that kept passing by, secretly checking them out. I laughed; it was more likely that they were imagining things, but hey… who am I to stand in the way of a good time? So, I went across the park alone. Just before I got to where people were gathering for the music, I saw them.

Lance and Kevin, together.

That was odd enough; normally those two were together only at Harry’s. But I stopped dead in my tracks when I saw something completely unexpected. Kevin…

Kevin’s face was an incredible mix of dark bruises and tiny cuts, and one single white bandage to set it all off. Just looking at it sent a shot of pain through me, and with something close to horror I rushed up to them.

Lance’s light green eyes warned me to school my reaction, and I did my best. Kevin’s hesitant look made me stop and carefully consider my words.

“What happened, are you all right?”

“It looks worse than it is,” Kevin said quietly. “It’s not as painful now. I… I’d rather not talk about it, Howie.”

“Kev,” Lance said, his voice low and full of meaning.

Kevin sighed, looked at him, then back at me. “My father,” he breathed, looking down. “He got drunk again, and…”

When his voice choked to a stop, I looked to Lance.

“He showed up at my place Thanksgiving,” he provided. “We managed to find him an apartment for him to live in over on Ninth until he starts school next year.”

“Does… does Harry know?”

“No,” Kevin mumbled. “I wouldn’t have come at all, but Brian insisted, made me promise. He wanted me to meet Precious, and I…”

In that second, my opinion of Kevin… already pretty high… hitched up about a hundred points. I knew he was embarrassed, and had to be hurting pretty bad despite what he said.

“He’s gonna freak,” I said carefully.

“I know,” Kevin said. “But he’s gonna find out sooner or later.”

“What about your Mom?” I asked. I was confused when even a greater pain crossed his face.

“She… she left,” he said darkly. “Filed for divorce. I think my father must have found out, though… it’s what set him off.” He swallowed hard. “I don’t know where he is now, and I don’t care.” Emerald eyes looked up and caught my gaze. “I never want to see him again.”

“He should be in jail,” I declared. “No one should do that to their own kid.” The news made me angry; what had Kevin ever done to deserve that?

Lance spoke. “No, they shouldn’t,” he said. “Kev’s moved into a secure building, it’s pretty nice. Should be safe.” He took a deep breath. “Anyway, this is why we’re a little late. We figured that by now, when things are darker, he wouldn’t draw so much attention.”

“Kev, I’m sorry, man,” I said. “If there’s anything I can do for you, I will. Just ask, okay?”

“Thanks, D,” he said, giving me a slight smile.

We all headed over to the other side of the park, away from the crowds at the music stage, hoping to find one of our gang. We decided that we’d gather everyone in one place, then let them in on what had happened to Kev.

Our plans went south when Nick came flying down the walkway, a slightly frightened gleam in his eye. He started talking well before he came to a halt.

“Guys, there’s some Alley Cats causing some trouble by the games,” he said in a rush. “They made some nasty comments to AJ’s girl, then started talking trash about Precious, and-“

He stopped short, his mouth dropping open when he got a good long look at Kevin. Before he could even ask, Kevin spoke.

“Had a little family trouble,” he said. “It’s worse than it looks. I’m… out of the house for good, now.”

I could tell that Nicky was full of questions, but Lance diverted them by speaking.

“If the Alley Cats are causing trouble, we’d better kind of congregate.”

“Huh?”

“Get together as a group,” Lance explained. “Take us there, okay?”

“All… all right,” he said reluctantly. With one long look at Kevin, he turned back down the walkway and gestured for us to follow.

The situation wasn’t good when we got there, and Kevin hung back a bit. No sense in confusing issues; first things first.

AJ had his hand in his pocket… where he kept his knife… and a very strained look on his face. Opposite him was Brent, the second in command of the Cats, who looked equally tense. You could almost feel the hostility crackling in the air. Brian was standing in front of Precious, who looked confused. Facing him was another Cat, one I didn’t know by name. It didn’t much matter.

At our arrival, the two Cats realized they’d been way outnumbered. With a final parting insult, they pushed past Nick and took off running down the pathway. A collective sigh of relief went through all of us, but especially from me. I truly hated violence and confrontation; there were never any real winners in that kind of situation.

It took a moment to shake off the tension. Nick looked warily at the direction the Cats had gone off in, but AJ cracked some kind of joke and just that quick, the mood shifted. Harry and Texas came up from the other direction… no girls in sight… and there we were, all together at last.

The issue with Kevin, as predicted, was met with shock and disbelief. Most affected was Brian, who looked like he’d been gut-shot when he finally got a good look at his cousin’s face. It took a lot of reassurance on both Lance’s and Kevin’s part to diffuse his outrage at his uncle. I think the thing that finally snapped the anger was when Kev coughed, then grimaced in what seemed to be a great deal of pain. When he hunched over, holding his ribs against it, Brian lost his fire… and concern overcame fury. From that moment, Brian focused on helping Kevin however he could.

I was proud of that. Brian was a great kid, and he’d grown up a lot over the last couple of years. He had a temper, sure… but he was beginning to use reason to avoid taking it to extremes.

The rest of the night turned out to be pretty enjoyable. The tension was forgotten, and the girls were presented with quite a few stuffed animals won at the games by all of us. It became a kind of friendly competition among the Garrisons, with Texas being the champion in the end. When the Festival died down about eleven o’clock, we were among the last to leave. None of us wanted the evening to end.

AJ, Sadie, Brian, Precious and Harry went one way, while Texas walked with Lance and Kevin down the west end of the park. That left Nick and me. I guess the sugar rush had finally died down, so he wasn’t hyper any more. Still, he had plenty of energy and I figured it would be a good idea to keep an eye on him and walk him home.

We were joking a bit, our general mood still upbeat. Neither of us was really paying attention, and that’s where the first mistake was made.

One minute we were alone, and the next there were two figures blocking our way. It was Brent and Juan, and they didn’t look happy. Knowing that Nick was pretty unskilled in a hand fight, and not wanting to get into anything alone, I opted for the ‘run away’ choice. But, before I could even turn around, a voice came from behind.

We were surrounded, with no help in sight. I tried to talk my way out of it, but Brent lunged forward and punched me in the gut before I got much further than three words.

I told Nick to run, but he was either too scared, too trapped, or too concerned to leave me. Whatever the reason, Nick stayed.

I tried to help him, but it was all I could do to defend myself. I was pretty sharp in a fight, and landed several telling blows, but every time I heard Nick cry out in pain I lost concentration. By the time I heard him moaning in anguish, I was barely hanging on to my senses. Then, suddenly, the Cats left.

I didn’t understand it. Nor did I care. My only thought was Nicky.

I made it to his side, shocked at what I found. He was curled up in a ball, blood trailing from his nose and lip. His shirt was torn, and he was covered with several nasty cuts. But his pale white skin tone alarmed me the most. He was out, way out, not even responding when I tried to uncurl him. He had a pulse, thankfully, but his breathing sounded rough and raspy. That couldn’t be good.

A hand on my shoulder made me whirl around, ready to defend him from further injury. I blinked in confusion at a stranger’s face. I saw blue, and shiny buttons. I took me a moment to realize it was a cop.

Things were a bit confusing after that, I guess it was just the shock and worry. But soon I was riding in the back of an ambulance, holding Nick’s hand as we rushed to St. Mary’s. They took him away the instant we arrived at the hospital, then dragged me off to an exam room for some bandaging and evaluation.

After I made a few phone calls, I had to play the waiting game. They didn’t let me see him, but I was there when his folks came in. Together, we waited for news.

It was almost one thirty in the morning when a doctor finally came to talk to Nick’s family. I listened numbly as he described the injuries.

Broken arm, multiple cuts, mild concussion, and some badly bruised ribs. He was currently unconscious, although the doc said that was to be expected.

Numbly I accepted Mrs. Carter’s offer to take me home. I didn’t want to leave, but the stuff they’d given me for the pain was beginning to take effect, and besides, since I wasn’t family, I wouldn’t be allowed to see him for a while.

My last coherent thought was that I should have been more alert, should have done something to protect the kid better. I didn’t think Nick would ever forgive me.

I know I wouldn’t be forgiving myself.