Chapter 33: Boys in the Bell Tower

That evening after supper, after the conference had adjourned for the day, I was hanging out with three other boys and we were bored. We had finished the day’s activities and there was nothing to do.

Victor was one of the kids in our group and he was also a member of the hosting church for the conference. Victor knew his way around the building and grounds of the church complex. He suggested that we sneak into the church’s belfry and play cards.

The Unitarian church hosting the conference was a massive stone structure built in the style of a European cathedral complete with a soaring bell tower.

Under Victor’s supervision, we gathered up supplies for our belfry adventure. I carried a cooler filled with ice and soft drinks. The other kids brought folding chairs and one boy lugged along a folding card table. Victor, as expedition leader, had a flashlight and a bag full of candles liberated from a storage cabinet behind the pulpit.

Hidden away in a corner of the church’s sanctuary was the entrance to the bell tower. We followed Victor as he led us up a winding wooden staircase high into the tower. After several minutes of climbing, we emerged through a trap door into the loft containing the church’s bells.

The loft was an open area about twenty feet by twenty feet square. Overhead several large brass bells hung from the rafters. The walls of the stone tower featured large open spaces on all four sides to let the sounds of the bells ring out over the countryside. Wire mesh covered the open spaces and kept most of the pigeons out.

The view from each of the openings was breathtaking. The sleeping town spread out in all directions and from our vantage point above the trees, we could see empty roadways illuminated by street lamps. Shops and houses looked like a toy village. The lights on the horizon merged with the stars in the sky. It almost looked like we were flying between heaven and earth.

Victor set up the card table in the center of the loft and lit several candles. I placed the cooler with beverages next to the table as the other kids arranged the folding chairs. We all took a seat.

He then produced a deck of cards and a boy named Fred laid out several packages of long thick dark brown cigars “borrowed” from his father’s stash. The gems of the treasure were four cigars imported from Cuba.

Sitting at the table bathed in the soft glow of several candles, we were the kings of the belfry. The night was warm and comfortable.

Without further ado, Victor started dealing cards. I asked what game we were playing and he said we were playing Whist. I stated that I’d never played before. Victor instructed me to follow along. The game rules were simple, and I quickly got a hang of the cards. At least enough I didn’t look like a complete fool.

The banter around the table was friendly. Fred asked me about the Naked Workshop. As soon as he mentioned the subject, the other two kids peppered me with questions about my time with Susan.

“I heard that you two were alone in that room for an hour and a half. What did you do for all that time?” Victor asked.

My answers were purposely vague. I didn’t much care for kids who trashed girls with their exploits of conquest.

“We just got to know each other,” was my comment.

“Did you get to ‘know’ her in the biblical sense?” Victor asked with a silly grin.

“I guess it depends on which version of Bible you read,” I replied.

Amid chuckles and laughter, my card partners continued to press me for details.

I responded by saying, “I’m not the kind of guy who kisses and tells. The time Susan and I had together is not for public consumption. If you want to know more, ask Susan.”

“Dennis, if you stop smiling like the cat that just ate the canary maybe we’ll drop the subject,” Fred said.

I said nothing but kept smiling.

Fred looked at me, winked, and said, “In honor of the poor canary we should smoke a cigar.”

The four of us lit up our Cuban cigars. They had the delicious taste of illegal tobacco, and soon we were sitting in a cloud of smoke drifting slowly in the breeze. The light of the candles gave the air a hazy glow as we continued to play cards long into the night.

It’s hard to describe the feelings of friendship and perfect contentment I felt that night in the bell tower. In the moment of serene perfection, all the worries of school and my mother vanished. The memory of my night in the bell tower is one of the treasures of my life.

The card game ended as the eastern sky started to brighten in advance of sunrise.