Chapter 24

WHEN THE CROWD finally dispersed, Dot found that not only had everyone been served pie and ice cream, but there was another pie on the counter, more ice cream in the freezer, and a casserole in the oven. Elsa and Peg had done nothing but cook while Dot was at the school with Dennis, Drake, and the police. She was thankful for the school’s security recordings and the reports Dennis had made earlier in the year. It was amazing to her that no one had bothered following up on the reports.

It was a wonder, also, that two State Troopers were within a distance they could respond. It had become increasingly clear that Bartley County needed more police presence. The spring primary had not only elected two new school board members, but two people had advanced to the fall election for sheriff. People were surprised to find Trooper Moran was running for sheriff. He’d purchased a small home in White Center before the primary and changed his address. His platform was expanding the sheriff’s department and making it more professional. The county council had already acted to increase the budget and staff a new sheriff’s office in County Seat.

Dennis still showed signs of having been in shock, even after his girlfriends had surrounded him with love. It definitely helped to calm things down but Dot noticed he still started shaking periodically. Peg was a treasure, hugging her brother when he started shaking until he calmed down again. Dot served the Swedish Meatball Casserole Elsa had made and tried to keep the conversation light. She wanted to scream at her son over how foolish he’d been. And at the same time, she was bursting with pride at how he’d stopped the shooter. While the kids were eating pie and ice cream, Randolph had told her about the party incident at which Dennis had knocked out a member of the track team who was harassing Lana. She’d had no idea he was so strong.

Peg chattered away about ‘work’ at the Opportunity Center, making the meal a little less morose. After they’d cleared up the dishes and everything was straight, they went to the living room to read. At last, it was Peg’s bedtime and Dot sat in the living room with her son. He started shaking again and she could see the signs that he was reliving a moment of the confrontation. She’d seen him go through this the previous spring when they discovered the bullying he’d been through. She didn’t really want to self-medicate, but she needed a little something herself. So, she went to the kitchen and pulled her own well-hidden bottle of brandy off the top shelf of the pantry. She poured them each a short glass and carefully put the bottle back where it was out of sight.

“Here. This will help,” she said softly as she handed Dennis a glass. She settled into her chair, letting Dennis take the lead if he wanted to talk. After a sip of the brandy and a wrinkled-nose response, Dennis spoke in a raw voice, on the verge of tears.

“I understand now.”

“What do you understand, son?”

“I understand why Dad went to confront Lee Smith, even when he knew Lee wanted to kill him.” Dennis took another sip of the drink, closing his eyes as it went down his throat. “He couldn’t do nothing. Not when he knew his family was in danger. He couldn’t sit and wait or take the safe route. He had to do it. That’s all I could think when Les started shooting. I had to do it. He might have hurt or even killed people I love. I know it was foolish, but I couldn’t do nothing. I had to stop him.”

They sat in silence a while longer. Dot hadn’t even turned on the TV. She wanted her son to know her attention was on him. But it seemed pointless to say anything. His few words had brought tears to her eyes as well. Will had been beaten down repeatedly, but he always rose to the defense of his family. Her son had inherited that trait from his father.

“I’m really tired. I think I’ll go to bed now,” he said. He kissed his mother on the cheek and went to his room. She sat in silence and finished her drink. Then she finished the one she’d given Dennis. After taking the glasses to the kitchen to wash and dry, she decided it was time to face her own ghosts and, for the first time since he died, she went to her bedroom to lie in the bed that had been hers and Will’s. She needed to tell him how proud he would be of his son.

Open the door. I’m cold.

Dennis looked at his phone and the message that had buzzed in. It was past ten o’clock and it took a moment for the message to sink in. Amy. He jumped out of bed and went to open the front door. His girlfriend rushed into his arms, dropping her bag on the floor.

“Are you okay?” he asked. She nodded her head against his chest.

“I didn’t want you to be alone tonight.”

“It’s late. You shouldn’t be here. Your grandmother will...”

“She told me not to do anything that would affect my performance in the meet tomorrow, so I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to fuck me. Or even to do my butt. But we can hold each other while we sleep.” She grabbed her bag and they went quietly to Dennis’s room.

“I hate feeling this way, but I worry when you wander around outside at night. I feel like every corner is haunted and someone will step out to hurt us at any moment,” Dennis said as they lay down in bed.

“Gransy dropped me off.”

“She gave you permission?”

“Sort of. She said she wasn’t going to let me go out to walk across town alone. So, she drove me.”

They lay in the bed a few minutes without speaking, but kissing lightly.

“I’m ... uh ... not sure I’m up for any play tonight,” Dennis said.

“I know. Me either. Just let me hold you and go to sleep.”

It didn’t take long for sleep to claim both teens.

“Good morning, Number Two,” Dot said when the kids came out for breakfast. She was unperturbed at the girl’s presence. Especially, since it was Amy. She always seemed to arrive in the middle of the night. She wished again that there had been someone more corporeal than her husband’s ghost waiting for her in bed.

“Good morning, Ms. Dottie,” Amy replied. “May I help you fix breakfast?”

“Breakfast is almost ready. Would you get out the orange juice and pour us each a glass?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Is everything okay at home, dear?”

“Oh. Yes. Gransy is fine. Of course, I’m not really seeing Mom and Dad. I don’t feel in danger at the moment. But I felt like my boyfriend shouldn’t be alone last night. Is that okay?”

“As long as your grandmother isn’t looking for you, it’s fine.” Dot wondered when it had become fine for her sixteen-year-old son to have a girlfriend sleep with him in her house. She’d lost track. There were other things she’d lost track of, too. She needed to spend part of her day today resolving issues at home. It was important.

“Good morning, Mom,” Dennis said as he pecked her on the cheek. He did the same with Peg and took the orange juice jug from Amy. He poured the juice and they all sat down.

“You kids need a good breakfast today. You have a long trip and a track meet. You should have a light snack before you leave for school,” Dot said.

“It’s coming home when we’ll be exhausted and hungry,” Dennis said.

“Mr. Dietz has organized the boosters and parents to pack a cooler for the boys and one for the girls, so you will have sandwiches and cold drinks after the meet.”

“That’s nice of him,” Amy said. “We should send a thank you note to the boosters.”

“I’ll put it on my list,” Dennis said.

The bus didn’t seem to be very full. With only fifteen girls, Dennis, and Ardith, it was also quiet. Several girls had brought pillows to lean on while they slept some more.

“Can you tape while we’re riding the bus?” Lana asked. “First round of high jump will be right at 4:00.”

“Sure,” Dennis responded.

“Coach has me in the 3000 and in the 4x800 right after,” Janice said. “Could you do me up tight?” When Lana had her ankles taped, Janice sat across from him and held her foot up. Dennis relaxed into the familiar rhythms of taping his athletes as they rode the bus to Traynor. He was halfway through taping Tori when he froze. She looked at him to see him shaking and dropped her foot to crush him to her. The sudden movement caused everyone to turn and look at them. Natalie and Brenda were beside them in an instant.

“It’s okay. Shh, boyfriend. We’re all safe,” Tori whispered. Brenda giggled and Natalie rolled her eyes. Dennis breathed deeply while his girlfriends held him. He finally stopped shaking and sat up straight.

“S-sorry. Let’s finish up, Tori. I need to see if I can just continue or if I need to start over,” he said.

“Did I do something?” she squeaked.

“No. Really, it wasn’t you. I just had a sudden vision of taping Les’s hands together yesterday. I lost track of how many times I wrapped them because I just kept wrapping and wrapping until the roll ran out. Then I started on his feet with another roll. I’m glad coach buys this stuff by the gross.” He went back to taping Tori and made sure it was all smooth. He made sure her whole lower leg was smooth, too. She sighed. “Okay, girlfriend. Let me get at the next one who needs tape.”

All in all, it wasn’t a bad way to pass the time on the long bus ride. Dennis was a little distracted, though, when he thought about Tori calling him boyfriend and his affirmation by calling her girlfriend. He guessed there were eleven now, though Number Ten was kind of a reserved spot for his friend, Lana. Who knew? Maybe there would never be a Number Ten.