End

 I stay on the phone with Delucca and my silence and then her silence are uneasy as if memories are caught in both of our throats.  Did Roberto tell her what I said about her dogs?  Is that why she brought up Marianne?  I don’t hear whispers about her son and those marks on his back.  Since we’re getting so personal I ask and she says, “It happened when he was little, an accident at an amusement park, a bad ride, and sometimes the kid just plays rough.”  And I consider as far as we’ve come, it’s the girl everyone remembers.  Emily shirtless.

Whether or not any of what Delucca says about Julio is true, we see what we want.  The neighbors remember the way I yelled at Grizzly and blamed her for everything.  They remember the Ziploc bag I held up and waved around, they see it filled with any number of drugs they’ve heard about.  Angel Dust, Crack, Crystal Meth.  They will never see Tic Tacs.    

It happened when he was little, an accident at an amusement park, a bad ride.

He plays rough like he’s mad about it.

It’s from karate.

I don’t know if I believe what Delucca said about Julio’s back.  But after what the neighbors have said about Don and me, I guess I have to try.