Read Jimmy Stone's Ghost Town for Free Online

worth fighting with
him when he's like this. "I remember. I'll do it right now."
    With the empty bottles
between my arms, I move around the couch and look for any garbage
that he might have dropped to the floor without even bothering
to think about
putting it in the trash.
    "Come on, Trex," I say as I walk over to the
kitchen garbage, toss the empty bottles in, and pull out the large,
plastic bag. "We gotta take the garbage out."
    Trex comes running into the kitchen, sits
down right at my feet, and looks up at me. I pet him behind the
ears just before tying the garbage tightly in a knot.
    I'm heading out the door, to go gather all
the rest of the garbage, as I remember that I wanted to ask Dad
something before he fell asleep on the couch. I guess now's as good
a time as any. I mean, I'm taking out the garbage like he asked.
What better time could there be?
    He's already turned the volume on the TV all
the way back up, so I have to basically scream over the sound of
some crazy infomercial about a "revolutionary" tool that does
something I doubt anyone would ever even need.
    "Hey, Dad," I yell, straining for him to
hear me over the TV. "I wanted to ask you a quick question."
    "What's that, Jimmy?" He refuses to turn the
TV down - or just doesn't really care to hear me - and doesn't even
bother to turn around toward me. He just keeps staring right at the
screen.
    "A question, Dad. Can I ask you a question
real quick?"
    I hear him grumble as he fishes for the
remote control from underneath his flannel shirt. "Did you take out
that garbage like I asked?" he asks as he turns down the volume
just enough so he can barely hear me.
    "I'm doing it now," I say, garbage back in
hand and Trex at my side. "I just wanted to ask you something
first."
    "Go ahead," he says. "What is it?"
    "Is it okay with you if I have a friend over
to the house tomorrow?"
    I nearly drop the garbage bag as Dad busts
out in a huge belly laugh. He almost falls off the couch as he,
apparently, continues to get a huge kick out of my question.
    "You what ?" he asks.
    "I wanted to know if--"
    "I heard what you asked
me, but I wanted to make sure I heard you right." He's getting way
too much enjoyment out of this and now I wish I'd never even have
bothered to ask. I wish he'd just go back to drinking his beer.
"Did you say you wanted to have a friend over?"
    "Yeah, this kid I know from--"
    "Yeah, yeah," he says and
falls back onto the couch laughing. "A friend. Okay, Jimmy. No
problem. You can have your friend over the house." He continues to laugh as he
turns the volume on the TV back up to full blast.
    And, you know what? He's still laughing as I
slam the door behind me and carry the large garbage bag across the
yard to the stalls, Trex following right behind me.
    Mom never would have laughed. Mom would have
invited David for dinner without me even having to ask. But Mom's
not here anymore, and I've got to deal with Dad instead.
    I drop the garbage bag outside the stall
doors and pull them open, stepping inside. The smell of horse poop
is strong, and I can practically taste it, but I still smile as I
think about what new tips and tricks David might tell me tomorrow.
Right here, at my house. Whether Dad remembers saying he could come
over or not.
     

Chapter Eleven
     
     
    It turned out to actually be a few days
before David finally came over after school. I'm sure dad had
forgotten all about it by then and the look of shock on his face
when we both walked through the door said that he probably didn't
even remember me asking him for permission.
    When Dad's brain finally computes the utter
shock of me having company over, he shakes it off, pulls open the
refrigerator door, grabs a tall, green bottle of beer, cracks it
open, and tilts his head back to take a big gulp. It was almost
like he needed that alcohol in his brain to truly understand what
was happening.
    "Jimmy has a friend?!" he was probably
thinking.
    "Dad, this is David, my friend from
school."
    "Hey,