let her pass. She was surprised, but glad there weren’t any problems. She walked to her third period class, making it in time for her test, which turned out to be easy. She was the first one done.
………………
Having done her test, she decided to leave. She left through a side door that was always open on the inside, then walked to the bus stop. She wanted to be with Kevin but didn’t want to be a nuisance. He was nice, and she didn’t want to abuse his kindness. She walked down Germantown Ave until she hit Chelten Ave, where she waited for the 26. It came soon after she got there. She rode the 26 for a while, got off, then hopped on the 18, which was right there as soon as the 26 hit Chew.
When she got off the 18, she kept an eye out for Josh. She didn’t know where he had gone after Kevin fucked him up. She laughed out loud. Thinking about it now, she should have let Kevin finish the job. Making it to her house without incident, she picked up the shirt and threw it in the trash can by the steps. She then entered the house and went to the kitchen, grabbing a cold can of Pepsi from the fridge before going up to her room.
She looked towards her parents’ room, slowing up her steps, listening for any noise. Hearing nothing, she decided to go knock on the door. There was no answer, so she just stood there. She wanted to know what was going on. Never had she heard her parents having sex; and she didn’t think it was because they were careful, either.
Walking back towards her room, she decided she wasn’t going to care about it. She took a sip of soda and opened the door. Her bathroom door was open, and through the glass of the shower screen she could see her mother and some man fucking. She quickly turned away and closed the bathroom door. They mustn’t have heard her, because the water kept running and Joy could still hear their moans and grunts.
“Get out of my bathroom!” Joy screamed, banging on the door.
“Oh shit. Who is that?” she heard the man ask.
“That’s just Joy,” her mother answered, as if it was no big deal.
A minute later, her mother walked out completely naked and dripping wet. “Come on out, Curtis,” she said, motioning with her hands. A man walked out wrapped in a towel. He looked just like her father but a little lighter, younger, and a lot taller. He glanced at Joy then walked swiftly from the room. Joy heard her parents’ bedroom door close. Her mother stood there, looking at Joy with a stupid-ass smile on her face.
Joy went to her drawer, grabbed a shirt and threw it at her mother, who caught it and put it on, neither of them saying a word.
Finally, Barbara spoke. “Joy, have you met your Uncle Curtis?” she asked.
“What? That man is my uncle?” Joy asked, thinking her mother was just making it up, like when Joy was little and she would come home from school and find a strange man leaving. When Joy would ask who it was, her mother would always say, “That’s your uncle.”
“Yes, dear, he is your father’s brother. He will be staying with us for a little while,” she said, all of a sudden acting motherly.
“Mom, what is wrong with you? You fucked your husband’s brother. Was that your way of welcoming him?” Joy screamed.
“Joy, no need for you getting upset. Everything is fine,” she said, smiling.
“Why were you in my shower and not your own?” Joy asked.
Her mother shrugged her shoulders. “You have the most room in yours.”
“Does dad know he’s here? Why are you smiling like that?”
“No, he doesn’t know. They don’t get along too well. But he’s family and doesn’t have a place to go. Your dad will understand,” she said, completely convinced.
“What do you think dad will do when he finds out?” Joy asked, smiling for the first time.
“Nothing, because you’re not going to tell him. Right?” her mother said, now looking a little worried.
“Yeah? What makes you think that?” Joy asked, looking down at her
Sam Crescent, Natalie Dae