The Tears of Pelican Bay

The Tears of Pelican Bay (5-7)

             He arrived at the beach house to find the moving truck
waiting in the crescent drive. The movers were around back and
he heard them talking to someone. He walked around the house and
to his surprise it was Max.
"They called me when they couldn't get you on the phone," said
Max.
Chad, embarrassed, pulled out his cell phone and found 3
unanswered messages.
"Max, I'm so sorry. I don't know why I didn't hear it ring." He
knew exactly why he didn't hear it. He had left it in the car
the night before and he thought to himself that he would never
be able to keep up with a cell phone.
"Its ok, Chad. It's therapeutic. Besides threes a lot more of
stuff in there than I thought. I should go through some of it."
"You don't have to worry about that now, Max. You can go through
everything after they move it out of here."
"No its ok. There's a lot of good memories here too. Especially
out here. We used to barbeque out here all the time. My mother
loved to cook and I remember my dad playing football on his
knees in the sand with us. Then she would get in to it and
before long, they were rolling in the sand in each others arms
and my brother and I would be looking at each other wondering
what had happened to our football game. I remember them kissing
and hugging us and each other all the time. It always amazed me,
even as a little boy, how much they loved each other."
Max had that look again that told Chad that he was far, far
away, in another place or another time.

***
           David awoke to the smell of bacon and the sound of Lisa
pleading with the boys to get up and get ready for school. It
was like that every day in the Meyers home. He descended the
staircase still putting on his robe.
"Let's go guys, you heard your mother, up and at ‘em!"
Joey was 7 and Max almost 6, both a bundle of energy but as limp
as sack of potatoes at that time of the morning. When their
mother would coax them out of their rooms for breakfast, they
never felt the urgency. But when their father came down, he
meant business and they scrambled. Neither cared much for
school, especially since they had moved to the Bay. They would
prefer to stay home and swim and if Mom wasn't around, Dad might
even let them, yet another reason to stay on his good side.
David walked into the kitchen and over to the stove where Lisa
had just dropped four perfectly shaped circles of pancake batter
on the griddle. He moved her hair and kissed her on the back of
the neck. She smiled and closed her eyes before turning around
and kissing him softly on the lips.
"You know Ill get home late again tonight, right?" asked David.
"Hmmmm...Good morning to you too. And how was your night?" she
asked.
"Id say adequate is a fair assessment?"
"Adequate?" she squealed pushing him away.
Always the one to start picking, David, as usual got the
reaction he had hoped for. He was enjoying her playful protest
and he flashed a devilish smile at her as he poured himself a
cup of coffee. He sat at the table and opened the newspaper,
still grinning ear to ear, hardly able to keep from laughing
himself out of his chair.
"Ill tell you what David, since our sex life is merely adequate,
let's do this... First we throw out all the toys...you do know
what toys I mean, right David? And then there's the lingerie,
that will have to go too. Oh and maybe we should try sleeping in
different beds! Maybe different bedrooms...you wouldn't want to
be tempted to resort to simple adequacy again now would you? You
know what? I think Ill get some of those parachute panties! The
big ones like my grandmother wore. What do you think, David?"
He couldn't hold it back any more. He dropped the paper and
rolled out of the chair and on to the floor laughing so hard his
eyes teared.
"Parachute panties??!!...ooh...sexy!!" he said.
Lisa was laughing too and got on her knees, hitting David
playfully on the rear with the spatula. He reached up and
grabbed her and pulled her on the floor rolling her on her back.
He looked in to her eyes and kissed her on the tip of the nose
and at that moment they realized that both boys were standing
there watching them, shirts un-tucked and shoes untied. Joey was
holding an empty lunchbox with the lid open and hanging down
below his knee.
"Mommy", he said, "the pancakes are on fire."
Lisa saw the smoke bellowing from the pan and jumped up.
David was still smiling and Max just stared at him lying there
on his back, still unsure of what he had seen. David wondered to
himself if Max would tell his teacher that Mommy and Daddy were
rolling on the kitchen floor while breakfast burned.

***

             The Penguin Bay Bluffs along Scenic Highway towered over
the shoreline. It was mostly a man made beach and the bluffs a
natural product of erosion over time. The irregular pitted face
of the walls housed sandy alcoves that many youngsters and
sometimes oldsters alike often used as a lovers lane of sorts.
For many years it was a refuge for wild nature and as much of
the human kind in the small quiet bayside community.
             Everyone had been waiting for the party for over a month. Jack
Prater was ever the popular one and nothing was going to keep
him from being there. He had violated curfew the weekend before
and his mother had, not only taken his car away but put him on
lock down for a two weeks as well. At the time he thought it a
small price to pay for a couple of extra hours with Felicia
Brady. He lived just a few blocks away from the Stop and Go and
would sneak out and go there nearly every night anyway. It was a
mile or so from the bluffs and that is where everybody would go
to get their party nights in gear. And that is where Chad Harper
picked up Jack on the way. As they pulled off to the shoulder of
the road to park behind the other vehicles Jack noticed Sam
Irving's old rusted four door Mercury parked up ahead on the
shoulder of the opposite lane.
"Dude, check it out...that's old man Irving's hooptie. Eddies
here...that stupid kid never learns does he?"
"He's weird but I think he's harmless," said Chad as they got
out of the car.
"Eddie?" Jack yelled out as loud as he could but of course, no
answer. Chad was startled and watched him, wondering what he was
going to do. As a friend, Jack was often a liability.
             Eddie was a loner, a Goth...the only one in school and he
drew a lot of unwanted attention, some of it shameful and cruel
from guys like Jack and his evil circle of friends. Even his
teachers were often suspicious of him and long before it was
common in the news, Eddie fit the standard campus killer profile
-the long hair, black clothes, the trench coat and his quiet
and withdrawn demeanor. To many, it was not a matter of if he
snapped, but when. He had moved to Penguin Bay from Oregon with
his father, a former marine who came east to work the rigs in
the Gulf of Mexico. Sam Irving had not done well after his
wife's death and he drank a lot. It didn't take long for him to
drink himself into unemployment, poverty and depression. They
lived together in a secluded trailer park 3 miles inland from
the Bluffs. Though he sometimes took odd jobs and day labor,
Sam had not worked a stable job in months and rarely was there
any money, at least not that Eddie saw but he took notice that
Sam always had booze. He had a mean streak and Eddie was, all
too often, on the receiving end of it. Many times he had been
blamed for his mother death. It was usually the booze talking
but it hurt nonetheless. It had long affected him and may have
contributed to his dark personality, although he wasn't much
different when his mother was around, maybe less reserved. He
was different all right...not unpleasant to anyone and not
malicious but he had every right to be, despite having brought
many of his problems on himself. This night was no different.
Eddie Irving just wanted to fit in and for once to be part of
the gang. He had come earlier and planned to wait until the
party was in full swing, then move in and look for an
opportunity to mingle. Maybe, he thought, someone would ask him
to stay, though he knew that was wishful thinking. Maybe he
would catch a glimpse of Felicia or one of the other girls. He
fantasized about girls all the time, though none from school
would be seen with him. His mind would wander off in class,
daydreaming about Felicia Brady and it often got him in trouble
with his teachers. Of course, Felicia was Jacks girlfriend and
she would never even look at Eddie, much less go to a party or a
sandy alcove at the Penguin Bay Bluffs with him. That he was
even there was par for the course. The kid just never learned.
             Jack crossed the highway and walked toward the rusted old
car. He was the ultimate high school bully, and just because he
could be. Nobody challenged him, ever. When he approached the
car he noticed that the door was unlocked and the keys were in
the ignition. Chad heard him laugh from across the street and
watched him toss the keys in the air before putting them in his
pocket. He wasn't finished though. He pulled out a butterfly
knife, flipped it open and heaved the tip of the blade in
Eddie's rear tire ripping the side wall as he pulled it out.
With a gush of air the tire deflated and he and walked back
across the highway just as the lights of an oncoming car
illuminated the features of his face. Even from the distance
Chad saw the coldness in his eyes as they reflected the light
like those of an animal. When Jack had returned Chad was staring
at him, shocked at what he had done.
"What?" ask Jack as if nothing had happened. His breath was
short and heavy as if having just reached the climax of an
extreme rush.
"I can't believe you did that! Are you crazy?" Chad was shaken.
"Loosen up Harper, he's got a spare," said Jack.
"What about the keys?" asked Chad.
"He'll get them back. He's just going to have to work for them."
After a brief moment of disbelief, Chad smiled, then snickered.
He shook his head and headed down the boardwalk still uneasy
about what he had witnessed.
             The night was a cool one and the party carried on by the
fire. After about an hour one of the kids spotted Eddie Irving
standing on the beach watching the party from a distance. Eddie
had long heard of the bluffs and its infamous bonfire parties
with plenty of girls and booze for everyone. He had always
wanted to see what went on there with his own eyes and not hear
about it on Monday morning at school.
"Hey Eddie! Come on over! Have a beer!" said one of the boys. A
couple of the girls echoed the invitation and that was enough to
draw Eddie in toward the bonfire. Although he was suspicious,
his diluted fantasy of being a part of the crowd was stoked,
even if for a short while. As he approached the fire, Jack
turned around; all his dramatic and arrogant prowess on display
and Eddie was face to face with the last person he would ever
want to see.
"I've been looking for you Eddie," said Jack.
"Yeah right...why would you be looking for me?"
"Well...for starters, you've got a flat! Looks like someone cut it
up real bad. Sorry pal, tough luck, huh?" said Jack.
Eddie exhaled a long and deliberate sigh. He knew that if it
were true, that Jack had something to do with it. His distress
was obvious and his voice cracked as he talked to himself under
his breath acknowledging that his father was going to kill him.
"Come on, Eddie, no sniffling, ok? You're embarrassing me," said
Jack. Some of the bystanders laughed. Eddie was used to being
humiliated and said nothing, letting them have their laughs and
hoping he would get away this time without spilling any of his
own blood. He tried to walk away toward the boardwalk but Zach
stood in his way. Chad watched, unable to believe what Jack was
doing. He had known him since the fourth grade. He was a bully
then too, but it was different now, less about the instincts of
a young alpha male and more akin to terrorizing the locals.
"Jack, let him go," said Chad.
"Let him go? Eddie came to party, didn't you Eddie? Besides,
can't go anywhere without these," Jack said, holding up the
metal chain with two dull unpolished keys hanging from it.
"Please, just give me my keys," said Eddie.
Jack twisted the top off a bottle of beer and extended it to
Eddie who just looked at it waiting with angst to see what Jack
would do. As he expected, Jack pulled it back and drank from it
himself.
"I'll tell you what. Here's what I'm going to do for you. I'm
going to give you a chance to earn your keys back. You see that
light down there?" Jack pointed to a beach house about five
hundred yards down the beach. "There's a woman there Eddie, some
suits old lady. The guys always working, day and night and she's
always alone. I've been down there a time or two myself," said
Jack, polishing his fingernails on his shirt, falsely implying
or boasting of an intimate encounter.
"Here's what you have to do, Eddie... You walk right up the
sliding glass door and knock three times. When she answers the
door, tell her you have a message for her. That's the code,
Eddie. Tell her that and she will rock your world, just like she
rocked mine. Bring me back a souvenir and you get your keys...and,
I'll help you change that tire. After that, we party together
every weekend! What do you say, Eddie...you up to it or are you
going to sit here and sniffle?"
Eddie knew he could not do what Jack had challenged. He
couldn't. It was probably better to tell him what he wanted to
hear, let him have his little laugh and get out while he could.
He would not get his keys and his father was probably going to
beat him but at least he thought he had a better chance with
him.
"Yeah, whatever," he replied as he started to walk away.
"Well ok, if that's the way you feel. But the way I see it, you
don't have anything to lose and everything to gain. What do
say?" asked Jack.
Eddie was gullible enough to start wondering if there was
even the slightest bit of truth to what Jack was saying. Maybe
there was a lonely wife living in that house, longing for more
than a workaholic husband could provide. Maybe it was his
desperate desire for friendship and to have girls to like him
that had him beginning to buy the nonsense that Jack was
selling. Tell him what he wants to hear, he thought to himself.
Just tell him what he wants to hear.
"A message, right? Isn't that what you said?" asked Eddie.
"That's right. She'll know what your there for," said Jack.
As Eddie walked away, Jacks smile grew into a sinister bout of
laughter. Chad knew that the lady who lived in that beach house
would call the police on Eddie. He was ashamed to have even been
there and decided that it was time to leave.
"Chad, where you going?" asked Jack.
"I've got to go Jack. That kids going to get into a lot of
trouble for something you put him up to and then his old man's
going to beat him to a pulp for the tire too. I don't want to be
a part of your games anymore. I'm sure you can find a ride
home."

Next...The Tears of Pelican Bay (Conclusion)