Savages

18

Chon hasn’t seen much of his father since the old man finished his fourteen-year federal stretch.

John came back to Laguna but by that time Chon was in the navy and they just sort of drifted apart. Chon bumps into him every once in a while at Starbucks or the Marine Room or just on the street and they exchange greetings and as much small talk as Chon can manage and that’s about it.

There’s no hostility; there’s just no connection, either.

This doesn’t bother Chon.

He doesn’t yearn for it.

Chon’s thinking is that twenty-some years ago his father fucked his mother, the sperm did their SEAL thing, and so what? His father was getting his nut, not signing up for Little League, fishing trips, or heart-to-heart talks. As for the fuckee, aka Mom, she liked dope a lot more than she liked Chon, and Chon gets this totally—he likes dope a lot more than he likes her.

Ben once observed that you could say Chon was “raised by wolves,” except that wolves are warm-blooded mammals that care for their young.