“Hold on,” I said, catching up. “Can’t you stick around for a while?”
“I know when I’m a fifth wheel.” He laughed, but it had to hurt—not just the thing with the carnie, but with Penny.
“You’re not a fifth wheel.”
“And you can’t count,” he smiled. “Besides, I gotta meet up with my folks. They’ll be disappointed if they can’t wheel my butt around.”
“Well …, ” I folded my arms, “okay.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll catch up with you later so you can meet them.”
I nodded, hesitant to let him go.
He flung his arm forward, as if leading the cavalry. “Onward, men!”
“I’ll catch you later,” I said as Lenny wheeled him away.
I returned to Amelia and my sister—and Ricky.
His brow rose as he smiled at me with fake sincerity. “It’s a real shame they won’t let a kid like him on rides.”
Penny shook her head. “It’s just wrong. Makes me mad.”
“Oh well, can’t let that spoil our evening,” he said. “Come on, it will be fun, just the four of us.”
Amelia rolled her eyes and grabbed my hand as we walked behind them. Ricky pocketed both hands, keeping a respectable distance between him and Penny. As we approached the basketball hoop booth, Ricky turned to me.
“Whaddaya say, Ben—think you can show up an old man?” He grinned like we were longtime buddies.
I replied with an unenthusiastic, “Sure.” I had no intention of trying to show him up, as if I could.
Ricky slapped down twice the tickets required, tossing a look over his shoulder at me. “For me and him.” He winked. “No hard feelings, right?”
Amelia let out the quietest huff that sounded like the word ‘jerk’ and squeezed my hand. I didn’t reply. I had all I could do not to laugh at the absurdity of it. The bristly man behind the counter laid three basketballs, slightly larger than softball size, on the counter. Ricky picked up the first, posed like a high school basketball star, took aim, flicked his wrist, and aced it. Repeating his routine two more times, he nailed each one. Penny bounced with glee.
“Beginner’s luck,” Ricky said as the attendant passed a purple ape to Ricky. He passed it on to Penny and then stepped aside. “Your turn, my man.”
If it had been only Amelia and me, it would have been fun trying my best, even if I botched it. Now, I was torn between caring at all and wishing I could hurl each ball at Ricky’s perfectly straight teeth. I felt Amelia’s hopeful attention at my right and Ricky’s smirking gloat to my left. I took the stance, eyed the basket, and tossed. One in. Ball two. Aim, toss, right through the hoop. I took a deep breath. In thirty seconds, I had gone from not caring to wanting this more than knocking Ricky’s teeth loose. I flicked my wrist; the ball made a respectable arch, bounced on the rim, rode it for two seconds, and then tumbled outside.
“Too bad. That was so close,” Ricky said, as if he were my mentor. “I’ll tell you what—that was a little unfair. To be honest, I was the basketball captain in school, so why don’t you pick the next game, Ben.”
I started walking. “I’d rather go on the roller coaster.”
“Oh, come on, Benjie,” Penny piped up. “You’ve got a really good pitching arm. Let’s find the Ball Toss game.”
“I don’t feel like it.”
Ricky nudged my shoulder and grinned. “Don’t let my experience and size intimidate you, Ben.”
I held my ground. “You don’t intimidate me and the games are boring.”
“You don’t want Amy to go home without a stuffed animal, do you?”
I didn’t realize I had closed the space between him and me, until Amelia slipped her hand in mine and pulled me back, saying, “I don’t even like stuffed animals.”
“Fine then,” Penny yanked Ricky’s sleeve. “We’ll just let the two of you go off on your own. That’s all you really want anyway.”
I looked at Penny in disbelief. When had she turned so snotty?
She gave him another tug. “C’mon, Ricky.”
“You kids have fun,” Ricky said over his shoulder as the two of them walked away.
Amelia stepped forward, as if to follow. “We shouldn’t let them out of our sight, you know.”
I didn’t move. “I’m sick of being my sister’s babysitter.”
“You don’t think she’ll wander off to someplace secluded with him, do you?”
“No. Besides, we won’t be staying much past dark. My mother says that’s when all the lowlife come out.”
“Well, then, let’s go on some rides.”
I bit my lip and let out a sigh. “Okay.”
Amelia smiled. All at once, I couldn’t believe I was standing in the middle of the carnival with the prettiest girl I knew.
Chapter 27
As I tug my comical socks onto my feet and button up my vest over my bare chest, I can’t help thinking of Lenny. I’ll never fill out my vest quite like he wore his, at least in the formidable way I remember him. No one messed with Lenny. He could be so intimidating but was always for the underdog. Maybe it was my personal run-ins with bullies that made me want to emulate Lenny—not necessarily his ability to intimidate, but rather his desire to defend and assist.
The happenings of that night at the carnival gave momentum to so many events that had already been set in motion, but the most profound for me as an impressionable adolescent was the way Lenny defended Christopher—even the way I perceived Christopher’s disability. Sure, the carnie had let him on the ride after Lenny put the ‘heavy hand’ on him, but Lenny couldn’t always rush to Christopher’s side.
I knew Christopher was disabled from the moment I had laid eyes on him, but it didn’t take long for me to overlook his limitations and view him as plain old Christopher, especially when it was only the two of us hanging out. Yet, I had no idea what it was like for him in the real world outside of Rockette Lake.
Now, with all the legislation for disabled and handicap access, people tend to take for granted things like restrooms with wide doors and stalls, and handicap parking. Today, a carnie would think twice before denying access to a disabled patron for fear of a lawsuit, but for years, Christopher had been the victim of a lot of ignorance, insensitivity, and downright stupidity. Worse yet, people in general tended to dismiss him. Even Penny—one of the most fair-minded and progressive people I knew back then—didn’t view Christopher as a viable romantic interest. Why couldn’t people see beyond his broken parts? Maybe that’s why I connected with him. Beneath the surface, emotionally I was as much a part of the Odd Squad as he was physically.
That evening, when I said goodbye to him, I promised him—and myself—that I wouldn’t lose track of him. In fact, I didn’t. During those first few years after that summer, when I tried so hard to disconnect from my past, he was the one person, aside from Penny, who I kept close and confided in—albeit through letter writing at first. We ended up rooming together at MIT and shared an apartment right up until his wedding. Of course, I was his best man. He would have been mine, too, if my engagement hadn’t fallen apart.
For the next couple of hours, I spotted Ricky and Penny at some booths and rides. To my relief, neither of them clung to the other or held hands or anything. Even though I had also been keeping an eye out for Mom and the boys, I didn’t notice when they came up behind us.
Frankie poked me in the back. “Hey, Ben, look what I won!”
I inspected the unopened Lunar Launcher package, too big for Frankie to have swiped it. “Pretty nice.”
“See,” he pointed at the red, blue, and green disks, “these go on the shooter and they fly!”
“You and Skippy will have a lot of fun losing those.”
Mom folded her arms and looked Amelia up and down.
Amelia smiled. “Hello, Mrs. Hughes.”
“Hello, Amy.”
“We just ran into each other,” I said, glad that we hadn’t been caught holding hands.
&nb
sp; Mom looked around. “And where is your sister?”
“She went off with Amelia’s stepbrother, Ricky.”
“She what?”
Right then, Penny and Ricky came into view over her shoulder. I pointed. Mom turned, cocked her head and when she looked back at me, a smile had replaced her frown. “Well, he looks like a very nice young man.”
I wanted to burst out laughing. “Yeah—well, we’re going on the rollercoaster now.” I picked that ride so Mom wouldn’t pawn Frankie off on me. He hated the rollercoaster worse than riding in a boat.
Mom eyed Amelia once more. “Okay, well, don’t lose track of time.”
I refrained from rolling my eyes and walked away with Amelia close at my side.
She kicked a paper cup in her path. “Your mother hates my guts.”
“She doesn’t hate you, she just hates your—you know—that you look older than you are.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Yeah, well, she’s really into appearances.”
“You mean she’s shallow.”
“I don’t know—I guess.”
“Then, how come you’re not?”
I shrugged. “Sometimes I am pretty shallow.” I thought back to how I had treated Dora a few weeks ago. “But at least I know it and I’m working on it.”
“Well, I don’t think you’re shallow. I think there’s lots more to you than people see.”
“That’s true of everybody, right? I mean, even psycho killers might look perfectly nice on the outside.”
Our lighthearted laughter trailed to a nervous chuckle when we both realized what a disturbing notion that was.
Amelia looked around. “Where do you suppose Ricky and Penny are, anyway?”
“I don’t know. Let’s check out the rollercoaster—maybe they are over that way.”
As we arrived at the end of the line, Christopher approached with a parent at each side. His dad’s hand rested on his shoulder.
Christopher gestured, “Consider yourself officially introduced to the Cunninghams—my parents.”
Christopher had his dad’s hair and forehead, and his mom’s eyes and smile. I shook hands with both of them and so did Amelia.
“You planning on getting on the roller coaster?” I asked.
“And sit in other people’s vomit? No way!”
“Suit yourself.” I laughed because he laughed, but I had a hunch he would liked to have gone on the ride, but either his parents didn’t want him to, or he had already suffered enough humiliation for one evening.
“We’re headed back to Connecticut, but I wanted to make sure you have my address.” From beside him, he pulled a hardcover book with a piece of paper tucked between pages.
“What’s this?”
“What does it look like?”
I read the cover, “Frankenstein? Is this so I can further my research on replacement parts?”
“Ha!”
“And I didn’t get you anything.”
“What! No troll doll?”
“Sorry.”
“Just make sure you write—I’ve got some more book recommendations.”
“I will,” I said, even though I had never been much of a letter writer.
Christopher’s parents wheeled him away. He didn’t look back, but I couldn’t take my eyes off them until they disappeared into the crowd.
Amelia slipped her hand in mine. “You’re really going to miss him.”
I nodded. It was strange how I had connected with Christopher after having spent only a few hours with him. Maybe it was just a want—a wish that I was more like him, as unaware of my shortcomings and limitations as he was of his own.
Amelia and I didn’t talk about much of anything as our car clicked up to the top of the rail. When it let loose, she screamed the whole way down and around, laughing and raising her hands overhead. I wished I could yell out the way she did, without something inside holding me back. It was that same reservation I always felt when watching fireworks. Christopher wouldn’t have let anything hold him back—he would have been hollering the entire time.
Amelia and I ended up riding the rollercoaster twice, and the Turkish Twister. I scored her a stuffed kitten at the ball toss. The guy tried to get rid of another ape, but she traded it for a small white kitten made from rabbit fur.
“It will always remind me of you,” she said, giving it an affectionate hug.
“But you don’t like stuffed animals.”
“I can make an exception.”
As we shared some popcorn, Candace and Percy walked past with Lenny and Sunshine. They paused.
“Hey, Fixer-man.” Lenny winked at me. “You two having a good time?”
“Yeah.”
“Is Ricky leaving you alone?”
“More or less.”
“Well, don’t worry—” he took a drag from a normal cigarette. “We’ve got our eye on him.”
I took consolation in that, for Penny’s sake, and nodded as they moved along.
Amelia asked, “What is Lenny, your personal bodyguard or something?”
“I don’t know. I think he just really doesn’t like Ricky.”
“Well, I know that’s true. And neither does Sunshine.”
I gulped down the rest of my soda. “What about Doc?”
“He hasn’t said anything about Ricky.” She sipped her drink.
How much had she talked with anyone about that night? “Hey, Amelia?”
“What?”
“Does Sunshine know Ricky tried to kiss you?”
“I don’t think she saw, and I didn’t say anything ….” Her eyes shifted. “Could we not talk about that?”
“Sure. Sorry.”
“It’s just that it’s so embarrassing.”
“I promise I won’t bring it up again.”
I tossed my cup into a trashcan as we walked by, wishing I hadn’t drunk anything. In the last five minutes, my bladder had gone from feeling fine to making me want to cross my legs. I surveyed the perimeter of the crowd, looking for the blue towers—I hated porta potties. “Listen, I really gotta use the john. Would you hang on to my book?”
“Okay. I’ll wait right here.”
I left Amelia at the corner of a tent. Peeing was a natural body function, but it was embarrassing at the same time. I hoped she wasn’t watching me walk away. As I grabbed the door handle and held my breath, I looked over my shoulder. Penny and Ricky had joined Amelia. I guessed she would be okay. I stepped inside, unzipped, and peed as fast as I could. Even without breathing, the stench made me want to barf. Still holding my breath, I zipped up, shoved the door open, and finally inhaled to the sight of Ricky standing in front of me.
“Jeeze, Benny, did you leave that stink?”
“Screw you,” I said. As I walked past, he laughed. Made me want to use real swear words. I no sooner heard the door shut and lock behind him when Lenny and Percy came out of nowhere. Faster than I could put together what was happening, each stood on one side of the porta john and started rocking it. Ricky hollered, cussing his head off as it tipped back and forth a few inches off the ground. Amelia came to my side, her mouth covered and eyes wide. I could hardly believe it either. As quickly as it had begun, they quit and ran away, holding their stomachs and laughing. When the door flung open, Ricky wasn’t completely covered in crap, the way I had imagined, but enough of it has spotted his Bermuda shorts and polo shirt that it had surely spattered his legs and loafers, too. As soon as he stepped out, his eyes landed on me. I grabbed Amelia’s hand, backed off, and then ran. Neither of us could hold back our laughter.
Hiding behind one of the booths, I bent, gripping my knees and trying to catch my breath.
“Did you see the look—” Amelia said between gasps as she hugged my book, “—on his face?”
“Oh man! He looked right at me.” I panted. “Not good.” I sure hoped he realized I wasn’t strong enough to tip the john—that it wasn’t me. My next thought was my sister. “Where’s Penny?”
/> “She missed it all—said it was nine o’clock and time to go.”
“Oh crap!” I looked at my watch. “I’m late. Give me my book—I’ve gotta go.”
I was about to take off when Amelia grabbed my hand, yanked me back and gave me a huge kiss. “Thanks for the kitten, Benjamin.”
Her fingers trailed from mine as I glanced back and smiled. “Bye, Amelia ….”
Looking both ways, I trotted over to the entrance where Mom, Penny, and the boys waited. “Sorry Mom. I had to pee really bad.”
“Well, alright,” she said.
Penny stared off, distant and dreamy, clutching her ape and a paper sack. She seemed oblivious to the porta-potty incident.
“What’s in the bag?” I asked, as we walked to the parking field beside Garver’s. Penny began to open it when Mom interrupted.
“I’m going into the store to call your father. You kids go get in the car and wait.”
Penny rolled her eyes as Mom split off. “Hurry up and wait—that’s Mom for ya’.”
I nudged my sister as we approached the car. “So, show me.”
“Oh, yeah.” Penny dug into the bag and pulled out some gauzy fabric that I recognized from one of the racks. “A skirt like Sunshine’s.”
“Wow, where’d you get the money for that?”
Frankie and Skip piled into the back seat of the Galaxie, leaving the door wide open.
“Ricky bought it for me. And—” she pulled out another wad of fabric, “—a matching top.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“What’s wrong with that?”
I shut the car door to give us some privacy. “Penny, Ricky’s not what he appears to be.”
“Oh, Ben, he told me you’d say that. He also told me that he accidentally ran over your bicycle and you’d probably still be mad at him.”
“What?”
“I know, it’s kind of embarrassing, but you really shouldn’t have left it in the middle of the driveway. Sometimes you’re so absentminded when you’re around Amy.”
“I did not leave it in the middle of the driveway! He backed over it on purpose.”
“Honestly, Ben. Why on earth would he do that?”
“Because I caught him trying to kiss Amelia.”
Spilled Coffee Page 21
