Chapter 3
I’d been staying with my mother for about a month when she invited me to have dinner with her and Dennis to meet Alex one Saturday night in August. Even though I had plans to stay in drinking and watching Svengoolie until I fell asleep, I agreed to join the family and have dinner with my new stepbrother. Dennis and my mother were attending a play at the Goodman Theatre later that evening, so they’d made reservations for us at a restaurant downtown at six. This was perfect for them and for Alex (who lived downtown), but not so great for me. I had to schlep into the city from Evanston on a humid August night.
Not wanting to make a bad first impression for my stepbrother, I showered, shaved, dressed appropriately, and showed up at the designated time. Knowing parking would be scar
