Abstract
At first Curtis isn't worried when his mother doesn't come home after her all-night shift at the gas bar. For a time Curtis manages on his own, looking after himself and his five-year-old brother. But then the credit card maxes out and the landlord starts demanding the rent. Just in time the boys make friends with cranky old Mrs. Burt who lives across the street. With the neighbor the boys go on an adventure. But will they ever return to their mother?