Chapter 3

Aileen was beside herself the day of the pool party. Of course there was the excitement of only having three more days of school next week. Going away with one's new father was more than exciting--it was unbelievable! The best thing was that Mom and Dad were going to meet her friends. The friends that they thought were so terrible. Just because some of them had been in trouble just like she had been, was no reason not to like them.

The kids all arrived in a bunch and filed into the backyard. Gail and I were there to greet them and we were introduced as chaperones. Aileen went in and brought Cindy and Steve out. They were all dressed up, ready to go out for the evening. No caution about 'behaving yourselves' or 'be careful' impressed the kids as much as the 'have fun' did as Cindy and Steve left.

Just after the kids went in to change, Gail appeared in a modest bikini. Her body was perfection and I told her so. She raised that eyebrow and said that she hadn't changed her mind about me being a hunk, either.

The gang came out and jumped in the pool. Gail went in with them and stayed at the shallow end, splashing those that came near and generally having a good time. I happened to glance toward the entrance, surprised to see another little girl standing there acting like she wanted to come in, but too shy to attempt it. Finally Aileen spotted her and climbed out to go lead her in. She brought her over to me and introduced me to her.

"Daddy this is Lena, she is not part of the rest of us yet but she wants to be. She is my best friend ever, and I wanted her to come. Come on Lena, get changed and jump in the pool with us."

"No, not right now, you go and play and maybe I'll come in later. I'll sit here and talk to your Dad, if he doesn't mind."

"Oh, I was getting lonely. Nobody was paying any attention to me. Besides you can tell me all of Sweety's secrets. She must have a few."

"Oh Daddy, you know I'd never keep any secrets from you. When we are together this summer I'll tell you all about me and everything." She spoke to Lena, "Talk to Daddy all you want, just don't steal him." She whirled and ran for the pool.

"So do you want to play twenty questions or do you want to tell me all about yourself?"

"I'll tell you all about me if when the gang starts playing the game, you can figure out how I can win enough challenges to be made part of the gang. I have to win three times and I haven't won any yet. I'm too small to join, but Aileen lets me hang around because she is my friend."

"So what is this game?"

"You watch, pretty quick you will see one of them get out and wrap a towel around them. That means whoever it is won the challenge and the loser has to kiss butt. I have never had my butt kissed and I do want to so bad. Aileen isn't going to be here this summer and I want some friends to hang with. Aileen told me this week that you can figure out everything."

I didn't know if I liked the sound of this game. The way Lena explained it, it was harmless enough, but in a couple of years it would be dangerous when the hormones started to kick in. Anyway I said I would watch and maybe I could come up with something.

I told Lena how much I loved Aileen as a baby and how much I missed her when her mother and I split up. Then how her Aunt Gail came out west and found me and how I just needed a little shove to come here and find her, and how happy we were to be together again.

Lena said her Dad had left her Mom sometimes, but everyone was so miserable he was only gone two weeks. Her Mom and Dad still fought a lot and they always made up, but he wasn't living at home right now.

"So what is Aileen's deepest, darkest secret?" I was probing, but I needed to know as much about my daughter as I could. "She said you could tell me everything."

"She has one big secret that nobody knows, just me. The last time Aileen got in trouble and had to go live with somebody because the social worker said she had to, the boy that lived there made her have sex with him." Lena was definitely uncomfortable with this subject. "Don't tell her you found out she had sex, 'cause she's afraid you would be mad at her and it wasn't her fault, honest!"

"I never would be mad at her. Does Aileen's mom know?"

"No, just me."

"Do you know the boy's name?"

"It's Billy Parsons and he is a big bully."

"Do you know what he did to her? Could you tell me?"

Lena nodded, "He held her and tried to do things, but it hurt and she screamed so loud he was afraid someone would hear her and he stopped. The next day he tried to do it again. He was going to do it some more but the social worker came and saved her by saying she could come home. I hope that never happens to me."

"I hope not either. Does this Billy kid bother Aileen at school?"

"No, and that is because Aileen sticks so close to her friends. They kind of protect her even though they don't know what he did to her. They just know she hates him. I wish there was some way to get even. I can't say anything, 'cause I'm not in the gang. That's why I want to get in the gang so bad so maybe we can fix him. I can't do anything by myself, but they could."

"Well maybe we can figure something out." I then turned to the problem of Lena getting into the gang. "What are you good at doing? Something that you could beat them at. Acrobatics, or standing on one foot the longest, you know something like that. It doesn't have to be something that would get you in trouble does it?"

"No it just has to be foolish. I know one thing, I can swim circles around Rob and he is the best swimmer in the gang. I swim at my aunt's pool and none of the gang know about that, not even Aileen. I may have funny stubby looking legs, but that's because they're all muscle."

"Okay when they get a little more tired from playing, we'll figure out a challenge. Who do you want to challenge? Pick the easiest so you will be sure to win."

"I will not win that way. I want it to be a real challenge so there is no doubt that I deserve to join. I'm going to pick Kathy, Rob and Aileen. Friend or not, she will try her best to beat me too. That is just the way she is."

"Well I salute your confidence, but you may regret it later."

While I was talking to Lena I had been watching this game of "Kiss My Butt" start and see some of the kids get their butts kissed--and see it turn around and those same kids have to kiss someone else's. I called Gail over and explained that Lena wanted to join in and asked if she would set up a challenge. I told her what was riding on the outcome for Lena, i.e., friends to hang with for the summer while Aileen was away.

Rob, who was kind of a leader and Aileen's counterpart, offered to let Lena hang with them in Aileen's place, but Lena said she wanted to try and earn her place the same as they did.

The rules were set. One-on-one, Lena would go from one end of the pool to the other and back without being caught and held. It had to be while the two were swimming, not in the shallow end where the taller ones could put their feet on the bottom. There was a ten minute time limit and if the time went over, then Lena had to concede and have to kiss butt.

Lena shucked her jeans and tee-shirt, showing she had on a bright blue one-piece spandex suit. No one that saw her would believe that her short arms and legs would be able to propel her barrel-shaped body through the water with any great efficiency.

Mindy was the biggest girl and she said, "I want my butt kissed by this little squirt. I challenge you."

"You're on. Meet you in the pool and then I'll meet you on the bench where you can kiss my butt."

Aileen was worried that Lena was going to be humiliated and came over where I was sitting. "Daddy, you should have talked her out of this. She'll never be a member this way. Why didn't you stop her?"

"Sweety, she was so confident, I couldn't say anything against her trying. Let's see how she does, okay? Besides, have a little confidence in your friend. Go over and cheer her on."

"Well I'm next, I'm going to let her win."

"Don't do it, as she is counting on you to try your hardest to prove that she has earned her place without favoritism."

We were all surprised when Lena easily beat Mindy. Mindy was chagrined and claimed she had a hand on Lena, but she was too slippery. Then the gang took up the "Kiss My Butt" chant until Mindy planted a kiss on Lena's towel covered butt.

Aileen was the third to challenge Lena. She gave it her best shot, but ended up the same as the previous two. Lena put away the next two also, but Rob, the best swimmer, caught her just she reached the edge of the pool. He was generous by saying, "You would have won if you hadn't been so tired. I say she doesn't have to kiss my butt."

Lena went into a little vamp act, "Maybe I want to kiss your butt. Please assume the position." This brought laughter and cheers to all except Lena who was hiding a red face.

I suggested all the kids get out of the pool because they were obviously tired. I put on some burgers and dogs. Gail brought out a huge potato salad, chips and soda.

The girls all went to Aileen's room to change. When they came out they had all raided Aileen's closet for dresses. Compared to how they were clothed when they arrived their appearance changed remarkably and for the better. They even found a dress for Lena that Aileen had worn three years ago and had never discarded.

Aileen told the whole gang (Lena included now) how she had conned her mother into agreeing to let her summer with me. She went on to tell of her fears of Miss Tenny and how I suggested she deal with what the gang had done to her in the hallway. "I feel good to be able to go into her class in the fall and not have her down on me."

Rob said, "God I wonder if that would work for me. She glares every time she sees me. I know she is laying for me, and can hardly wait to have me for a student."

"Of course it will work. You may have to go a little further than Aileen did though. You are bound to run into her sometime this summer. When you see her, just step up and apologize, like 'Miss Tenny, I'm sorry that my friends and I caused you trouble last year. I promise that we will not disrupt your class. We are hoping you will forgive what we did.' By just stepping up to her and addressing her will show how serious you are and if you follow through she will give you a little extra help if you need it.

"By the way, I haven't been around long enough to find out how you guys all came together. You must have some common thing that made you band together?"

Kathy spoke, "Well we have all been in trouble of some sort in school. Aileen has been the worst because she is the only one that had to go live away from home. She actually hit a teacher. Most of us have been expelled for fighting with other students or disrupting classes. Four of us have fathers or mothers that don't live with us. We just get together and talk about how we would like things to be better for us. Not much hope, but we can dream."

"Believe it or not, I know where you are coming from, although I didn't get hit with those problems until I was in my twenties. It took me awhile to get straightened out. I found that sometimes you have to look outside your own family to see how life is larger than your own problems. Then you have to look for someone that can affect your own life for the better. That is why I suggested that Aileen introduce herself to Miss Tenny. Nothing but good can come from that.

"Look for someone that could use a lift up. There is a million opportunities to make yourself feel good."

"I can't think of a single one." Rob was looking around him to see if the others could think of somebody to help.

"Oh come on, you must know someone. Some old or maybe a disabled person. Walk down a side street, you'll see a lawn all overgrown. Ask yourself why? There must be a reason. Don't go on by, go to the door and say you haven't anything to do, and can you give the person that comes to the door a hand?

"In school next fall, look at the new teachers. They won't be much older than the kids they are trying to teach and are uncertain how to keep discipline and teach too. Run interference for him or her a little bit by leaning on whoever is giving the most trouble. There is always one troublemaker in a class." I looked at Aileen.

Aileen stood there shamed, for she probably had been the worst of the worst. "No more, right Sweety?" I smiled and she came and stood by me and I gave her a little squeeze.

"Then there are the bullies out there that need to be taught a lesson. I don't mean for you to beat them up, because physical violence can really get you in trouble. The best way is to make them embarrassed about something--to humiliate them. Kids can always come up with some way to do that. They do it all the time to us adults. Just do it in a way that you don't get in trouble."

It was getting cool and so we moved the pool party inside. The kids all crowded into Aileen's room and turned her music on. Gail and I moved into the kitchen away from the noise, so we could talk if we wanted to.

Gail built a pot of coffee. "So how did we do as chaperones? If they go home soon we can say nobody got hurt or got into trouble. That's something anyway."

"I would say you were a huge success. You got little Lena into the gang which she was dying to do and in such a way that she earned the others' respect. You gave them all a lesson in life that will stick with them forever. I can just see these kids going all over town tomorrow looking for unmowed lawns. And you got across to Aileen that you knew she had been bad in school, but you forgave her. Me, well I just stood around and watched you perform. Were you always like this?"

"No, I don't think so. It's just that I spent so many nights alone. Then when I started dating again, I could see that sure I had a problem, but it often paled in comparison with what others had to deal with. Aileen at least had a father and mother who loved her which is a big thing to a little kid.

"Most of these kids I knew didn't. They were missing one or the other and sometimes even then there wasn't much love. They often got into trouble because the world was crapping on them and it seemed nobody cared. I decided maybe I cared a little and started to look for ways to make life a little easier for them even if they had to do it themselves. That's what I was doing this afternoon."

"Well it looks like a gift to me. Does it always work?"

"No it doesn't. Sometimes the parent resents you helping and then you have to turn around and walk away. I have never tried to come between a parent and their kids. You can preach a little to kids but you can't to the parents. That is why I try to show the way but never outright tell them what to do. They have to make up their own minds what is right."

"Well whatever you do you are a master at it." This was said as the kids' rides started arriving, ending our day.

Cindy and Steve came home before Aileen went to bed. I think they came home early, curious to find out how the pool party went. Aileen thought that she had the best time ever until she said something about the "Kiss My Butt" contest. Thankfully Gail took over and explained it all and finally it was agreed there had been no harm in the game. I was tired so I excused myself and walked down to Gail's house to go to bed. I showered and was just about to crawl between the sheets when the phone rang.

I thought the call might be important for Gail so I answered. It was Gail and she was upset. "Tom, Lena Lennox's mother just called screaming. She wanted to talk to you. I guess this Kiss My Butt game is causing a lot of concern with those that hear about it. Anyway she wants you to call her right now. The game seemed so harmless when we played it. It looked like so much fun I almost wanted to join in and play too."

"Well give me her number and I'll call her." With trepidation I placed the call. Damn, I thought. I hope this wasn't going to be difficult.

"Mrs. Lennox, this is Tom Wells. I take it from what Gail Simpson tells me that you are upset about the pool party at Steve and Cindy Simpson's house this afternoon. What would you like me to explain?"

"Damn you, I thought Aileen was a friend and a good girl and I could trust Lena with her. Now Lena let slip that you set it up so a whole lot of perverts could kiss her butt. I'm tempted to call the cops on you."

"Mrs. Lennox, I know I am from out of town, but Gail lives right here. Do you think she would let anything take place that wasn't right that would jeopardize her name? She is an officer of the court and is a child's advocate. I assure you it was a harmless game."

"What is this gang she said she joined? I don't like gangs. I never even thought she knew any gang members. I know I don't!"

"Well maybe you do, you just didn't know who they were." (I wasn't going to name my daughter, but she was and I couldn't deny the fact).

"Well I hate to have to, but I'm going to call Charlie and get him to straighten this out. He is a businessman and he knows people."

"Charlie? You're married to Charlie Lennox? I know him. Call him by all means. I'd love to see him again. You said you had to call him. Doesn't he live with you?"

"No he doesn't live with me. Not since I heard about him and his secretary, he doesn't. I kicked him out for awhile."

"Well I don't know anything about that. Could you stand to be with him long enough for me to take you both out to dinner and let me explain about the pool party?"

"Okay, I guess I could. I usually eat at Walkers on Main Street. Would that be alright?"

"Okay I'll meet you there at seven tomorrow night. I'm sure I can explain everything, and we'll take it from there. I promise you'll feel differently about me before the evening is over. Bye for now."

I turned around to hang up the phone and Gail was standing there. By the look on her face she had just heard me confirm a date with a woman that had been screaming at her a short while ago.

"Did you just do what I think you did?"

"What's that?"

"You just made a date to take out Lena's mom didn't you? Damn you Tom, women need to be protected from you. You worm yourself into their hearts and then into their pants through your so-called good intentions with their kids. You'll take her out, romance her and then you'll get to screw her. You're despicable, you know!" She turned and headed for her room.

I looked after her, puzzled. Then it came to me Gail was jealous. Just as I was falling asleep, Gail knocked loudly on my door, "Give me that damned CD and player. I think I need something tonight. You say it works, but I doubt it."

I went to sleep with the song "I Think I'll Go Somewhere and Cry Myself to Sleep" playing from Gail's bedroom.

Sunday morning found me alone in the house with a note telling me to get my own breakfast and that she (Gail) would be gone all day. I drifted around town looking for a familiar face from eight years ago. I was almost up to the Baptist Church when services let out. Steve, Cindy and Aileen came out totally wrapped up in themselves. That lonely feeling hit me as I watched this perfectly complete family walk ahead of me and cross the street to their car.

I begged lunch from Lulu and Richard, but Richard was so unsociable I didn't stay long. Lulu apologized and asked me to come back when Richard wasn't home so she could tell me more about Cindy and Aileen. I promised I would tomorrow.