Our Friend Steven

Now, I've thought of pounding your hide into the ground, but that wouldn't give me any satisfaction. This is what you're going to do. You are going to come down to the grocery store at 10:00 am this coming Saturday. My dad says he wants me to clean and scrub the whole back room. He said that I could even get someone to help me and he would pay them ten dollars for the day. You're going to do all the scrubbing and cleaning and when you get your ten bucks, you give to me.

Do you understand, you little weasel?" Jeff replied in a blubbering voice, "I understand." At that point, Vinnie let go of Jeff and Steven and left the lavatory, adding, "And don't you ever mess with me again!" Steven ran into one of the stalls to get some toilet paper so his friend could dry his eyes.

David, who was still standing at the door of the lavatory, was shocked to see Vinnie leave. He ran into the bathroom, yelling "What happened?" Steven told David the whole story and David said, "He's going to work your butt off, but it's better than taking a beating." All the boys were glad that it was over and glad that Vinnie valued the money more than the satisfaction of administering a beating. David and Steven told Jeff to tell his parents that he would be with them on Saturday so he would have a cover story for what he really had to do. That Saturday, Jeff arrived at Minchella's Grocery Store and, true to his promise, Vinnie made Jeff scrub the walls, the sinks, and every nook and cranny in the back of the old building. Mr. Minchella came into the back room for the final inspection and he couldn't believe his eyes. He said, "Hey, Vinnie... you and your friend did a good job here."

He paid Jeff his ten dollars and went back out to the front of the store. As soon as his father was out of sight, Vinnie turned his palm up in front of Jeff's nose, and Jeff put the ten dollars in Vinnie's hand. Vinnie said, "Now that we're even, you can go."

During the following months, Jeff avoided any contact with Vinnie.

The three friends spent the rest of the school year doing what most eleven year olds do... going to the monster movies, going to carnivals, and playing combat on weekends. One warm spring Saturday, Dave rode his bike over to Jeff's house. Together, they rode over to Steven's. When they reached Steven's driveway, they heard yelling coming from the house. As they listened, they heard Steven's stepfather say, "Everything would be fine if it wasn't for that half animal bastard of yours." Jeff and David looked at each other they knew that Steven was going through hell. Steven's stepfather was tolerant of him when he was sober, but when he drank it was another story, and today he had been drinking heavily. The two boys felt completely helpless as they sat on their bikes waiting for Steven to come out. Within a few minutes, the stepfather staggered out of the house. He saw the two boys on their bikes and gave them a brief, glazed stare before getting in his yellow and white 1957 Chevy and speeding away. Both boys knew that the man was abusive when he drank, but this was the worst incident they had ever seen.