Chapter 5

It was late afternoon by the time I got home. No one else was home. I went into my bedroom, stripped off my clothes and headed to the bathroom for a shower. The hot water felt good, and I stayed in so long that I drained the hot water tank. After drying off, I wrapped the towel around my waist and opened the bathroom door. I heard someone in the kitchen and called out "Hello!". My sister stuck her head around the corner. She saw how I was dressed and snapped "Put some clothes on, for crying out loud."

"That's what I do right after I shower, Sis" I said. "Except when I'm going to bed. Then I just sleep in the nude."

"I don't need to know that" she yelled as she turned and headed for her room in the basement.

I put on some clean jeans and a t-shirt and went out to the kitchen. Dinner would be in about an hour, I thought, that is if my Aunt and Uncle get back in time to get dinner ready. And if they get back sober. I grabbed an apple and went into the living room.

The evening paper had arrived. My sister had already read the comics section, so I grabbed that and went through it. Then I opened the sports section and read it while I finished my apple. My sister came upstairs and plopped down in a chair. "Where are the drunks?" she asked.

"They went out to do some shopping. Left about noon or one, I guess. She didn't say when they would be back. I assumed they would be back for supper."

My sister sighed, but didn't say anything. She seemed to be lost in her own world. I took the opportunity to look at her. She wasn't beautiful by any stretch of the imagination. Her figure was OK, but nothing special. She could stand to lose a few pounds, I thought. She was four years older than me, and we didn't have a lot in common. But I realized that I hadn't gone out of my way to ever be kind or friendly to her either. Any time she would ask me a question, I would give her a smart ass answer. I resolved to start immediately being a better brother.

"So, Sis? Are you excited about starting nursing school?" She looked up, startled at the question. Perhaps she was surprised that I even cared. She had graduated high school in June and would start her nurse's training at the Holy Cross Hospital in September.

She pulled her feet up under her. "Yeah, but kind of scared. No one else I know from school is going to be there. And I don't know what the nuns are going to be like as teachers. But, yeah, I'm looking forward to going. Why? Do you want my room?"

A snappy reply came to my mind but I shut it down. "Nope. I'm happy with my room. Anyway, won't you be home on weekends?"

Again, she seemed startled that I hadn't been rude to her. "Not every weekend, but some times."

The front door opened and my aunt and uncle came in. They had a few bags, more than one of which appeared to be from the liquor store. My aunt had her ever present cigarette hanging from her mouth. She saw my sister and coughed out "Ah, sweetie, you're home. How are you, Carol? Sorry we're a bit late. I'll get some supper on for you kids right away." She and my uncle went into the kitchen. My sister just rolled her eyes in disgust.

The sound of ice going into a glass and bottles clanking told us that it wasn't our supper being made. My uncle came into the living room with a large drink and sat down on the couch. He picked up the paper and started to read. Or at least look at the pictures. He hadn't said a word to anyone since he came home.

In about five minutes, my aunt called "Supper's ready" and my sister and I headed into the kitchen. My uncle didn't move from his seat. Two bowls of some brown substance were on the table. My first thought was "What the fuck is that?" but I kept quiet. My sister didn't.

"What exactly is that?" she asked.

"Beef stew" our aunt replied. "Hank and I already ate, so this is just for you kids. Go ahead." She turned and started making herself a drink. I suspected it wasn't her first since she got home. Then she went into the living room.

My sister was still staring at the now congealing glop on the table. "Tell you what" she whispered. "Let's wait a few minutes, and then throw this shit out. I'll treat you to the A&W."

I don't know what shocked me more. My sister offering to take me out and buy me something to eat, or the fact that she actually said "shit". But a couple of minutes later, we put the stew into a bag and threw the bag in the garbage. Then we told our aunt and uncle we were going out for a bit. They didn't care, so we got in the car my sister used, and took off.

She drove to the A&W on MacLeod Trail. I ordered a Teen Burger, root beer and onion rings. The Dub had the best root beer in the world. Carol ordered a Mama Burger and fries. The bill came to a little under $5.00. I was impressed that my sister paid for my meal, but later I learned that Mom had given her $20 to take me out. The bitch kept the change, I guess.

We had a decent visit while we ate. We talked about our alcoholic relatives. Uncle Hank was just getting started with his own pipeline business. He was a hard worker, but he was also a jackass to work for. Our aunt stayed at home and was doing his accounting work for him. She was probably smarter than he was, but he wore the pants in the family. They had two girls. One was a year older than my sister. Then other was my age. We didn't see much of them.

Carol asked me what I was up to during the summer. I told her that my friends and I had just been hanging out and playing some football. Sometimes we rode our bikes down to Fish Creek. A couple of times we had gone tubing on the Elbow River, but that required someone's mother to drive us to the base of the dam, then pick us up by the Stampede Grounds. We could kill the better part of a day by stopping in Stanley Park. The river widened at that point and there was a big swimming area. There was even a tree with a rope hanging from it that we used to swing out over the river and drop into the water. And sometimes we'd hop the Number 3 bus to downtown and watch the Husky Tower construction, or hang out at The Bay.

"So what about Penticton?" Carol asked. "Aren't you going this year?"

Every year, for as long as I could remember, our family had gone to visit my mom's aunt and uncle in Penticton. It was the highlight of my summer. The City of Penticton sits between Lake Okanagan and Skaha Lake, with beautiful sandy beaches. And the last couple of years, I had noticed that it also had an ample supply of good looking girls. Sun, sand and girls. It didn't get much better than that.

My mom's two cousins were closer to my age than my mom's. Her aunt had her kids pretty late in life. So my mom's cousin Jack was about 22, and his sister Angie was about 20. They were pretty good to me. They took me with them when they went to the beach. Jack taught me to water ski. Angie's stellar rack starred in some of my masturbatory fantasies. They would let me hang out with them until they went on dates or out with the friends in the evening. Then I'd go to the room I shared with Jack in the attic of their house. I could read his hot rod and water ski magazines, or sometimes I would open the window and sit out on the edge of the roof just watching the traffic go by. I loved going to Penticton.

But this year we weren't going, and I was a little ticked off about it. Since my sister was starting nursing school in late August, my mom had decreed that we would be staying home to help her get settled. I had thrown more than one little hissy fit about it, and my dad had given me his patented warning glare to let me know I needed to shut up.

I didn't know if Carol's comment was designed to get me angry again. But I just shrugged and said "I guess I'll have to pass this year. Maybe I can take the bus out next year before mom and dad go out."

"I don't know why Mom thinks you all need to stay home to watch me go off to school" Carol complained. "It's not like I'm six years old. And all I'm doing is moving a suitcase and a couple of boxes to the Residence. We have to wear those horrid Flying Nun style uniforms all the time in school and on the wards."

"I guess Mom just wants to make sure everything goes OK" I said. "Besides, you were always her favorite." That had become a joke between us a couple of years ago.

"Yeah, right" Carol said, rolling her eyes. She started the car and we headed for home.

We woke our guardians up when we got home. They had passed out where we had left them in the living room. Auntie's cigarette had burned down to the filter, but fortunately it was in the ashtray and not dropped on the carpet. From the evidence in the kitchen, they had worked their way through one full bottle of Canadian Club and were starting on the second. Rye whiskey and ginger ale or 7-Up. CC and 7 - it was the drink of choice for the working man

My uncle mumbled something about going to bed and hoisted himself out of the chair. My aunt maneuvered her rolls into a standing position and tottered off behind him. My sister and I watched them go, and then she muttered "God, they're disgusting." She turned and went downstairs to her bedroom.

I cleaned up in the living room and kitchen. I put the newspaper away and emptied the ashtrays. The glasses went into the sink with our dinner dishes. I wiped down the counters, then filled the sink with hot water and some dish soap. I washed and rinsed the dishes and left them to air dry on the drain board. You may think it strange that I was doing KP duty, but my dad was teaching me to cook and part of cooking was keeping a clean kitchen, at least in his books. Dad was a super cook, and I enjoyed learning from him. He didn't hunt or fish or like any sports, so cooking was the only thing that really bonded us together.

It was about 10:30 when I got to my room. I lay on my bed with a Mad magazine, but my thoughts kept going to Peggy and Heather. I stroked my cock for a bit, then decided to finish off quickly. I got serious about jacking off and in a couple of minutes, I had shot a load into a tube sock. That took the edge off, and I turned out the lights and went to sleep.

I woke up at 12:30 — just past midnight. I tossed and turned for a bit, but didn't feel like trying to sleep. I got up and wandered around the house. The aunt and uncle were both snoring in their room. I tiptoed downstairs, and saw that my sister's light was off and there was no sound from her room. Thoughts of the tent and Peggy came to mind, and I went back to my room and got dressed in sweats and runners. I slipped out the back door, and headed down the alley.

Again, there were no lights on anywhere. The neighborhood had shut down for the night. When I got to the end of the alley, I looked into Sherry Wilson's back yard, but the tent was gone. From the end of the alley, I could see Coach's house. No lights were on. Should I sneak up to the back door and knock? No, that seemed to be inappropriate. I turned and walked down to the other end of the alley. Still, no lights anywhere, and no evidence of anyone around. I crept back into my house, and went back to bed.

Sunday morning dawned bright and clear. I got up about 8 o' clock and had a shower, then got dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. I didn't usually exercise Sunday mornings. We weren't going to church presently. Every once in a while, my mom got religion and we would go, but then she would get disgusted with something the minister said or did and we would quit. There was no Sunday paper then, so I was content to grab a bowl of cereal, and then go a read a book for a while.

My aunt and uncle came out of their room about 8:30. I was shocked at their appearance. They were both dressed up and looked neat, tidy and alert. My aunt had lipstick and earrings on, and my uncle wore a suit and tie. I gaped at them.

"Oh, there you are" my aunt said brightly. "Hank and I are going off to church. Your mom and dad are supposed to be home around 3 this afternoon, but I think we'll just take off right from church. Will you and Carol be OK on your own for a few hours?"

Church? They were going to church? With the quantity of alcohol they had consumed the night before, they should both be dead. But then I realized that the liquor bottles were gone from the kitchen counter. She must have been up early and was already packed.

"No problem, Auntie" I said cheerfully. "We don't do a lot Sunday. Thanks for coming to stay with us. I'm glad we didn't have to go to Banff with Mom and Dad and just hang out in the hotel and stuff." I was being a bit sarcastic. I loved Banff, and Mom and Dad were staying at a really nice hotel.

"Oh, any time, sweetie. It was no trouble." She came over and leaned down to kiss me on the cheek. She smelled of cheap perfume. "You kids take care of yourselves. If we get a chance we'll try to call before we leave town."

"Have a safe trip" I said, and got up to go shake hands with Uncle Hank. "Thanks, Uncle Hank. Drive safe." And then they were gone.

It was peaceful without them. I read for a while. My sister came upstairs about 9, looking rumpled and grumpy. She locked herself in the bathroom and I heard the bath water running. I knew she'd be in there about an hour. I was getting restless and decided to go outside and see who was up and about. "Hey, Carol" I yelled through the bathroom door. "I'm going over to Ben's for a while." Ben wasn't home, but I didn't have a goal in mind, so that seemed as good a story as any.

"Yeah, whatever" she replied. "Are you coming home for lunch?"

"Nah. Don't count on me. I'll be home when Mom and Dad get back."

I left through the back door and turned north down the alley. Even at this time, the neighborhood was quiet. Sundays were different then. Because of the Blue Laws, no stores were open. Sunday morning saw lots of people in church, or just taking advantage of a day off. I could hear the sound of a couple of power lawn mowers at work.

I heard a splash as I wandered by the Baldwin's. They had built a pool in their back yard a couple of years ago. Most of it was above ground, although the deep end had been dug into the ground a bit. The deck was about six feet off the ground, and then the fence, or walls around the pool went up about another 6 feet. Mrs. Baldwin had been on the Olympic swim team before she was married, and she still had a fantastic swimmer's body. Lean, long legs and strong upper body. She had short reddish hair and was still pretty good looking, I thought. The Baldwin's had two daughters: Gina was in her last year of high school. Gail was in my grade and we were pretty good friends. Mrs. Baldwin had given free swimming lessons to most of us neighborhood kids, and we spent lots of time in the pool.

But Sunday mornings were taboo. Since the day the pool was built we kids had been told that the house and pool were off limits until after lunch on Sunday. We never questioned it. We were happy to be allowed to use the pool. So I thought it was interesting that someone was swimming on Sunday morning. I thought the Baldwin's all went to church or something.