We still write to each other to this day. Ever since that summer, I wanted to work in some 108/727

capacity with special needs kids. Even though I can’t afford Simmons right now, I am hoping to find a way to get into the field while I wait to get back to grad school.” Cedric nodded slowly as if he was thinking of what to say next. “I think that’s amazing. I give you a lot credit for that.”

“Thanks,” I said.

He paused and licked his lips, his expression turning serious. “Actually, I don’t tell too many people this off the bat, but my younger sister, Callie…well, she has autism.

She is twenty-four now, but she is a lot like a little girl in many ways. Back when she was diagnosed as a child, there were not a lot of autistic people. Nowadays, it’s something like one in every fifty kids is on the spectrum.

Incredible. So, there really is a need for people who can work with them.” The emotions that talking about his sister conjured up were written all over Cedric’s face. After a 109/727

pause, he said, “My sister…she’s…she’s special.”

I was caught off guard at how impas-sioned he became when talking about his sister.

“Wow. Is your sister verbal?” I asked as I thought to myself and smiled when I realized her name would be Callie Callahan.

“Yes, somewhat. She can ask for simple things. She can read, but she doesn’t have the ability to converse like you and I.

She is totally dependent on my mother and has someone coming to the house a few hours everyday to work with her on daily living and to help Mom out in caring for her.

They actually go with her to a job where she helps sort books at the local library, which is pretty cool.”

You could tell he was very proud of his sister, but also a little sad about it. The tender look on his face, made me want to grab his hand.

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“She sounds amazing. I am sure having her in your life gives you a different perspective on things.”

“Yeah. It sure does. We neurotypical people take so many things for granted.” He smiled.

“I would love to work with autistic kids, myself,” I said.

Cedric scratched his chin. “Hmm.

There’s an agency that provides the services Callie receives. I know they work with children, as well as adults. Maybe I can ask my mother for a human resources contact there and email it to you. My mother complains a lot that the turnover rate of people working with Callie is high, so maybe they are looking to hire. We can exchange emails.” Yes.

“That

would

be

fantastic,

Cedric…really, that would mean a lot.” I was truly amazed that he cared enough to offer to 111/727

look into this for me. We’ve known each other less than an hour.

“My pleasure. I wish I could say I had a meaningful career like that. My profession…well, it’s about as shallow as they come.” He shook his head and glanced at me.

“What do you do?” I was dying to know.

He held his breath with a mischievous smile and then glanced at me again, seeming hesitant to tell me. He rolled his eyes and said, “I am a talent agent. I represent mostly TV journalists…news anchors and reporters and we handle things like contract negoti-ations for them and we also do some consulting for the news stations.”

“That sounds exciting, actually. So, you represent people like Katie Couric?” I asked.

Cedric laughed. “Kind of like her…but not her, yeah. It can be exciting at times. But it’s really quite a cutthroat business.” 112/727

“How so?” I was curious.

“Well, sometimes you have clients who are both competing for the same job and you have to make both believe that you’re in their corner, otherwise, you could stand to lose them, but you also want one of them to get the gig, because the agent gets a commission on their salary. And then there’s the consulting end of things, where you basically walk into these TV stations and tell management everything they’re doing wrong…which reporter needs to lose weight…which anchor-man is getting too old to relate to the target audience…that sort of stuff,” Cedric said as he looked over at me for a response.

“You’re right. It does sound kind of nasty,” I smiled.

He nodded his head in agreement and we both laughed. “Yeah.”

I continued to ask him questions about his job over the next several minutes.

That turned into my telling stories about 113/727

some of the characters that come into the diner. We laughed a lot and it was so easy to talk to him.

Then, at one point, neither of us said anything for about a minute. He licked his lips again and I turned away embarrassed suddenly when he seemed to catch me staring at his mouth.

Breaking the silence, I spoke up.

“You’re going to want to take exit 32, by the way, to get to my house.”

I glanced down at my watch willing the time to stop going so fast. I wished I lived farther away. I wanted to stay in this car forever with him.

“Great. So, do you live alone?” Cedric asked.

“No, actually, I live with Sonia…the waitress who took your order today? She and I met through Craigslist. She was looking for a roommate and thankfully it worked out.

She and I get along really well.” 114/727

“You’re lucky she wasn’t a murderer if you were looking for roommates on Craigslist.”

We both laughed. “No kidding.” After a bit more silence, Cedric turned the heat down and looked at me. “I hope I am not prying, but you mentioned you were adopted? Did you grow up here in Boston?”

“Yes. I have always lived here. My mother adopted me when she was in her mid-forties. She had always wanted a child, but never married and so, she took things in-to her own hands. She was really lucky, since in those days, single parent adoptions were rare. But Mom was a professional and made a good living for the city with good benefits and they had no reason to deny her.”

“What does your mother do?” he asked.

“Well, she worked for the mayor’s office before she retired. She passed away about a year ago.”

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The look on Cedric’s face turned suddenly sullen and he was briefly silent before letting out a deep breath that made me shudder.

“Oh, I am so sorry, Allison. I lost my father…I know how hard it is,” he said frowning.

My heart hurt that he had endured losing a parent too. “Thanks. I was an only child. So, it’s been tough,” I said fighting back watery eyes.

Cedric looked at me and then turned away staring ahead in silence at the road.

The expression on his face showed that he seemed genuinely affected by my revelation that I was essentially alone.

He turned to me again. “Allison…you don’t have any other extended family?” Well, my aunt Irene…I call her Reeni…lives in upstate New York. She has a son, but he is a bit of an ass clown…Cousin Arthur,” I said rolling my eyes.

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Cedric’s head rolled back as he shook with laughter at my use of that term. “Good old cousin Arthur the ass clown…I love it.” He was cracking up and had such a deep smooth laugh. It was the first time I heard it.

I

was

laughing

as

well

now.

“Yes…cousin Arthur. He’s thirty-five, has in-curable acne and spends most of his days playing video games and chatting online with other Trekkies. This is my next of kin. He works in a comic book shop part-time and mooches off my aunt the other times. So, essentially, I am indeed alone, although I have some wonderful friends, so I never feel it, really.”

“Well, that’s good. I am glad to hear it.” Cedric smiled.

“Um…the exit is coming up next.” I pointed to the green highway sign that showed we were a quarter of a mile from my neighborhood. I was bummed that this was 117/727

coming to an end. It’s not like I could invite him inside.

Could I? God, I wanted to.