The Son of Every Man

Chapter 5.6

Miguel did not act any differently from usual when Gabe returned to the warehouse Monday night. The sky was overcast and the air was thick and hot. Sparse, fat raindrops began falling just as he lined up the car's mirror with he edge of the garage door. They increased in frequency as he backed in.

"How's life?" asked Miguel when Gabe got out.

Gabe replied in a word or two, then Miguel muttered something about being surprised by the rain, which now sounded in a dull roar from the metal roof overhead. It was loud enough that any conversation would have to be deliberate, face to face, and Miguel was too busy to stop and talk. Boredom eventually struck. Gabe ducked back into the car and closed the door. Less than half an hour later, the shriek of the first locking pin woke him from a nap he had not intended to take. Miguel heaved open the door, then signaled for Gabe to leave.

The warehouse returned to its echoey silence the next night. At first, Gabe had no reason to think Miguel was being standoffish. He smiled at Gabe and even joked about the meagerness of Gabe's facial hair, which was resigned to his chin and a thin line on his upper-lip. Gabe assured him that it would be shaved off as soon as he got a free moment. Miguel told him he should keep it, that it looked nice—a forward enough statement to put Gabe completely at ease.

It was within this state of repose that he found the courage to bring it up. "I wanted to tell you...the other night—that was fun. I had a good time, in case you were worried that we took it too far or anything."

Miguel marked the box he was holding with a big X, followed by another. He carried it off toward a canvas bin along the south wall. "I don't see why we have to talk everything to death," he said from twenty feet away.

Gabe felt like he had been bitten. "We don't."

"No need to bring it up, then."

Fine, Gabe wouldn't say another word about it. Ever again. He threw himself into the plush seat of the car and slammed the door shut. He pressed the lock button. As far as he could tell from a handful of stolen glances through the car's mirrors, Miguel was not interested in retrieving him, not this time. Just as with the previous night, when the time came, Miguel simply heaved open the garage door and motioned, poker-faced, for Gabe to leave.

;-;

Eddie came over Wednesday evening on the pretense of checking in, but Gabe realized quickly that he had bigger fish to try. "Anyone coming to look at the place this weekend?" he asked, standing across from Gabe in the kitchen.

"No," Gabe replied. "It's not selling as fast as the agent said it would."

"So it goes," said Eddie. "Anyway, I was thinking we would get away. You, me and Miguel."

"All right," said Gabe slowly, wondering where a such a bizarre premise could possibly lead. "Get away?"

"Upstream."

"Yeah. Sure." Gabe swallowed. "You mean you want to show us the other camps?"

"Yeah, I was thinking we would at least hit a few of them. You and Miguel need to see what it's like out there. You can't appreciate how it all goes down until you've seen it."

Gabe couldn't argue with that.

;-;

Later that night, as Gabe shut off the car in the warehouse, he vowed not to become upset, no matter what direction their unpredictable dialogue might lead. He seriously doubted Miguel had meant to hurt him. Besides, Eddie had asked him to check with Miguel to see if he was free, so he already had a reasonable point-of-entry.

"Eddie wants to know if you're free this weekend," he said immediately after getting out of the car.

Miguel smirked. "And he's made you the go-between again."