Jimmy sat back on his haunches, slobbering all over himself. He had just consumed a hamburger patty that one of the graduates sneaked to him. He looked up at Billy.
“Right, buddy?” Billy asked him.
Jimmy licked his chops and whimpered for another handout.
Mark bent down and rubbed the mutt’s belly. “Looks like camping’s not the only thing old Jimmy loves.”
Everyone laughed.
“You need to stop eating,” Billy scolded the dog, “or you’re going to get sick.”
As the afternoon grew late, Billy noticed Charlie and Bianca exchanging some heated words in the shadows of the yard. “You’re wrong, Charlie!” Bianca squealed. “Yeah, I’ve talked to that kid a few times, so what? There’s nothing going on between us.”
“I know what I’ve seen,” Charlie hissed. “Don’t tell me what I’ve seen with my own eyes.”
As their argument rose in volume, people began to take notice. Oh boy, this isn’t good, Billy thought.
Sophie approached him. “Billy, you need to tell them to either knock it off or leave.”
Nodding, Billy made his way toward them to break it up.
“Then you need to get yourself some glasses,” Bianca countered. “If I wanted to be with someone else, I’d be with someone else. I wouldn’t have to sneak around behind your back.”
“Oh, you wouldn’t, huh?” Charlie yelled; he was nearly frothing at the mouth.
Billy wasn’t ten feet from them when Bianca screamed, “That’s right, I wouldn’t!” She stormed off, crying.
Charlie never took a step to chase after her.
As Billy approached, his best friend was shaking his head wildly, his face beet red and his eyes filled with rage.
“Whoa, Charlie, take a breath,” Billy said.
Charlie looked up at him, the murderous rage still glistening in his baby blues.
Billy was hardly deterred. “What the hell was that all about?” he asked.
Charlie took that breath, and then another. “Nothing,” he finally snapped back. “You know what, Billy, maybe it is a good thing we’re all moving on from high school. A new start might be best for everyone…”
“Don’t talk stupid, Charlie. You’re pissed. I get it. But now you’re talking out of your ass.”
“Talking out of my ass?” Charlie said, his volume rising with each word.
“That’s right,” Billy said, “and you need to keep it down. You’re going to end up giving my Aunt Phoebe a stroke.”
Charlie opened his mouth to respond. Instead, Billy’s last comment shut him up. “Shit, I’m sorry,” he mumbled.
Billy tried to keep a straight face, but couldn’t. “I’m playing with you. Aunt Phoebe has so many chemicals in her that she’s going to outlive us both.” He put his hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “But kidding aside, I think you’re dead wrong about Bianca.”
“I don’t think so, Billy. I get the worst feeling in my gut…”
“In your gut?” Billy interrupted, adding a snicker. “Without evidence, it’s nothing but paranoia, brother.”
Charlie shook his head. “I know what I know.”
Billy opened his mouth to counter again but decided against it. You guys have all summer to figure it out, he thought and let it go at that.
It was approaching dusk when Charlie approached Billy, now wearing his mischievous grin. Billy looked past him to discover that a few more graduates had arrived. This time, one of them brought along a girl Billy had never seen before—a girl who stole his breath away.
She had curly blonde hair and caramel eyes. As if being pulled by a magnet, Billy strode—zombie-like—toward her. A closer look revealed a perfect row of teeth pointing to two adorable dimples and pursed lips. From the conversation, he’d gathered that her name was Vicki. For a few magical moments, he watched her from a distance. She was giggling at something someone had said when she began flipping her hair around, flirtatiously. Billy could feel his bottom jaw droop, as he slid deeper into the glorious trance.
As he continued to watch Vicki from a distance, his heart thumped hard in his chest. Oh, my God, he repeated in his head. He’d never experienced anything like it. He’d had crushes on girls before, but none of them ever made him feel like the world had suddenly run out of air.
As hope filled his heart, his mind sabotaged the moment. In the past, Billy had played the masochist, facing the demoralizing rejection of any pimply-faced high school freshman. But that was a long time ago, he told himself. Things are different now. I’m different.
He suddenly realized Charlie was still standing beside him—and smiling. Charlie studied the girl. “Take it easy, buddy,” he told Billy. “She’s not that nice.” Charlie assessed her some more and shrugged. “I’ve seen better legs hanging out of a nest.”
“You must be blind,” Billy said and then told himself, Go talk to her. She’s here…at your party. Go ahead. It’s not like she won’t talk to you. It’s your party. Go… But he couldn’t do it. He just couldn’t find the nerve to approach her and introduce himself.
Charlie chuckled—in some I knew you wouldn’t approach her tone—and sauntered away.
Billy was still locked in a hypnotic state when he saw Vicki greet one of the guys at the party with a hug. Oh no, he thought and his stomach flopped, nearly kicking up the greasy drippings of his lunch. For that one horrid moment, every drop of blood drained from his heart, while gravity carried it to his feet. He couldn’t recall ever feeling more disappointed. Life can be so unfair, he thought—the way it built up a man’s hopes only to pull the carpet out from under his quivering legs. Well, that’s that, he told himself, trying to shake the cobwebs from his head and emerge from his short-lived fantasy.
An hour later, Vicki left the party without as much as a word or glance Billy’s way; without knowing he even existed. Just my luck, he thought and did his best not to sulk. Man, is she beautiful.
It was already dark when Billy’s dad prepared the fire pit in the backyard. Many of the day’s competing conversations came to a halt and, for a time, there was silence—followed by crickets and the wind flirting with the trees. Everyone grabbed a chair and set them in a circle around the pit. While the fire jumped to life—orange and red flames dancing wildly in the darkness—everyone settled comfortably into their respective places around the large circle. Billy took in a deep breath and thought, I wish Vicki were sitting beside me right now. It seemed odd to want to share something so badly with someone he’d never even spoken to. But it wasn’t his mind that desired it; it was his heart. Again, he tried to shake it off and stay in the present. He looked around the circle and smiled gratefully. It had been a glorious day.
While he stroked Jimmy under the chin, the night’s first fireflies revealed themselves. Whispered conversations led to chuckles from adults, a clear sign of good memories being recalled. Billy sat back with Charlie and Mark on either side of him and began to recall all the amazing times they’d spent together in this yard; the three of them playing manhunt in the dark—walkie-talkies and flashlights in hand—while the fading light made them feel like they could run twice as fast as they could; the old oak tree, which served as their tree fort; the hushed conversations and the lights that dotted the abandoned street. Billy inhaled deeply and smiled wider. Even if he’d never admit it to his nagging parents, he knew, I had a very cool childhood. He grabbed a stick, impaled a fat marshmallow and began roasting his first S’more.
While Billy assembled the sweet treat and took a bite, Jimmy nudged his leg with his nose.
“You can’t have any, Jimmy,” Billy whispered past a mouth full of graham crackers.
In the flickering light, the dog put on his best beggar’s eyes.
“We both know what chocolate does to you,” Billy said. He could still feel the panic that ran through the house when they’d discovered Ji
mmy had stolen a solid chocolate Easter Bunny and choked it down. Chunks of gold foil wrapper were the only evidence of his crime, until he became deathly ill. After two full days of whining and whimpering, Jimmy paid for his crime in full before returning to the land of the living.
As the flames danced in Jimmy’s pleading eyes, Billy got up from his chair to get the dog another cold hamburger patty. “You’re such a pain,” Billy joked.
“And make it quick,” Charlie called after Billy, rubbing the mutt’s neck. “Our boy’s so hungry, his belly’s rumbling.”
Mark laughed. “It sounds more like he’s getting ready to explode.”
There were several cherry-red embers still glowing in the pit when the backyard was finally abandoned to the moon. Although he was asked to stay over, Mark was one of the last guests to leave. Billy, Charlie and Jimmy headed for his bedroom—Charlie dragging a bulky air mattress behind him.
While Charlie kicked aside clothes on the floor to make room for his inflatable bed, Billy thought about all the time they’d spent together, years which had made them more like brothers than friends. Charlie’s pretty much grown up at our house, he thought, and smiled as Charlie grabbed a clean t-shirt from his bureau.
Charlie shut off the light, just as Billy and Jimmy jumped into bed. As they all lay quietly for a few minutes, allowing the day’s events to be etched into their memories, Jimmy’s night light illuminated three prone silhouettes on the walls.
“What a day,” Billy mumbled, breaking the silence.
“What a day,” Charlie repeated, each word dropping off in volume from exhaustion.
As Billy contemplated the day’s events, Charlie laughed. “What?” Billy asked.
“You should’ve talked to that girl,” he said, yawning.
“What girl?”
“What girl?” Charlie echoed, suddenly awake again. “The one you were drooling over… that girl.”
“I know,” Billy said.
“You think too much. That’s your problem.”
I know, Billy thought. “What about you and Bianca?” he asked. “What the hell’s going on with you two?”
Charlie’s silhouette rolled over in the dim light and faced the wall. “I don’t know what to think,” he mumbled, “and I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Okay,” Billy said and gasped when Jimmy threw a big paw across his chest. “Damn, Jimmy,” Billy said, grabbing for his chest.
Charlie laughed. “That a boy, Jimmy,” he said, knowing exactly what happened without seeing it, “you slap him good for me.”
There were a few more laughs, followed by three motionless shadows and then some heavy snoring.
⁕
Sunday morning limped in and Billy awoke at his usual time—late. Charlie had already left and from the sound of silence in the house, his parents were also gone. “They must be out at a yard sale or something,” Billy told Jimmy, still lying prone on his back. “And Sophie’s out dress shopping for Miranda’s wedding,” he remembered aloud.
The dog couldn’t have cared less; he made a beeline to the kitchen door to relieve his body of all the garbage he’d choked down the day before.
“That was some party yesterday, huh buddy?” Billy said, opening the door. “I just wish I’d had the guts to talk to that girl, Vicki. She’s absolutely gorgeous.”
Jimmy bolted out.
Billy took one step out the kitchen door to discover the backyard was completely cleaned. Probably Charlie, he thought, the do-gooder.
After feeding Jimmy, Billy popped a tiny white antihistamine and headed for his video game while Jimmy started in on the day’s first bath.
By early afternoon, the skies turned dark and threatened rain. Billy and Jimmy sat together on the living room couch, watching the Boston Red Sox get beat up pretty badly. It didn’t matter. The Red Sox games were summer’s background music, which had also served as the soundtrack for Billy’s childhood. Outside, a light mist had turned to a soft rain that drummed gently on the roof, adding a heavy weight to each of Billy’s eyelids. He looked at Jimmy, curled up on the other end of the couch. The dog yawned. Billy did the same before stretching out as far as Jimmy’s barrel chest would allow. Billy’s arms and legs felt like rubber bands. As the rain tapped on the window, he pulled a light throw blanket under his own chin. He inhaled deeply and smiled. “The count is full. And now, the pay-off pitch…” The Red Sox commentators’ voices began to drift until their drone turned to distant voices. It wasn’t long before the gray afternoon slipped into darkness and slumber.
An hour later, Jimmy’s trembling body stirred him from his peaceful siesta.
“What is it?” Billy asked, still groggy.
The window above their heads flashed with lightning, followed by a loud clap of thunder. Jimmy closed his eyes tight and trembled. Billy grinned and pulled the frightened dog to him. “What a big baby you are,” he said, while the thunder hammered at their ears. “Come here. It’s only the angels bowling up in heaven.” He chuckled.
While Jimmy nearly shivered his thick coat off his skeleton, Billy drifted back to sleep—their legs entwined.
In what felt like seconds, Billy awoke and wiped the drool from his face. He looked down the length of his body to find Jimmy sleeping peacefully. For a few moments, he lay beneath the warm cotton blanket, while his memory returned in fuzzy bits and pieces. Stretching out his sinewy muscles, it took a minute for reality to register and for his eyes to adjust to the dark afternoon. It’s amazing what a few extra hours of sleep can do for a guy’s perspective, he thought and looked at the TV. It was the bottom of the ninth inning and the score was still bloated against the hometown team. Good, he thought. We didn’t miss anything. He threw the twisted blanket off his feet and looked out the window. Although the rain had stopped, the dark clouds still hovered. We should probably still get up, he thought.
Jimmy stirred and then yawned once. Billy watched as he stretched out his front legs, then torso, then hind legs—one at a time—before releasing a quiver that traveled the length of his body. It was like a ripple or wave, from his snout to his tail.
“Lazy dog,” Billy told him and laughed. “It’s time to get up. We have a video game to finish.”
⁕
Sophie returned home, followed by Charlie. Billy’s parents also returned from their treasure hunting with a bucket of fried chicken. Wearing a sour puss, Charlie took his seat at the kitchen table just as Billy broke the silence. “Sophie, I need to pick your brain about my class schedule in the fall,” he told his sister.
“I’m happy to help,” she said. “You’re taking on a full course load, right?”
He nodded. “Yeah, but I want to stay away from the harder classes.”
“Billy, as a Liberal Arts major, you’re only going to take core classes your freshman year,” she said, shaking her head. “And you might want to forget about taking the easy road from now on. College is a lot of hard work, so you might as well accept that right now.”
Billy’s mom and dad both nodded, but remained quiet—obviously pleased with how their daughter was handling the topic.
Damn, Sophie, Billy thought, but couldn’t help but to grin. Even from atop her pedestal, she’d always been his compass.
“You want to go to college, right?” she asked.
He half shrugged. “I need to go to college,” he mumbled, thinking, Because I have no idea what else I’d do.
“Yes, you do,” she said, sternly. “And you need to take it seriously, Billy.”
“Sure, Sophe,” he mumbled and looked at Charlie, whose mind was clearly a thousand miles away from their conversation.
Before Billy could question him, Sophie redirected her attention to Charlie. “And what’s eating at you?” she asked. “You haven’t made fun of anyone or cracked one stupid joke since we sat down to eat.”
Charlie
looked at her, his once mischievous eyes looking wounded. “There’s nothing wrong with me,” he lied. “I just don’t feel like talking, that’s all.”
“What? Charlie Philips doesn’t feel like…”
“He doesn’t feel like talking, Sophe,” Billy interrupted, rushing to his friend’s defense. “If he doesn’t want to talk, then he doesn’t have to talk. Let it go.”
Every head at the table snapped up; something was definitely wrong with Charlie and now they all knew it.
There was quiet for a few awkward moments. As Billy’s dad grabbed for another chicken leg, he said, “I kind of like it when we don’t talk.”
Everyone laughed—even Charlie. Jimmy, on the other hand, stood at the back door, whimpering.
Billy’s mom tore another piece from her drumstick, wiped her mouth and got up to let him out. Not a second later, she screamed past a mouth full of chicken, “Oh God!”
Everyone sprang from the table and rushed toward the backyard to see what was wrong. It took a moment for the scene to register for Billy.
A raccoon had entered the yard and was picking through their trash cans when Jimmy caught him. To Billy’s horror, Jimmy had cornered the masked thief.
“No, Jimmy!” Billy screamed. “Come inside, boy,” he ordered.
But Jimmy wasn’t hearing it. His hackles raised, the dog was bristling to take action. Jimmy had marked his territory long ago and was still willing to defend it—along with those he loved. Brow creased and eyes locked on his enemy, Jimmy’s head was completely still. All of his senses were at full alert.
The courageous mutt bared his teeth. The raccoon did the same. Jimmy drew back for a moment, clearly contemplating his next move. For a second, he stood mannequin still, his head cocked slightly.
“Don’t do it, Jimmy,” Billy pled, terrified for his best friend.
Nose twitching and ears tucked back, Jimmy’s tail went pin straight. A moment later, his body quivered and his tail twitched. It was slight, but Billy caught it. “No!” he yelled, knowing this was it. It’s go time.
The Changing Season Page 6
