Get In

It was another scorching summer day, the sun punished any venturing outside of shady areas. I sat on our steps, staring at the nothingness of the neighborhood. With no air conditioning, it was too hot to return inside along with being too hot to go anywhere. I took a big gulp of water from the nearby hose as a yellow Duster roared into the space in front of our neighbor's trailer. They were the envy of the neighborhood since it was a double wide with top notch air conditioner that I had enjoyed when doing chores for the old guy.

A young guy stepped out of the car and disappeared inside the home - I was jealous wanting to feel that air conditioning. He returned after a few minutes and raised the massive hood on the car. I stood and watched as he leaned under the hood and worked After some time, he finally acknowledged me while motioning for assistance – I slowly approached him and stood with hands in pocket and shielding the sun with my hand.

"Hey there, I am Gil, my dad lives here." He motioned to the home behind him.

"Cool." 

"Can you hand me 7/16 socket?" He leaned under the hood, left hand dangling, awaiting the tool.

I placed it in his hand and he smiled.He continued working as I handed more tools and put everything in its place. Dad said I never paid attention, but I always watched intently whenever he was working.

"You sure know your way around a toolbox." He slammed the hood and ordered me to get in. 

I stumbled into the passenger seat, struggling to close the massive door – he slammed it and we sped away bouncing over the random speed bump – continuously fumbling with the new shifter, mumbling about the transmission, smacking the shifter.

We ended up at the park, speeding up and slowing down and eyeballing me. He asked if I liked girls and how often I touched myself - laughing with each question. The car came to rest in a dark area under some trees. He slammed the shifter forward into park and reached over, touching my leg. I was scared and confused. He abruptly stopped, holding his hand in place with his gaze meeting mine. It felt like he was looking through me. He stayed in a trance before pulling back and placing both hands on the steering wheel - shaking his head back-and-forth while mumbling. I kept wondering what I had done wrong.

He revved the engine and sped away. We stopped for ice cream before returning home. As I exited the car, he came around and grabbed my shoulders. He pushed me down and knelt beside me, said the Lord’s Prayer, handed me a necklace with cross pendant. He squeezed my shoulder, thumb digging into my shoulder blade while reminding me to tell nobody about our trip. I slowly walked the short distance home and never saw him again.