The Orphans of Race Point: A Novel

by Patry Francis

  Once when Neil was alone with Hallie at a party, he looked at Gus across the room. “Honestly, I don’t know who I’ll be without him. Pretty sad, isn’t it?”

  Hallie rested her hand on his knee. “You’re going to be a student in one of the most exciting cities in the world. That’s who you’re going to be. Hell, by October, you’ll probably totally forget us.”

  “Hallie who?” Neil joked, but there was no hiding the misery in his eyes. She wished they could have talked about it longer, but they were interrupted by Sean and Daisy, who had some news to share: Sean had decided to join the Air Force.

  And now, before she could react to Neil’s harsh comment about Melissa, he quickly turned to Gus and changed the subject. “Once we get through the ape parade, it should be a cool night, though. Chad’s brother already picked up enough rum to light up the Point. Think you guys can get the Coke?”

  When the night came, Neil and Reggie picked Hallie and Gus up at her house. Hallie was secretly relieved that her father had been called out on an emergency. Like all the other parents, he wanted to snap some pictures of them in their formal clothes and, undoubtedly, repeat his last-minute warnings about drinking and driving as well, but Hallie was grateful to avoid the sadness, and something else—doubt perhaps, that appeared in his eyes whenever he saw her with Gus these days. Hallie gave Gus a silk scarf she’d found in a vintage clothing store in town. Like her dress, it was almost the same color Wolf had named Race Point blue: midnight with a hint of cerulean. When Gus draped it around his neck, the effect was electric.

  “That scarf is so cool!” Reggie gushed when she saw Gus. “You look like one of those guys in the old movies my grandmother used to watch—you know, Gary Cooper? And it makes your eyes look so—so brown.”

  “Gus has nothing in common with Gary Cooper,” Neil said. “Except they both always play the good guy.”

  Hallie felt sorry for Reggie, who seemed out of place with the established trio, but she also couldn’t help being protective of Neil. The tuxedo hung on his narrow frame; and no matter what he tried, he’d never managed to tame his wayward hair.

  She pulled him into the bathroom and added a dab of gel to it. “Much better,” she said, standing back. “And next time I’ll find a scarf for you, too. A mix of green and brown like your eyes.”

  “There are no next times after tonight, remember? This is it for our class,” Neil said. “Incredible dress, by the way. The color doesn’t do a thing for Gary Cooper out there, but it’s a knockout on you.”

  When they rejoined Reggie and Gus in the kitchen, Neil filled a two-liter bottle with his trademark drink and cracked a joke. Hallie studied him covertly. Getting laughs and ratcheting up the energy in a room were what he did, but he seemed to be trying too hard.

  They passed the bottle around in the car when they reached the school, and Hallie felt a surge of warmth pass through her.

  “Okay, let’s get through the dancing and pictures so we can get to the real party on the beach,” Neil said. He stashed the bottle, and threw open the door. A slash of light cut across the backseat.

  “Let’s have one before we go in,” Gus pulled a Camel from his pack. He and Hallie crossed the street to the monument where they met for a smoke every morning before Gus left for Eastham. Gus made a cup of his hands, lit the cigarette, and took the first drag. When he passed it to Hallie, it tasted like vanilla and salt. They could hear the music emanating from the gymnasium. It was Whitney Houston. I wanna dance with somebody . . .

  She and Gus didn’t spend much time with Neil and Reggie, but during the slow songs, Hallie couldn’t help noticing how Neil’s lanky form was welded to Reggie’s curves. Melissa, who hadn’t found another date, was conspicuously absent.

  “You know, this prom thing isn’t so bad,” Gus said, sensing Hallie’s wistful mood. “Holding you? Watching every guy in the place wish they were wearing my lucky blue scarf? I can deal with it.” He kissed her again.

  A couple of hours later Neil clapped a hand on Gus’s shoulder. “I hate to interrupt this tender moment, bro, but we need to get the bonfire started. Provincetown’s finest will be out in full force as soon as this gig is over.” His eyes looked bleary, but bright at the same time.

  “I can drive if you want,” Hallie offered, though she knew Neil never let anyone behind the wheel of his Jeep.

  “We’re going to Race Point,” he said, leading them out to the parking lot. “I could get us there drunk, high, and blindfolded. And, lucky for you, I left my blindfold at home.”

  Hallie thought briefly of her father, whose face clouded with dread when he cautioned her against getting in the car with anyone who had been drinking. She was acutely aware that she was his only child—all he had. She stopped short a few feet from the Jeep.

  Sensing her hesitation, Gus took off his jacket and slung it over her shoulders protectively. “I think I left my tie behind, anyway. We’ll catch a ride with Sean and Daisy.”

  Hallie reached into the pocket of Gus’s jacket and felt the bow tie he’d removed after the photos. Then she squeezed Gus’s hand.

  “Whatever you say, Voodoo,” Neil said. After slamming the door of the Jeep, he roared toward the highway.

  The party started off like so many others. The joking and flirting around the crackling fire, the taste of rum and vanilla. Hallie only remembered having two of Neil’s drinks, but both were stronger than usual, particularly the second one. Hallie remembered Gus saying, “Dude, did you forget the Coke? Then he laughed as he brought the cup to his lips and passed it to her. She couldn’t count how many times a joint had come her way—or recall when Reggie had produced a bottle of tequila. Had she really drunk that, too? Again, she heard her father’s unwelcome voice: There’s something about Cape kids. Maybe it’s the constant drumbeat of the ocean, like a clock reminding them how short the time is, or maybe it’s just the loneliness of the long winters . . . but they party more than anyone else.

  Hallie and Gus had always been an exception to that rule. They enjoyed the parties on the beach, the illicit gatherings in the homes of absent parents, but the only time they’d ever been close to drunk together had been that afternoon in the cemetery. Hallie had too much respect for her father, and Gus had his own reasons to fear drink. “Alcohol was what brought Codfish down,” he told her one night after his friends had teased him for passing on a bottle of vodka. “It killed my mother as surely as his hands did.”

  Hallie nodded. “Mine, too,” she had said.

  Eventually couples began to drift into the dunes, including Neil and Reggie. They were holding hands as they walked away. But when they returned, the easy rapport Hallie had noticed in the auditorium was gone. Neil disappeared down the beach for a walk, uncharacteristically alone. Hallie and Gus were about to go looking for him when they spotted him, ambling along the shoreline, with his pants rolled up to the knees.

  “The water is awesome!” he yelled. “Who’s coming in?”

  “You’re drunk. The tide is wicked strong, and I left my lifeguard certification card at home tonight,” Chad Mendoza called back to him. “How about you do something productive and make us some more drinks?”

  Everyone laughed, including Neil, as the undertow unbalanced him, proving Chad’s point. He started up the beach. “Okay, okay. If you guys want booze, what can I say?”

  While he mixed the last of the rum and Coke, Reggie gradually drifted to the periphery of the group. Her eyeliner had blurred; the hair that had been piled on top of her head in studied spirals collapsed; she leaned her knees together and stared out at the ocean, looking lonelier than ever.

  Hallie guessed that it was around four, the hour when the water turned as gray as a black-and-white photograph of itself. After they finished their drinks, Gus, Neil, and some of the other boys worked to resuscitate the bonfire that had flamed out, refusing to surrender the night, or the years that had led them to it. Sean Mello’s mother had promised pancakes, eggs, and linguiça at seven, but the only
thing Hallie hungered for was sleep. She sighed when someone produced a football. Gus kissed her before he went off to join the game.

  Hallie was wobbly on her feet as she made her way toward Reggie. “Stupid heels,” she said, which made Daisy and Christina laugh. Then, realizing she was barefoot, Hallie giggled, too. She crossed the sand with as much dignity as she could muster and managed to lower herself onto the spot beside Reggie without toppling. Reggie stared into the fire, ignoring her.

  “Any more of that tequila?” Hallie finally asked.

  Reggie reached into the pocket of Neil’s tux jacket and produced the empty bottle. “Gallagher chugged it,” she said. She threw it into the bonfire, where it shattered.

  “Is everything okay between you guys?” Hallie said. “You seemed to be getting along great back at the school.”

  “Yeah, we’re already planning the wedding. Maybe you and Gus can live next door, and once a year we’ll play the swappy game. That’s one way to keep Gallagher around.”

  “Excuse me?” Stunned by the comment, Hallie attempted to scrabble to her feet, but she was too dizzy to stand. “Neil is like my brother. Has been since we were kids.”

  “You really believe that, don’t you?” Reggie laughed so caustically that Daisy turned to look. “And you’re supposed to be the town genius.”

  “I don’t know what your problem is, but I’m not listening to this,” Hallie said, again trying to rise. But this time Reggie tugged on her dress, easily pulling her back onto the sand.

  “Wait. I didn’t mean to pick on you,” Reggie slurred, reaching for a Coke bottle that was wedged in the sand. “You’ve always been nice to me. Just jealous, I guess.”

  “Well, don’t be. I’m not any kind of genius. It’s just that my dad was teaching me science and math when normal kids were watching cartoons.”

  “I’m not jealous of your mind. You think I want to sit around doing calculus all day? Or go to freaking Harvard?”

  “I’m not going to—” Hallie said.

  “It’s Gus I want,” Reggie blurted out. “Just like my date has always wanted you. Pretty ironic, huh?”

  “I remember you guys sharing snacks back in first grade,” Hallie said, attempting to bring the conversation back to neutral territory. “Everyone thought he had a crush on you.”

  “My mother could never get it together to pack me a snack, so he would slip his into my cubby. Usually an orange, with the peel already slit, and a napkin in the bag. His mom thought of everything. It must have been his favorite fruit, but when I tried to give it back, he always claimed he didn’t like them.”

  He still loved oranges, Hallie thought, remembering his smile as he split one in half and offered it to her in her kitchen just the day before.

  “Anyway, I was the one with the crush, and it was never mutual. I mean, I believed it was. I didn’t think anyone could be as nice as Gus unless they wanted something in return. But turns out that’s just him. He’s even like that with Mavis Black at the A&P. Carrying her bags to the car. Giving a biscuit to that ugly little dog of hers.”

  “Mavis still doesn’t trust him. Says he reminds her too much of Codfish.” Hallie glanced at Gus, wishing she’d never left the fire. “God, I hate people like that.”

  Reggie nodded before she turned her attention back to the water. “You think Neil’s going to take us home soon?”

  “I’m going to go get my cigarettes out of the car, and then I’ll talk to him,” Hallie said, then successfully launched herself onto her feet. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, just a little tired. And, Hallie? Sorry for being such a bitch before.”

  The strangely serious conversation had almost made Hallie feel sober, but when she started to walk, she again felt dizzy. Seeing the way she swayed as she navigated the sand, Gus called after her.

  “Just going to the car,” she yelled back. Then she pulled his jacket more closely around her, inhaling his clean scent and headed for the parking lot. She’d almost reached the car when she heard footsteps behind her.

  She turned around, expecting Gus. But in the dawn light, another figure emerged.

  She slowed down and waited. “Gallagher! Jeez, you scared me.”

  “What are you trying to do—steal my car, and leave me and Gus behind?” Neil joked, panting as he caught up. It was bright enough that Hallie could have traced the map of his freckles.

  “Don’t forget Reggie,” Hallie said.

  “Reggie will find a way back, don’t worry. She’ll just flash those tits of hers like she always does. I’m sure somebody will be happy to take her home and tuck her in.”

  “Don’t talk about her like that.”

  “Why not? She your new best friend or something? I saw the two of you bonding over there in the sand.”

  “Maybe she is.”

  “What can I say? The girl can’t hold her liquor. Did you see her? She’s a mess, babbling on about Saint Gus from Miss Iverson’s first-grade class again. You were right. I only asked her to the prom to frost Melissa. Guess karma got me back, huh?”

  “She told you that story about first grade, too?” Slowly registering the reference to Saint Gus, Hallie cracked open the back door of the car and retrieved her cigarettes. She was suddenly eager to get back to the fire.

  “Oh, she told me all right. Pretty pathetic all around, if you ask me.” Neil took the pack of cigarettes from her hands, removed two, and lit them. He passed one to Hallie.

  “Are you calling Gus pathetic?”

  “Bad choice of words.” He only smoked on rare occasions, and after he inhaled, he gave in to a brief coughing fit. Then he returned to the subject of Gus. “Fucked up is more like it. Fucked up for life.”

  The moment was so surreal it left Hallie speechless. It reminded her of the night when he had played a desperate addict onstage so convincingly that she no longer recognized him. But this time he wasn’t acting.

  “Come on, Hallie,” Neil continued, his voice growing louder. “Open your eyes. I know him better than anyone, and I love him, but—”

  “You don’t!” Hallie yelled. “You wouldn’t say that if you did.” She tossed the cigarette on the ground and began to walk away. She hadn’t made it more than a couple of feet when Neil sprang after her. He spun her around and kissed her hard on the mouth.

  “This is what I know,” he said as she struggled to get away. “It was supposed to be me. It was supposed to be us; and if you weren’t so blinded by Gus’s fucking voodoo, you’d see it, too.”

  “Never,” Hallie said harshly. “Even if there was no Gus, it would never have been you.” In an instant, her words accomplished what all her strength could not. Neil let her go. Gus’s jacket fell to the ground as she reeled backwards. But before she could regain her footing, she felt his long freckled fingers, digging into her arms. “Bitch,” he said in a slurry voice. “Nick’s spoiled little bitch.”

  When she again tried to jerk herself free, Neil tore at the strap of her Race Point blue dress, exposing the whiteness of her breast. Enraged, Hallie pushed back with enough force to land him in the asphalt. “If you ever come near me again, I’ll—” she began, backing away as she tried to cover herself.

  Before she could finish her threat, she heard Neil crying. Crying and saying that he loved her. Don’t you understand? I love you. And then he was reciting the words of the note that had brought her and Gus together. The note she had never talked about with anyone but Felicia. How did Neil know what it said? It’s you or nobody. Always has been. Always will be.

  Hallie was struggling to absorb it when she heard the gunfire rhythm of approaching footsteps. Though they’d been alerted by the sound, Gus still seemed to come out of nowhere—the way he did on the football field in the most thrilling moments of the game. But this time there were no lights, no chanting crowd, no victory. He threw himself at Neil like he hurtled himself toward the end zone, the hands that had glided gently over every inch of her skin, transformed into a pair of remarkably efficient
fists. She was stunned by the audible thwack of knuckles against flesh. The primal, metallic odor of blood left her instantly nauseous. Spurting from Neil’s nose and spraying across his face in the pale light, it was more black than red. But above all, she was shocked by the appearance of a Gus she’d never seen before, the one he and her father had tried to warn her against: Codfish Silva’s son.

  Though he was hitting Neil, it was Hallie’s name he was saying. “Shit, Hallie. With my best friend?” And Neil was talking to her, too, even as he swiped his nose with his sleeve, and attempted to evade another punch. “Do you see this, Hal? Do you get it now? What did I tell you?”

  Gus took his friend by the shoulders and heaved him against the hood of the car. Again. And again. At first, Neil attempted to resist, but then his body went pliant and limp. Still Gus continued.

  “Stop, Gus! Stop before you kill him!” Hallie heard herself yelling just before she threw herself between them. The words seemed to be coming from someone else. The inky blood pouring from Neil’s face, his unfocused eyes, were the last things she saw before the morning was erased and blackness swallowed her.

  Chapter 13

  Hallie saw her father even before he realized she was awake. He was sitting on the edge of her purple quilt, where he had taken to drinking his coffee before work, and his forehead was creased with worry. He’d lost so much weight that even his bones looked diminished.

  According to the calendar on her wall, Hallie had been home for eleven days. During the weeks she’d spent in a coma, most of the summer had disappeared, and with it, everything she had planned. What she once confidently called her future. Nick had been at her side when she woke up, too. She remembered his tears, and the way he had covered her face with kisses, telling her he loved her over and over in Portuguese and promising her that she would make a full recovery. He was sure of it.