Excerpt:

Things You Can Only Say to One Person

He and I sit down. On a bench. Near the statue in the middle of the park. I don’t know if it’s a saint or a virgin. What matters is that it shines brighter than a streetlamp. We open the six-pack. I hand him one. Grab one. Set it next to me. On the ground. He chews. Chicken-fillet sandwich with tartar sauce, egg, and cheese. Thick. Sensual. Delicious. Exquisite. Greasy. The way only a sandwich like that can be.

I bite.

“So where was everyone going today?”

I chew. Swallow.

“No idea. Heard something about a get-together, but I didn’t know anyone going except like three guys.”

I bite again.

“Were they the ones who didn’t want to get kicked out?”

I nod while trying to keep a chunk of cheese from falling. Swallow the cheese. Sauce drips onto my hand. I lick it. Open the bottle. Drink. Long swallow.

“Why didn’t you go?”

He sets his bottle aside.

“My old man told me to go out with him today.”

I drink. Short swallow.

“What happened?”

He drinks. Long swallow. Moves his tongue like he’s afraid to say something.

“We were out shopping—me and my older brother.”

He drinks. Short swallow. I drink. Long swallow.

“It was my dad, my brother, and me.”

I chew.

“Just when we’re at the register, my dad tells us he has another kid. That he was just born. And we’re not supposed to tell our mother.”

I swallow. Take another bite.

“I mean, I don’t really care if he slept with someone. He works far away, he’s gone most of the time… most of the year… every year… but having a kid?”

He drinks.

“Obviously me and my brother told our mom.”

I finish my sandwich.

“She started crying when we told her.”

His voice begins to crack.

I feel something against my leg. I turn.

A cat is rubbing itself on me.

He notices what I’m looking at.

“A cat?”

He finishes his sandwich.

“We should grab our stuff and move to the other bench.”

We pick everything up. Move to the next bench. Sit. He keeps going. Drinks. A swallow—not long, not short.

“I don’t get that idiot… doing something that stupid.”

He drinks. Long swallow. I hug him. We let go. I take a drink.

I feel something on my leg.

He laughs.

“The cat loves you.”

We grab our things again. Move to another bench. Sit. I put the bottle in the bag. Take out another. He gives me his. I toss it in the bag. Hand him another. He stands up.

“Give me the burger wrapper.”

I hand it to him. He walks to the trash can. Tosses it. Sits back down. We drink.

“What are you gonna do?”

He finishes the bottle. I hand him another.

“I don’t know...

..."

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