Page 36 of The Chemist

Two more years, and he would be in the double digits!! That was practically a teenager!

Diesel threw the thin Spiderman bedsheet off his body and jumped out of bed with all the excitement of being the birthday boy.

Today was his day! Today, his momma was going to surprise him with something nice!

She hadn’t mentioned anything about his birthday during these past few weeks, but that was because she was keeping it all a secret from him. She was going to surprise him with a big party, a big cake with lots of icing and candles, and maybe even some of those bottle rockets that he loved to swipe from the corner shop down the road. They fizzled and popped and made your tongue feel funny.

He ran into the tiny bathroom and took a pee while he thought about all the presents his mom was going to surprise him with. Jimmy, from school, got eight presents from his parents, and Alice from the trailer next door got three. He wondered how many his momma had decided to buy him? It didn’t matter how many. He knew he was going to love them all.

Today was his day!

He washed his hands quickly, then ran out into the living room where his momma was sitting on the small sofa having her morning cigarette.

“Morning, Momma!” Diesel screeched, hopping on the sofa cushion right next to her.

“Oh, good. You’re awake. Hurry up and go get dressed. We’re going to be late.”

To his surprise?Shit! He better hurry and go get ready.

Diesel charged into his bedroom and threw on the same jeans and T-shirt he had worn the day before. He was allowed to wear shirts for three days in a row before they had to be thrown into the bin to be washed by Mrs. Harris.

Not wanting to waste any time, he decided to bypass brushing his teeth and ran back out into the living room, too excited to wait any longer.

“Good. You’re ready.” His mom picked up her keys and threw her pack of smokes into her purse with the broken handle.

“Where’re we goin’?” Diesel asked, jumping down the three steps that led up to their trailer in a single bound. Dirt puffed up around him as his feet landed in the grassless yard around him.

“To see a friend of mommy’s,” his mother answered, lighting another one of her cigarettes as they both got into the car.

They must be on their way to his big birthday party!

Today was his day! His momma must be planning something big. She had been having a lot of meetings with her friend, especially late at night. Sometimes, she wouldn’t get home until it was time for him to go to school.

He couldn’t wait to get to his party!

Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up to a tiny house with a metal fence around the yard and two bikes thrown across the lawn.

His mother drove up onto the driveway and turned off the ignition. She turned to him, holding an almost finished cigarette in her hand.

“I want you to behave yourself. Don’t be giving me any lip and play nice with the other little boy.”

Oh! His momma must have invited other kids to come to his party! He wondered if it was anyone from his class. His momma didn’t send out any birthday invitations to his classmates, so perhaps she told their mums and dads.

Excited that they were finally here, Diesel tore off his seat belt and jumped from the car.

The backyard gate opened, and a man with a dirty ball cap stepped out from behind the fence and motioned for them both to come round back.

He must be the one running his birthday party!

Diesel ran past the man and into the backyard excited to see all his balloons and presents and friends.

Confused, Diesel stopped on the grass. The backyard was empty except for a broken shed and a picnic table with a small boy sitting at it. The boy looked at Diesel with the same confused look on his face.

“Momma? Where are all the—” Hiss voice caught in his throat when he turned to see his momma kissing the man with the dirty hat. “Momma?” Diesel asked once again.

Why was his momma kissing this man, and where were all his balloons? Did they still have to set up for his party? And why was his momma still kissing that man?

“Daddy?” the small boy at the table called, putting down the popsicle he was eating and watching his father with questioning eyes.

---