The day had been a long one. All day Munch wondered if Thahn Ho was alright. He had prayed harder than he had ever prayed before. Kids could be cruel. Boys could be stupid. Once a bully or asshole knew they had gotten to you, they took mean pleasure in provoking. When he had seen Thahn Ho in the halls, Lolly or Lisa had been with her. It seemed the girls had formed a protective net around her. He had waved and let it be. He had to be so careful. It hurt that he had to be so careful. The last thing Thahn Ho needed was to be teased and harassed further because of any association with him. The world was an unfair and cruel place and yet the world also contained good kind people like Lolly and Grandma Toady and his own mama.

The bus ride home was a silent one. Munch did not want to risk talking to Lolly about Thahn Ho in a public place. He wasn’t sure Thahn Ho had told her about what happened in the art room, or if something about her demeanor had cued Lolly in that she was struggling in some way. Once they got off the bus and were walking down the drive to the house, Lolly said, “Thahn Ho told me what that little piece of crap Sterling said. He is such an idiot. God, the things he says to and about girls...oh man, he is an absolute fool. All mouth and no substance what so ever.” She shook her head.

So, it was Sterling. He had been a creep since elementary school. In fourth grade he had dogged Lolly relentlessly until, she had had enough and had decked him so hard in the playground he had crumbled to the ground. When he told the teacher Lolly had hit him, Mrs. James had told him he had it coming. Lolly still got sent to the principal, but not even he faulted her. Sterling had had it coming. He still did.

Lolly, continued, “I told Trevor what happened and he told Jake. They are going to have a talk with that little piece of shit. He’s gonna wish he hadn’t shown up for track practice today.”

Seldom did Lolly cuss. She had to be pretty riled to even say the word damn.

“Thanks Lolly, that makes me feel better. I’ve been so worried.”

She smiled and said, “You’re welcome. I have some news, I think you are gonna like.” In her eyes was that spark she got in her eyes when she was up to something. "Can you guess what it is?"

How he hated when she did this. He hoped it had something to do with Thahn Ho, but he wasn't gonna say that.

Lolly made a chicken noise in her throat. "Come on guess."

"Not gonna. Just tell me."

Her smile got huge before she said, "I asked Thahn Ho to go to the movies with us Friday night and she said, yes.”

Spontaneously Munch threw his arms around Lolly and hugged her. He fairly shouted, “You are the bestest best friend ever!"

Against his shoulder she said, “I am.”

He laughed and let her go. Now he had to figure out what to wear to the movies. He was going to the movies and Thahn Ho would be there! He let go of Lolly and asked, “Who alls going?”

“Me, Trevor, Lisa, Jake, Thahn Ho and you. It’s not a done deal yet. She has to ask first. She says her dad is pretty strict. If he says no, I told her we would get together Saturday. It might have to be at her house. But I am determined she will come to my house soon.”

The excitement in Munch faded, still there was hope and for right now he was going to hold on to that.

When they reached Munch’s house, it was empty. His mom was still at work. All that remained of THAT MAN were the tire tracks of his truck when he left. Lolly looked at the tracks. He knew what she was thinking, but she didn’t say it. He told her, “I’ve been a bit of a butt to Mama so I think I will do the dishes for her.”

Without taking her eyes off the tracks, Lolly said, “I’m sure she would appreciate that. See you later.”

Munch went into the clapboard farm house. It was small. He couldn’t even imagine how his mom and all his uncles had fit in that house. It seemed crowded with three people inside it much less five kids and two parents. After he washed the dishes, he went to his room. He checked under his bed and in the closet to see if Mitzi was hiding anywhere. She wasn’t. He went upstairs to the studio he shared with is mom. He glanced at her drafting table. It had been weeks since she had touched her art, between the wedding and the honeymoon she hadn’t had time to create. He hoped she got back to it, she was too good to let it slide. He went to the record player and flipped through the milk crate beside it. He came across Nancy Wilson’s album, Easy.

Munch slid onto the floor by the record player. He turned the knob and carefully set the vinyl album on the turn table. There was the slightest scratching noise when he placed the needle on the spinning disc. The next instant, beautiful music seeped into the room. Nancy’s voice flowed into his ears. Her voice was so smooth and had this ache in it that was soft yet powerful. She didn’t have to wail to make her him feel what she felt. He closed his eyes and just listened. When the fourth track began to play, When I Look in Your Eyes, he thought of Thahn Ho. He thought of all the different things her eyes had said to him since he met her. Nancy Wilson sang, “Those eyes so wise, so warm, so real; How I love the world your eyes reveal.” Vividly Thanh Ho’s real eyes came to mind...those lovely dark and shining eyes. They truly were so wise, so warm, so real. All the sudden he was struck by a thought, that quickly morphed into a hope that teetered on a dream. What would it be like to take Thahn Ho to see Nancy Wilson at the Astrodome’s Kool Jazz Festival? What would it be like to be right beside her when Nancy Wilson sang this song? Oh she might not even sing it, but still, she would sing something and it would be beautiful. He had to see Nancy Wilson at the Kool Jazz festival and have Thahn Ho there with him. It MUST happen. His sketch pad was on the floor beside him. He opened it. This evening the portrait he had drawn of Thahn Ho looked terrible to him. He wanted to rip it out and destroy it, but Mademoiselle Petite believed that it was important to keep art work he didn’t like to show him in the future where he had been and how much he had learned since. He closed his sketch book and laid down on the floor. He let the music wash through him. The music swept him a way and he forgot everything and every one almost.

An hour later the back door banged open and woke Munch out of sound sleep. Good Lord, he had drool running down the side of his mouth. He grabbed the paper towel roll off his mom's drafting table and wiped his mouth. He heard his mother’s foot steps. She called out, “Michael are you here?”

All the sleepy in his brain evaporated. Dammit! He was about to get lectured. He didn’t want to be lectured, but he best not do anything that might get him grounded. In as friendly a voice as he could muster, he called down, “I’m up here.”

“Come down now.”

Munch obeyed. He took the steps two at a time and swung into the kitchen. Evening light filtered through the white curtains. In its warm glow his mother looked like a small lost child. She said, “We need to talk.”

“I know.”

She pointed at a kitchen chair and said, “Sit.”

He did.

She sat down across from him. He could see that her eyes were red rimmed. Try as he might, he could never harden his heart against his mother’s tears. In a firm, but weary voice she said, “First off, you know how I feel about the burden of responsibility Grandma Toady bears. I can’t have you staying with her when Trace is here. Taking care of four kids is just too much.”

The surly in Munch began to swirl. His jaw went tight.

“Trace is in our lives. He is here. He is a good man.”

Silently, Munch thought, not as good as my daddy.

“You need to give him a chance. I want you to give him a chance. So, this matter is closed. When Trace comes home,” her voice caught a little, “in three weeks you will be here with us. Do you understand?”

He could not say the words, so he just nodded.

“A nod won’t do Michael. I need you to say it out loud so you can hear how it sounds.”

He had a lot of things he would like to say out loud in this moment and not a single one of them had to do with understanding. Every single one of them would cost him.

A glint came into Mama’s eyes. Her voice sharpened as she said, “You agree or you are grounded this weekend.”

“What?”

“You heard me.”

Mama had never once in all his life grounded him. Problem was, she’d been spending too much time with Grandma Toady and Aunt Jessie. They each ran tight ships and he had no use for that. Still, he said what Mama wanted to hear. “I understand.” There was no way he was going not being able to go to the movies Friday night.

“Good. We will revisit this issue if it arises again.”

“Okay.”

His mother rose from the table, she looked a little shaky. Her voice broke ever so slightly when she said, “If you will excuse me, I think I will go lie down for a bit.”

Munch said nothing. He watched his mama go to her room. He knew what she was going to do. She was going to cry some more and it was all THAT MAN’S fault. Life could be so stupid sometimes.

The kitchen phone rang. He picked it up and said, “Hello.”

Lolly said, “It’s me,” like he didn’t know it was her. “I talked to Thahn Ho, her dad won’t let her go to the movies with boys, even in a group, but he did say she could come over Saturday. Will you be around Saturday?”

“Sweet Child of mine, where else would I be?”

Lolly laughed. “Yup, I thought so.”

Munch could feel a big stupid grin spreading across his face.