Here's to Us [antikvár]

PROLOGUE: ONE PERFECT DAY Deacon Thorpe is thirteen years old and still more a boy than a man when his father, Jack, tells Deacon they're taking a day trip out of the city, just the two of them. Deacon is intrigued by the idea of a day trip out of the city. They rarely have money for anything other than minute-to-minute survival. Jack works as a line chef at Sardi's in Times Square, and he gets only three days off per month. Deacon is even more excited about the phrase "just the two of us." Jack is the king of Deacon's world, primarily because he is rarely available. Deacon anticipates time with Jack the way astronomers anticipate a comet or an eclipse. Jack wakes Deacon at four in the morning. They leave Deacon's mother and his sister, Stephanie, asleep in the apartment. At Jack's instruction, Deacon is wearing his swimming trunks, and Jack is wearing a bright-yellow collared shirt that Deacon has never seen before. Jack plucks at the shirt with a smile of pride. "Bought it specially for today," he says. For the trip, Jack has rented an Oldsmobile Cutlass. Deacon didn't even realize his father knew how to drive. They live 3