Backtracker (18 page)

"
Oh no
!
"
giggled Jane Niessner.

"
The guy took off before we could say another word,
"
Larry smiled while everyone laughed.
"
Butch just turns to e and says
'
Boy! Them Christians must be meaner than I thought!
'"

"
Butch wasn
'
t too smart, was he
?
"
laughed Ernie.

"
He only took those brains of his out on special occasions,
"
said Larry.
"
Like for card games. He must
'
ve won every poker game I ever saw him play, and he didn
'
t cheat, either. He was smart enough when he wanted to be, but that wasn
'
t too often.
"
His latest story completed, Larry lifted his beer and drank what was left in the cup. An amused and satisfied smile remained on his face, evidence of his enjoyment of telling stories to a receptive audience.

While the gang chattered and joked, Dave Heinrich turned his attention to the girl in his arms. Darlene was laughing brightly, her body jiggling against him, and he was glad that she was having a good time.

Impulsively, Dave pulled her more tightly against him, pressed his clasped hands more firmly against her stomach. When she felt the change in his grip, Darlene turned to look over her shoulder at him.

Dave thought that she looked beautiful, and he felt a swift rush of affection for the girl. Her wide brown eyes, the slight flush in her cheeks, the gentle smile on her small mouth
-
all these combined to form a picture that truly touched him, turned a key deep within him.

"
What do you think you
'
re doing, buster
?
"
Darlene asked at last.
"
Are you trying to crush me or something
?
"
she said, her voice bell
-
like and teasing.

"
No,
"
Dave said softly, smiling back at her.
"
I just don
'
t want to let you get away.
"

"
Why
?
"
asked Darlene, smirking coyly.
"
Are you afraid I might run off with somebody else here?
"

"
I don
'
t know,
"
said Dave.
"
Were you thinking about it?
"

"
Would you be jealous if I did
?
"
she smiled, cuddling against him.

"
You better believe it,
"
he whispered, and then he kissed her.

As her lips moved and lingered against his, Dave felt happy. He was having a great time at the party, and he felt a little drunk, and Darlene was very close to him. His personal army of anxieties had retreated in the distance, become no more than a tiny speck on the horizon; he
wasn
'
t
worrying about school, or his troubles at work, or his bickering family, or even his future. He
wasn
'
t
fretting about Darlene, either,
wasn
'
t
worrying about his future, or lack of future, with her; he was simply relishing her company, the light in her eyes, the feel of her soft lips. He felt clear and clean and free and young and careless, the way that he wished that he could feel every minute of his life.

Just as Darlene
'
s lips separated from his, Dave heard a shout from the living room. Both he and Darlene instinctively turned to look in the direction of the racket.

They saw a guy swaggering through the crowd, beaming and shouting greetings at the people around him.
He had
a crazy, tousled mop of auburn hair, and a thin fringe of beard that ran from his ears to his chin, but no mustache; his face was big and round as a pumpkin, and his wild eyes were nearly obscured by huge cheeks pumped upward by his grin. At first glance, he might appear to be some sort of renegade
Amish man
, a devilish, gleeful rebel clad in a Hawaiian shirt instead of a plain smock and coveralls, his odd beard the only remnant of his Amish heritage.

"
Who
'
s that
?
"
asked Darlene.

"
Jeff Tressler,
"
supplied Dave.
"
He
'
s a cousin of Billy
'
s.
"

"
Nice shirt,
"
she quipped, wagging her head.
"
Looks like he just flew in from Tahiti.
"

"
Yeah,
"
chuckled Dave.
"
Jeff
'
s a real character.
"

"
Hey hey hey, everybody
!
"
whooped Jeff, hoisting both hands in the air and waving a salute to the kitchen crew.
"
What it is, people!
"

"
What
'
s up, Jeff
?
"
chuckled Billy.

"
Oh, the stars, the moon, the ceiling,
"
flipped Jeff, his grin expanding, inflating his pillowy cheeks even more.

"
Ho ho ho,
"
Jack Bunsen grunted sarcastically.
"
That
'
s really funny, Jeffy.
"

"
Thanks
!
"
piped Jeff.
"
So how
'
s this party then? Hope I didn
'
t miss nothin
'
!
"

"
No, you didn
'
t miss anything,
"
replied Billy.
"
Party
'
s just gettin
'
geared up.
"

"
Man, I had a
hell
of a time finding someplace to park,
"
bubbled Jeff.
"
All those
cars
out there, man. I had to park the whole way down in front of Ernie
'
s place, practically.
"

"
Just so you didn
'
t knock over the mailbox again,
"
chuckled Ernie.

"
Hey,
"
returned Jeff, poking a finger in Ernie
'
s direction.
"
Maybe if you hadn
'
t put it up so close to the road, I wouldn
'
t
'
ve hit it in the first place!
"

"
Right,
"
leveled Jack Bunsen.
"
You got so wasted you couldn
'
t even walk straight, you sneaked out to your car instead of waiting for one of us to take you home, you plowed over Ernie
'
s mailbox, and now it
'
s
his
fault.
"

"
Aw, I wasn
'
t even drunk that night,
"
insisted Jeff.

"
Whatever you say,
"
snickered Jack, casting an amused glance at Billy.

"
Is that where everyone
'
s been parking
?
"
interjected Larry Smith.
"
Out along the road?
"

"
Where else
is
there
?
"
grinned Jeff.
"
Billy
'
s teeny
-
weeny driveway only
holds
like three cars.
"

"
We park there all the time,
"
Billy said casually.

"
Huh,
"
Larry said thoughtfully, cocking his head to one side.
"
Never have any trouble? With the township, I mean. Sometimes they get picky about that kind of stuff.
"

"
Nah,
"
said Billy, shaking his head.
"
Nobody
'
s ever hassled us about it. Township cops are pretty cool about that shit.
"

"
Well,
"
shrugged Larry,
"
that
'
s good then. As long as the cops don
'
t give you any trouble, that
'
s great.
"

"
Don
'
t worry about it,
"
Billy said confidently.
"
They
never
hassle us out here. We
'
re practically out in the country, y
'
know?
"

"
They
'
re very lax about that kind of thing,
"
agreed Ernie.
"
The police don
'
t care where you park, or if you
'
re having a party, as long as nobody else cares.
"

"
Yeah,
"
snorted Jack Bunsen.
"
The cops spend all their time drinking down at Ed
'
s Beer Garden, anyway.
"

"
Great, great,
"
Larry said coolly.
"
That
'
s good to know. If I ever get a car, I won
'
t have to worry about leaving it along the road here.
"

"
You got it,
"
grinned Billy, spreading his arms wide.
"
This is the perfect party place, Larry. Lots of parking, hardly any neighbors, and no nosy cops. It
'
s Heaven on Earth, man.
"

"
Hey
!
"
hollered Jeff, jabbing a finger toward Larry.
"
Who
is
this guy, anyway? I never seen him before!
"

"
Jeff, this is Larry Smith,
"
said Billy.
"
Larry, this is my cousin, Jeff Tressler.
"

"
Hey,
"
chucked Jeff, nodding at Larry.
"
What
'
s up, man?
"

"
Oh, not much,
"
Larry said slyly, drawing a hand over his
crew
-
cut
.
"
The moon, the stars, the ceiling, that kind of thing.
"

Everyone laughed, and the party continued.

*****

About an hour after Jeff
'
s arrival, Larry stopped telling stories and excused himself from the kitchen, saying that he wanted to get some fresh air. As soon as he got up, Jeff Tressler leaped in to commandeer his seat at the table.

On his way out of the kitchen, Larry paused near Dave and Darlene and invited them to join him. Naturally, Dave was eager to follow his new idol, and Darlene quickly agreed that it sounded like a good idea. Grabbing their coats from atop the refrigerator, the couple muddled through the crowd after Larry.

Dave felt relieved when he stepped outside; though
he'd
been enjoying the party, it really was warm and stuffy in the trailer, so the cool air and open space was quite soothing. As he stood on the front stoop and pulled on his coat, he took a deep breath and released a satisfied sigh.

Larry
hadn
'
t
bothered with a coat, but he
didn
'
t
seem affected by the chilly night air. Clad in a black T
-
shirt and bluejeans, he strode briskly down the steps to the yard, not shivering a bit. Planting his hands on his hips, he gazed up at the starry sky, frosty puffs of breath rising silently from his smile.

"
Ahhh,
"
sighed Larry, peering upward, lit by the glow from the trailer
'
s windows.
"
It
'
s a beautiful night, isn
'
t it?
"

"
Sure is,
"
agreed Dave, tugging up the zipper of his coat.
"
Lots of stars,
"
he said, and then he craned his head back to watch the sky, duplicating Larry
'
s stance.

"
I always like stargazing,
"
offered Darlene, also looking upward.
"
I don
'
t know what any of them are called, but I like to look at them anyway.
"

"
You don
'
t need to know their names,
"
said Larry. Slowly, he began to turn around, his eyes still trained on the cosmos.

"
Hey, Larry,
"
said Dave.
"
Do the stars look different from different places in the world? Like, are they a little different when you see them from Argentina, or Turkey or wherever?
"

"
They
seem
different,
"
Larry said slowly, continuing his gradual rotation.
"
Each place makes you feel different, so the stars seem different.
"

"
So how do you feel when you see them from here
?
"
asked Darlene.

"
Strange,
"
sighed Larry, and he stopped turning, paused with his back to Dave and Darlene.
"
I feel strange.
"

"
What do you mean
?
"
wondered Darlene.
"
Why do you feel strange?
"

For a moment, Larry was silent, and the noise from the trailer seemed to grow louder.
"
I feel younger,
"
he said finally.
"
I also feel very, very old.
"
He drew in a deep breath, then released it.

"
Why
?
"
asked Dave.
"
You don
'
t act like you feel old.
"

"
Well, thanks,
"
said Larry.

"
Is it the age difference
?
"
asked Dave.
"
Is it because we
'
re all younger than you?
"

"
Maybe,
"
sighed Larry, and then he started to slowly turn again, still looking to the stars.
"
Maybe that
'
s part of it.
"

"
You shouldn
'
t feel old,
"
said Darlene.
"
I don
'
t think anybody here considers you old.
"

"
Yeah,
"
joined Dave.
"
It
'
s like you
'
re just one of the gang. Everybody really likes you.
"

"
Do they?
"
Larry stopped turning again, this time facing Dave and Darlene, and he smiled at them.
"
Well, that
'
s nice to hear.
"

"
Maybe that
'
s why you feel young,
"
suggested Darlene.
"
Being around us.
"

"
Yes,
"
said Larry, turning his gaze to the windows of the trailer, the party within.
"
That might have something to do with it.
"

"
Well, that
'
s good, then,
"
smiled Darlene.
"
If we make you feel young, and we make you feel old, too, we
'
ll just have to work harder to make you feel younger.
"

"
No no no,
"
laughed Larry.
"
You
'
re all doing just fine. Don
'
t go out of your way to make me feel like a kid again, or I
'
ll
really
feel old.
"
Grinning, he crossed his arms and looked down at the ground.

"
Do you
want
to be a kid again
?
"
Darlene asked sunnily.

"
God, yes,
"
chuckled Larry Smith.
"
Too bad you can
'
t stay young forever.
"

"
Who says so
?
"
piped Dave.
"
I
'
m
planning to.
"

"
Well, I hate to break the news to you,
"
Larry said lightly,
"
but you
'
ll never pull if off.
"

"
Stranger things have happened,
"
smiled Dave.

"
That
'
s for sure,
"
chuckled Larry.
"
I
'
ve seen quite a
few
strange things in my time.
"

"
Like Jeff
'
s Hawaiian shirt
?
"
laughed Darlene.

"
Well, that
'
s definitely
one
of them,
"
conceded Larry.
"
He sure seems like he
'
s one of a kind, all right.
"

"
He
'
s pretty goofy,
"
said Dave,
"
but he
'
s not a bad guy.
"

"
Reminds me a little of my old buddy Butch,
"
smirked Larry.
"
He
'
s a loudmouth, but he doesn
'
t mean any harm.
"

"
Huh,
"
said Dave.
"
Whatever happened to Butch, anyway?
"

With a sigh, Larry uncrossed his arms and clasped his hands behind his head.
"
He died. Died young.
"

"
That
'
s too bad,
"
offered Dave.

"
Well, everybody dies young, in a manner of speaking,
"
Larry said slowly.
"
Once you get to a certain age, the person you started out as dies off, and someone completely different takes over.
"

"
I guess you
'
re right,
"
said Dave, and then he fell silent. Larry
'
s words had really hit home, pinpointed the exact struggle that Dave was experiencing in his life. With graduation approaching, he was faced with important decisions and new responsibilities; his life was about to change, and he
wasn
'
t
sure what form it would take, and he was frightened of that impending metamorphosis. Indeed, he felt as if the original Dave Heinrich was about to die, and a strange, different person was waiting to replace him.

Dave was amazed at how deftly, and seemingly without meaning to, Larry had summed up his personal conflict. Just like that, in a casual, off
-
the
-
cuff comment, Larry had zeroed in on Dave
'
s central dilemma, and he
didn
'
t
even seem to be aware of the effect of what
he'd
said. There was wisdom in that guy, wisdom that emerged in even the most impromptu and incidental of his words.

"
So,
"
Darlene said pleasantly.
"
Are you having fun tonight, Larry?
"

"
Oh yeah,
"
nodded Larry.
"
It
'
s been a good party. Good people, you know? People make the party.
"

"
Crazy people,
"
smiled Dave.
"
They
'
re really a bunch of nuts.
"

"
Yeah,
"
laughed Larry,
"
but they
'
re
good
nuts. Out of everybody I
'
ve met so far, I haven
'
t met one bad apple.
"

"
I haven
'
t known them as long as Dave has,
"
said Darlene,
"
but I think they
'
re all pretty nice, too.
"
Smiling affectionately at Dave, she slid her arm around his waist and tugged him tightly against her.

"
That Billy
'
s sure something,
"
grinned Larry, shaking his head.
"
Seems like he lives for these parties, huh?
"

"
Definitely,
"
Dave nodded emphatically.
"
He
'
s been having parties out here for
years
, just about every week, and he never gets sick of them.
"

"
Ernie
'
s a nice guy, isn
'
t he
?
"
said Darlene.

"
Oh yeah,
"
smiled Larry, sinking his hands into the pockets of his bluejeans.
"
He
'
s really intelligent, but he doesn
'
t act like an intellectual. Doesn
'
t try to make everyone else feel stupid.
"

"
You know he wants to be a doctor, right
?
"
said Dave.

"
No,
"
said Larry.
"
I didn
'
t know till now, but that seems about right for him. He seems like he
'
d be a good doctor.
"