Chapter 39: Just One of the Guys
I’m stunned. That has to be the most my father has said to me at one time, ever. Even the “facts of life” talk we had when I was what, ten? About two years after the kiss Stephanie Robichaud gave me—I’ve always suspected that Ray finally ratted on me about it and that’s the only reason my dad came into my room one day, a look on his face that clearly read, I’d rather be anywhere but here. Sitting on the edge of my bed, he patted the mattress beside him and waited until I sat down as well before he spoke. I could smell the alcohol on his breath, a tart scent mingled with the cologne he only wore to church, a Sunday smell that in my mind I’ll always associate with the heavy pall of flowers and the bitter taste of wine. “You know when you jerk off, Mikey?” he
