TWENTY-ONE
By the time we reached the edge of Cory’s front lawn we could see Steve and Jackie coming down from the top of Cottonwood. They were each holding a paper grocery sack and talking to one another, smiling and laughing. That was one thing about Steve. He was always very friendly to those close to him, whether it was his sister or his buds. He was a guy you liked being around and it showed as he and Jackie made their way toward us.
Cory gave an ear piercing, two fingered whistle which quickly got their attention and they raised their hands in recognition to let us know that they’d heard us. We jogged halfway up the street and met them in front of Andrew Moore’s house.
“Hey, what’s up, guys?” Steve asked, a little out of breathe from the half mile he’d just walked from the grocery store.
“Hi, guys,” Jackie said in her sweet young girl’s voice. She sounded worse off than her brother. Jason quickly grabbed the bag that she’d been carrying, giving her arms a much needed rest. “Thanks.”
“Hi,” I said, looking at Jackie with a sheepish grin on my face. She smiled back, squinted her eyes. God, she was beautiful. Even with sweat running down her face and neck she was beautiful.
Steve’s sister wore Daisy Duke shorts, a white, sleeveless blouse and black Converse shoes, no socks. Her hair was pulled up and tied off with a ribbon to keep it off of her neck. I knew Jackie Hanel was the most beautiful girl in the world at that moment.
“What are you guys doing?” Jason asked to start a conversation.
Readjusting his bag with his knee, Steve said, “Just had to get some stuff for dinner tonight. Man, that walk sucks. I wish it would cool down some.”
“No kidding,” Jason said. “Me and Ricky had to pull more weeds this morning on the hill. Sun ‘bout killed us.”
Cory jumped out in front and turned around, walking backward so he could face us. “Aww, poor guys. All I had to do was stay in my nice air conditioned house this morning. Slept in until nine.”
“No one cares that you stayed in bed all morning playing with yourself, Dayborne,” Steve shot back. We all laughed. Except for Cory who turned beat red.
“Shut up.”
We came to the cul-de-sac out front of our houses, crossed over, and headed to Steve and Jackie’s. There, Steve set his bag down on the step, wrestled a key out of his OP shorts and unlocked the front door to let us all in.
“We came over earlier, but no one answered the door,” Jason told Steve.
He picked his sack back up, headed inside, and said, “Yeah, mom left for work early this morning and Jacob didn’t come home last night. I think he stayed at one of his friend’s houses.”
“I hope he stays gone,” Jackie added quietly.
Steve put his hand on her neck, gave it a squeeze and smiled at her. He then went into the kitchen with Jason to put away the groceries.
A carton of milk was taken out of the bag and put onto the top shelf of the fridge. A bunch of celery went into the crisper drawer and a package wrapped in white butcher paper into the meat drawer. Bread was set on the counter and several cans of soup broth went into the cupboard.
When all the food was put away, Steve folded the brown paper bags and shoved them under the sink to be used as trash bags later. He then came back out to the living room where Jason, Cory, Jackie and I were watching an episode of Sigmund and the Sea Monsters. We all turned to him when he clapped his hands and said, “So, what’s on the agenda for today?”
The four of us looked at each other in silence, hoping someone would come up with something. In the end, we all looked back at Steve and shrugged.
He gave an exasperated sigh, put his hands on his hips, and said, “Well, we’ve got to think of something. I don’t want to hang around this stuffy house all day.”
The Hanels, unlike the Daybornes, didn’t use their air conditioner. Instead, two fans stood sentinel in the living room blowing luke-warm air from open window to open window.
“Come on, let’s think guys. Let’s here some ideas. Jason?”
“Uhhh, three flies up?” Jason suggested.
But Steve shook his head. “Not after that long walk. I don’t want to be running after balls. Something else. Cory?”
“How about go to the fort and read those magazines again…”
Steve shook his head again and gave Cory a look, swiped his hand across his throat a couple of times. He looked over at his little sister and then back at Cory with angry eyes that said ‘Watch what you say around her.’
“Yeah, I don’t want to go back there anyways. Ben almost killed me over there,” I said.
“True,” Steve agreed. He then turned to Jackie. “You got any suggestions, Jack?”
She looked at each of us in turn and quietly said, “We could play house.”
“No,” all the guys said at the same time. That was not even an option for us. Well for Steve, Jason and Cory at least. I would have played house anytime she wanted. Hell, I probably would have put a diaper on and crapped in it just so she could play mommy and change me. I swear that chick got my heart going.
Steve ran a hand over his bandana and through his long hair and said, “Okay, well, since no one can think of anything to do, I guess I’ll have to come up with something. Again.” He turned in a slow circle and positioned himself with his back to us, scratching his chin and thinking. He waved his arm. “Cory. Jason. Come here.”
The two were off the couch and at his side in an instant. Jackie and I looked at each other, dumbfounded. The three older boys stood in conference for a minute, whispering amongst themselves. There was a nod from Jason and a shake of disapproval from Cory. Steve smacked Cory on the back of the head and Cory said, “Okay, okay, fine.”
They turned back around to face us and Steve, folding his hands under his chin and with a horrible Russian accent said, “I think it’s time you know about something.”
Jackie shot another glance at me and I returned it. “What is it?” I asked.
Steve took a step forward and Cory and Jason flanked him, arms crossed at their small chests. “There’s a place we’ve found. A couple weeks ago while we were out messing around. It’s a secret place and we’ve sworn each other not to say anything about it to anyone. But if we take you there, you have to swear not to say a word about it either.”
“I promise,” I said.
“Me too,” Jackie agreed.
“Well it’s not that easy. You two need to take an oath. So,” Steve explained, “I want you guys to raise your right hands and repeat after me.” We did as we were told and let him continue, “I swear…”
“I swear…” Jackie and I repeated together.
Steve: “…on the blood of my brothers…”
“…on the blood of my brothers…”
“…not to tell anyone about the location of the new fort.”
“…not to tell anyone about the location of the new fort.”
“Very good.” Steve said. “Now, let’s head up there.”
We all got up and headed for the front door and I asked, “Where is it?”
“Not far,” Jason answered. “Just follow us. We’ll be there in no time.”
The five of us went through the front door, Steve locking it behind us, and headed back out into the stifling day. Jackie and I followed the others up Cottonwood and around the corner onto Fullerton. We passed by Mr. Gagner's house with caution and only after we confirmed that his gate was shut and that Ben was out of sight did we venture past and onto the dirt path that rimmed Dead Grove.
Halfway down the path, Jason jumped around and walked backward in order to face all of us just as Cory had done earlier.
“Crap. I almost forgot. Did you guys hear about the Fourth of July?” he asked. Steve and Jackie shared a look that said they had no idea what he was talking about.
Cory said, “What, about the party?”
“Yeah.” Jason went on, “Did your parents tell you?”
“Yep. It’s going to be way cool.” Then looking at S
teve and Jackie, Cory said, “You guys don’t know?”
“No we don’t,” Steve shot back. “Are you guys going to tell us or do I have to beat it out of ya?”
Jason started explaining to them about the block party: The tables that would be loaded with good food from all the neighbors; how the street would be cordoned off so we could run free as we pleased. He told them how mom had set the whole thing up through City Hall. He finished off with the fireworks we’d get to see right in our front yards.
“Man, that does sound bitchin,” Steve exclaimed.
“Steve, don’t say that word,” Jackie scolded. It’s a swear.”
“Sorry,” he told her.
By the time Jason had finished getting them excited about the following Friday, we had reached Magnolia. Dead Grove ended where we crossed over and an open field lay sprawled out in front of us, save for an abandoned house on the corner. It was a house we all swore was haunted, even though it looked nothing like what a spook house should. I hoped then, that this wasn’t the secret place they were bringing us to.
And to my luck it wasn’t. Instead, we crossed over Magnolia and headed for the other field cater corner to Dead Grove and across the street from Magnolia Glen, where we could here construction workers pounding away with hammers and buzzing away with electric saws. There was no sign of our bottle collecting friend, Rod.
Tall waist-high grass grew in the field and at this time of year it was yellow and dry, dead. It tickled our calves and knees as we trudged through it on our journey. Burrs caught in out socks.
To the south, about two hundred yard from us, in the middle of that huge expanse, stood three massive California pepper trees that formed a perfect triangle. Each was spaced a hundred feet or so from one another.
“That’s it,” Cory said pointing, “That’s the spot.”
“What is?” I asked.
Jason answered. “The first one closest to us. That’s our new secret fort. The tree.”
And just like that, it had been named. No one could have come up with a simpler name than that. But Jason had. And from that day forward, whenever we referred to our new hideout, we simply called it, ‘The Tree.’
When we finally arrived, we all stood twenty feet back and gazed upon the gigantic canopy. It must have been forty-feet tall at its highest point. Long, thick limbs branched out every which way and from them long green runners-that would form into branches of their own in years to come-hung like a beautiful flowing, green skirt all around. We could barely see into its depths and it was impossible to see all the way through to the other side.
After a few minutes of admiring the hulk of a tree, Steve said, “Check out the inside,” as if it were a new home and he was a real estate agent.
There was a six foot high gap in the canopy that we entered through and the inside was awash in shadow. It was like some strange cave made of leaves and bark and immediately we all noticed how much cooler it was in there than out in the field. Its massive trunk shot up from the ground, thick as a brick chimney, and fat branches led this way and that, perfect for climbing. The dirt ground was littered with fallen leaves, twigs, and dead bark. Bottles and cans were scattered around the fifteen foot radius of the hull where older kids had left them from previous parties. A mattress lay at one end, brown and stained.
“Whoa. Neat.” I said. It was the best word I could come up with to describe our new safe haven, but it fit perfectly.
The old fort in Dead Grove would soon be a thing of the past, and this new fort would be where we would hold our council from then on. It became a special place for each of us; a place to talk and bond, away from the watchful eyes of our parents; a place were Steve could go to, away from his asshole brother. Or Just a place to come to and relax out of the heat of a summer day.
But most importantly the Tree served as a place where we were given a very special gift; the gift of a mysterious friend that came out of nowhere and changed our lives that summer.
Changed our lives forever.
Frisbee Page 25
