LITMIR.BIZ

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turned back toward Marvia with a sick grin on his face. “See, nothing but socks.”

      Marvia said, “Don’t shit me, boy!”

      Hakeem turned away, opened another drawer, extracted something, and stood with his back to Marvia. For all she knew, he had an Uzi there. She shook her head. Neither cop school nor her army training had ever prepared her for this. “Come on.”

      He turned back toward her and held up a cellophane bag. Under the ceiling light of Jamie’s room, Marvia could see the dark-green buds and the neat little package of rolling papers.

      “I’m sorry, Ms. Plum. I never did this before.”

      The music was still playing, faintly. It sounded like something coming from a million miles away. From Africa, or Mars, or Fairyland.

      “It was my fault. I brought the stuff over. Jamie didn’t know anything about it.”

      That much, she could admire.

      “Jamie, is that true?”

      He shook his head. She didn’t like the expression on his face but he said, “No, it isn’t. It’s my weed, I gave some to Hakeem. No way it’s his.”

      At least they were both being men. Read, stand-up guys. The kind of gangsters who wouldn’t rat out a buddy to save their own necks.

      “Jamie, how old are you?”

      “Old enough.”

      “Hakeem?”

      “Me too.”

      She pulled in air. “Don’t you boys know better than to do this? What’s the matter with you?”

      Hakeem White looked away from Marvia. Jamie said, “You drank a brew at the table. Don’t deny it, Mom.”

      “I didn’t break the law, Jamie. And that isn’t the issue. The issue is that you and your friend, did. All else aside, you put me in a very difficult position. I’m a sworn peace officer. I can’t just ignore this.”

      “So write us a summons. Like a parking ticket. Big deal.”

      They were all keeping their voices down, caught in a tacit bond. Nobody want to bring Gloria Plum into the room.

      “That’s for adults, boy. You’ve got a long, long way to go before you’re an adult. How would you like a trip to Juvenile Hall?”

      The boy stood hipshot, one fist on his offside hip, the other stuck in his jeans pocket.

      Marvia inhaled and counted to five. “Where did you get the grass?”

      The two boys looked at each other. Hakeem shook his head. Jamie said, “Someplace.”

      “Where?”

      Hakeem said, “Everybody has it at school. You can get it anyplace. Ho Chi Minh Park. Over by the baseball diamond. You know, where Blue Beetle and Acid Alice hang out.”

      That was no surprise to Marvia. She said, “Hakeem, here’s your choice. You’ll tell your parents about this and they’ll phone me to discuss it. Will you do that?”

      The boy looked as if he wanted to pull his head in between his shoulders like a turtle. He wore a dark green T-shirt and baggy jeans. He had a peace symbol carved into his hair. He shriveled before Marvia’s eyes and opened his mouth a couple of times but he didn’t say anything.

      “Your other choice is, I’ll call them. Now, how about it?”

      He hesitated, then said, “Okay. I’ll tell—does it matter which one?”

      “Either or both. Take your pick. Now you get out of here. I want you to go straight home. No detours, no hanging out. If I don’t hear from your mom or dad in twenty-four hours, they’ll hear from me.”

      Hakeem slunk out of the room. Marvia waited until she heard the front door of the house open and close.

      Marvia looked at her son. Her heart was racing and she had trouble catching her breath.

      Jamie said, “At least he has a mom and dad. At least they make a home for Hacker.”

      Marvia closed her eyes and put her hand on the wall to steady herself. “Blue Beetle and Acid Alice. I don’t want you anywhere near those thugs. They belong in prison.” They were two of Berkeley’s counter-culture icons; they’d been suspected of dealing drugs but never arrested. “Have you tried those drugs? What drugs have you tried? I want the whole truth from you, right now.”

      At least Jamie looked a little bit frightened. “Hack and me, we just shared a joint.”

      “Nothing else?” She felt cold and she was trying not to shake.

      He looked sheepish. “Couple of brews.”

      Marvia let out her breath. “Don’t you have a DARE instructor at your school? I know you must, I saw your workbook.”

      “Yeah.” He was looking out the window. “Jennie Steinberg. That’s one of those Hymie names, isn’t it?”

      “It’s her name, that’s all it is!”

      “Sure. She’s not a real cop anyhow, she doesn’t even have a gun.”

      “You think that’s what makes a police officer? Carrying a gun?”

      “You do. All the real cops have guns.”

      Her chest felt tight. What was she doing? What kind of mother had to carry a gun to win the respect of her son? She said, “I know Officer Steinberg. She’s a good cop. I worked with her for a year, on patrol. She has what it takes, Jamie, and for your information she’s a better shot than I am.”

      At least he’d turned back from the window and was paying attention.

      “Don’t you believe the things you learn in the DARE classes?”

      “The little kids do. The big ones just laugh at that stuff. Hack and me toke up once in a while, so what?”

      She hated to fall back on the old lines but she couldn’t fight him any longer. “I’m your mother, and I have a duty to guide you. God gave you to me, and I’m responsible for you. When you’re a man you’ll make your own decisions. Until then you will listen to me.”

      He grunted.

      She said, “I’ll see you in the morning. Six o’clock, Jamie. Set your alarm. I want to see you washed and dressed in clean clothes. At the breakfast table. And you’d better bring a good attitude with you.”

      He said, “Sure I will.”

      She managed to kiss her son good night; his cheek was like granite.

      “And, Jamie, do I need to tell you, you’re grounded until further notice. Until we get this worked out.”

      “But mom!” Uh-oh, here comes the but-mom. “Baseball tryouts are next week. Hack and me are gonna make the Clockers!”

      “Grounded. Period. School and home. Period.”

      In her own room, she picked up her black Raggedy Ann doll and studied its wide, triangular eyes and its merry smile. She pressed the doll’s face to her own, feeling its cheek with her own cheek.

      She sat on the edge of her bed hyperventilating.

      CHAPTER FIVE

      Gloria Plum loved her work and hated her co-workers. Or maybe it was the other way around. Marvia had never been able to get that clear. At any rate, Gloria liked her own company better than that of anyone else. For years she had made it a point to rise early, eat breakfast alone and leave the house before other family members came downstairs.

      Marvia had thought that was cruel in Marcus’s last years, but today she was relieved not to have to face both her mother and her son over the breakfast table. Jamie would be more than enough. Add Gloria and…Marvia didn’t even want to

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