Crenshaw

The next day, Sara told Tom they needed to apply for assistance. He claimed that they would be back on their feet before the paperwork was complete, but Sara insisted. After she went to one of her waitressing jobs, Tom drove Jackson, Robin, and Aretha around town as he applied for jobs at three hardware stores. At the end of her shift, Sara brought them leftover bagels from the diner, but the family was still hungry. She suggested stopping at a food pantry or shelter, but Tom preferred to busk, rather than “stand in another endless line at some office, waiting for a handout” (115). Sara suggested he take Aretha, but Tom did not want a “prop” puppy (116). He began writing on a piece of cardboard; Jackson asked if he was making a “begging sign” (115). Tom said since he would be singing, it was “a request for gratuities” (116). Sara wanted him to write “God bless” on his cardboard sign, but he opted to write “thank you” instead. Jackson noted it looked more like “think you,” which his father liked even better (117).

The family drove to a corner and let Tom out with his sign. It was raining, and when he finished, he had collected just over $7. Sara noted that people did not like to open their windows when it was raining. She wanted to take Robin to a park because she “was going stir-crazy” (121). Jackson stayed in the car with Tom and decided to make him another sign. He wrote, “Id rathir be fishing” on it and decorated it with a smiling fish in a canoe holding a fishing pole and wearing a floppy hat (122). When he showed it to Tom, Tom was quiet for a long time. Finally, he complimented Jackson, began to correct his spelling, then stopped and thanked him again. He stepped out of the car and put his hands over his face. Jackson noted that Tom’s face was damp, “but [Jackson] told [him]self it was probably just the rain” (123).

The next day, Tom returned to the same corner with the sign Jackson made for him. Watching from the minivan, Jackson saw a man smile and stop to chat with Tom. From his father’s gestures, Jackson could tell they were discussing fishing. Despite the rain, Tom collected more than $56, along with a cup of coffee, which he split with Sara, and two slices of lemon pound cake, which he gave to Robin and Jackson. Jackson gave his piece to Aretha.

After Tom returned to the car, another man took his place on the corner with a sign that read “Vet—God bless” (127). Jackson suggested Tom take Aretha with him next time. Tom did not reply. A bus filled with summer campers stopped near them, and Jackson hunched down in case any of them knew him. Placing her head on Tom’s shoulder, Sara said she would do the busking next time. Tom replied, “no, you won’t” (128).

The following day, Crenshaw appeared to Jackson while the family was at a rest stop. Jackson’s dinner consisted of Cheetos and water, prompting Sara to call herself “a bad, bad mother” (129). Tom had hung his underwear to dry on a nearby bush. Jackson seated himself on the grass, far enough away to feel like he was on his own but still close enough to be in his parents’ line of sight. Though he loved his family, Jackson was tired of them, of being hungry, and of sleeping in the van. He missed his bed, books, Legos, and bathtub. At that moment, he heard “the sound of wheels on gravel” (130). It was Crenshaw, on his skateboard. He meowed at Jackson, and Jackson meowed back, “because it seemed polite” (130).