Chapter 8: Thank You Boys

Our band rehearsal on Saturday was spirited. Perhaps it was the prospect of playing for people at the auditions, or maybe it was the impending trip to the woods party, but either way, we played with new energy. There may have been a third cause as well: Brian was supposed to stop by with his girlfriend Elaine.

I don’t know that I’d ever talked to Elaine until Brian started going out with her. In my group of friends, she was considered to be untouchably popular. Besides being a cheerleader and undeniably pretty in a classic American-girl kind of way, she also had an older brother who was a gregarious senior. This combination meant that she never had to take the bus and never had to hang out with guys in her grade if she didn’t want to. And that meant we mortals never had any interactions with her.

“Ten bucks says they don’t show,” Pete said during a couch break. It was well past the time when Brian had said they would arrive.

“Yeah, they’re probably still screwing at his house,” Bruno agreed.

“Maybe we’re not cool enough for Elaine,” Pete observed.

“Nah,” Carl said. “It’s not that. She just seems to hog Bri for herself.”

It was true. Brian was rarely around anymore when we hung out. Even though Carl and Bruno gave him a hard time about it, I was ambivalent. The sour taste that I’d acquired when Brian had been viciously annoying about Carmen and Julie the previous year had never really dissipated. Sure, he and I were still friends. We skied together last winter, after the worst of his behavior, and I still went to parties at his house. We sat in adjacent seats when we rode the bus. But the friendship between us had changed and we both knew it. We’d never really worked things out. In fact, we’d never admitted there had been a problem at all. After Julie cheated on me, I imploded and then stuffed that resentment away along with every other feeling that tried to manifest itself. Brian was easy to hang out with when I didn’t care about anything in my life. But now that I cared about so many things, I didn’t really mind if he spent more time with Elaine than with us.

Besides, there was also a second, more selfish reason I didn’t want to complain about Brian ditching his friends for his girlfriend: I knew I might be inclined to do the same when Heather came for visits.

“How did he ever score with her?” Bruno asked, to no one in particular. “You can’t get any hotter than Elaine. Lucky fuck!”

Carl shrugged. “She’s into jocks, and since Bri is the next soccer god...”

“I thought musicians were supposed to get all the girls,” Pete lamented.

“No one even knows we play,” Bruno pointed out.

“True. We need some shows,” Carl agreed. “Once this audition is over, we should play out.”

“Yeah, but where?” I asked.

“I don’t know. Parties, or something.”

I rolled my eyes. “What, in the middle of the woods?”

“My drums will work out there,” Carl said, shrugging.

“Look, here they come,” Pete exclaimed, pointing out the window.

Elaine and Brian had rounded the side of my house and were leisurely strolling toward the cabin, arms around each other.

“Didn’t know it was still summer,” Bruno said absently.

“Huh?”

“Short shorts and a t-shirt? She’ll freeze up at the Ledges like that.”

“Like you care about that. I’m sure you’ll keep her warm if you have to,” Carl joked.

“God, she’s fucking hot,” Bruno muttered.

“But she’s just doesn’t compare with Randi, huh?”

“Fuck off.”

I opened the door for them, feeling a bit nervous, as if a celebrity was at my house.

“Hey, what’s up?” I greeted.

“Not much, man. You know Elaine, right?”

“Yeah. How’s it going?”

“Good,” Elaine replied with a smile as she looked around. “Is this your place?”

“Yeah. Well, this our guest cabin. We rehearse up here and stuff.”

“Really cool!” she chirped.

She seems pretty normal. And maybe even a little impressed?

I noticed the guys had taken to their instruments, perhaps out of nerves. Even though we’d occasionally talked with Elaine in school when she was with Brian, having her watch us play music felt like a much bigger deal.

The rest of the greetings were exchanged. Pete was his usual reserved self around any member of the opposite sex. Carl, having had more interactions with Elaine than the rest of us, seemed fairly comfortable.

Bruno... !

I nudged him on my way to my guitar amp. He was staring.

“Um, we’re practicing for the talent show auditions,” he announced, coming to his senses. He was clearly addressing himself solely to Elaine, despite his gaze sinking to the floor as he spoke. Carl rolled his eyes.

“Cool,” she said, giving him a little smile. “My brother’s going to try out too.”

Bruno’s face twisted up in disappointment for a second. “Really?”

I didn’t blame him, though. Her brother was about as admired as a person could get at our high school. He could probably just strut across the stage and make the cut.

“Yeah. He’s been practicing his act for a while now.”

“What’s he going to do?”

“Can’t tell anyone. But I think it’s going to be really, really good!”

Her overt enthusiasm was instantly deflating. Bruno suddenly seemed like he was struggling under the weight of his bass. Before it showed on our faces any more, I suggested we get back to rehearsing, so I started the song we’d been working on before the royal entrance. To my ears, at least, we suddenly sounded much more ragged. Maybe it was getting late in the day, or maybe it was Elaine’s long, tanned legs stretched out on the couch, but Bruno was all over the map with his timing.

Apparently, it didn’t seem to bother our audience of two.

“You guys are really good!” Elaine chirped when we finished the song.

Brian let out an appreciative “Yeah!”

I could see my band mates puffing up at the compliment. I had to admit that having Elaine Harmon tell us we were good was a thrill, even if she and Brian were mostly into themselves on the couch while we were actually playing. Really, she was so charming that she could have told us we sucked and there still would’ve been grins. From Carl and Bruno, anyway.

As dinner time approached, we called it quits and set out for Brian’s house, where we’d be spending the night. I stopped by Lara’s room briefly to see if she was going, but she was having her new friend Alice over for the evening. I was a bit disappointed, as it would’ve been more fun if Lara was going too. I wasn’t looking forward to the party based on the way it was shaping up.

After a gourmet dinner of Ruffles chips, diet soda, and string cheese at Brian’s house, we piled into his brother’s pickup. It was déjà vu all over again. Brian and Elaine sat in the cab. My band mates and I held onto six packs as Craig guided his truck along the road. Luckily, the temperature was warmer this time, so I doubted I’d be carrying Elaine through the woods. Not that I wouldn’t, if I had to...

“I thought Craig graduated,” I said to the guys. Even though the wind and engine noise were loud, I kept my voice somewhat quiet.

“He did,” Bruno replied. “He’s working at the diner, so he still hangs out.”

“Wasn’t he going to that community college near Kingston?”

“Nah, he changed his mind. Bri says he’s saving up so he can start his own auto shop.”

“Good for him,” Pete said.

Carl leaned in. “Personally, I think he’s just a townie, and he can’t give up his friends.”

“Most of which are at college,” Bruno observed.

Carl shrugged. “Some are still around. He mostly hits on younger chicks, anyway.”

“He must be jealous of Bri, huh?” I asked.

“Who isn’t?” Carl remarked, looking at Elaine’s golden hair through the cab window.

Upon reaching Craig’s friend’s house near the trailhead, we spilled out of the truck and made our way into the woods. We laughed and carried on about random things and I started feeling less apprehensive about the night. When we arrived at the rocky landscape that gave the Ledges its name, Brian and Elaine peeled away to find some of her friends. I spotted Carmen in a group of girls, which triggered a flashback of running through trees, but I shrugged it off.

“Hey, Bruno, look. There’s Randi.”

“So?”

“She’s checking you out,” Carl pressed.

“Whatever.”

Bruno popped the top of one of his beers. Despite his nonchalant attitude, I noticed that he made sure to be turned so that Randi could see him opening the brew.

The gathering was quite ordinary, in the end. People drifted from group to group. We wandered around ourselves, mingling with the few we knew. There was laughter and drinking, of course, but I felt like I was observing the scene from afar. Without Heather or Lara there, I was soon anxious to get the night over with.

After several beers’ worth of mindless partying, I found myself sitting on a rock ledge next to Pete. Brian and Elaine had disappeared, probably to Craig’s truck to find some privacy. Carl had convinced Bruno to intrude on Randi and her friends. The crowd had diminished some, but Craig showed no indication of leaving any time soon.

“How’s your girl?” Pete asked.

“She’s good, man.”

“Is she going to visit this winter?”

I smiled at the thought. “She’s coming in three weeks.”

Pete turned to me. “Really?”

“Yeah. For the weekend.”

“That’s awesome, man!”

“You don’t need to tell me that!”

He laughed. “Guess we won’t be rehearsing that weekend.”

“Maybe. We’ll see how things go. She might want to hear us.”

“Cool. We’ll be tight by then, right around the audition, you know?”

“I hope so. What was up with Bruno today?”

“He’s obsessed with Elaine,” Pete said quietly, glancing back at where Bruno and Carl were chatting with Randi and her friends.

“Obviously. She’s nice looking and all, but he couldn’t even play once she showed up.”

“Stage fright.”

“Maybe. Then again, he’s not having much trouble with Randi,” I mused, watching as she leaned on Bruno unsteadily while laughing wildly at something.

“She’s kind of weird.”

“I guess. Everyone’s weird, though.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Pete agreed.

“So what’s up with your girl?” I asked.

“My girl? Funny, Matt.”

“Seriously, who are you into?”

Pete shrugged as he sipped from his can. “I don’t know. No one, really.”

“Lara’s not with anyone right now.”

Pete sniffed, but stayed silent.

“You still like her?”

He gestured vaguely. “She’s your sister.”

I frowned. “So? What’s your point?”

“I don’t know.”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“I thought she had a boyfriend down on Long Island.”

I finished my beer with a long chug. “No. That was just a ... summer thing. She’s not with the guy.”

Pete shrugged at the information. “Oh.”

“And she ditched Ronnie back in the spring.”

“I knew that.”

“I don’t care if you go out with her, if that’s what you’re saying.”

“That’s probably not going to happen any time soon.”

“Why not?”

“I barely know her. She barely knows me.”

“Well, she does think you’re quiet.”

Pete turned to me. “She said that?”

“I guess. We were just talking about the band, and she said something like that. But not in a bad way.”

“Being quiet around girls is never a good thing,” he said softly.

As I was about to speak, Carl approached.

“Yo, do you guys have any more beer?”

I handed him my remaining two cans. “Here, knock yourself out. I’m done.”

“Cool, thanks. I’ll get you back next time. Those girls are totally into music, man! They might come hang at our next rehearsal.”

“Fine with me.”

“I’m done too,” Pete announced, passing his three cans to Carl.

“Whoa, sweet!”

Carl gave us a grin before taking the beers back to Bruno and the girls.

“Bad thing about this place is that we’re stuck here until Craig wants to head out,” Pete commented.

“I know. I’m ready to go.”

“Me too ... I guess we could just walk to Bri’s.”

I shrugged. “We could. Their back door is always open. And we can flag down the truck if we don’t get there before they do.”

“All right, let’s do it,” Pete said, rising.

We found Craig among a group of seniors. A familiar sweet smell hung in the air as we approached. A bowl of pot was being passed as we told him our plan. He offered to take off soon, but it was obvious that he didn’t really want to leave so we told him not to worry about it. Even though the weed skipped over him as it came around, I wasn’t sure I wanted to be in the back of his pickup truck anyway.

Carl and Bruno were much too absorbed in their new fans to care that we were heading out, so Pete and I were soon hiking through the woods toward the road.

“Do you think Brian and Elaine are in the truck?” I asked, as a glint of glass caught my eye through the trees.

“Probably. They were all over each other up at the party.”

We approached as quietly as we could. The pickup appeared empty in the darkness, but then I saw some hazy figures in the cab and some vague movement.

“We could sneak up and scare them,” I whispered.

“Nah, too many twigs on the ground,” Pete countered. “They’d hear us. Let’s just go.”

We angled off to meet the road, walking in silence. I wondered what Heather was doing. Was she out at a party as well? Probably with her friend Bill. It seemed like ages ago that I’d seen him in the drugstore when I was buying condoms. Hopefully he was keeping his word and not fooling around with Heather. Not that she would do that. A pang of anxiety swept through me. Three weeks was a long ways away. A lot could happen in that time. Too much...

Abruptly, I remembered that Bill had gone off to college. I needed to stop letting my thoughts run so rampant. Get a grip, Matt...

Pete intruded on my thoughts. “You ever smoked weed?” he asked.

I hesitated. “Um, yeah. When I was camping with Lara a few weeks ago, we met some people and they had some.”

“Cool.”

For a second, I considered telling him about the three college girls, but I didn’t feel the need to do so with Pete. This wasn’t a band rehearsal brag session, after all.

“You?” I returned.

“Once. When you were away this summer.”

I looked at him, somewhat surprised. “Where was that?”

“At some party we were at. I was wandering through the house trying to find the bathroom and found a few girls who were smoking a joint.”

“Who were they?”

“I don’t know. From some other town, I think. I was pretty drunk.”

“Were they cute?”

“Yeah, very. But I just took a few hits and kept wandering. It was kind of dumb. Not sure if I felt anything.”

“They were cute, huh? You should’ve stopped wandering, and maybe you would have felt something.”

Pete laughed slightly. “I know, right? Next time, I guess.”

“Next time,” I echoed.

“So, what, um, does Lara like to do?”

A grin wanted to spread across my face, but I kept it inside me. “Like to do?”

“Yeah. Like what’s she do for fun?”

She loves to have sex.

“Uh, well ... she reads a lot.”

“Great,” he said sarcastically. “I can take her to the library.”

“She likes music.”

“What kind?”

“Mostly cheesy shit, sadly. Paula Abdul, Madonna, that new singer, Mariah something.”

“Strike two.”

I chuckled. “But she likes some good music too. She’s into the stuff we listen to, but she just doesn’t have the albums. She’s borrowed my Zep tapes a lot.”

Pete sighed. “Well, it doesn’t really matter. Nothing’s going to happen.”

“You should talk to her some time, man.”

“What, about Madonna?” he joked.

Now I grinned. “Sure! She’d love it.”

“I was kidding, Matt.”

“And I wasn’t, believe me.”

A few days later, Lara popped into my room as I was in the middle of some homework. I turned down the music and looked at her expectantly, but she only dropped onto my bed and stared at the ceiling. I shrugged and went back to the algebra.

“What’s up?” she finally asked.

“Uh, math? What’s up with you?”

“Just bored.”

“All right, then.”

“Guess who’s coming in a few weeks.”

I gave her a sidelong glance. “Um, most obvious question in the world!”

Lara rolled her eyes. “Just guess.”

I continued working on the math problem. “Heather!”

“And?”

“Her parents!” I added tediously.

“And?”

I turned slowly toward her again, now a bit interested. “Someone else?”

She nodded. “Guess.”

I thought for a moment. My aunt and uncle? Then I knew. The idea was foreign, but welcome.

“Frej?”

Lara grinned. “Mom just told me that they invited him too.”

“Wow! Are you serious? I heard he’s never been away from the ocean. Wonder if he’ll feel dizzy up here?”

“After our moms get through with him, he probably will!”

“Jesus, Lara,” I spat, glancing at my open door.

“What? Why else would they invite him?”

“I don’t know, courtesy? Friendship? Not everything is about sex,” I added quietly.

“Maybe you’re right,” she moaned. “I need some action.”

“Go for a swim.”

“Not that kind of action.”

I sighed. “Okay, I guess everything is about sex. Did you run out of baby wipes?”

Lara chuckled. “No. But remember in Montauk, you were saying something about Pete?”

I grinned, since I was facing away from her. The timing was too good to believe! Still, I played dumb.

“Oh. That’s what this is about.”

“Maybe.”

“What about him?” I asked, pretending to work the quadratic formula.