by Lucy Gage
“All done, Ma. Can I call Danny now?”
She laughed. “Ye may. I told his Mum that he could spend the night and we’d meet them at church in the mornin’.”
“Awesome!” He called Danny to tell his best friend they were back from hunting and it was time to come over.
When he turned away from the phone, his mom said, “Ye can’t play video games all day, Neil. Remember that.”
“I know…I mean, yes, ma’am. I remember.”
His father, sitting at the table writing with a pencil and paper, glanced at Neil and smiled. “Good job, son.”
“Thank you, sir. Can I teach Danny how to shoot?”
“With your BB gun?”
“Yes, sir.”
“I don’t see why not, as long as his parents are okay with it. Let’s wait until after hunting season is over.”
“Thank you, Daddy! I mean, thank you, sir.”
“Want to help me get the tea ready, Neil?” his mom asked. “I baked some shortbread while ye were gone.”
“Those are Danny’s favorites,” Neil said. He liked shortbread, too, but his favorite was chocolate chip.
“I know,” said his mom with a wink. He followed her into the kitchen to setup the tea service.
With an Irish mother, tea was a daily event in Neil’s house. When Danny came to visit, they included him and pretended they were in Ireland, where Neil and his mom visited her family every summer.
“Yer still pretty close with Danny are ye?”
Neil looked at her, confused. “Yeah. Why?”
“I thought so, but I wondered. Ye don’t say specifically. I’m glad, Neil. I’d have been awfully sad if keepin’ ye back meant ye lost yer best friend.”
He and Danny had known each other since their mothers met at a church social when they were three. They started school together, but Neil had stayed back in kindergarten, because his mom had kept him out of school so much that year. His dad had been deployed to Saudi Arabia for the Gulf War, and they took some extended trips to Ireland.
This year, Danny went to middle school while Neil stayed behind in elementary, and he’d worried that his best friend wouldn’t want to hang out with him anymore. But Danny had assured him that no one in their old class was as cool as Neil.
True or not, Neil had been grateful. The few kids he played with at recess paled in comparison to Danny in friendship quality.
“We’re good, Ma.”
“Glad to hear it, darlin’. Sounds like he’s just arrived. Let’s go greet him and his Mum at the door, shall we? Then we’ll all sit down to tea and ye boys can go play yer video games for a bit after.”
Neil smiled and nodded, fortunate to have such great parents.
**********
Emily plopped onto the end of Meg’s bed and collapsed face-first. Whatever the issue, at twelve, it was automatically a huge deal.
Meg raised her eyebrow and said, “Want to talk about it?”
“No,” Em mumbled into the comforter. She let every little thing affect her in big ways.
Meg got it. One thing she’d learned in therapy, during her parents’ marital troubles, was that she couldn’t control every second of her life, but she could control her reaction to it. Emily didn’t quite get that yet.
The Wards, Tom and Gail, were like the family she used to watch on TV with her mom sometimes, Ozzie and Harriet, only in Em’s case, there were three girls, of whom she was the eldest. Her sister Annie was a year behind them, only thirteen months younger than Em, and was Gail’s shadow. And little Charlotte, who was three years their junior, was a sassy and precocious nine-year-old girl who’d asserted her independence at age four by insisting everyone call her Charlie. Chances were good that Emily’s issue wasn’t about her family.
Which meant it was probably about a boy.
“Come on. What’s the problem?”
“Nothing.”
“Liar. I know you, Emma Bean. You love going to the lake house, even in the fall, but you begged off and your mom let you. Why?”
Sighing, Emily sat up and looked at Meg, her expression indicating that something weighed heavily on her mind.
“Can I trust you?”
Meg was taken aback. “Why would you ever think you can’t?”
“I don’t know.”
“Em, seriously, just spill it.”
So quiet she could hardly hear her best friend, Em said, “I got my period.”
Oh. Well, that wasn’t a big deal.
“Em, that’s great, right? You’re a woman now!”
She looked at Meg, tears in her eyes, and whispered, “You won’t tell anyone, will you?”
“What? Why would I tell anyone?”
A tear rolled down Em’s cheek when she said, “Last spring, when Jeanne Davis got hers, everyone in the school knew about it.”
“I thought she wanted everyone to know?”
Em shook her head. “No. I found her crying in the bathroom during lunch one day. She was so upset, Meggie. She said she’d only told Amy.”
Meg finally understood. Amy Pickering was Jeanne’s supposed best friend. Em always wanted to believe the best in people, so she assumed that Amy was nice and that she’d be loyal to her best friend. Apparently, Jeanne had done the same.
Meg knew differently. Amy was one of those fake girls, the kind who act nice but have a secret agenda. Amy had spread a rumor about her once, in elementary school, when they were all supposedly friends.
She sat closer to Em and wrapped her arm around her.
“Em, don’t worry about that, okay? Amy isn’t as nice as you think. And even if she is, all she had to do was tell one wrong person. You know I’m not going to tell anyone. I’d never do that to you. You’re the sister I never had. In fact, I like you more because you’re not actually my sister.”
“I like my sisters,” Em said, shrugging.
Meg rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know. I mean, sisters fight and are jealous. We don’t really fight and I’m not jealous of you. Usually.”
“Usually?”
“Well, I wish I already had my period, too.” She nudged Emily.
It had the intended effect. Em smiled. “No, you don’t. It sucks.”
“It does? Why?”
“It hurts. Plus, it’s messy and gross.”
“Yeah, but if I had my period, then maybe I’d get some boobs.”
Emily laughed. “You have boobs!”
“Ha! No, I don’t. They’re tiny bumps. You have big cajungas. I barely need to wear a training bra. You’re into the real stuff already.”
Blushing, Em said, “It’s not that great, believe me.”
“So says the girl with the boobs to the one with the mosquito bites on her chest.” They laughed until their sides hurt.
“Love you, Meggie. Thanks for making me feel better.”
“Love you, too, Emma Bean. Anytime.”
**********
Bucksport, Maine, Fourteen years ago…
His belly lay flat on the ground, his shoulders were up, and his eye on the scope. Neil took a deep breath to center himself.
Shots rang through the air, but Neil didn’t hear them. He was in the zone, focusing on the target, a hundred yards in the distance. He envisioned himself hitting the bulls-eye and then he stroked the trigger of his Dad’s Ruger 10/22, waiting for the moment when he knew he could get the shot. When it came, he squeezed and through the scope he saw the bullet make its mark.
Close. Not perfect, but close.
“How’d you do?” his father asked.
“Still a little off-center.”
“We’ll look at the targets after. I’m sure it’s better than you think.”
“Oh, it’s not bad. Just not perfect.”
His dad chuckled. “Glad to see you’re humble.”
“Sorry.”
“No apologies, son. You’re an excellent shot. I’m anxious to see how that will translate into our hunt this year. You looking forward to November?”
<
br /> Neil’s dad was finally letting him take his gun into the woods to hunt this year. At twelve, he’d had a junior license for two years, and last fall, he’d taken the hunter safety course. Now that he was qualified by both the state and, more importantly, his father’s opinion, he could pull a real permit this year and actually have a chance to shoot a deer.
“Of course. You know I love going into the woods with you, Dad. It’s one of my favorite parts of the fall.”
“We’ll be getting up before dawn,” his father warned.
“I’ve never minded that. Besides, I’ve been getting up early all summer to run.”
Every summer, Neil went with his mom to her native Ireland to visit his extended family, and this year, he had run through the hills every morning. He wanted to be a daily runner long before he went into the Army as an adult. He figured junior high was as good a time to start as any other.
“You excited about joining a team?”
“Won’t happen this year, but yeah.” Neil had never been that great at sports. Too short for basketball, too small for football and while he liked soccer, he’d rather run to a destination instead of chasing a ball on a field. He didn’t want to run competitively until he had a chance to practice some more, so he planned to join track in high school. Until then, he’d run on the trails behind his house or in his neighborhood.
“You seen Danny since you came home?”
“This afternoon. I wanted to come to the range with you first.”
“Thanks. I appreciate that, son.”
“I missed you this summer, Dad.”
“Missed you, too. Come on. Let’s go see those targets.”
A couple hours later, his father dropped him at Danny’s house. This coming school year, Neil would be in seventh grade and Danny would be in eighth. They were excited about the chance to ride the bus and eat lunch together again. His best friend had been eagerly awaiting Neil’s return from Ireland for the last week.
“Murphy!” Danny said, running out the door, slapping a high five.
“Holy crap, Danny. You grew like a weed this summer.”
Danny smiled. “I know. I’m almost 5′9″ now! Isn’t that awesome?”
Neil grinned. “Yeah. I’m jealous. Seems like I’ll never get any taller.” A year older than many of his classmates, at 5′2″, not being the shortest in his class didn’t curb his embarrassment about being short.
“You’ll be tall like your dad someday, right? You look like him.”
“Yeah, but you should see my cousins. Most of them are pretty small. I hope I don’t get my height from Ma. I love her, but I’m looking forward to being taller than her.”
Danny laughed. “Don’t sweat it yet. Did you bring your swimsuit? Dad said we can go tubing before dinner.”
“Awesome.” It was good to be with his best friend again.
That night, they lay in their sleeping bags in the tent.
“Neil, you still awake?”
“Yeah.”
“Did you meet any cute girls this summer?”
“A few. No one special. I spent a lot of time with my cousins. My cousin Maureen tried to get me to practice kissing with her. I’m not that desperate.”
“Ew.”
“Not really. She’s pretty hot.”
“She’s your cousin.”
“Which was why I didn’t do it. But it’s not like she’s ugly. What about you? Meet anyone?”
“A few girls at the beach. Can I tell you a secret?”
“Of course.”
“Kay kissed me.”
“What? Peter’s girlfriend?” Peter was Danny’s older brother.
“Yeah. She’s younger than him. She’s only fifteen.”
“She kissed you? Did you tell Peter?”
“No! He’d kill me.”
“Dude, that’s kind of sick. You’re still a kid and she’s like, almost an adult.”
“Shut up.”
Danny was silent for a minute. Neil asked, “Was she good?”
His best friend sighed, “Yeah.”
“Did she use tongue?”
Danny snorted. “No.”
“Oh. That’s not a big deal. She probably felt sorry for you.”
“Gee, thanks.”
“What are best friends for?”
“Ass.”
“Dick.”
They both laughed. “I missed you, man,” Danny said.
“Yeah, I missed you, too. I love going there, though. Ireland is so beautiful. I started running.”
“You did? Don’t think I’m running with you.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m just getting started early, is all.”
“For what?”
“So I’m ready for the Army.”
“Seriously? You’re twelve going on thirteen. You have five years. Why start now?”
“Because I want to be prepared. I hit the bulls-eye four times at the range today.”
“Holy shit. Remind me not to be on the other end of your gun.”
“Like I’d ever shoot someone.”
“Dude, you’re probably going to shoot people in the Army.”
“Yeah, but that’s different.”
“How is it different?”
“That’s war. It’s not the same as killing for other reasons.”
“People are still dead.”
“True. I don’t know. It’s just different is all.”
“Whatever you say. I’m not going to be shooting guns at people.”
“No, you couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn, as we demonstrated when you tried to fire my BB gun.”
“And I’m fine with that. You ready for school to start?”
“I guess. I just hope it’s not boring again this year.”
“Just means you’ll ace everything.”
“Yeah. I guess.”
“We better sleep. Mom will wake us up early for the beach.”
“I’m going to run before.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. You got a problem with it?”
“Nope. I just think you’re nuts.”
Neil laughed and shook his head. He could always count on Danny to be honest.
A few minutes passed in silence. “Danny?”
“Yeah?”
“Was it good? The kissing?”
His best friend sighed again. “Yeah.”
“Does it make you want a girlfriend?”
“Yeah. What about you? Do you wish you had a girlfriend?”
Neil chuckled. “As if any girls are going to look at me.”
“Good point.”
“Shut up.”
“I’m kidding. You won’t be a shrimpy wimp forever.”
Neil sighed, too. “I hope not.”
“You won’t. The girls will be drooling over you by high school.”
He laughed. “You haven’t seen my Dad’s high school pictures. He didn’t fill out until after that. I don’t care. High school isn’t important.”
“Nah. Just a stop on the way to the real fun.”
“Which is?”
“College!”
“Not sure I’ll go. What would I even study? If I decide I want to go to college, I can always do that later.”
“Later?”
“After I leave the Army.”
“You’re set on being in the Army, huh?”
“Yep.”
“That kind of sucks.”
“Why?”
“Because I wanted us to go to college together, so we can do all kinds of stupid stuff.”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. I’m thirteen. I’m sure by the time I get to that point, I’ll have a better idea of what being stupid means.”
Neil chuckled. “We have plenty of time to hang out before then. Let’s go to sleep. I’ll be up with the birds. Have been all summer.”
“You’re nuts.”
“Yep. ‘Night.”
“I’m glad you’re back.”
&nbs
p; “Me, too.”
“‘Night.”
**********
They climbed out of the window and dropped to the ground, their feet muffled by the grass. Em looked worried. Of course. Tiptoeing to the front yard, they walked down the road a hundred yards to where Craig and Tim were parked, waiting.
“Is this a good idea?” Em whispered.
“We won’t get caught,” Meg replied.
“If we do, my mom will ground me for a month. Is Tim worth it?”
“I don’t know, Em, we haven’t had a chance to kiss yet. It’s hard to do when you’re stuck in the car with a kid.” Meg’s mom let her go on dates as long as someone accompanied her. That someone was her cousin, Nina, who had just turned twelve. She loved Nina, but it wasn’t easy to make out with your boyfriend when a kid sat in the back seat.
She knocked on the window of Craig’s car and he rolled it down.
“Get in. Tim’s in the back.”
Meg smiled and climbed into the back seat next to her boyfriend.
“Should I sit…” Em began, but Craig raised his eyebrows at her and she stopped talking, then went around to the passenger seat. They had barely fastened seat belts before Craig started the engine and he’d headed toward a logging road a couple miles away.
The whole ride, Em nervously chattered. Tim kept shooting She’s a freak glances at Meg. When they arrived at the logging road, Craig shut off the car and said to Emily, “Why don’t we go for a walk?”
“Um, I don’t know…”
“Come on, cupcake. I won’t try anything you don’t want.” He tugged Emily out of the passenger’s seat and they were gone.
Tim grinned, glad to be alone. Meg was, too. “At last,” he said.
Meg nodded. In the moonlight, she could see a look on his face she assumed was lust. She’d kissed a few boys, but otherwise, she was very inexperienced, mostly because she was picky. Tim and Craig were two years older.
He leaned close, his mouth so near to hers that they shared air.
“Kiss me, Meg.”
Making up the short distance, Meg pressed her lips into his. It was a firm kiss on his part, turning quickly into a full-on, slobbery make-out. His tongue was all over the place and Meg was sure she heard slurping noises. Each time she’d try to pull away, he’d eagerly jump back into the fray. Unsure how she’d extract herself from this guy, who was clearly a very, very bad kisser, she sighed in relief when the front passenger door opened and Tim jerked away.
