The River's Edge (5 page)

Chapter Four

Elephant
in the Room

ON FRIDAY NIGHT, we had big doings—a dance at the camp’s pavilion.
It was the first dance of the summer and a time of excitement. Wendy put on a
yellow sundress and encouraged me to wear one, too, but I told her I hadn’t
worn a dress in years and wasn’t about to start now. Instead, I wore blue plaid
shorts and a white cotton shirt. Paige wore a matching short set with
sunflowers on it, which brought out her brown eyes and hair.

I looked at Wendy, all dressed up for the occasion. “Well, you
think you’re all that, and a piece of pie.”

“Shut up,” she said, hitting my shoulder.

When we were ready, we gathered on the porch.

“Well, don’t you girls look pretty,” Uncle Butch said. I was
beginning to feel like I was part of a family again.

We walked to the pavilion together, which was across the big
grassy field at the edge of the camp where the cottages ended. Inside, picnic
tables lined the edges of the pavilion. In the center was a dance floor and
against the back wall was a band. On the far left was a small concession stand.
Huge white ceiling fans hung overhead, cooling us from the heat.

People trickled in from all directions, young and old alike. We
chose the table closest to the door and sat down while my aunt and uncle stood
at the edge of the table greeting people as they entered. I looked around for
Julie and the gang, but didn’t see them.

Uncle Butch put down a bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag and
some plastic red cups. Then he threw down a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes.

“Alice, Bob! Over here,” he called, motioning the couple over.
They also had a brown bag and plastic cups.

I recognized the woman as the mother of the twins, Cody and
Callie. She had long blond hair parted in the middle and wore a flowered
sundress that ended above her knees.

“They’re no doubt trying to get in as much practice as possible to
win the dance contest this year,” Uncle Butch muttered to Aunt Lori, covering
his mouth with the back of his hand as he spoke.

“Don’t be an old fart,” Aunt Lori said, hitting him lightly on the
shoulder.

“I see Dr. Ferguson made it with his new
wife. She’s probably thinking that she done hit the jack pot marrying him. How
many does that make now, three?” Uncle Butch asked.

“You’re incorrigible,” Aunt Lori said.

Dr. Ferguson was older and wore a beige suit with a straw hat that
covered his thinning grey hair. He had round spectacles and a chubby face. He
also had a grey mustache and a round belly, with the chain of a pocket watch
stretched across his front. He pulled out a silver flask and took a long pull
from it, then offered it to the young lady by his side. She shook her head and
locked an elbow around his.

Before long, the pavilion was full and the wooden floor squeaked
under the weight. We sat across from Cody and Callie. They looked like
six-year-old angels sitting across from us with their blond curls outlining
their faces. The light shined through their hair, creating halos around their
heads.

“Paige likes Cody,” Wendy whispered above the noise.

“Do not.”

“Do too.”

I looked around for the gang again, worried they wouldn’t show.
The crowd blocked my view but after a few minutes, I finally saw them on the other
side of the pavilion in the back. They stood by the picnic table next to the
exit. I waved and Reds waved back. This was the first time I had seen him
without his Reds baseball cap. He was cute.

“Wendy, go to the snack bar and get us a bottle of pop and a
bucket of ice,” Uncle Butch said, handing her a ten.

“Hey,” Reds said as he approached us. “Come over to our table. We
got some . . .” He put his thumb to his lip and tilted his head back.

Wendy seemed to understand immediately what he was implying, but I
was puzzled.

“Alcohol,” she whispered in my ear.

“Oh,” I said.

“We’ll be right over, as soon as I get this back to my dad,” Wendy
said.

“Get us some pop and ice, too, and bring it over when you come,”
Reds said, disappearing into the crowd.

Wendy set the Coke and ice on the table while Aunt Lori and Uncle
Butch were busy talking. We hightailed it back toward the snack bar, eager to
meet up with the gang. Paige, who was talking to Cody and Callie, didn’t notice
us leave.

The singer blew into the microphone and the excitement grew. A
loud popping noise echoed from the speakers. “Let’s get this party started.”

Hands clapped, feet stomped, and the dance floor came alive with
the first song as we ordered from the pimply kid behind the concession counter.
A black-haired girl behind the counter looked at me curiously. I turned to the
dance floor and saw Aunt Lori and Uncle Butch dancing, the crowd shifting to
the sides to give them room.

“Hey, look,” I said, nudging Wendy’s shirt sleeve.

“Yep, there they go,” Wendy said.

“What dance is that?” I asked.

“It’s called the jitterbug. They’ll be at it all night.”

I hung onto every movement as they danced in the center of the
floor. They moved so closely to the beat of the music that they
became
the music. I wondered if I would ever be able to dance like that. They became a
single unit of grace. Other couples danced together, but Aunt Lori and Uncle
Butch stole the show with their fancy footwork and elaborate turns.

“How do two people dance like that without
talking, without knowing what the other is going to do?” I asked, impressed.

“They’ve been dancing together like that a long time,” Wendy said,
unimpressed.

After we ordered the Coke and ice, we weaved our way over to the
gang. Julie was standing at the head of the table with Tommy. Freckles leaned
against the picnic table, a camouflage backpack next to his feet.

“Well, well, look who it is, New Girl and Wendy,” Julie said.

Reds walked up from behind. “Leave them alone, Julie. They brought
the pop and ice.”

I liked Reds. He was always sticking up for us.

Wendy placed the Coke and ice in front of Julie. She was the
tootsie roll center in a lollipop crowd. Everyone circled around her, wanting
to be by her side. She had a way about her that seemed magical. You know, the
one that had
it,
whatever that was. You knew it when you spotted it, or
were in the presence of it, but it was too difficult to explain.

She was wearing a mini skirt and a tight shirt. She looked like a
cheerleader. All that was missing were the pom-poms.
Rah, rah, ree, kick ’em
in the knee. Rah, rah, rass . . . kick ’em in the other knee.
She had
red-painted fingernails with matching toenails. She looked so grown up. And
well, I didn’t. I should have re-thought the dressing up thing.

“Put ice in the cups,” Julie said to me.

I filled each cup with ice, handed them to Julie, who filled them
with Coke and handed them to Freckles, who then added what looked like whiskey.
It was a sophisticated assembly line and I felt important. I was deliriously
happy to be in her circle. The pounding of the drum echoed in my heart, beating
forcefully against my chest. It was loud and magical. Other kids looked at me
with jealous eyes as I huddled around the queen.

Freckles handed a cup to each of us.

I took mine hesitantly. “Thanks,” I said meekly and glanced over
to see if Aunt Lori and Uncle Butch were watching. They were too busy dancing
to notice anything we were doing. Julie took a sip, then looked at me.

“Well, New Girl, you going to look at it or drink
it?” Julie asked.

I put the cup to my lips and swallowed as everyone watched. It
burned my throat all the way to my stomach and left me breathless. I faked a
smile and nodded my head. “That’s good.”

First smoking, now drinking. I was surely going to hell for this,
and I hoped it was worth it. I was breaking all my mom’s rules in the first
week.

With music pulsing in my ears, I swayed back and forth with the
beat. Julie leaned close to Tommy and whispered in his ear. Flirting came easy
to her and she practiced it often. She swiped the loose hair from her forehead.
I turned into her hair, trying to listen through the corn silk strands draped
close to her face, but I still couldn’t hear her.

After their drinks were finished, Julie and Tommy moved onto the
dance floor. Their hips moved to the beat as they moved back and forth
rhythmically. They looked good dancing together because they were both tall.
Tommy held up his hand and Julie turned under his arm, flipping her hair across
his face as she did.

Next, Owl and Wendy paired up. Owl looked a little reluctant, but
before the song was halfway through, they were dancing sloppily next to Julie
and Tommy. I took a gulp from my drink and my stomach fluttered as Reds
approached me from the other side of the table.

“Come on, let’s dance,” he said. He held out
his sweaty hand.

“I don’t know how . . .” I started, but he took my hand and pulled
me gently onto the dance floor. My heart started beating faster.

Julie saw me, gave me the thumbs-up sign, and smiled. Reds and I
were surrounded by the dancing crowd and I was trying to keep up, but mostly we
stumbled around each other. When he raised his hand for me to turn right, I
turned left and lost my balance. I tried to find my place and grow light on my
feet, but it was no use. His hands sweated in mine and he wasn’t bending at the
knees.

I was feeling the heat in my cheeks, either from embarrassment or
the whiskey, I didn’t know which. We were struggling. Flame-faced, we finally
gave up and went back to our picnic table where Freckles was waiting.

I really noticed Reds then. He had black hair
in a thick crop of curls. His eyes were emerald green. He smiled, revealing
even white teeth. I forgot my shyness and smiled back. My head felt light as I
got caught up in the excitement
of the evening. It felt good. I released some
of the anxiety I had been carrying around all week worrying about my mom.

Reds put his hand on my shoulder, guiding me through the crowd
toward the exit in the back. Outside, he held my hand while we left the dancing
to everyone else. The music wasn’t as loud, but I still had a hard time hearing
him.

“Want a cigarette?” Reds asked.

“What?”

“Cigarette?” he asked, handing the pack to me.

“No.” I felt awkward. I no sooner got the word out before he
leaned over and kissed me on the lips. He smelled like cigarettes and tasted
like whiskey. I didn’t like it.

The screen door slammed and I looked in that direction, glad for
the interruption.

“There you are,” Julie said as she came over and draped her arm
sloppily around my shoulder. I could smell her hair. It smelled as if lemons
and oranges danced together creating the perfect citrusy aroma.

When we got back inside, I watched my aunt and uncle dance some
more. Paige and Cody had locked elbows and were twirling in the middle of the
dance floor. Callie was twirling by herself next to them.

At eight o’clock, the singer spoke into the microphone. “Okay,
kids, anyone who’s not eighteen or older, it’s time for you to leave.” When we
didn’t shuffle out fast enough, he repeated, “All those younger than eighteen,
we have to say good night.”

Julie whispered something into Wendy’s ear as Uncle Butch waved us
over from across the dance floor. Wendy grabbed my arm and I waved bye to
everyone. I followed Wendy through the dispersing crowd.


Parents huddled their children outside,
giving last instructions. Alice was talking to a girl who looked like she was a
couple of years older than us. I guessed she was Cody and Callie’s babysitter.
It seemed all the kids were outside now, being shooed away.

Uncle Butch followed us outside the pavilion to give us our
instructions while Aunt Lori stayed inside. “Get Paige to bed and you can stay
up another hour, but you can’t leave the cottage.” Uncle Butch swayed while he
was speaking. A warm breeze enveloped me. As we started to leave, I heard Uncle
Butch’s voice.

“Hey, Alice. Have you ever seen my imitation of an elephant?”

I turned around to see what was happening. He was standing with
both pockets turned inside out of his pants. Then he pretended to unzip his
fly. “Get it?”

“You’re incorrigible,” Alice said, waving him away with a swoosh
of her hand.

That was the second time I heard that word in one night.
Obviously, Uncle Butch was a pretty good example of it.

He raised both hands toward the sky. “Oh, come on, it’s funny . .
.”

Wendy grabbed my hand and we double-timed it back to the cottage,
Paige running behind us to catch up. We put Paige to bed and waited for her to
fall asleep. Fifteen long minutes passed before she fluttered into dreamland.

“Okay, here’s the deal,” Wendy whispered. “We’re meeting the gang
in the game room over there.” She pointed out the window to our next
destination. It was a cinder block building just off to the left of Uncle
Butch’s cottage.