LeVon had it rough. He said himself that making it to nineteen in the projects was like making it to ninety in the rest of the world. Sad to say, but for a young black man, that’s the truth. He was more likely to end up dead or behind bars than he was to succeed. That’s not right. But that’s the world we live in, until we choose to change it.
Every time I see that face, I think of the fact that if it wasn’t for him, I wouldn’t have my son anymore. So I touch LeVon’s picture too.
“Thank you for my son,” I whisper, quiet enough so Dre doesn’t hear. He gets embarrassed by me a lot lately. I don’t care though. Sometimes a mother is going to embarrass her children no matter what she does.
Dre is already outside, waiting in the car. He’s not just impatient to get to school. He’s impatient to begin the rest of his life. He wants to do something noble with it. He’s got the fire in him to make that happen. Dre knows he has to live two lives now—his and LeVon’s. Nothing is going to slow him down. Nothing is going to stop him.
“You ready?” I ask him.
“Yeah, I’m ready,” he says.
“Put your seatbelt on,” I say.
“Mama,” Dre says, “it’s on.”
“Sorry,” I say. I guess I just can’t help myself.
That’s how it is when you’re a mom. You don’t stop being one just because your kid turns eighteen. Motherhood is for life. And I mean that in more ways than one.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
My thanks to Dr. Kate Johnson and Dr. John Jenkins for their technical assistance in the editing of this work.
Something Noble is WILLIAM KOWALSKI’s third title in the Rapid Reads series, following on the success of The Barrio Kings (2010) and The Way It Works (2010). Kowalski is the award-winning author of four previous novels, including the international bestseller Eddie’s Bastard. He lives on the South Shore of Nova Scotia with his wife and children.
Titles in the Series
RAPID READS
And Everything Nice
Kim Moritsugu
Assault on Juno
Mark Zuehlke
The Barrio Kings
William Kowalski
Best Girl
Sylvia Warsh
The Fall Guy
Barbara Fradkin
Fit to Kill
James Heneghan
Generation Us
Andrew Weaver
Love You to Death
Gail Bowen
The Middle Ground
Zoe Whittall
The Next Sure Thing
Richard Wagamese
One Fine Day You’re Gonna Die
Gail Bowen
Orchestrated Murder
Rick Blechta
Ortona Street Fight
Mark Zuehlke
The Second Wife
Brenda Chapman
The Shadow Killer
Gail Bowen
Something Noble
William Kowalski
The Spider Bites
Medora Sale
That Dog Won’t Hunt
Lou Allin
The Way It Works
William Kowalski
When I Kill You
Michelle Wan
A Winter Kill
Vicki Delany