Free Sparkle by Rudy Yuly Page A

Mall with greasy fingers. Then he climbed back into the van, where Eddie sat placidly.
    “The van’s busted,” Joe said.
    “I know,” Eddie replied.
    “I can’t fix it, okay?” Joe was loud.
    “Uh-huh,” Eddie said. “Okay.”
    “Just don’t freak out on me, okay, Eddie?” Joe yelled. “Just don’t!”
    Eddie looked out the side window. He didn’t say anything. He was thinking about how much Joe reminded him at that moment of what little he remembered about their dad.
    Joe rolled down his window and smoked another Pall Mall. After ten minutes, he said, “I’m going to have to call a tow truck. They’re going to come and take the van to the shop. Okay?”
    “Uh-huh. Okay.”
    “Darn right. Listen, Eddie,” Joe went on, taking a deep breath, “I’m going to have to call a cab to come and take us home. It’s just a car, okay? I need you to help me out here. When it gets here, I want you to please, please, just get in and sit down. It’s just g-g-going to take us home.”
    Eddie wondered why Joe was making such a big deal about it. “Okay, Joe,” he said.
    “P-p-promise me, Eddie.”
    Joe sounded serious. Eddie hesitated. “Okay,” he said, looking out his own window. He didn’t like to make promises. They were serious business. But this one seemed small and important to Joe.
    Joe made the call, and the tow truck came within twenty minutes. Eddie enjoyed watching the van get hooked up. It was a very interesting procedure.
    A few minutes later the cab came. Eddie had seen cabs plenty of times. He definitely knew what they were for, but like most other things he didn’t deal with directly, cabs were filed under “miscellaneous” in his brain, a category that didn’t get much notice.
    As he focused his attention on a real cab for the first time, Eddie suddenly realized what Joe was concerned about. The thing was quite new and strange. In fact, it was nothing at all like riding in the van. Despite himself, Eddie was gripped by a sudden powerful urge to rebel. He hadn’t ridden in any vehicle that Joe hadn’t been driving for a long time. But just then, an even stronger force asserted itself.
    Joe looked at Eddie. “You promised,” he said quietly.
    “Man-sized mess.”
    “A promise is a promise.”
    Eddie knew Joe had him. Eddie reminded himself to breathe.
    Joe opened the back door and waited. Eddie hesitated.
    “It’s going to be okay, Eddie. I promise.”
    Eddie put his bag on the ground, pulled out his sunglasses, and put them on. Picking up his bag, he swallowed his anxiety and climbed into the cab.
    The remarkable part was that once he got past his initial hesitation and forced himself to breathe regularly, Eddie found the cab ride pleasant, even relaxing. There were hardly any of the jerking stops and near misses that characterized Joe’s driving.
    As they drove home and Eddie looked out the window, he momentarily forgot Joe was even there. The ride was so smooth that he found himself drifting, and he began mechanically rubbing his arm, back and forth, back and forth. It didn’t feel like being in a vehicle at all.
    Then Eddie realized where he was and what he was doing. The realization started a powerful cascade of thoughts. By the time the brothers reached their little white house, the thoughts had coalesced into a powerful, potentially life-changing revelation: Eddie didn’t need Joe to get around. He could, given the opportunity and the right amount of mental preparation, take a cab.
    More than a month later, Joe was finally starting to fully comprehend Eddie’s intentions. Joe had a few ideas about why Eddie wanted to start taking cabs so badly, but he wasn’t going for it. Maybe someday, but not now.
    Eddie just wasn’t ready.

Chapter 12
    When Jolie walked into the zoo office, it was still dark outside. Her day didn’t officially start for more than an hour, but she was looking forward to doing a leisurely, peaceful walk-around alone before starting.
    Mark was already