Amber wondered randomly if that was some sort of self-improvement rule, or was it because Esteban didn’t speak much Spanish. She shrugged mentally. The Horn Street Boys had a lot of rules.
“And here’s a gas,” Esteban said. “Guy paying us is Alice’s father.”
Everyone looked at Amber. She giggled. It was nice that Esteban told them.
“Who’s the broad?” one of the boys said.
“Are you ready for this?” Esteban said.
Amber could see he was excited. She felt excited, too. He pointed at her like a referee calling a foul.
“Alice’s momma,” he said.
Everyone looked at her again. Amber giggled again. One of the boys started clapping, and the others joined in. Amber giggled some more, and hid her face.
“Bye-bye, Momma,” Esteban said.
And the boys took up the chant.
“Bye-bye, Momma! Bye-bye, Momma! Bye-bye, Momma.”
They clapped in rhythm to it and Amber, sitting on the floor, with her face in her hands and her knees up, began to rock back and forth to the chant. After a while she joined in.
“Bye-bye, Momma! Bye-bye, Momma! Bye-bye, Momma!”
31.
“So,” Jesse said. “Where were we?”
“I think you know,” Dix said.
“We were wondering aloud…no, I was wondering aloud…what Jenn’s career meant to her.”
Dix nodded.
“I think my last question was, Do you think her career means redemption to her?”
“That’s how I remember it,” Dix said.
“And you were about to not answer the question,” Jesse said.
Dix smiled.
“I hoped you might have a thought,” he said.
“I have things to redeem,” Jesse said. “But I guess so does she.”
Dix inclined his head.
“She has yet to succeed at a job,” Jesse said.
“Or a relationship,” Dix said.
“Or a relationship,” Jesse said. “We both got an oh-for on relationships.”
“Except with each other,” Dix said.
“This is a good relationship?” Jesse said.
“It’s an enduring one,” Dix said.
