“All right. It sounds fun. Thanks.”
At precisely six forty-five, Alex knocked on their door. Calvin threw it open and practically ran out. Julia was putting on her coat. “Easy, tiger. Slow down and get your gloves on.”
“I gots ’em in my pocket,” he said. “Come on, Mom.”
She locked up, and they took the elevator downstairs.
“Hey, buddy,” the doorman, Rudy, said to Calvin, eying Alex and Julia. “Where you guys headed?”
“Mr. Alex is takin’ me to a basketball game,” Calvin said.
“Knicks versus Celtics? Should be a good one,” Rudy said. “Let me get you a cab.”
The taxi dropped them a short distance from the entrance to Madison Square Garden.
Calvin’s head swiveled, trying to take in everything at once. “It’s so loud,” he said.
He’d been holding Julia’s hand and reached out for Alex’s too. Not wanting to lose them in the crowd, Alex let him, but it felt all kinds of awkward.
They found their seats, just a few rows from the court, and sat.
“Alex,” Julia said, eyes wide. “These seats must have cost a fortune.”
“They aren’t costing you a cent,” he said. “And my friends will think twice about canceling last minute on me again.”
His friends hadn’t paid him back, nor would they, but he wouldn’t tell Julia that. Though he sat on a pile of money, he rarely mentioned it to anyone. Especially women. Since money wasn’t an issue for him, he rarely considered what things cost, and judging from the overdue bills he’d seen at her place, Julia couldn’t afford the tickets. Especially if she tried to reimburse him for the medicine and dog burial.
The music was so loud it caused the floor to vibrate beneath their feet. “Welcome to the Jungle” pumped through the speakers as the players warmed up on the court. Calvin gave a running commentary on everything and asked a ton of questions. How tall was that guy? Did Alex see the ball go in? Would someone dunk the ball tonight?
After the first quarter, Calvin announced he had to use the restroom. Julia got up to take him, but he insisted he wanted to go in theboy’sbathroom.
“You can’t go by yourself,” Julia said. “And I can’t go into the men’s room.”
“Mr. Alex can take me,” he countered.
Alex’s head swung around. “Huh?”
“Mr. Alex is watching the game.”
“Can you take me to the boy’s bathroom?” Calvin asked Alex directly, bypassing his mom.
“Oh, uh, sure,” Alex said, looking at Julia for confirmation that was okay.
When she nodded, he stood and took Calvin by the hand. He heard Julia whisper, “It’s just number one, right?”
Alex heaved a sigh of relief at Calvin’s nod in the affirmative. After they used the restroom, they stopped by a vendor, and he bought Calvin an orange foam finger and a baseball hat with the Knicks logo on the front.
“Wanna get a Coke? Or a hot dog?” Alex asked Calvin.
Calvin’s eyes lit up, but then he shook his head. “My mom won’t let me drink pop.”
“Of course,” Alex said. “Well, let’s go see. Maybe they have juice.”
Alex paid for the goods but couldn’t carry everything. “Hey, Cal. Little ten thirteen, huh?”
“Okay,” Cal said. “I’m a good helper.”
They returned to their seats, Alex holding a drink holder with a couple of Cokes and a bottle of juice, and Calvin carefully balancing a massive basket of nachos in both hands.
