Page 58 of Charm City Rocks
And then Caleb, red-faced and speechless, dies at the table from embarrassment.
—
They do hit Charm City Rocks after lunch, where Margot buys Caleb a copy ofAre You Gonna Go My Way. Billy gets him a pretzel after that, even though they just ate. And now they’re stepping out of 7-Eleven, because somehow Margot has never had a Slurpee.
“How is that even possible?” asks Caleb. “YouareAmerican, right?”
Margot shows Billy and Caleb her tongue, which is electric blue. A couple recognizes Margot and smiles, which has been happening all day.
“It’s cool being with you,” says Caleb. “You’re my favorite celebrity now, by the way.”
Margot tells him that she’s flattered. “It’s cool being with you, too. You’re the tallest person I’ve ever met. It’s charming, like you’re a friendly tree.”
Caleb laughs, clearly loving this. “I get that I shouldn’t have pretended to be a little girl and sent you that email,” he says. “Like, as a general rule, I guess, dudes shouldn’t pretend to be little girls. But I’m glad I did.”
“Me too,” says Margot, and Billy fights the urge to tackle them both into a hug on the street.
They’re walking back toward the Champagne Supernova, their pace leisurely. They pass a toy store, more bars, a cookie shop, Daquan, then Caleb clears his throat. “So, I guess I should tell you, Dad,” he says. “Like, officially.”
There’s a tone Caleb uses when he’s being serious, and Billyrecognizes it. It’s the tone he used his freshman year when he announced that he wasn’t going to bother trying out for basketball and was going to join the Academic Decathlon Team instead. The tone he used when he showed Billy the email from Stanford.
“I’m gonna go to Hopkins, I think.”
Billy stops. Margot and Caleb stop, too. “Cay?”
“I don’tthink,” says Caleb. “I know. I’m going. It’s a great school. And it’s…it’shere.”
Billy doesn’t know exactly what he wanted. Well, that’s not true; he’s just been playing it cool. Billy wanted his son to be here forever. As he looks at Caleb now, though—slouchy in his tall-kid way—Billy has to force himself not to shout with joy. “This is what you want? What youactuallywant?”
One of the great things about Baltimore is that it has impeccable comedic timing. Before Caleb can answer his dad, a drunk guy is forcibly ejected from Max’s Taphouse across the street. The security guard gives him a shove, and he stumbles over an industrial-size ashtray before sprawling onto the pavement. “Yeah, well, fuck you and your stupid little bouncer shirt, you asshole!” he shouts.
Caleb smiles. “Well, obviously. Who’d ever wanna leave this place?”
—
They’re nearly back to the car, and Billy is thinking about Robyn, wondering if she blames him for this, wondering if sheshouldblame him. That’s the toughest part of parenting: not knowing if the things you want for your kids are what’s actually best for your kids. And then he hears a familiar voice.
“Yo, Piano Man! Hold up!”
It’s the guy with the pit bull. He and his dog are with a little boy.
“Don’t move, Piano Man! I’ve been looking for you!” The cars inching along the cobblestone stop as man, boy, and dog cross the street.
“Um, Dad, are you about to get your ass kicked?” Caleb asks.
Billy shakes the man’s hand. “It’s good to see you.”
“Where’ve you been? You play me Stevie like some kinda music tease then peace out? Not cool.”
“I moved,” says Billy. “Sorry. They’re making my old place into a coffee shop.”
From here they can make out the bright-red ComingSoonsign that Grady hung above Charm City Rocks.
“Well, that’s some bullshit.”
“Hey, you’re LaVar Barber, right?” says Caleb. “You play for the Ravens.”
“Yes, sir,” he says. “Just settling in.”
