Child Knew Too Much

Brent was halfway up Calloway Street when he saw the car. A green Toyota, sun-blistered on the trunk, in its usual rut in the cracked cement of their driveway. It meant she was home. Still, he hesitated on the sidewalk, one foot on the bottom step, the other testing the spongy patch of grass grown up between the curb and the walk. The house stood with its usual afternoon slackness—porch swing stil...