"If you insist, RB. I'll be glad to kick your butt."
"I didn't mean it literally."
Ant frowned. "What's the fun in that?"
***
The next morning, Miss Martin called me with news about my last foster family. The previous night, fourteen-year old Michael Paulson hanged himself. He used a support beam of the same tree house from which he shoved his little brother, causing him to fall to his death. Since the day Trevor died, I had wondered if Michael Paulson ever felt guilty. I guess he did.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
August 2000
More than two months of summer had passed since the week in June when I met Papa Ray Long, and each week, I grew more positive about my life. Every morning, I was excited to wake up so that Ant and I could work on our goals to improve our physical conditioning and football skills. We spent time with Papa almost every day, and each time we left him, we had learned more than football.
On days when Papa couldn't meet us because of other commitments, mostly involving his businesses, we knew in advance and followed a training routine that Papa had given us for those occasions. There were times when Papa suffered with severe headaches and had to stay in bed all day in a dark room. It happened very seldom, but when it did, Manny, his farm manager, would always call us to let us know that Papa couldn't help us train that day.
When Papa coached us football, he also worked in lessons on leadership, integrity, teamwork, and sportsmanship. Each day, often when we were riding in his truck, he helped correct our grammar and improve our manners. He taught us the importance of good grooming and personal hygiene, and discussed appropriate attire to wear for different social functions. Papa gave so much effort to help us that we couldn't have expected more if we had been his sons.
During those two summer months, my anger steadily diminished, and most days were good ones. My attitude changed from one of bitter acceptance of the dismal fate that usually befell a state kid like me, to one of hope and fierce determination to achieve my goals. I intended to work as hard as necessary to earn a football scholarship to a major university and afterwards, a contract to play professional football. As Papa advised me, I would make my college education a priority in case pro football didn't work for me. No matter what happened, a college degree would give me more than one option to find a career that would pay for a good life.
For as long as I could remember, I had craved to have the love of family, the pride that comes with achievement, and the hope for a successful future limited only by my efforts. For the first time in my life, I thought it was possible to have what some people took for granted. I could see a life for me that included marrying a great girl, buying a nice home, and raising our kids with all the love that we could give them.
Ant and I were not the only ones who benefited from Papa's influence over us. In Tolley House, we boys obeyed the rules and occasionally volunteered to do more for Hal and Jenny. Both of us were polite and respectful to our house parents as Papa insisted we should be with all adults. I still had very little to do with the other boys in the house, but I was always civil, and sometimes friendly. There were even a few occasions when Ant and I surprised the house members by joining them for a movie in the family room. The Mackeys were ready to declare Papa a miracle worker.
Miss Martin was pleased when she heard good reports about our progress in Tolley House. Since the day she had to leave for an emergency concerning her mother, she had worked a reduced schedule. I didn't know what was wrong with her mother, but I knew that Miss Martin and her sister shared in the elderly woman's constant care. The situation turned into a long ordeal, which meant that Ant and I rarely saw our favorite caseworker. Even when Miss Martin couldn't stop by to see us, she called, thanked us for our good behavior, and told us that she was proud of us.
***
In August, official practices began for the Harper Springs Junior High Hawks. Our team not only shared the same mascot name as the senior high school, we practiced at the old high school field where we would also play our home games. After giving all of us a fighting chance to become starters in the positions we wanted, Coach Riddle announced his decisions one afternoon at the end of practice.
It shouldn't have surprised anyone who watched our tryouts that Ant would start as one wide receiver, and I would start at quarterback, having won the job from Max. I was tall, which meant I could see over the line to find my receivers, and I was clearly a superior passer to Max. I had a strong arm, my passes were deadly accurate from the pocket or on the run, and I could consistently make any throw the coach called. I was not as fast as Max was, but the difference in our speed was minimal. I had the additional advantage that I was big enough to run over defensive players of junior high age.
Coach Riddle named Max the starting tailback, which was the perfect position for him because of his speed, instinct, and agility. Since it was also a key position where a player could grab his share of glory by scoring touchdowns, I hoped that Max would not be too disappointed with losing QB1to me. Papa warned me that he might not take it well and gave me some advice on how to act.
When Coach Riddle ended practice and told us to hit the showers, I was standing near Max in the large huddle of players surrounding the coach. I thought that I needed to say something to see if we were okay.
"Max, I bet you score more TDs than any running back in the conference," I said, holding out my hand.
Max met my eyes with intense, angry lasers of his own. I had never seen a frown from Max, much less the twisted, hateful scowl he directed at me. For a moment, I thought he might hit me, but instead, he silently left my offered hand hanging in air, and stomped away towards the locker room. I was shocked to see a radically different boy than the one I had come to consider my closest friend after Ant.
Ant spoke from behind my right shoulder. "That didn't go very well, did it?"
I didn't know what to think. I expected Max to be disappointed but not angry. Not that angry. Not so angry that he looked like he wanted to beat my ass. He certainly didn't react like the Max I thought I knew.
"I don't know, Ant. He was so cool about us competing up until today. I can't believe he would act like that." My own anger flared. "Well, the hell with Max, if he wants to be a jerk."
Gary Carson, the best defensive player on the team, spoke to me as he was walking by us. I didn't realize anyone was that close. "If Coach Riddle hears you swearing at one of your teammates, he'll punish you. If you're lucky, he'll only run you to death, but he might suspend you a game. He expects his players to show more class then you and Max just did."
Gary pissed me off. "Mind your own business, Gary."
"River, the good of the team is every player's business, and if you knew Max's situation, you would be a better teammate and give him some time before writing him off as a jerk."
"What situation?"
"That's not my place to say. Just back off and let him tell you when he's ready." Without waiting for a response from me, Gary followed the line of boys heading into the locker room.
I wondered about Max's "situation," but I had the sense not to ask any of the guys. I just hoped that my new friendship with Max was not ruined. Besides losing my friend, it would suck to lose any chance with Carlee. On top of that, it would suck to play in the same backfield with an angry running back who might forget to pick up a blitz from my blind side.
I didn't have to worry very long because Max Summers apologized to me the next day. He even admitted that I was the better quarterback, and that Coach Riddle made the right decision for the team. I apologized for calling him a jerk where Ant and Gary could hear, and we did the usual handshake and one-arm hug combo that guys did with good friends. We agreed to work together for the good of the team and afterwards, he acted as if nothing had happened. By the end of the year, I discovered what most of his friends already knew, and I understood how a gentle, fun-loving boy could show such intense anger.
***
Once or twice a week, Pap
a would drive Ant and me through the country to his home at Deer Lake Farm. From my first time there, I knew I belonged, and I was never happier than I was during my visits with Papa. If there was ever any doubt in my mind, the time I spent on the farm confirmed that I was an outdoors boy.
Each time Papa took us home with him, Ant and I learned how to do something new that boosted our pride and confidence and brought all three of us closer together. One of the first things Papa did was teach us enough about the horses that we could earn money taking care of them and their stalls. When we proved that we were doing well with our schoolwork, we took riding lessons from the farm's riding instructor.
Papa taught us camping until Ant and I could pitch a tent, build a fire, and cook our own food. He soon gave us permission to camp out by ourselves in a tent behind one of the barns. Eventually, Papa trusted us to camp on the bank of Deer Lake, a small, sparkling clean body of water located in the dense woods of his property. It was quite a hike for us on foot, and as our riding skills improved, we rode horses along one of the trails to the lake where camping overnight became something we enjoyed so much that we thought we could live that way indefinitely.
One weekend, Ant and I invited Max to the farm to camp out with us, and I discovered that he enjoyed camping as much as Ant and I did. Since his family was rich, and he got anything he wanted, I was surprised that he was so excited about hanging out with us. He must have thanked us a dozen times, and I joked with Ant that rich, white boys must be very strange. Ant suggested a different reason for his behavior.
"Just because Max's family is rich, ain't no guarantee that his home life is so great, and I'm willing to bet that it ain't." Before Ant could tell me what he meant, Max walked up to us, and I forgot about Ant's comment until much later.
***
The last Saturday before school started at the end of August, Carlee Summers had a "last weekend of summer vacation" swim party and cookout at her house. I was not supposed to know that Carlee liked me and plotted to have me there without her parents discovering her attraction to me. Max and Carlee conspired to tell the story that Max invited me to the party as his guest along with Ant and some of the other boys from our team. It would work well since Max agreed to host the party along with Carlee, and his parents were chaperoning with hers.
I almost declined the invitation because I didn't feel comfortable going to Carlee's house, but Ant reminded me that the cheerleaders would be in swimsuits. I realized that except for TV and magazines, I had never seen a girl in a swimsuit. If I ever had, I was too young to care, but things had changed and I cared a lot. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see more of Carlee.
On the day of the party, Papa drove Ant and me to the Summers' house in the gated Walden Hills neighborhood, which bordered Lake Bergeron and the Harper Springs Country Club. Ant and I had never seen so many large, expensive houses in a more beautifully landscaped neighborhood. Ant joked that when we grew up, if we couldn't play pro ball, we might be lucky enough to be gardeners in Walden Hills.
As Papa drove up to yet another gate, he had to convince us that everything within the wrought iron fence belonged to Carlee's family. The grounds were so large that we could not see where the fence ended. The Summers' home, which was more of a mansion than a house, was surrounded by fifteen acres of professionally landscaped grounds that included gardens, fountains, a duck pond, and a tennis court. I was amazed that the Summers' property was larger than the land that held Stockwell and the juvenile center combined.
Directly behind the house, there was a huge recreation area similar to what a hotel resort would have. It included a kidney-shaped swimming pool, a sauna, a steam room, a hot tub, changing rooms, bathrooms, and a bar. For dining and dancing, there was a spacious floor area built with smooth brick pavers, which matched the beige brick of the house and the high stone privacy wall that surrounded it all. In the spring of that year, the Summers family had used the area to host over two hundred guests for the wedding and catered reception of Big Bill's nephew. The attendees were still gossiping over how much money Bill Summers spent on the affair.
After Ant and I changed into our swim trunks, we were both apprehensive about coming out of the changing room to join the party. We felt as if we had big signs around our necks that marked us as Tolley House trash. I feared that Carlee's parents might watch us for any unacceptable behavior that would give them an excuse to ask us to leave in front of our classmates.
In whispers, Ant and I briefly discussed asking Papa to take us back to Tolley House, but we decided that it would call even more attention to the fact that we didn't belong there. The other problem was that we would place Papa in an awkward position of breaking his word.
Although he and Bill Summers were not close friends, they had known each other since high school and were on friendly terms when they were not arguing on opposite sides of some local political issue. Since there were so many kids, and Big Bill had a project to complete in his home office that day, he asked if Papa could help chaperone in return for a donation to the booster club. Papa enjoyed the kids, and the booster club always needed money, so he agreed to help.
When Ant and I finally came out of the dressing room, we wished that we were anywhere but the Summers' estate where everything we saw made us think that we weren't good enough to be there. As if he could read our minds, Max greeted us just outside the dressing room door, and did his best to put us at ease. He showed us around, introducing us as his "buddies and teammates," to any kids we didn't know. After the introductions, he involved us in games of water basketball and volleyball.
Thanks to Max, Ant and I soon felt as comfortable as we did with the team during practices. I began to understand that joining the football team meant more than simply playing a sport because it was also the key to finding friends like Max, who would encourage other kids to accept us as part of the gang. I remembered Papa telling me that if I would only give people a chance, I could find some good friends.
When it was time to eat, Max passed the word to all the guys to put their shirts on before going through the buffet line and proceeding to the lunch tables. He apologized, but blamed it on his mother's idea of proper manners.
When the guys were dressed and moving, Max joined Ant and me in the serving line. We filled our plates from the buffet of burgers, wieners, snacks, fruits, and desserts before Max led us to a table far away from the others where Carlee sat with two other girls. I knew that Carlee had planned for me to sit with her, so I was expecting it when Max casually herded me in Carlee's direction. The girls had conveniently left three spaces open between them so that the seating arrangement alternated with boy then girl. I sat next to Carlee, Ant was next to Tina, an African-American girl, and Max took a seat next to Marcy, a white girl wearing too much makeup.
It was hard to miss the silly grin on Ant's face when he met Tina Woodson, whose figure was as well developed as Carlee's was. After the party, I made fun of him for talking to her breasts instead of making eye contact with her. For days, it was hard to get Ant to talk about anything without him working Tina into the conversation. As he did me, I reminded him not to forget football.
We knew that Mr. and Mrs. Summers tried to be politically correct because of Big Bill's business interests and their stature in the community, but Ant and I were still surprised that they allowed Carlee to have Tina as her best friend. It made more sense when we learned that Big Bill was a silent partner with Tina's father in a hugely profitable food service company. Tina's parents owned a beautiful home on the other side of Lake Bergeron, and they were one of only two black families who lived in the Walden Hills area.
Marcy had moved from out of town to Carlee's neighborhood during the summer, and I assumed that her family had money because there were no cheap houses in Walden Hills. Max had only spoken to her briefly, but since she was cute, he was hoping to get to know her better. She would be going to a private Catholic school rather than going to public school with us, and it didn't take me long
to be thankful for her parents' choice.
At first, everyone was busy eating but gradually we all began talking. I was nervous sitting with Carlee, whose family was so obviously wealthy, but I managed to have a conversation with her. It wasn't so difficult since she enjoyed talking.
"River, it's nice to see you when I'm not tripping in the hall. That was so embarrassing," said Carlee. "If you hadn't caught me, I would have fallen flat on my face."
Tina smiled mischievously. "Now that I know what he looks like in swim trunks, I might have to fall near him too. I saw you coming out of the pool, and you got one fine looking body, River."
My face grew warm from Tina's comment, and then I almost laughed aloud at the warning look Carlee fired her friend before smiling once again and agreeing with her. "You must work out a lot, River. There's not another boy out here with a build like yours."
"Yeah," said Max. "I've been meaning to ask what your routine is, River. The first time I saw you changing after practice, I thought you looked like a smaller version of freaking superman."
I wasn't used to being the center of attention. At least not for anything good. "I do weight training, running, crunches, and pushups. An older friend got me started with an exercise routine and a good diet when I was very young. Now it's a habit."
"He's relentless," said Ant. "Don't matter how long football practice is, he hits the weights when we get home. After I'm in the sack, he's still doing pushups and sit-ups. He keeps me awake with his grunting and counting."
I wanted to shift attention away from me. "I hit a big growth spurt before Ant and Max did, but when it's their turn, they'll catch up with me and maybe pass me."
Ant grinned. "Maybe so, but you don't have to worry about me keeping you up at night while I work out. I love me some sleep too much."
Tina looked surprised. "So you guys live together?"
I took a big bite of my burger and chewed slowly. I didn't want to discuss where we lived, and I could see from Ant's expression that he wished he had not opened that particular can.
My Name Is River Blue Page 18
