Chapter 36

FOR TWO WEEKS, the kids worked almost every day. Not all showed up each day, but another five or six, including some boys, showed up on some days or for part of a day. Even Dennis’s girlfriends needed days off to tend to family matters, fulfill other commitments, go to part time jobs, and rest. Dennis couldn’t blame them at all. If it weren’t for the fact Randy pressed a pay envelope into his hand each week, he’d probably have sloughed off a few days, himself. The feeling of obligation and the pressing deadline of his next eye surgery kept him motivated to show up every day and work hard. Some days, he was the only one working.

They resolved the problem of the uneven fencerow by plowing and leveling it. Unfortunately, that meant freshly turned soft dirt as a surface. Mr. Abernathy had Dennis mow the first section of his hayfield. When the hay was dry and baled, they mowed again and rerouted the course onto the mowed hayfield while the newly turned soil was seeded and fenced off.

Having a break for the Fourth of July weekend was the perfect excuse for the kids to have a party. This time, the party was at Tori’s house out in the country north of town. The girlfriends all agreed that they would start the party in the afternoon with everyone who had worked on the new cross country course and then send people who weren’t Dennis’s girlfriends home after dinner. The Fourth was on Sunday, so they decided to have the party on Saturday afternoon. They themed the party as a barn dance and after a lot of discussion, invited Coach Andy and Coach Graves for the early part. They were, of course, welcome to bring their families.

The McDonalds were long-time residents and supporters of the athletic program and had their own ideas of what should happen at the party. Tori got her first indication when she woke up Saturday morning at six to the sounds of a crew setting up a smoker in the yard and getting the coals lit. She looked out her window scowling at the crew and the truck with its bright logo for Finest Quality Iowa Pig Roasts. The girlfriends and Dennis had all contributed to funding the party, but they’d only planned on a basic hamburgers and hotdogs cookout. This equipment looked serious.

“Hullo?” Natalie answered her phone groggily as she rolled away from Dennis and her sisters in his big bed where they’d had a very long and active night.

“Sorry to wake you, sugar,” Tori said. “I think we’ve got trouble.”

“What?” Natalie sat straight up in bed, disturbing the other sleepers so they rolled over to listen.

“I don’t think we’re going to be alone at our party today. My parents are setting up everything in the yard for a full-scale pig roast,” Tori said.

“There’s only like eighteen of us coming. That won’t cover the cost of a pig roast. We gave the money to your parents, didn’t we?” Natalie asked. Dennis, Daniella, and Roberta started whispering together as Natalie tried to focus on the call. Somehow, the whispers turned to kisses and then caresses. It was getting harder for Natalie to keep from being distracted.

“Yeah. I haven’t gone down to find out what’s going on from the parents, but I thought you should be prepared. The last time my folks threw a pig roast, there were a hundred people.”

“OMG! Can we just like go to your hayloft and hide out all day?”

“We could try, but the loft is going to be damn hot today. Temps are supposed to be in the high 80s.”

“Okay, Baby. Why don’t you find out what’s going on and call me back? We’ll contact everyone else when we know what’s up. Um ... Call in an hour, okay?”

“An hour? Okay. What’s up?”

“Dennis!” Natalie squealed as the other three attacked her.

“I want to be there!” Tori shouted.

“Soon, Baby. We aren’t holding out on you. It’s just been hard to get together when we weren’t all sweating like pigs. But ... I ... really ... have to go now.” Natalie disconnected as her sisters latched onto her breasts and Dennis dove between her legs.

“You guys are so evil. You nearly made me orgasm while I was talking to Tori. The poor girl is envious enough as it is. Dennis, we’re going to have to take care of her. She’s in deep,” Natalie said as the four of them lay in bed after their morning romp.

“I’ve never even taken her on a date,” Dennis sighed. “Neither of us have a driver’s license.”

“We could double date!” Natalie said. “I can drive us.”

“Who would you take?” Dennis asked.

“Um ... oh ... well ... By double date, I was thinking we could both take Tori out,” Natalie said.

“Oh!” Dennis’s voice registered in three octaves and ended up a rumbling bass as he swallowed the idea. “Yeah. I guess so. Wow!”

“I think that’s called ‘double team’ not ‘double date’,” Roberta laughed.

“We need to get up and make breakfast,” Dennis said. “I want to make sure the house is all clean before we leave for the party. I kind of promised Mom.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll help,” Daniella said. “Then you can come to our house and help us clean there, too.”

“Does it seem to you like we’re working awfully hard for being teens? I don’t think Zoe and Eva ever did anything in the summer but shoot baskets,” Roberta said.

“I’m sure they cleaned their room,” Natalie said. “But why haven’t we been shooting around more?”

“We can do some in the back yard if you want,” Dennis offered.

“If we have time, sure. I was thinking, though; we’ve been spending hours at school working on the cross country course and there’s the outdoor basketball court right next to us. We could be shooting around and playing after work or during lunch,” Natalie concluded.

“Well, I’m out for a week starting Tuesday,” Dennis said. “You can spend all day playing basketball if you want.”

“Why...? Oh! Your next surgery is Tuesday! I forgot,” Natalie said. “We need a celebration!”

“Isn’t that what we’re doing at Tori’s today?” Roberta laughed. Natalie’s phone buzzed as they busied themselves with breakfast.

“Hey, Babe. What’s the news?” Natalie asked.

“My parents are opportunists!” Tori said. “They decided it was more economical to have a party for their friends at the same time I’m having one for mine. So, they ‘invited a few people over’ for a pig roast this evening. They said with our group, there’d be about a hundred people!”

“Oh. Well, you’ve got a big farm. We can hide out.”

“I’m thinking more and more about your suggestion to go to the hayloft. See you in a little while.”

“Now you need to get over and help set up for your party,” Dot said as Dennis put the vacuum away. “You kids have done a wonderful job this morning and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it. It goes so much faster when we’re all working together. I’ll fold the last load of clothes when the dryer stops.”

“Thanks, Ms. Dottie,” Daniella said. “I’m glad we can help out when we come over. It must seem like having a dozen extra kids with as much time as we all spend here. It wouldn’t be fair to have you or Dennis clean up after all of us.”

“You are sweet, Number Eight. Or are you Number Nine today? Anyway, you get going and Peg and I will see you this afternoon at the party,” Dot said.

“You will?” Dennis asked.

“Well, I was invited. I think I can attend.”

“Of course! I didn’t ... I mean none of us knew it was going to be more than the few of us who worked this summer. I’m glad you all get to have a good time, too,” he said quickly. He glanced at Natalie and she shoved him out the door, even as he was buckling on his emergency kit. Even this summer, it had never been far from him.

“We need to run home and do our own chores,” Natalie said. “Do you want us to drop you out at Tori’s first?”

“No! Why would you do that? You helped with my housework. I’ll certainly help with yours,” Dennis said. Besides which, he wasn’t sure he wanted to be ‘dropped off’ at Tori’s. Much better if he arrived in the company of a few girlfriends.

When the kids finally did start showing up at Tori’s farm, they were all a little stunned. It seemed the McDonalds had invited all their parents and all were planning to attend the pig roast. Well, Amy’s grandmother was coming, but she was her guardian. Even Brenda’s parents were planning to attend.

They set up a volleyball net and Tori had marked out the ball diamond with fresh lime. Her younger brother put a new rope on the tetherball as several of his friends were coming to the party with their parents. Well, at least that should mean the older kids wouldn’t spend the entire party being bugged by younger ones.

“Are we still overnighting?” Diane asked when she arrived with Judith and Debbie. They hesitated at pulling their bedrolls out of the trunk.

“Yeah,” Tori said. “Mom and Dad promised they’d clear the barn dance at ten o’clock. Ten-thirty at the latest. That means people will pack out of the barn, though some might still be sitting at the fire. Those with younger kids will probably be the first to take off. Just means that we won’t have the fire to ourselves until midnight if at all.”

“The younger kids are all heading to our place at sundown,” Lana said. “People will start clearing out with kids about nine o’clock. That’s going to keep a lot of parents busy for the night.”

“Well, just remember rule number three,” Dennis said, giving Amy and Brenda a hug as they arrived. “Not in front of the children.”