"Sir, do you want to press charges?" the cop asked.
"This girl is the one who should be pressing charges!" snapped the neighbor.
"Ma'am, I told you before. He's the one with a visible injury. I don't see any marks on her."
"And I told you, I saw him hit her," said the neighbor.
"Ma’am, you said he shook her."
"Shook…hit…what's the difference? He put his hands on her," the neighbor said, waving the cop’s comment off like she didn’t have the patience for such dumb-assed details.
"And she put her hands on him. That I can see," the cop said. He pointed to Sage's mouth.
"I could take them both in. Would that would make you happy?"
"No!" Sage and Raven both yelled.
"I don't want to press charges. It was a misunderstanding. That's all. I really need to get home. My parents are probably going crazy by now," Sage added.
"Just a few more minutes, sir. Then you can go," said the cop.
He resumed writing then snapped the notebook shut. He handed Sage his driver's license, then walked over to Raven.
"Miss, I'm not sure what happened here, but I suggest you refrain from hitting anyone else. I'm filing a report of this. If we get another call of this nature you might not be so lucky. That young man is probably doing you a big favor," the cop said.
Raven glared at Sage. The neighbor glared at the cop.
"Don't worry, officer. It won't happen again. Can I go inside now?" Raven asked. The cop passed her school I.D. back to her.
"Okay, you're free to go, Miss." The cop walked back to Sage. "You can go, too. Hopefully she just needs to cool off and then this will all blow over," said the cop.
Sage nodded. He looked in Raven's direction, but she was already over the threshold of her door. The nosy neighbor was walking home. Sage climbed in his truck. He started the engine, and pulled off. The cop pulled off right behind him.
Chapter 17
Nadine sat in the kitchen drinking coffee. She thumbed through a magazine without really seeing a single thing on the pages when she heard the garage door go up. She slammed the magazine shut and marched to the kitchen door. Her pinched face was the first thing Sage saw when he rushed in.
Nadine launched into her tirade before he even took his hand off the doorknob.
"Where have you been, Sage? Why didn’t you answer the phone? Do you know how worried I was?"
"Ma, I'm sorry. I had some trouble at Raven's. Her neighbor called the cops on me."
"What the hell? Honey!" she yelled for Halloran.
"Yeah?" he yelled back, from the direction of the den.
"Get in here!" Nadine snapped.
"Give me a minute," said Halloran.
“Dammit, man. If you don’t get your--“
Nadine bolted toward the den like she fully intended to drag her husband to the kitchen if necessary. Sage just stood there, hands in his pockets and a dazed look on his face.
The whole family sat at the kitchen table. Nadine and Halloran on one side, Sage on the other. There were troubled faces all around.
"What were you thinking, Sage? We talk about responsibility all the time. Consequences--using a damn condom! Where was your head at?" Nadine raged. She cut her eyes at Sage. “Never mind. I didn’t even need to ask that, did I?”
She pounded the table hard enough to rattle it. Sage gripped the edge like he suddenly needed anchoring. Nadine launched herself up from the table. She went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of wine. She poured herself some in a tall plastic tumbler. She almost drained it with her first gulp.
"Son, you have any idea what a mess this is?" Halloran asked.
"Dad, I didn't plan it. Raven said it was safe. I know I was stupid for listening to her, but I got caught up and..." He dropped his head into his hands.
Nadine plopped back in her chair. She clutched the tumbler of wine like it was a life preserver.
"I said that girl was trouble from day one. Didn't I say that?" She pointed her glass at Sage.
"Don’t worry. We'll get to the bottom of this. Has she had a pregnancy test yet, Sage?” Halloran asked.
"I don't know. We didn't get that far. I was just trying to concentrate on keeping her off me," Sage said.
"Hmmp…you obviously didn't concentrate hard enough on keeping her off, did you?" sniffed Nadine.
Halloran patted his wife’s hand. She snatched it away, not willing to simmer down quite so easily.
“Look, we could go at this all night, babe. Let's get some sleep, cool off, start fresh in the morning," Halloran suggested.
Nadine drained the rest of her wine. She pushed away from the table.
"I had hoped I would never see the day that you came home with this kind of news, Sage. After everything we've done--"
Nadine couldn’t even coax the rest of the words out. She shook her head, walked to the sink, and spiked the tumbler in it—football style.
"I'm going to bed," Nadine slurred to no one in particular. She staggered out of the room tipsy from not only the effects of the wine, but her rage, too.
Sage slumped in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest. Halloran reached over and uncrossed them. He took his son’s hand.
"She's hurt, son. She's scared. And she's worried. You two are just kids. You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into. What would you do with a baby?"
Sage dropped his head to his chest. Halloran squeezed his son’s hand.
“Try not to worry too much. We'll figure this out, okay?” Halloran said.
Sage shook his head, “I can’t believe this, Dad. What was I thinking? What am I going to--?”
Halloran clamped a hand on Sage’s shoulder, shook it. He bowed his head close to his son’s.
"Listen…you're not alone in this. Remember that. Your mom will be fine once she cools down. Don't forget we love you, and we'll support you through all of this," Halloran promised.
Sage blinked back tears. "Dad, I'm so sorry. I never meant to hurt you guys like this."
"I know. Things happen…even when we have the best intentions. Things just happen," said Halloran.
"I love you, Dad," Sage said, wiping a trail of snot from nose.
"I...we love you, too, Sage. Now go get some sleep, son."
Sage got up and trudged out of the room.
Halloran flicked the lights off. He went back to the table and sat there in the dark. He put his head in his hands. And he wept.
Over at Raven’s, things were just about to heat up. When Celia pulled into her driveway after a long night working double shifts, she spotted her neighbor, Sister Davis, headed her way.
Lord, what does this woman want now? ...she thought.
Most of the time Celia tried to be a good Christian and didn’t like to pass judgment on folks, but Sister Davis could work even Job’s nerves on his best day.
“Evening, Miss Celia,” said Sister Davis, as she walked up to Celia’s car.
“Actually it’s morning now, Sister. You okay? What brings you out at this hour?” Celia asked.
“Well, after what went on with your grandbaby, I couldn’t really sleep. Decided I better keep an eye out for you, so I could fill you in.”
That tiny nugget of information perked Celia up quicker than ten cups of coffee could have. She squared her shoulders and put on her seriously serious face.
“What are you talking about? What happened to Raven?”
“You know I’m not one for getting all up in folks’ business, but when I saw what that boy was doing to her, I felt like I had to do something,” said Sister Davis.
Celia moved closer to Sister Davis, ready to start snatching words out of the woman’s mouth if she didn’t hurry up and spill the details.
“What boy, Sister? What did he do to my girl?” Celia huffed.
Sister Davis’ eyes got big. Danger clicked in her brain as soon as Celia’s tone registered in her ears. The story gushed from her mouth like a waterfall.
“You know…the boy who’s been coming around here a lot lately. I don’t know his name, but he and Raven got into a big fight in his truck. He was shaking her like she was a dust rag. I called the cops soon as I saw him put his hands on her. Then I came out here and made him--”
Celia bolted for the house. She’d heard all she needed to from the good sister.
“I hope you’re not too upset,” called Sister Davis.
Raven thought she was dreaming when she felt herself being hauled out of bed and propped upright. It dawned on her that she wasn’t when Celia leveled a sharp slap across her face.
“You’ve been sneaking around behind my back again bringing a boy home? Fighting in the street like a common alley cat! And having the cops show up at my house just like your sorry ass daddy. What’s wrong with you, girl? What the hell were you thinking?”
Celia bared gritted teeth. Her eyes flashed like dynamite had detonated behind her corneas. She shook Raven so hard it made the girl lose her balance and fall down. Celia went to yank her up, but Raven scuttled away from her.
“Granny, stop!” Raven commanded. She scrambled to her feet and took a defensive stance with her body squared and her fists clenched. This enraged Celia more--seeing Raven defiant, not repentant like she should have been. Celia roared from deep in her chest and charged at her granddaughter.
Raven managed to sidestep the maneuver. She backed herself up against a wall. Her chest heaved from the thunderous pounding of her heart. Celia’s momentum caused her to trip and fall awkwardly on her wrist. She grabbed it grimacing at the jolt of pain that shot up her arm, yet somehow she managed to get to her feet and advance toward Raven again.
“Little girl, you have lost your damned mind,” Celia said, gasping for breath. She took a few more tentative steps forward.
Raven thrust her hands out, palms up to signal a ceasefire.
“Please, Granny. We can’t do this. I’m preg--“
Upon hearing that single syllable, Celia froze in her tracks. The sound of her howls drowned out the apology Raven breathlessly issued. Celia dropped to the floor under the weight of her despair. She wrapped her arms around herself, rocked back and forth.
“Uh-uh. No. Not again. Not again, Jesus!” Celia roared. “I let you off the hook one time. I can’t do it again.”
Raven slid to the floor too. She held her grandmother, patting Celia’s back...the strong, rigid back that had carried both of them through so much turmoil over the years. Now that back was bowed, as it rose and fell in rhythm with the sobs emanating from Celia’s mouth.
“I’m sorry, Granny. I’m so sorry,” Raven whispered into a patch of her grandmother’s gray hair.
Chapter 18
Sage was the first one up the next morning. He fixed coffee for his parents, arranging their favorite mugs next to the pot. Then he poured himself a bowl of cereal, sat down, and started absentmindedly stuffing his mouth.
After a short while, Nadine shuffled in. She held her head in her hands as if to keep it from snapping off at the neck. When she saw Sage from the corner of her bleary eyes, she gasped, clutching the front of her robe. Sage jumped up.
"Sorry, Ma. Didn't mean to scare you."
Nadine exhaled deeply. "It's okay. I was expecting you to still be in bed."
"Couldn't sleep. Figured there was no use lying there staring at the ceiling," Sage confessed.