HARVEST MOON by BOOMERCAT RATED FRT

Gordon comes of age. A story from the Tracys' childhood.

Ruth Tracy looked up at the groan echoing through the household. What now?

She didn't have long to wait as her fourteen-year-old grandson came clattering down the stairs. "Grandma! I've got a zit!"

The boy topped her by a head, and she had to peer up past the tragic amber eyes to see the spot smack dab in the middle of his forehead. Ruth pursed her lips, "And what if you do? It's not the end of the world, Gordon."

The adolescent stared at her as if she had gone mad. "Grandma, tonight's the Harvest Dance at the school! I can't take Patty looking like this!"

"You most certainly can, and you will. No grandson of mine is going to leave a girl standing alone. Now you just march upstairs and get ready for school, and stop this foolishness."

Gordon stared at her for a long moment, then with shoulders slumped turned away. "Yes, ma'am," he said, his voice heavy with defeat.

As she watched the teen climb the stairs, she sighed. "Gordon," she called. When he turned, a look of hopelessness in his eyes, she shook her head. "In my bathroom cabinet, on the second shelf, get the bottle of Acnagone and bring it here."

She didn't really hold with vanity, but Gordon was in the throes of puberty. She could still remember how strongly her own emotions had run at the time. A simple thing like a blemish could be earth-shattering. The alacrity with which the boy returned, holding the bottle as if it held the elixir of life itself, told her all she needed to know.

He stood before her chair, holding out the bottle with a mixture of hope and trepidation in his eyes. "Well, get down here, sweetie. Kneel here in front of me."

Gordon knelt in front of her, his eyes glued on her face. Biting his lip, he asked, "Will it hurt?"

"And if it does? Surely the big dance is worth a little bit of pain." Ruth gently teased the boy. Screwing the top off of the bottle revealed an applicator tip. She squeezed a small amount of gel directly on the spot, then sat back. "There. All done."

"Is it gone?" Gordon whispered hopefully.

"No, honey. The gel takes several hours to work. Now, you don't have practice until after school, right?"

"No, Coach is giving us the night off because of the dance. I have to be at the pool at 7a.m. tomorrow, though."

"Gordon, tomorrow is your brother's birthday. You're not going to be gone all day, are you?"

"No, I'll be home by three, Grandma." The boy shrugged, "Besides, it's not as if Johnny's going to hang around. Not with Stephanie taking up all his time."

Ruth heard the wistfulness in the boy's voice. Gordon had always looked up to his older brothers, and with Scott in England and Virgil in Denver, both attending college, it was John who bore the brunt of the hero worship.

But John had a steady girlfriend now, and less time for his little brothers. It didn't seem to bother Alan, but Gordon truly seemed to miss him. Ruth made a mental note to speak to John about it. A girlfriend was all well and good, but family was forever. More so for her grandsons than most, having grown up motherless.

She looked at Gordon, her hand reaching to caress his cheek. "Your brother loves you, don't you ever doubt that."

Gordon rolled his eyes. "Grandma..."

"All right, I know. Manly men don't admit to love. You scoot, I don't want to hear you've missed the bus. Oh, and put this back where you found it."

Gordon popped up, and took the bottle. "Thanks, Grandma."

He started for the stairs, then stopped, and came back and kissed Ruth's cheek before trotting away.

Ruth smiled, a hand going to her cheek.

Gordon Tracy sat sprawled across the seat of the Kalvesta Union school bus, talking to his friend Pete Moretti. "What did you put for question number ten?"

"I dunno. Lemme look." The boy pulled out a notebook. "Uh, I said 1492."

Gordon rolled his eyes. "Pete, you gotta stop goofing around, man. If you don't get good grades now, you'll never make it to Stanford."

"Face it, Red, I'll be lucky if I make it to Dodge City Community. What's the right answer?"

"You won't even make that if you keep answering 1492. That hasn't been the right answer since the fourth grade. The Magna Carta was issued in 1215."

Pete's eyes took on a dreamy look. "I remember the fourth grade. It was the last time I got an answer right."

Gordon snorted, jittering in his seat. He stared out the front window as the bus came up to the next stop. He looked over at his friend with worried eyes. "Can you see it?"

Pete cocked his head to the side. "No, man, the cap covers it up. Too bad you can't cover your whole face."

Gordon threw his friend a venomous look, then turned to the front. Patty McCormick climbed up the steps of the bus, talking to her friend Jessica behind her. Gordon waited nervously, hoping she'd sit by him.

As the two girls moved down the aisle, Patty kept looking over her shoulder, her back half turned to the teen. Gordon wanted to call out to her, ask her to sit by him, but if she said no, he'd look like a fool in front of his friends. He sat in feigned nonchalance, and felt his heart drop to his feet as she passed him by, never noticing him.

He and Patty had been friends since the fifth grade. They'd been going steady since seventh grade, but over the last few months, their relationship had changed. Gordon was bewildered by the urges he had every time he saw her. Instead of thinking in terms of doing their homework together, all of the sudden, Gordon found himself wondering what her breasts would feel like.

It was disconcerting to say the least. And where he could normally ask one of his brothers for advice, he felt cut off with Scott and Virg away at college, and John practically ignoring his existence. His school buddies were no help, most of them not having a girlfriend. Pete's only advice was to feel her up and let him know what it was like.

And it didn't help that Patty had changed too. Where before, he could always count on her to just hang out with him, now she had gone all girly on him. Like right now, for instance. Last year, he saved her a seat every day, and every day she sat with him, chatting and going over their homework. Now, she was just as likely to give him the cold shoulder and sit with Jessica or Connie.

After a few moments, it started to piss him off. He was taking her to the big dance tonight, and the least she could do was talk to him. He had half a mind to go tell her to get some other sap to take her, but knowing his grandma would throw a fit, he just sat and fumed.

"Hey, earth to Red! Are you listening?"

Gordon looked over at Pete, who was staring at him like he'd missed something. "What?"

"I said my dad is going to take me to practice tomorrow. You want us to stop by and pick you up, or what?"

"Oh. Yeah, thanks, that'd be great." Gordon replied, then looked away, unwilling to be cajoled out of his pique.

With a squeak of brakes, the bus rattled to a halt in front of Kalvesta High. Frowning fiercely, Gordon pushed his way past the more timid kids who sat up front. Hopping off the bus, he started to stalk away, but then turned, and waited until Patty was getting off.

Intending to have it out with her, he took a step toward her, then stopped dead in his tracks. She had seen him out of the corner of her eye, and had glanced over at him before turning her back on him and hurrying away.

Gordon felt as if his world had just collapsed. The anger was gone, and all that was left was pain. Did Patty really want to break up? It looked that way. Why else would she run from him? He stood there dumbfounded, unable to move.

Pete came up and slapped him on the shoulder. "C'mon, man, we're gonna be late."

Gordon blinked, and trailed after his friend, not really feeling his feet hit the ground. He spent the first two class periods in a daze, barely listening to either his history or earth sciences teacher. When his second class ended, he automatically headed to his locker.

He dumped his books in, and grabbed his composition book and the notebook that was due. Slamming the locker shut, he was surprised to find his brother John standing there staring at him. "What's up, Gordy?"

"Nothing."

"That's bull. You're radiating enough misery to kill butterflies three miles away. Now, what's going on?"

"I think Patty wants to break up."

"Oh." John's sympathetic eyes made Gordon want to cringe. "I'll tell you what. You meet me at my car after school, and I'll give you a ride home and we can talk about it."

"Yeah?" Gordon tried to be diffident, but the truth was, he rarely got out of riding the bus, and spending time one on one with any of his older brothers was a treat.

"Yeah. Don't be late, or you're walking." John said gruffly.

"Okay. Thanks Johnny!" Gordon called after his brother as he walked away.

The prospect of getting some advice from his brother cheered Gordon, until he reached his next class, English Composition. It was the first of three classes that he shared with Patty. He walked in the door and saw her sitting in her seat, and he wondered if he could get away with cutting class.

"Don't stand there gawking Mr. Tracy, take your seat." Gordon jumped at Mrs. Krenwinkle's voice in his ear.

"Yes, ma'am." Gordon slunk over to his seat next to Patty. She immediately dropped her head so that a curtain of long blond hair made a wall between them. Gordon frowned, unable to hide the hurt he felt.

They sat through the class, side by side, ignoring each other, and when the bell rang, Gordon decided he couldn't take the suspense any longer. As they exited the room, he stopped Patty with a hand on her arm. "So, what? You breaking up with me?"

To his surprise, Patty burst into tears. "Is that what you want? I'm not pretty, so you want to dump me?"

Gordon blinked. Patty McCormack was the prettiest girl in school in his estimation. Her outburst caught him totally by surprise. She stood in front of him weeping, and her tears made him want to cry himself.

She looked everywhere but at him, and as she turned her head, Gordon caught a glimpse of something. A sudden realization came over him, and he couldn't help the guffaw that escaped his lips. Patty froze at the sound, but before she could react any further, he pulled off his cap and said, "Pats, look at me."

Caught between grief and anger, Patty looked up at her boyfriend, and her eyes widened at the zit on his forehead. With her hair swung back, the identical blemish on her own forehead was clearly visible. Gordon started to snicker, and after a moment, Patty joined in, her crystal laughter raising his heart. "Is that why you didn't want to sit by me on the bus?"

Patty sighed, nodding. "My mom gave me some junk to put on it. She said it would be gone by tonight. I thought if I could just avoid you seeing it, it'd be alright."

Gordon gathered the girl into a warm embrace. "Babe, you could be covered in weeping sores, and I still would think you're beautiful."

Patty sniffed, her head on his shoulder, her arms wrapped around his waist. "I might have to take you up on that. Mrs. Armstrong asked the drama club to help out with the Haunted House this year, and I volunteered."

Gordon held his girlfriend, reveling in the warmth and the scent of her hair. "Yeah? Maybe I should volunteer too. We could be Teenage Mutant Pimpled Ghouls."

Patty pulled out of the hug, and swatted his arm. "Gross. Come on, we'll be late for class."

Feeling better, Gordon took Patty's hand in his, and together they walked to the next class.

At three fifteen, the final bell rang, and Gordon trotted to his locker, glad for the weekend, and looking forward to the dance. John's locker was several rows away, and Gordon half expected to find his brother waiting for him. When he found no sign of his brother, he dumped his books, and headed for the school parking lot.

The lot was at the far side of the football field, and as he crossed the wide expanse of green grass, Gordon kept scanning around for his tall blond brother. Not seeing him, Gordon wondered if he had stayed after class for some reason. John was taking some advanced math classes, and really liked the teacher. Gordon figured even if his brother was late, it was still better than the bus. Especially as Patty's mom had picked her up to take her to the beauty salon to have her hair fixed up for tonight.

Gordon licked his lips in anticipation of seeing her all dressed up. They had gone to a couple of dances last year in junior high, but it had been just a group of friends all together. This was the first time they were going alone. Well, not really alone. Patty's mom was driving them, but still, it was just the two of them, a real date.

Gordon reached the parking lot, his mind on the dance, when he saw his brother John's old SUV leave the lot and head away. Gordon yelled, but John never glanced his way. Gordon stood there shocked. He'd been on time. There were a whole bunch of kids that hadn't even cleared the field yet, but John had left without him.

Frowning, Gordon swung his backpack off of his shoulder and dug in a side pocket until he found his cell phone. He flipped it open, and groaned. The display said ‘low battery' and even that faded as he watched. He threw his head back in disgust. He had let Alan play some Fantasy of Lies on it the other day. He'd forgotten to put it in the charger.

Swearing under his breath, he turned around and started to run. The bus picked up directly in front of the school, and if he was late, the driver, Mrs. Searles, would just assume he was taking the last bus, which wouldn't be for two hours. He came around the corner of the building, and saw that he wasn't even close. The bus was already gone.

Gordon stood for a moment, stunned. Of all the days not to have a ride! He had two choices. He could wait for the last bus, scheduled to leave after five, to accommodate various afterschool sport and academic programs, or he could start walking. Neither option was appealing. The route the late bus took would mean not getting home until after 7 p.m. His grandma would be ballistic. He could walk the 8 miles home, but it would still be after 6 p.m., and he'd be dirty and exhausted. And his grandma would be ballistic.

Sighing, Gordon zipped up his jacket, and started walking.

Gordon had been walking for over an hour, getting more and more angry at his brother, John. He'd already decided he was going to take the CD he had bought for his brother's birthday and throw it away. It was a dirty trick to pull on him, offering a ride, then taking off without him. John was probably laughing his head off.

Gordon thought that two could play dirty tricks. He had several strings of Black Cat firecrackers stashed in a hidey hole in the barn. He figured he could clip them all together into one long string, then he'd ride his ATV out to the lake tomorrow. He knew that John liked to take Stephanie Willis out there to make out in the back of his car.

Gordon figured he'd set the firecrackers off where they'd do the most good, and then John would see what it was like to have a dirty trick pulled on him. As he trudged along, Gordon kept thinking of his plan, and working out refinements. He wondered if he could find a stink bomb somewhere. That'd show him.

Head down against the cold, his mind filled with evil thoughts, Gordon at first did not hear the approach of the car coming up behind him. When it slowed down as it pulled abreast of him, Gordon looked up to find it was John, gesturing him over.

Wrapped up in his anger, Gordon stomped away. The SUV just sat there for a moment, and then moved up the road. Gordon snorted to himself, thinking it was par for the course for his brother to find him walking down the road and to just drive away. But about a hundred yards up the road, the SUV pulled over and parked.

Gordon remembered that his friend Eddie's brother had done that once... Parked and waited while Eddie ran to catch up, only to have the car drive away, his older brother laughing his head off. Well, he wouldn't give John the satisfaction.

Gordon was surprised when his brother got out of the car and came trotting back to meet him. "Hey, Squirt, I am really sorry. Steph needed to go to Garden City to get some book, and she was yammering in my ear, and honest to God, I just forgot."

"Yeah, right."

"No, really, Gordy, I forgot. We were already in Garden City before I remembered. Come on, I came back as soon as I remembered."

"Right after you had a make out session, and took Stephanie out for a burger, and took her home and made out some more."

John stopped walking, but Gordon kept moving. "No, you idiot. I left Steph in Garden City at the bookstore. Now come get in the car. I need to get you home, and get back and pick Steph up, get her home and get home to get ready for the dance."

Gordon stopped and turned back to his brother, disbelief plain on his face. "You left Stephanie at a bookstore to pick me up. Yeah, right."

Rolling his eyes, John responded. "I'm beginning to wonder why. Now are you going to get in the car or what?"

Biting his lip, Gordon shrugged. "Yeah, okay."

The two brothers walked to the SUV, a brittle silence between them. As John got the engine going, he glanced over and said, "Why didn't you call me?"

"Battery went dead."

"Oh. You okay? Justin said he saw you and Patty walking hand in hand after fourth period."

"Yeah. Turned out she had a zit she didn't want me to know about."

John nodded, smiling grimly, "Yeah, I know how that is. Women are weird about their looks. You still taking her to the dance?"

"Uh-huh." Gordon casually stared out the window of the car. "Pete Moretti gave me a condom, just in case."

John hit the brakes hard, then pulled over. "You want to say that again, Squirt?"

Secretly relieved that John would talk to him about it, Gordon turned to face his brother. "Well, I mean, I'm thinking it's about time I got some experience, you know? And Patty's willing, I'm pretty sure, so I thought maybe tonight would be a good time."

John shook his head. "Has Dad even had The Talk with you yet?"

"The one about being careful? Yeah, he did last summer. But that's what the condom's for, right?"

"Not the careful one, the respect one, Gordon, and it's obvious he hasn't yet, so lemme just paraphrase it for you... All it takes is one mistake, and a girl's reputation is gone forever. Before you give Patty the reputation as an easy screw, remember Grandma was a kid once too. If you wouldn't ruin her, then you sure as hell shouldn't ruin Patty."

Gordon sat frowning, "But, John, she's my girlfriend, she's gonna expect more from me than just holding hands."

"Yeah, and you can give her more without going all the way. Believe me, Patty is probably scared to death that you're going to want to do more than she is really ready for. You go easy with her now, and she'll love you all the more later."

"But what if she tells her girlfriends I'm, like, a fag or something?"

John pursed his lips and stared at his younger brother. "All right, I'm going to give you a few hints now. Have you and Patty ever French kissed?"

"You mean, like, with your mouth open? No. I wasn't really sure how to do it, and I didn't want to screw it up."

"Okay, so hold your hand like this. No...yeah, that's better. Now imagine this is Patty's lips. Okay, now kiss it. No, not like you're kissing Grandma, hold the kiss. Yeah, now, push the tip of your tongue through your lips, and lightly lick hers. If she's ready for French kissing, her lips will part. If it doesn't happen, back off, got it?"

Gordon paused staring at his hand. "Yeah, but... Johnny, what's the big deal? Seems kind of stupid to me."

"Yeah, it did to me too at first, but Scott said I had to try it to like it, and believe me, he was right."

"Scott taught you this?"

"He sure did. Now, come on, try again. If her lips part, then gently push your tongue in, and swipe it over her teeth. You gotta be really gentle about it, or you'll scare her off. If she opens up her teeth, then what you want to do is kind of flick your tongue against hers, then you just you kind of back off, and see if she'll do the same with you."

Gordon sat licking his hand with his tongue, not really convinced that this was anything he wanted to do. After a moment, he stopped. "So is that it?"

"Well, technically, yeah, but there are a few more things you need to know, okay? First off, always be clean when you take her out. I mean, take a shower so you don't stink, and especially use mouthwash. You come at a girl with garlic breath, and you can just assume you'll never see her again. Oh, and it's the guy's responsibility to make sure you don't bump noses, so when you get close, cock your head a bit. And speaking of noses, never, but never, try to make out when you have a plugged up nose. Mouthbreathing is never a good thing at the best of times, and it's deadly when you're kissing."

Gordon nodded, appreciating the details. John smiled. "If you do it right, you'll know right away, because she'll kind of relax in your arms. That's when you can cop a feel." He added slyly, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Really?" Gordon smiled, then a frown overtook him, and he asked hesitantly, "John, am I a pervert? It's like all I can think about is her titties."

"You know, I thought the same thing when I was your age. No, you aren't a pervert, you're just in puberty. That's when you stop being a kid, and start being a man."

"So men think about boobs all the time?"

"Pretty much. That and ass. Personally, I think that's the real reason Dad uses Grandma as an example for respect. You start thinking too much about it, just picture Grandma naked, and it'll fix you right up."

"Ohmigod, that's gross, John. And perverted."

John laughed. "Well, if that doesn't work for you, just work out harder in the pool. If you're exhausted, you can't do anything about it even if you do think too much."

John pulled the car up in front of the old farmhouse. "Listen, tell Grandma I won't be here for dinner, okay?"

"Yeah, sure." Gordon climbed out of the SUV, and stopped. "Thanks, John."

"Anytime, kiddo. Now, shut the door, I gotta go. Oh, and Gordy? Next lesson is heavy petting!"

Gordon gasped, his eyes wide, as John drove away. After a moment, a grin came to his face, and he bounded up the steps of the front porch. Opening the front door, he called out, "Grandma, I'm home!"

His brother Alan popped his head out of the living room. "Where ya been? I wanted to talk to you."

"Yeah, about what?"

"Mrs. Marriott wants me to join the school chorus."

"Really? Why?"

"She says I could have a good voice if I trained it."

"Yeah? She never said that to me."

"Well, duh. That's cause you can't sing worth shit."

"Hey, keep it down! Grandma hears you cursing and she ground us both."

"Grandma's in the kitchen, she won't hear. So, what do you think? Should I join, or not?"

"I dunno, Al. Listen, I gotta take a bath. I'll tell you what, how about we talk about it when I get home from swim practice tomorrow?"

"But tomorrow's John's birthday."

"Yeah, so what? Oh, okay, I guess we can ask his opinion too, if he's around."

"But I really wanted to talk about it now."

"I gotta get ready for my date with Patty. I promise, tomorrow we'll figure it out, okay?"

Alan sulked. "I never thought you'd dump me for some stupid girl."

"Grow up, Alan. Waiting one day is hardly dumping." Gordon snapped. "I gotta go."

As he walked away, he heard his brother mutter, "Dickhead." Gordon ignored it, not wanting to get into a shouting match. He wanted the privacy of the bathroom, so he could practice the French kissing that John had taught him.

Reaching the top of the stairs, he paused, and glancing around, snuck through his father's bedroom to the private bath. Checking in the cabinet beneath the sink, he found what he wanted, a bar of his father's private stock of soap. Inhaling the rich musky scent, he nodded once, and headed to the family bathroom.

A few hours later, Gordon came down the stairs in his usual breakneck fashion. His grandmother, waiting in the living room, frowned. "Sweetie, you have to get dressed. Patty and her mother will be here any minute."

Gordon looked down at his best Hypersonic Concert tee shirt and clean blue jeans, and said, "I AM dressed, Grandma."

Ruth clapped a hand over her mouth in dismay. "Oh, what am I going to do with you? Didn't you tell me that Patty went to the beauty salon this afternoon?"

"Yeah, she was gonna get her hair done."

"Honey, when a woman gets her hair done, it means she is dressing up nice. The last thing she wants to see is her beau wearing a tacky tee shirt and jeans."

"Grandma, Patty loves Hypersonic. I'm wearing it for her."

"No, you are not. Now, go upstairs and try again. Those gray slacks and a long-sleeved shirt, please. I ironed one for you this afternoon. And your dress shoes. The black ones, not the brown ones. And don't give me that look."

"It's a dance, Grandma, not church."

"You trust me on this, Gordon. That little girl is going to come here looking like a princess, and she won't appreciate you not looking your best."

"I'm gonna look like a fool," he muttered as he climbed back up the stairs.

John stood at the top of the stairs, dressed in his Sunday best. "No, you're not. High school dances are different from junior high ones. You'll see."

Seeing John all spiffed up gave Gordon a lift. Still unhappy about wearing a monkey suit, he at least was more confident that he wouldn't be laughed out of the gym.

He changed into the slacks and shirt, and looked at the tie with disfavor. He could never get it to look just right, but he didn't want to ask for his grandma's help in front of his older brother. He fought with it for a few minutes, then sighed. Patty would just have to accept a crooked tie.

Just to be safe, he stopped in the bathroom and rinsed his mouth out with mouthwash. He'd done it three times since supper, but a guy could never be too sure. Checking himself in the mirror he smiled to see that the morning's pimple had completely disappeared. Happy with his appearance, except for the tie, he left the bathroom and headed downstairs.

Seeing his grandmother and older brother waiting, he held his hands out, "Ta-Da!"

"Oh, honey..."

"Dude, lose the tie. You want to look formal, but not too formal. Here, unbutton the top two buttons. That's better."

"I look okay, Grandma?"

"Tsk, you boys are so handsome! I hope those two girls appreciate how lucky they are."

John and Gordon shared an eye roll at that, then John reached over to the hall table. "Here, I got you this. You owe me thirty bucks."

As his brother handed him the gold box, Gordon asked, "What is it?"

"It's a corsage, brain dead."

"Corsage? What do I need a corsage for? It's only Patty, and it's not like it's the prom or anything."

"It's about respect, Gordy. It shows you think she's a lady."

"Baby, the first corsage is a very special gift. I still have the pin from my first corsage in a box upstairs. You just take that and you'll see, Patty will love you for it."

"No, Grandma, this isn't her first. She got a corsage last year at eighth grade graduation."

"As did I. But believe me, the thrill of that corsage was nothing compared to the thrill of getting one from a boy. Now, your brother did a very nice thing for you, so I want you to thank him properly."

Gordon turned to John, and bowing deeply, deadpanned, "I thank you from the bottom of my heart."

John affected a snooty air, vaguely waving his hand in the air. "Noblesse Oblige, Squirt. Now, you know you don't just hand her the box, right?"

"Uh, okay."

"Oh Lord, save me." Ruth exclaimed, shaking her head.

"It's okay, Grandma, I've got it." John said quietly. Ruth smiled, pleased as always at the willingness of her grandsons to help each other out.

"Okay, now, when she gets here, you show her the box, and then you open it like this. Practice a couple of times so you don't fumble it... Okay that's good. Now, once you have it open, you pull out the corsage. Try not to touch the flower itself, take it by that little green thing there."

"Am I gonna have to pin it on her? What if I stab her?"

"No, man, I got you a wrist corsage. No pins until you're a sophomore at least. See this gold stuff? It's stretchy. You put it on her right wrist, with the green thing pointing up her arm. If she has a bracelet or watch on the right, then you put it on the left."

"What if she has a bracelet on one and a watch on the other?"

"Then you stand there looking adorably confused, and she'll move one or the other."

"Oh, okay. I can do confused."

John laughed. "Okay, I gotta hit the road. If you run into any problems at the dance, find me, and say, um, ‘Patty lost an earring' and I'll meet you in the bathroom and we'll figure it out."

Gordon's eyes widened slightly. He didn't think he'd have any problems, but it was nice to know he could turn to his brother if he did. "Thanks, Johnny. I'll see you there."

John nodded and went out the front door, his own gold box grasped firmly in his hand. Ruth stepped up and straightened the collar of Gordon's shirt. "Now, you know that a gentleman never leaves his lady alone at a dance, right?"

"What do you mean, Grandma? Why would I leave Patty alone?"

Ruth paused and rested her hands on her grandson's chest. "Sweetie, when I was a young lady, a boy once took me to a dance..."

"Was it Grandpa?"

"Oh, heavens, no! Your grandfather would never have treated me, or any other girl, so badly. No, this was a boy I was sweet on when I was your age. He took me to a dance, and I was so proud to be on his arm. But once we were there, he found some of his friends, and he disappeared. He left me standing there all alone, while he went out behind the building to smoke some dope. I was so embarrassed, I thought I was going to die."

"Grandma, only idiots do drugs."

"You're missing the point, dear one. It wasn't the dope, it was being left all alone that hurt me. Now, I know you would never hurt Patty intentionally, but there are all sorts of temptations when young people get together. You are there as her beau, but also as her protector and escort. Do you understand?"

"Sure, Grandma."

Ruth looked up into Gordon's light eyes, and nodded once. "All right. I'll stop badgering you now. You go sit, and try to relax. Patty and her mother should be here shortly."

Gordon sat on the couch, one leg jittering. In truth, as much as he had been looking forward to this dance, waiting was tying his stomach in knots. He looked to the big clock on the mantle and blew out a breath. After a moment, he decided it wouldn't hurt to go and use some more mouthwash.

As he stood up, he heard the sound of gravel crunching in the drive outside. His heart suddenly leapt to his mouth. "Grandma, they're here! I'm gonna go now."

"Not just yet, honey. Go out and ask her to come in here."

"What for?"

"I want to get a picture of you both, now go on, don't keep her waiting. And Gordon, remember, open the door for her, and offer her your hand."

Sucking in a deep breath, the teen opened the door, and trotted out to the car. Opening the passenger side door, he held out his hand, saying, "Mrs. McCormack, my grandma wants to take some pictures. It's only going to take a couple of minutes, okay?"

Patty's mother turned off the car, and opened her door. "Well, I'll want my own pictures, so I'll just come in with you."

In the gloom of the yard, Gordon only got a glimpse of Patty's dress, which seemed to sparkle in the darkness. He got a whiff of her perfume, and he felt his toes curl. With a mouth suddenly dry, he took his girl by the hand, and led the way back into the house.

Ruth was waiting just inside the door, camera in hand. "Oh, my. Patty, you look lovely!"

At his side, Patty ducked her head. "Thank you, Mrs. Tracy."

Gordon got a good look at her, and his breath left in a whoosh. She looked like a grown up in a fashion magazine. Her hair was twisted up on her head, with soft curls around her face. The dress she wore left her shoulders bare, and flowed softly over her chest making her look... soft. It was all Gordon could do to keep from reaching out to touch her.

"I must say, Gordon, you look very handsome tonight. See, Patty, I told you he wouldn't wear jeans." Maggie McCormack was all teary-eyed smiles.

Gordon hardly noticed, being unable to take his eyes off his girlfriend. Patty smiled, and with surprising shyness, said, "You look nice, Red."

"So do you, Pats. No, you look better than nice. You look wonderful." Gordon could hardly get the words out.

At a soft clearing of the throat, Gordon tore his eyes from Patty and looked over at his grandmother, who nodded meaningfully at the gold box sitting on the edge of the hall table. "Oh! Oh yeah! Pats, I got you this..."

He picked up the box, and with careful concentration showed it to Patty before opening it up and lifting the flower out. At her gasp, he looked up. "You got me an orchid?"

"Uh, yeah. I, uh, told them it had to be the prettiest flower in the store."

To his consternation, Patty burst into tears, followed immediately by her mom, and his grandma. "Um, you okay?"

Smiling through her tears, the girl nodded, and held out her hand. Under his breath, so as not to embarrass her, Gordon said, "Other one, Pats."

Patty quickly changed hands, and Gordon slipped the corsage on. His breath caught when she looked up at him with a radiant smile. "It's beautiful, Red."

The two teens stood close, their foreheads touching in a moment of intimacy. Gordon thought he could stand there forever feeling Patty's soft breath on his chin, but the moment was broken by the flash of a camera.

Gordon looked up startled, to find both his grandma and Patty's mom pointing cameras at them. Self-consciously, he stepped back. Wiping a tear, Ruth smiled. "Okay, sweetie, you and Patty go stand in front of the fireplace, please."

The two teens went over to the fireplace, and stood facing the two older women. Maggie McCormack rolled her eyes and said, "Oh for goodness sakes, you two! Patty stand with your back to Gordon. Gordon, snuggle up close, and put your hands around her waist. Patty, rest your hands on Gordon's. Gordon, she won't bite, smile!"

In truth, being so close to Patty, with her scent in his nose, was threatening his precarious control of his body. She was leaning back against him, and she felt so good there, warm and soft, like the best pillow he'd ever felt, that he wasn't sure he could move even if the house caught on fire.

"Okay, now, face each other. Hold hands. No lift them up a bit. I want to catch that beautiful flower. Gordon, let me see that big smile of yours. That's the way. Oh, Ruth, don't they look wonderful?"

Ruth, who had been content to let Maggie do the directing, smiled. "They do make a handsome couple. Now, Gordon, you'll remember everything I've told you, won't you?"

"Yes, Ma'am." Gordon replied dutifully, but his grandma's instructions had already been relegated to the back of his mind. His nose full of the delicate scent of Patty's hair, the only instructions on his mind, were his brother's French kissing ones.

"Well, let's get this show on the road. Come on, kids, the Harvest Ball awaits."

Feeling his stomach knot again, Gordon held his hand out, and Patty took it, and the two walked out hand in hand.

"Now, Gordon, I know you'll be a gentleman. Don't disappoint me. Patty, remember what I told you this afternoon."

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Okay, Mom. We'll see you at ten, right?"

"Make it ten thirty, but don't you dare be late, understand?"

The two teens broke into wide smiles at the extension of the curfew. "Okay, Mom!"

"Have fun, kids!" Gordon and Patty waved as Mrs. McCormack drove off.

Turning to head to the gym, Gordon asked curiously, "What did your mom tell you this afternoon."

"Oh, you know. The Talk."

"The careful one, or the respect one?"

Patty snorted, "No, the ‘boys only want one thing' one."

"I never heard of that one."

"It goes like this... Boys only want one thing, and it's up to the girl to see that they don't get it."

"Oh. I got the ‘don't jump her bones because your grandma was a kid once' one."

Patty stopped dead, with a surprised laugh, "What?"

"It kinda made sense when Johnny was saying it, but actually, I think he garbled the message a bit."

"Sounds like it."

"Yeah, well, Dad's still in Tokyo, so I guess I had to take what I could get."

Gordon reached and opened the door to the gym, and ushered Patty in.

"Oh, my gosh!" Patty gasped in wonder at the transformed room.

Gordon grinned, taking in the twinkling lights and decorations. It was ten times better than any dance he'd attended at Cordell Junior High. His eye was caught by a large mirrored ball hanging high in the room, casting sparkling light over the dance floor. It was just like he'd seen in the movies.

"Ah, Mr. Tracy? Can I have your tickets, please?"

Gordon turned around to find Mr. Hollenbeck and Mrs. Krenwinkle sitting at a table, staring expectantly at him. His heart fell through the floor. "Oh, no! I had the tickets in my wallet, but my grandma made me change my pants!"

Gordon snapped his mouth shut, terminally embarrassed by his outburst. Mrs. Krenwinkle, who never liked him, pursed her lips. "Well, no one comes in without a ticket."

Mr. Hollenbeck quieted the woman with a hand on her arm. "Gordon, did you actually buy tickets?"

Hanging his head, Gordon nodded. "Yes, sir. I guess I'll go call my grandma. She can bring them."

"Well you two can just go sit in that corner until she gets here." Mrs. Krenwinkle pointed to a couple of hard plastic chairs.

Mr. Hollenbeck chided the teacher softly, "Patricia, no." Looking up at the two crestfallen teens, he said, "Gordon, I'll expect you to come to my room before class on Monday morning with those tickets, understand? If you didn't really buy them, say so now."

"Oh! No, really, Mr. Hollenbeck! I bought them! I just forgot them!"

"All right, then. You show up before first period with the tickets. And Gordon, I'll be having a chat with your father if you don't."

"Thank you! I really appreciate it!"

"That's all right. You kids go and dance."

Mrs. Krenwinkle held up a hand, stopping the teens from turning away. "Patty, you look very nice this evening. I suggest you two go have your picture taken now, before you get all mussed up dancing."

She pointed to a short line of couples waiting their turn at a prop moon with pumpkins and hay stacks strewn around. Patty smiled, "Oh! Thanks, Mrs. Krenwinkle!"

Patty took Gordon's hand and pulled him toward the line. "Come on, Red!"

Gordon followed behind, willing for Patty's sake to put up with another round of photographs. As they got in line, Patty turned to him, and put her arms around his waist, her head resting lightly on his shoulder. "I can't believe you actually got me a corsage, Gordy."

As he held her, he thanked his lucky stars for older brothers. "Well, I almost didn't. It was Johnny who said it was a good idea."

"Yes, but you picked out the orchid," Patty sighed happily.

Gordon opened his mouth to confess, but then remembering what Virgil once had said about the truth hurting, instead he continued the white lie. "Well, like I said, I told them it had to be the prettiest in the store. I almost turned down the orchid because it wasn't near pretty enough for you."

Patty leaned back a bit, and pulled her arm up to inspect the flower. "No, it is beautiful. It's the nicest gift anyone has ever gotten me."

With shining eyes, she reached up and kissed him on the lips. The kiss was sweet, but fleeting, and Gordon didn't have a chance to try his new knowledge. Suddenly it was their turn for the picture. They stepped up on the brightly lit stage, and Mrs. Armstrong, who was the school photographer turned to them and smiled. "Gordon. Patty. You two look very nice this evening."

"Thank you, Mrs. Armstrong." Gordon was frankly getting a bit tired of being told how nice he looked. He just wanted to have some fun.

"Okay, now, Patty, you sit on the moon swing there, and Gordon, you go behind the moon and stand behind her. Patty, hold on to the swing ropes. A bit higher, dear. Now, Gordon, you put your hands on the ropes just above Patty's. That's right. Now, Patty, lift your feet and cross them at the ankles, as if you're swinging. Oh that's nice. Now, smile, kids." Mrs. Armstrong lifted a trigger and snapped several pictures. "Gordon, the pictures will be available on the fifteenth of November at my shop. That's it. All done."

Gordon let out a gusty breath. "Come on, Pats, let's dance."

He led Patty out onto the dance floor, trying not to be intimidated by all of the older teens. He'd noticed right off that he and Patty were just about the only freshmen at the dance. But the music was fast and infectious, and within a few minutes, he and Patty were dancing away with the best of them.

The dance fell into a rhythm of mostly fast dances, with a few slow ones thrown in. Gordon found himself wanting more slow dances, where he could hold Patty close, and just sway with the music, but Patty seemed to like the fast dances where they threw their bodies around with careless abandon.

Gordon spotted John dancing with Stephanie a couple of times, but the two older teens were so into each other that Gordon doubted John had ever noticed him. Didn't matter, though, because he and Patty were just having fun. Finally, Patty, paused and said, "Let's go get something to drink, okay?"

As soon as she said it, Gordon realized he was thirsty. "Yeah, okay."

Patty led the way to the refreshment table, pulling Gordon behind her. The table was crowded, and Patty turned to him, disappointed. "I don't think those kids are going to let a couple of freshmen through."

Gordon looked around, and spotting an empty table off to one side, tugged on Patty's hand. "Come on."

He led her to the table. "You wait here, and I'll get the drinks, okay?"

Patty looked up at him with something like respect. "Okay."

Feeling ten feet tall, Gordon headed back to the refreshments. He looked with consternation at the backs of the kids in front of him. It seemed as if none of them were showing any signs of moving any time soon.

To one side, he spotted a couple of seniors who were on the swim team. Swaggering a bit to hide his nervousness, he walked over to them, and said, "Hey guys. Can I get through here?"

The two older teens turned and stared. "Tracy."

"Hi. Um, my date wants something to drink. Can I just get through here?"

Tim Williams shook his head. "Everybody's date wants something to drink. You're just going to have to wait your turn."

"Oh, okay. But how come nobody's moving?"

"Ms. Watson is serving." Mike Okumbo replied as if that answered everything. Gordon knew she was the art teacher, and he had no interest in art, so he'd never noticed her much. He knew she was young, in just her first year of teaching, but he had no idea why anybody would care which teacher manned the refreshment table.

Before he could ask Mike what he meant, the kids in front all started to move away at once. Gordon heard more than one muted groan. With the way clearing, Gordon pushed forward, to find that Coach Daugherty was behind the table, not Ms. Watson. He caught a glimpse of her as she disappeared through a door at the back of the gym, wearing a lowcut tight dress that made his jaw drop. "Tracy. You saving some of that energy for tomorrow?"

Gordon tore his gaze back to his swim coach, and grinned cockily, "Sure, Coach. I'll swim the pants off ‘em."

Mr. Daugherty smiled, and nodded at the array of cookies. "Take a plateful, son. You'll need the energy boost. Did I see you dancing with Patty McCormack? Yes? Well take some of those fancy little ones. Girls like you to think they eat like birds. What do you want to drink? We have Coke, Dr. Pepper, Mountain Dew and Orange Crush.

"Uh, Patty likes Dr. Pepper. I'll have a Mountain Dew."

"Here you go. Take one of those plastic cups. Girls like to drink from glasses."

"Thanks, coach."

"Practice starts at 7am sharp."

"Yeah, I know. I'll be there."

Gordon carried the plate of cookies in one hand, juggling the two sodas and cup in the other. As he headed for the table he'd left Patty at, his heart fell when he saw an older boy standing there talking to her. He quickened his step as Patty laughed at something the boy, Morton, or Martin something, said.

Reaching the table, he said loudly, "Pats, I got you Dr. Pepper, okay?"

Patty looked up at him with something like relief. "Yeah, that's great, thanks, Red." Turning back to the other boy, she said, far too sweetly for Gordon's taste, "I'll see you around at school, Morgan. Thanks for stopping by."

The older boy looked slightly stunned, but with a curt nod, walked away. Gordon frowned as he sat, putting the plate of cookies on the table. "What did he want?"

"He wanted me to dance with him."

Gordon's eyebrows knitted together as a fierce anger surged through him. "Didn't he see you were with me?"

"Yeah, he did. I think he figured I'd want to dump you because he's a senior and you're just a freshman."

"What did you tell him?"

"Are you kidding? You're my boyfriend, Gordy. I wouldn't do that to you. Besides, he's so... I don't know, oily."

"So, if he wasn't ‘oily' you would have danced with him?"

Patty looked over at him surprised at the outburst. After a long moment, she smiled. "Red, are you jealous?"

"No!" Gordon exclaimed, shaking his head. "No, I just think it's totally like, rude, you know? To hit on another guy's date?"

"Well, you shouldn't have left me alone. He showed up the minute your back was turned." Patty scrunched up her face in distaste, shuddering expressively.

Gordon frowned. "Grandma told me not to leave you alone, but I didn't think that meant you had to stand in line with me."

Patty returned the frown. "I thought it was very nice of you to let me sit. I'm not sure what the right thing is. I'll ask my mom, and next time we'll do better."

"Yeah, okay."

"What time is it, anyway?" Patty asked, as she delicately nibbled on a small cookie, just as the coach said she would.

Gordon looked at his watch, his eyebrows climbing. "Wow! It's almost ten o'clock!"

"Really? Oh, my gosh, it feels like we just got here!"

"I know! It's a good thing your Mom said ten thirty. We woulda been late if you hadn't asked me what time it was." Gordon sat chewing on a cookie, wondering if he could convince Patty to go outside with him.

Taking a final sip of her drink, Patty looked up at Gordon through long lashes. "Why don't we get out of here now?"

Startled, Gordon squeaked, "What? Why?"

"I thought we might, you know, go cuddle on a bench somewhere."

Swallowing his sudden nervousness, Gordon replied, "Okay."

Together, they headed for the door. They had almost reached it, when Mrs. Krenwinkle stepped out to block their way. "Where do you two think you're going?"

Gordon froze, unable to think. Beside him, Patty said casually, "My mom's picking us up. Gordy has swim practice early tomorrow."

Unable to talk past the lump in his throat, Gordon simply nodded. Mrs. Krenwinkle stared at him with narrowed eyes, and for a moment Gordon thought she could see his intent as clearly as a pimple on his face. The moment passed, and the teacher stood aside, saying, "Well, you'd better not keep her waiting."

"Thanks, Mrs. Krenwinkle. We had a great time!" Patty said as she pulled Gordon behind her. He couldn't help but marvel at how calm she was.

The two teens stepped out into the cold Kansas night, and Gordon grinned as he put his arm over Patty's shoulders. "Man, I have to hand it to you, Pats. You really know how to handle ol' Krapwrinkles."

Patty snorted. "She's easy. I think she thinks I was named after her or something. But Red, I don't know if this was such a good idea. It's freezing out here."

Gordon was forced to nod. He wished he'd brought his jacket, Then at least one of them would be warm. For a moment he had a stray thought that maybe that was exactly why his grandma hadn't insisted on his bringing a jacket, trusting in the cold fall evening to keep their ardor under control.

But where there was a will, there was a way, and after a moment, Gordon smiled. "C'mon."

"Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

Gordon led the girl past the gym to a large building behind it. Patty balked, stopping. "It'll be locked up tight, Red."

Gordon grinned. "No, the coach has been having trouble with his car, so when we're having an early practice, he unlocks the door to the weight room the night before. This way."

Finding the door, he wanted, Gordon opened it and peered within. Patty crowded up close to him. "It's dark in there. I don't think this is a good idea."

"No, it's okay. We just stay along the wall. We're going straight through to the pool."

"The pool? Gordy, I am not going swimming in the dark."

"Just come on, Pats. It'll be great. You'll see."

Holding tightly to her hand, Gordon forged ahead through the dark room. He liked the way that Patty held onto him with both hands, crowding up behind him. It made him feel like a man protecting his woman. Reaching the far wall, he fumbled for a moment with the door, then led her into the pool stadium beyond.

Patty gasped with wonder. The underwater pool lights were on, as Gordon had known they would be. He felt a thrill of proprietary pride as he breathed in the warm moist air. His father had donated the funds to build the state of the art facility. Although Jeff Tracy had said it was because the area needed a community pool, Gordon knew it was because of his growing ability as a swimmer.

"It's almost as pretty as the gym."

"Yeah, but a lot more private. Come on, let's go sit down."

Gordon, by habit, started for the far end of the pool where the competitors sat, but Patty dug in her heels. When Gordon looked back at her, she said practically, "We don't have much time, Red. Let's sit over here."

Surprised, Gordon moved with her to a nearby bench. Patty pushed him onto the bench and before he had overcome his surprise, she pushed his legs apart, and sat down on his lap. "Now, let's get serious."

Patty reached up and took his face in her hands. "So, Red, are you going to kiss me or what?"

Gordon was grinning sloppily, surprised and a little relieved that Patty was taking the lead. "Oh, I suppose a kiss would be okay," he said as his arms found their way around her waist. As Patty moved in, Gordon cocked his head slightly as John had told him.

Suddenly her lips were on his, warm and soft, and Gordon held her tighter, not wanting to break off the sweet contact. After a moment, he pushed his tongue out and licked lightly at Patty's lips. Surprised he pulled back.

Patty frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. It just surprised me is all."

"What?"

"Uh, your lips. They taste like watermelon candy."

Patty smiled shyly. "You like it? It's called ‘Summer Sweetness.'"

Gordon grinned. "I'm not sure. I think I'd better try it again."

Patty returned the grin. "Okay."

She leaned in and again, they kissed. This time, Gordon was a little more sure of himself, and he pushed his tongue out more quickly, licking the gloss from Patty's lips. He was surprised when just as Johnny had said, her lips parted slightly. He pressed a little more, intending to do the tooth swipe thing, but Patty was ahead of him, and she lightly sucked on his tongue, sending odd little chills up his spine.

He flicked his tongue forward, and she was there to meet him. He closed his eyes, wrapped up in the sensations. Patty gave as good as she got, and the two teens spent the next ten minutes exploring the delights of deep kissing.

Gordon's time sense was totally out the window, and he would have spent half the night there, swearing only a moment had passed, but there was the sudden sound of the outside door to the weight room being opened, and the two teens jumped apart.

Gordon's face drained of color. "Oh, God if that's Krapwrinkles, my ass is toast. Coach said we're never supposed to let anyone know about the door being unlocked, or he could lose his job."

"Come on, we'll hide over here."

"There's no way out, Pats. She'll find us."

"No, she won't. If we're quiet, she'll never know we're here. Now, come on. You're not the only one who'll be in trouble."

Patty was pulling him into the shadowed alcove even as they whispered. As they stood in breathless silence, Patty twisted Gordon's wrist up so they could both see the time. Gordon grimaced. It was nearly twenty after ten. If they were late, Patty's mom would be furious.

The teens froze as the inner door opened. To Gordon's surprise and relief, it wasn't a teacher at all, but just Morgan and some girl. He started to step forward, but stopped as Patty bristled next to him. He looked down at her in the gloom, and was surprised to see the look of loathing on her face. "Paulina Schlagle," she whispered.

Gordon looked out at the girl in sudden understanding. Paulina Schlagle was a junior who had been nasty to Patty since the first day of school. Gordon gave the older girl a critical once over, and was unimpressed by what he saw. She wasn't pretty by any standard, with eyes that bugged out of her head, and buck teeth. She was buxom though, and a traitorous thought skittered across Gordon's mind that she probably felt all soft.

As he watched, it seemed obvious that Morgan had the same thought, as he suddenly reached out with his hand and grabbed her breast. Paulina reacted immediately, shrieking and shoving the oily Morgan hard. She turned and marched out of the stadium.

Morgan, for his part, fell back, his arms windmilling as he fell into the pool. Beside him, Patty laughed. "Serves him right, grabbing at her like that. See? I told you he was oily. Let's go, or we'll be late."

Gordon followed Patty, sneering at the water, where Morgan was weakly struggling. Served him right, all right. If he caught Morgan Watts trying to poach his girlfriend again, he'd do more than shove him, that was for sure.

The teens reached the door, and as Gordon held it open for Patty, he glanced back at the pool. He frowned in puzzlement. He hadn't heard Morgan climb out, but he wasn't visible in the water.

With a sudden realization, Gordon swore, "Oh, shit! Patty, go get Coach Daugherty quick!" Gordon ran back to the pool, and jumped in. Morgan was floating just off the bottom, not moving at all. Gordon dove down, ignoring the pressure in his ears as he grabbed the older boy by the back of the collar.

Gordon pulled Morgan to the surface, and as he'd been taught in one of his first swim sessions, swam to the side of the pool, holding the other boy's head well above the water. Once he'd reached the side of the pool, he wasn't quite sure what to do. He couldn't get out of the pool without both hands, and he couldn't let go, or Morgan would just sink to the bottom again.

He didn't have long to ponder the problem though, because suddenly all the lights were on, and Coach Daugherty, Mr. Hollenbeck, and half the senior swim team came charging in. Mr. Hollenbeck immediately hopped into the pool to help support the still unmoving teen.

Gordon treaded water, still holding Morgan's head above water, unsure what to do next. As Coach Daugherty directed a couple of the boys to get the backboard from the first aid room, Mr. Hollenbeck called Gordon's attention. "What happened, Gordon?"

Too upset to think of lying, Gordon said, "Paulina Schlagle shoved him, and he fell in the pool. I think he must have hit his head."

"That girl is a menace." Mrs. Krenwinkle had appeared from somewhere, a comforting arm around Patty McCormack's shoulders.

In fairness, Gordon had to speak up. "No, Mrs. Krenwinkle, I don't think she meant to hurt him. He grabbed her boob, and she just sort of reacted."

Mrs. Krenwinkle paused, then looked at Patty for confirmation. "Is that what happened?"

Patty nodded, very subdued in the harsh overhead light of the stadium. As two seniors lowered the backboard into the pool, Gordon could hear the distant wail of a siren.

Mr. Hollenbeck put a hand on his shoulder. "All right, son, you've done enough. Get out of the water, and let a couple of the older boys help me."

For a moment, he wanted to object, but he was far too used to obeying teachers to rebel for long. With a sigh, he relinquished his position. "Yes, sir."

He pulled himself out of the pool, and was surprised when Mrs. Krenwinkle handed him a towel. "Come with me, the both of you."

Belatedly realizing he was in trouble, Gordon shot a glance at Patty, who wore the same guilty look that he supposed was on his own face. The two teens trudged after the teacher into the now brightly lit weight room. After the warmth of the stadium, Gordon shivered in the cool room.

Mrs. Krenwinkle spun to face the two. "Under the circumstances, I will say nothing about why you two were in the pool stadium, but understand, Patty, that you've betrayed my trust, and you won't find it so easy to regain it."

Patty sniffled quietly, unable to look at either her boyfriend or teacher. "I'm sorry, Mrs. Krenwinkle."

"Oh, I have no doubt that you are. At the moment, anyway." Mrs. Krenwinkle turned to the door. "John Tracy, is that you lurking out there?"

John appeared in the doorway, Stephanie at his side. "Yeah, Mrs. Krenwinkle. I just wanted to be sure my brother was all right."

"Hmm. Does that old junker you drive have a decent heater?"

John's eyes flashed in momentary irritation at the slight to his beloved SUV, but his answer was mild. "Yes, Ma'am, it does."

"Well, go get it started up. I'll want you to take your brother home, and I don't want him to catch his death. Stephanie, come with me. I'll have Patty's mother give you a ride home. Gordon, you know where the lockers are. Go get some sweats on."

John disappeared, followed by Mrs. Krenwinkle and the girls. Gordon stood there dripping, wondering how the evening could have gone so wrong.

"Thanks for the ride, Mr. Moretti."

"Oh hey, anything for the Hero Boy."

Gordon smiled, already sick of the ribbing he had taken at practice for his rescue of Morgan Watts the night before. Sighing he hoisted his swim bag onto his shoulder and dragged himself up the front stairs. Coach Daugherty hadn't said a word about the previous evening, but Gordon had noticed he had been assigned twice as many wind sprints as anyone else. He wasn't sure which were going to fall off first, his arms or his legs.

Entering the house, he called out, "Grandma, I'm home."

"I'm right here, sweetie. You don't need to bellow."

Gordon turned to the living room, where his grandmother was in her rocker, doing something mysterious with yarn and long knitting needles. "Oh, hi."

"How was practice, dear?"

"It was okay. I'm pretty hungry, though."

"Well, I put back some chicken and rice on the stove. Go help yourself, but remember dinner is in two hours."

"Yes, Ma'am." Gordon responded as he shuffled off to the kitchen. Pushing open the swinging door, Gordon sniffed appreciatively. His nose was assailed with the scent of the chicken stew. His mouth watering, he pulled down a bowl from the cupboard, and ladled himself a generous helping.

It was just what he needed, and five minutes later, he had emptied the bowl. He considered refilling his bowl, but mindful of what his Grandma had said, instead, he took the empty bowl and put it in the dishwasher.

Feeling rejuvenated, he pushed back through the swinging door. He picked up the swim bag that he'd dropped at the foot of the stairs, and bounded up to the second floor. Seeing Alan's bedroom door standing open, Gordon remembered his promise to talk to the younger boy. But looking in the messy room, Gordon could see no sign of his brother.

He went on to his own bedroom and tossed the swim bag on the bed. He stared at the bed for a moment, remembering that all he had wanted on the ride home from practice was to crash and take a nap. To his surprise, napping no longer held any appeal, and without another thought, he turned away and headed back down the stairs. "Hey, Grandma, where's Al?"

Without looking up, Ruth replied, "He's out in the barn helping your brother with his car."

"Okay, I'm gonna go talk to him."

"Dinner's at five, and I expect you boys to be clean, do you hear?"

"I'm always clean, Grandma!" Gordon called over his shoulder as he headed out the door. He crossed the yard to the old barn.

Stepping inside, he waited a moment for his eyes to adjust, then spotted his brothers, both with their heads and shoulders under the hood of John's SUV. Smiling, he tiptoed up behind them, and then in a loud voice, said, "Hey, guys! Whatcha doin'?"

Gordon was rewarded when both blond heads jerked up and hit the underside of the hood with twin thunks. Alan's hand, covered with grease, went immediately to rub the sore spot. "Damn it, Gordy! Whadja do that for?"

"Sorry, kiddo. I didn't realize you didn't hear me come up."

John shot him a look telling him he knew perfectly well that Gordon had snuck up on them, but when he spoke, it was mild. "How'd practice go?"

Gordon grimaced. "Coach has it in for me."

"Do you blame him? He could lose his job over this."

"Hey, it was Morgan who fell in the damn pool, not me!"

"What are you guys talking about?" Alan frowned, seemingly unaware of the large black spot on the top of his head.

"Gordon saved a guy who fell in the pool last night."

"Really? Couldn't he swim or something?"

"Naw, he hit his head and got knocked out. I just kept him from drowning until the coach got there."

"So how could he lose his job?"

"The pool's supposed to be locked up at night, but Coach Daugherty unlocked so we could get in in the morning because we had early practice."

"Oh. Look at what John got." Alan dismissed the whole episode to point to a large box on the floor.

Gordon glanced at it, then did a doubletake, staring hard. "Whoa! Johnny! A turbo converter? Man, those things are expensive. I didn't know you had those kind of bucks!"

John grinned slyly. "I don't. Dad sent it as a birthday gift."

"Oh, man! Why is he always home on my birthday? I never get a guilt gift."

"That's what you get for being born in the middle of winter. Come on and help us get it installed, I want to have it done in time for my date tonight with Stephanie."

"Okay, what do you want me to do?"

"We're tightening the bolts. You get that side. I need Al over here, because his hand is smaller and he can get to the ones at the back."

"Okay." Gordon joined his brothers under the hood, and got to work tightening a series of bolts. They worked in companionable silence for a while, before Gordon said, "Hey, I'm sorry about you having to cut short your date last night."

"That's okay. It'll make tonight all that much better, believe me. How did you get along with Patty, anyway? Please tell me it wasn't all a waste."

"Oh! No, not at all. I tried out that French kissing stuff, and man, it was sweet!"

"French kissing? Like with your mouth open? Ew! Gross!" Alan wrinkled his nose up.

Gordon and John shared a knowing glance, and Gordon felt as if he had been initiated into manhood. "Just wait, Al. You'll see. It's better'n chocolate cake."

"So Patty was ready, huh?" John asked, still working.

Gordon laughed, "Not only was she ready, but she was way ahead of me. I was gonna do that tooth thing you told me about, but she started this, like, sucking on my tongue. I thought I was gonna totally lose it right then and there. You never said anything about the way your butt just squeezes up and your toes curl when she does that."

John laughed as Alan faked retching sounds. "Sucking, huh? That's pretty advanced. I was saving that for the next time."

"God, I hope there's a next time. Her dad will probably buy a shotgun after last night."

"Wait a minute... If tongue sucking is advanced, how did Patty know how to do it? She's been your girlfriend since seventh grade. Who has she been kissing that she knows how to do it?" Alan asked, determined to be part of the conversation.

Gordon's face fell. He had never doubted Patty, but Alan's questions were legitimate. John snorted, "What do you two think girls talk about at those slumber parties they have?"

Gordon and Alan looked up, surprised. The last time they had had friends sleep over, the night had been devoted to horror movies and shoot ‘em up video games. "You think Patty practiced with girls?"

"Well, she didn't learn it from her momma, I can tell you that. Trust me, guys, girls are always a step ahead of us when it comes to stuff like that. Did you remember to cop a feel?"

Embarrassed, Gordon shook his head. "No. I was so, um, into the kissing thing, that I kinda forgot, then we heard the door open, and we went to hide."

John nodded. "Yeah, I know how that is. Don't worry about it, you two will be pawing each other soon enough."

"Wait. What do you mean, each other? I mean, I wouldn't mind feeling up a girl, but I don't think I'd want a girl grabbing at me." Alan was clearly out of his depth.

Gordon on the other hand, felt himself get excited just at the thought of Patty touching him. John smiled tolerantly. "Yeah, well, it's kind of an equal opportunity thing. If you touch her, she gets to touch you. And believe me, you'll get to like it, Al, when it happens."

"Yeah, and the Easter Bunny wears a jock strap. Hey, John, Mrs. Marriott wants me to join the school chorus."

"Really? Why?"

"She says I'd be good if I tried it."

John looked up, his eyebrows raised. "She never said anything like that to me."

"Well, duh. That's because you can't sing worth shit." Gordon and Alan said in chorus.

John frowned at Gordon. "Hey, what are you talking about? You're worse than me."

"True. Neither of us are any good, but then, baby brother is just a regular canary."

John snorted in disbelief. "When did that happen, and where was I?"

"Hey, come on, guys! I need to know what you think. Should I take chorus or not?"

Gordon frowned. School chorus was so far out of his world, that he really didn't have an answer. "I dunno, Al, maybe you should ask Virgil."

"Virg won't be home until Thanksgiving, and Mrs. Marriott wants an answer Monday."

John raised an eyebrow. "They have this wonderful thing now called a telephone. You should try it."

"I already did, dumbass. I got his voicemail. It said he was gonna be gone all weekend."

"I'm bigger, stronger, faster and smarter than you. If you call me dumbass again, I will drop you down a well," John responded quietly.

"Sorry. But what am I gonna do about Mrs. Marriott?"

Gordon shrugged. "I guess you gotta decide if you really want to do it."

"Well, I don't not want to do it. But most of the guys in chorus are like, you know, geeks and things."

"Virg was in chorus, and he wasn't a geek."

"Yeah, but he played the piano. He wasn't like, singing, you know."

"And we all thank God for that," said John. "Look, what you really need to do is a cost benefit analysis."

"A what?"

"A cost benefit analysis. What is it going to cost you, and what is the benefit. So, what is the first benefit."

Gordon grinned. "He'd be like the first Tracy in the history of the world that could sing."

Alan snorted. "I already am."

John raised his eyebrows. "Maybe the first thing to do is define being able to sing."

"Oh, ha ha. Very funny. How about this? I could be a rock star, make a billion bucks, and you two could be my hangers-on."

"Or not. Hey, doesn't chorus practice after school? If you do that, you'll have to give up basketball and baseball." Gordon shook his head.

"On the other hand, the school chorus got to go to Florida for that concert, didn't they?"

"Oh! Now it comes out!" Gordon sneered. "You only want to join to go to Disneyworld."

"That was last year, dumba... uh, Gordy. They had Sara Wilkens and Amber Hutton. They were the only reason they got to go. This year they don't have anybody. But I didn't think about basketball. I don't want to miss out on that. We could go to the state championship this year."

"Okay, then, there's your answer."

"Yeah, but what do I tell Mrs. Marriott?"

"Oh, I dunno, how about, um, say, the truth?"

"Yeah, Alan, just tell her you'd rather do afterschool sports." John nodded.

"Gee, I hope she doesn't get mad. I have her for algebra this semester."

"Well, it can't be worse than a thousand extra laps in the pool."

"Okay, we're done here. Let's go start her up."

"Yeah! Can I drive?" Alan asked.

"Uh, lemme think about it. Um, no."

"I call shotgun." Gordon moved to the passenger side, as John slammed down the hood.

"No fair! I was helping for hours before you showed up!"

"He's right, Gords. You get in back, and you can have the front on the way back."

"Where we going?" Alan asked as he triumphantly climbed into the front seat.

"Out to the airstrip. I want to let her out."

"Cool!"

"What, no donuts in the front yard?" Gordon teased, and his brothers laughed, remembering when Scott had gotten his first car. The eldest Tracy brother had bragged that he could do a donut in the front yard, spinning in a tight circle so fast that the rear of the car would skew out. But when he had driven around to the yard, he had found his grandma on the front porch, and with all his brothers in the car, had been forced to drive in sedate circles.

"I think there's enough room in front of the hangar to do donuts." Alan piped up.

John said firmly. "No donuts. Just speed."

The three brothers settled down to the five-minute drive to the half-mile long airstrip at the far end of the farm. Driving to one end, John glanced around. "You guys buckled up?"

Hearing the double assent, he let out a breath. "Here goes."

With one foot firmly on the brake, John started revving the engine. When he released the brake, the car jumped forward with squealing wheels, Alan yelling in excitement.

Gordon sat in the back seat, holding on for dear life, letting his brother's excitement wash over him. By the time the car had slowed down at the far end of the runway, all three brothers were laughing with the pure joy of adrenaline rush.

When John finally rolled to a stop, Alan was right there. "How fast? How fast did you get to?"

"Eighty-five."

"Oh, man! We have to go faster! Come on, Johnny, let's do it again!"

The older teen didn't need any prompting, turning the car around, and sending it flying back the way it came. They spent a good half-hour driving up and down the strip, the car moving faster and faster as John gained confidence. Eventually, they got it up to 97 miles per hour.

Alan pushed for one more run, to break the 100 mile an hour barrier, but John shook his head, looking at his watch. "No, we gotta head in. Grandma said dinner at five, and I am not going to miss it. Chicken Cordon Bleu, and angel food cake."

Reluctant to leave the fun, Gordon sighed. "Do you think we could do some more tomorrow?"

"Yeah! And maybe I could drive!"

"Guys, gas costs money. Besides, I have a report due on Monday. I've got to hit the books."

"I can pay for gas. And besides, we don't need you. I could drive your car, you know."

Gordon rolled his eyes. Their father had given both him and his younger brother a couple of driving lessons in the summer, and Alan had become convinced he could drive better than any NASCAR champ.

"Touch my car and you die." John responded casually.

"Al, you need to take a shower." Gordon commented, as John headed back home.

"Oh, please, you stink more than I do."

"Listen, Grandma said she wanted us all clean at the dinner table. You've got gunk in your hair. You need to take a shower."

Alan touched a hand to his head, and frowned. "I wouldn't have if you hadn't snuck up on me."

"Your point?"

Alan sat trying for a comeback, but nothing seemed to come to mind, and the best he could do was, "Well, if I have to take a shower, you have to set the table."

Gordon shrugged. It was his turn anyway. The three teens fell quiet for the rest of the ride. When they reached the farmhouse, all three slammed the doors on the car and ran up the stairs to the front porch. John led the way inside, where their grandmother was waiting. "Well, did you boys get it installed?"

"Yeah, Grandma, it's great! Johnny went from zero to six... Hey! What was that for!"

Gordon rolled his eyes after stomping on his brother's foot. What their grandma didn't know, couldn't get them grounded, was his philosophy. John was in agreement, because he quickly said, "It works fine. It's going to save a lot of gas, and it's eco-friendly too."

"Hmmm." Ruth said, letting them know she wasn't fooled. "Well, dinner is in fifteen minutes. You boys go wash up. Alan, what is that in your hair?"

"Uh, I kinda got some oil in it."

"Tsk. Well, go take a shower. Use that blue gel and see if you can get it out."

"Okay." Alan disappeared up the stairs.

Ruth watched him go with pursed lips, then turned to her other grandsons. "John, I'll want a word with you before you leave tonight."

John ducked his head. "Okay, Grandma. But I need to go take a shower too."

"Go." Ruth said, then turned to Gordon. "And what about you?"

"Naw, I had a shower after practice. I'll just go clean up and come set the table."

"Thank you, dear."

Gordon grinned, and headed for the downstairs ‘guest' bathroom. He stared at his forehead for a long time, but the pimple showed no signs of showing its ugly head. Satisfied, he scrubbed his face and hands, and went out and set the table, then helped his Grandma put dinner on the table.

By the time he was bringing out the bowl of peas, both John and Alan had appeared, and the family sat down to eat. The room grew quiet as the three boys gobbled their food. Some time later, John was all smiles. "Grandma, you're the best. Thank you for making this for me."

Ruth smiled and placed her hand over John's. "You're welcome, baby. And Happy Birthday, John."

"Yeah, Happy Birthday, bro." Gordon grinned.

Alan frowned. "It's your birthday? Gee, I forgot all about it."

John looked at his youngest brother, and said, "Nice try, Alan. But if you're going to steal Scott's lines, you're going to have to practice on your delivery."

Both Gordon and Alan started to snigger, and Ruth wore a look of mock dismay. "John! Such a thing to say!"

"Give it up, Grandma," John teased, smiling. "I got an email from Scott this morning saying he'd forgotten my birthday yet again, but I was here when the mail came, remember? I saw the box from him."

"Yeah, Grandma, Scott always says he forgot, but he never does." Gordon grinned.

"No, he never does, does he? He's a good boy." Ruth smiled, thinking of her tall dark grandson.

"Nope. So, what did he get me?"

"Well, now, how should I know? It came wrapped."

The three brothers looked at one another, disbelief on all their faces. Alan was the first to catch on. "Oh! He had you wrap it for him, didn't he, Grandma?"

"Yeah, Grandma. Scott never wraps presents. You're lucky if you get it in a bag." Gordon agreed.

"I don't know what you boys are talking about. Gordon, you come help me with the cake. Alan, you can get the lights."

Grinning, Gordon jumped up, and followed his grandmother into the kitchen. On the counter was a tall angel food cake, covered with pink icing. Gordon made to swipe a finger along the side, but Ruth intercepted him. "You can wait three more minutes. Here, you light the candles on that side."

Between the two of them, they made short work of lighting all seventeen candles, and Ruth picked up the glowing cake, and nodded at the door. Gordon went and held open the door, and as Ruth came through, they both started singing, Alan joining a beat later.

"Happy Birthday to you! You belong in the zoo! You look like a monkey, and you smell like one too!" Gordon and Alan warbled together.

As she set the cake in front of John, Ruth scolded, "Tsk, you boys should have outgrown that by now."

"Aw, it's a classic, grandma. And in Johnny's case, true." Gordon grinned.

Ruth tried to maintain a severe look, but the twinkle in her eye gave her away. "Well, go ahead, sweetheart, blow out the candles."

John eyed the candles carefully, verifying that none of them were trick ones like Gordon had snuck onto Virgil's birthday cake. Satisfied, he took a deep breath and blew them out, to the cheers of his family.

Ruth handed him the long cake knife. "Now be careful, dear, you want to use a sawing motion with angel food. Don't cut me any, but I don't want you dividing it in thirds, either."

"All right, Grandma." John replied, then carefully cut generous slices of the cake.

"What about ice cream, Grandma?" Alan piped up. "It's not a party without ice cream."

Ruth rolled her eyes. "Oh, all right, but only one scoop each. Lord knows you boys don't need any more sugar."

Alan bounced away to get the ice cream. Gordon took his slice of cake, then turned to the old country sideboard behind his chair, and pulled open a drawer. He took out a small package wrapped in bright orange paper and handed it to his brother. "Happy Birthday, Johnny."

John grinned, and ripped open the package, pulling out a micro CD. "Oh, excellent, Gords! Just what I wanted. Thanks."

Gordon flushed with pleasure at John's thank you. He had long ago discovered the joys of giving just the right gift.

Alan came back into the room, and seeing John with the unwrapped gift, said, "Oh! We doing presents now? Here, Johnny, I got you this."

Reaching in his back pocket, Alan pulled out a small package wrapped in what appeared to be white typing paper with a bow drawn on it in blue ink. John took it and opened it up to reveal a chocolate candy bar. Gordon stifled his annoyance. He knew that Alan had enough money for a real gift, and he felt bad that his younger brother would stiff John on his birthday.

John, however, just smiled. "Thanks, Alan. I'm going to save this puppy for later."

Ruth smiled, and turning to Gordon, said, "Honey, go into the living room. Behind the couch are a couple of gifts."

Gordon moved quickly, finding two long heavy boxes, one wrapped in very familiar paper. He brought them to the table and placed them in front of John. Ruth said, "Open the one from Virgil first, sweetheart."

John didn't even check the cards, just grabbing the one in unfamiliar paper. As he started to rip the paper, there was a soft warbling. John reached into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out his cell phone. "Hello? Steph... yeah... Oh, God... no, don't worry about me... no, babe, it's fine... you go... all right... Hey, let me know how he is, okay? Yeah, I love you too, babe."

As John turned off his phone, Ruth asked worriedly, "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

"Steph's grandpa got sick. They think it was a heart attack. They took him down to St. Catherine'a."

"Oh! I've told Greg Wilkins to stop those cigars again and again. Well, you just open your presents, dear. I'll call Tina later, and we'll see about getting some casseroles made up. Lord knows, Anna doesn't need to be worrying about cooking."

John nodded, "If you'll make it, I'll deliver it."

"Thank you, John. Now you just go ahead and open that package up."

John flashed a grin, and ripped the paper off. "Oh, wow! Ah, this is great!"

Gordon frowned. The box held a telescoping tripod. It didn't seem like such a great gift to him. Alan shared his feelings, saying, "A tripod? What's the point?"

John leveled a deadly look on his younger brothers. "The point is, since you two knocked over my telescope, the tripod hasn't been level."

Gordon had the grace to look sheepish, but Alan just sniffed. "Well, you shouldn't have set it up there anyway."

John grimaced in irritation, then frowned, studying the box. Ruth noticed, and asked, "Something wrong, dear?"

"Uh, no. Well, it has the wrong kind of mount, but I can work around it."

Deciding it was still a great gift, John pulled out his cell phone again and hit a number on the speed dial. After listening a moment, he spoke, "Yeah, Virg, it's me. I just opened your present. It's the best, man. Listen, call me when you get this message, okay? Talk to you later. Oh, and thanks."

John hung up his phone, then turned back to his gift, opening up the box. Ruth rolled her eyes. "John, set that aside for now. You still have Scott's gift to open, and I've got a little something for you, too."

Gordon grinned at his brother's reluctance to leave the gift he had opened. John had always been single-minded, and was known in the family for being the last of the brothers to finish opening his Christmas presents.

With a look of longing, John set the box aside, and reached for Scott's gift. He pulled off the colorful wrapping and gasped. "Oh my freakin' God!"

"John! Language!" Ruth chided.

John paid no attention. Gordon thought he looked like he was in shock. Gordon read the box, and understood. It was a new telescope. And judging from John's reaction, probably a pretty good one. Grinning, Gordon posed a question. "Guess that tripod will have the right mount for this thing, huh?"

John was practically in tears. "This is... it's... Oh, wow!"

Alan looked it over with disdain. "Well, it's no turbo converter, but I guess it's okay."

John's hands were practically shaking as he pulled open the box, then shaking his head, pulled over the box with the tripod, and started to open it instead. "John! You are not opening that thing up in my kitchen!"

John looked up startled. "Okay, Grandma."

John gathered the two boxes in his arms. Gordon and Alan shared a look of pity. Sure enough, Ruth stopped him. "John Tracy, you can wait five minutes! You haven't opened my gift yet!"

Ruth stepped over to the pantry and pulled out her gift. Gordon had to bite his lip to keep from laughing out loud at the poorly concealed dismay on his brother's face. Ruth's gift was actually several boxes of graduated sizes tied together in a tower with festive ribbon.

With a self-satisfied smile, Ruth set the tower of gifts in front of her grandson. Gordon had to admit, Johnny had recovered quickly, and Ruth only saw his smile. "Start with the smallest one on top, dear."

John opened up the first package and smiled. He held up the knitted gloves. "Excellent. Thanks, Grandma."

"You're welcome, sweetheart. Just open them all, then we'll see about the thanks."

The next package held thick socks and a long knitted scarf. The next, a matching hat. Then came thermal underwear, a heavy flannel shirt and winter weight blue jeans. As John pulled a leather bomber jacket from the last box, he smiled a small smile, and looked at his grandmother. "I sense a theme."

"Well, if you're going to be up until all hours of the night watching stars, you'll need to be warm."

John smiled, "You are the best, you know that, Grandma?"

Pleased, Ruth caressed his cheek, then turned businesslike. "All right, you go try on those things. Gordon, Alan, you boys clean up the kitchen, then you can go help your brother set up his telescope."

Gordon started grabbing dishes from the table. Having John home on a Saturday night was a treat he didn't intend to waste. Alan trailed behind him, less enthusiastic. Even with Alan's reluctant help, it only took a few minutes to clean up the kitchen and load the dishwasher.

The two teens left the kitchen and found their grandmother putting on her coat. "Boys, I'm going over to your Aunt Tina's for the evening. Be good and help John with his telescope. Oh, and I expect to find some of that cake left. If you want a snack, pop some popcorn."

"Okay, Grandma. Have a good time."

Ruth started to leave then paused, and looked back at her two grandsons. "Don't burn down the barn."

As she closed the door behind herself, Gordon mused, "What's the fun of that?"

Alan snorted a laugh, then looked up the stairs as John came down wearing his new clothes. "Where's Grandma?"

"She went over to Aunt Tina's, which is a good thing," Alan grinned. "Now I can give you your real present."

"Real present?"

"You didn't think I'd just get you a candy bar, did you? Come on, it's out in the barn."

"Okay. Gordy, carry the tripod for me, would you?"

Gordon was perfectly willing. "I can carry the telescope too. It's not that heavy."

"Yeah, right! Like I'm going to let either of you get your grubby paws on it before I have it set up," John snorted, cradling the telescope in its box like a favorite child.

Gordon rolled his eyes, and followed his two brothers out to the barn. Alan headed for a dark corner, but Gordon followed John to a hoist set up. They put the boxes on the platform, and John climbed the nearby ladder to the upper level.

When he reached a point level with the top of the hoist, John called out, "Okay."

Gordon pulled down a lever and the platform with the telescope slowly moved upward. John held a hand on the rope to guide the platform, and after a few moments, called out, "Okay, that's good."

Gordon trotted over to the ladder. Climbing up, he found that John had already taken his telescope and headed out through a small door to the viewing balcony that he and his father had built the previous summer. Gordon grabbed the tripod box, and followed his brother.

John was bent over the telescope in its box, fiddling with a knob on the side. He looked up at his brother and said, "Can you get it out of the box and set it up?"

"Sure, bro." Gordon put the box down and opened it up. He could quickly see that the tripod was pretty basic, so he pulled it out, and set it up, spreading the three legs. "Okay, all done."

John nodded, and carefully lifted the short, fat telescope out of the box and set it on the tripod. "Can you hold it steady for me while I lock it down?"

Gordon reached over and held on to the scope while John did something at the base. Within a few moments, John stepped back, the excitement plain on his face. Gordon grinned, basking in his brother's pleasure. "So what are you gonna look at first?"

John smiled. "Calibrate it on Saturn, then we'll see."

Gordon looked up at the myriad of twinkling stars in the sky. "So which one is Saturn?"

"This beauty uses GPS technology to assist in locating known objects."

Gordon frowned. "Where does the software go?"

John's face fell. "Aw, dammit. I forgot to bring my laptop."

Gordon nodded, "Okay, I'll go get it for you, but only because it's your birthday."

"Thanks, Gordy."

Gordon popped back through the door into the barn, slid down the ladder and trotted back to the house. He bounded up the stairs to John's bedroom where he found his brother's laptop on his desk. He disconnected it from the printer, then thinking for a moment, grabbed the USB cable too.

As he left his brother's room, he paused, then headed for his own bedroom. Dropping the laptop on his bed, he pulled his heavy letterman's jacket out and put it on, then pulled on a baseball cap for good measure. Thus prepared he headed back out to the barn.

As he climbed the ladder, he could hear John and Alan speaking. Coming through the door, he found Alan beaming proudly, and John sorting through several skyrockets, a mischievous grin on his face. "Oh, wow! You got him fireworks? Cool!"

"Totally." John nodded in agreement.

"So, we gonna shoot ‘em off, or what?"

"Oh, I guess we could fire off one or two." John said with feigned nonchalance.

"Excellent! I brought the matches!" Alan pulled out an old-fashioned box of kitchen matches.

"Not here, dumbass. We gotta get the sand bucket to stick them in." Gordon shook his head.

"I know that! Come on, let's go!"

John looked from the skyrockets in his hands to the telescope standing ready. Biting his lip for a moment, he finally nodded. "Okay, let's go. But not all of them."

"Aw, Johnny, you gotta shoot them all off. See? I got you seventeen. One for each year." Alan practically whined.

Gordon just smiled. He knew that once they started, John wouldn't be able to resist firing them all off. If there was one thing a Tracy loved, it was fireworks. Thinking for a moment, he said, "Hey, wait for me, I'm going to go get something."

Gordon slipped through the door before either of his brothers, but instead of dropping down the ladder, he trotted around the loft to a dark corner. Making sure neither of his brothers was watching, he moved aside a loose board, and looked into his own private treasure trove.

He pushed aside the Hustler magazines, the half-empty bottle of vodka, and the two cigars, and found the paper bag holding several strings of Black Cat firecrackers. After some judicious thought, he divided the firecrackers into two piles. He replaced half back into his hidey hole, and after a moment, dug into his jeans pocket and pulled out the condom Pete had given him and carefully placed it between two magazines, then moved the board back into position.

Gordon trotted over to the ladder, slid down, and headed for the door. He came out into the yard where he found his brothers crouching over a bucket of sand. "Hey, I told you guys to wait."

John glanced up. "You snooze, you lose, bro."

"Yeah? And here I was, all ready to share these firecrackers."

That got both boys attention, and they stood up to inspect Gordon's offering. "There's enough for three a piece."

"Oh man! Now, this is what I call a party!" Alan grinned.

John snorted, pocketing his share of the firecrackers. He turned back to the bucket. Gordon could see that there were three of the skyrockets firmly positioned. John pulled out a match and set off the first of the three.

The three teens watched as the rocket climbed into the night sky. When it reached about 100 feet, it burst with a satisfying crack, showering a cascade of bright red sparks back to earth. Gordon grinned, "That was great! Do another one!"

John was grinning as widely as either of his brothers, and leaning down, fired off the second of the rockets. This one climbed even higher, but instead of exploding, made a dull pop, then fell back to the ground.

"Aw, it's a dud," Alan sniffed, disappointed.

"That's okay, Al, there's always a dud or two. Let me just get this next one." John said, as he lit the last of the three.

This one rose higher still, and exploded in white and blue sparks. All three boys cheered. To celebrate the success of the rocket, Gordon pulled out the first of his firecracker strings, and lighting it, tossed it to the ground between his two brothers.

Because their attention was still on the sky, they both jumped satisfactorily. As the string of crackers popped and sizzled on the ground, all three of the boys laughed and danced around, getting an adrenaline rush from the sharp reports.

It was over all too soon, and John set up the next three rockets. "Hey, Johnny, why don't you set all three off at the same time? It'll be like the fireworks in Topeka on the Fourth of July," suggested Alan.

Gordon grinned, "Hey, yeah! Let's try that!"

John considered it for a moment, and Gordon thought he was going to pull a Scott on them and get all responsible. But the moment passed, and John grinned. "Okay. But you guys stay back a bit, just in case."

Gordon and Alan rolled their eyes, but dutifully took a step back. John took a deep breath, then used one match to light all three rockets before jumping back to a safe distance.

Two of the rockets took off, flying high before bursting apart in a one-two bang of colored sparks. The third stayed in the bucket, hissing madly, throwing off sparks before finally taking off in a wobbly flight. Much to the three teens horror, the rocket veered wildly before hitting the side of the barn and dropping to the earth still shedding sparks.

The old wood of the barn smoldered, and then burst into flames. "Crap! Alan, get the hose! Gordon, go get the fire extinguisher out of the kitchen!"

Gordon darted off, running in full out panic. He slammed into the kitchen, and grabbed the extinguisher. Running back out, he found Alan had the garden hose and was spraying the wood of the barn with water. "Where's John?"

"He went into the barn. I've got this, go help him!"

Despite the situation, Gordon felt a flicker of annoyance at his younger brother's preemptory command. Nevertheless, he headed into the barn, where he found John heaving a bucket of sand at the smoldering wall. "Johnny?"

John glanced at his brother. "Good, you're here. It hasn't burned through, thank God. Go ahead and spray the wall. That should help."

Not sure of the reasoning, Gordon shrugged and started spraying the wall. John nodded. "Yeah, that should help cool it down. You stay here. If you see anything start to smoke, nail it."

John got into his car, started it, and pulled out of the barn, parking it just outside before disappearing in Alan's direction. Gordon stood there, watching the wall. It was only after John left him in the semi-gloom that he started to get nervous.

He'd seen barn fires in the movies, and on his own, his imagination started to get the better of him. His eyes started to dart around, half seeing fire from the corner of his eye. He could hear the spray from the garden hose hitting the wall from the other side, but on his side, the wall stayed obstinately unchanged.

Just as he was about to spray the wall just to relieve the tension, he heard a sharp whistle. Immensely relieved, he trotted out to join his brothers mournfully staring at the charred wall.

"Damn. We burned down the barn." John sighed. Their grandmother's command not to burn down the barn was one that she regularly made whenever leaving the boys home on their own.

"What do you mean, ‘we'?" Alan asked nervously. "You were the one that lit it."

John and Gordon both just stared at their baby brother. At first, it looked as if Alan would brazen it out, crossing his arms and frowning fiercely. But Gordon knew it was just a matter of waiting him out. Sure enough, after a moment, the youngest Tracy brother ducked his head and said sheepishly, "Yeah, okay. What do you suppose she'll do to us?"

"Get used to your bedroom. You're going to be seeing a lot of it." John sighed.

"Maybe she won't notice. It's not on the side facing the house."

Gordon shook his head. "That won't work Al. If we don't tell her right away she'll really get mad. And that'll get Dad mad, and that'll get Scott and Virgil mad. No, we need to face the music tonight."

John nodded agreement. "Well, seeing as I'm not going to get to use my telescope after tonight, I'm going to get in as much time as I can right now."

John headed back into the barn. Gordon and Alan watched him go, then slowly followed along.

Reaching the loft, Gordon went to the locker their dad had installed when it became obvious that John would be spending a lot of time out here. Opening it, he pulled out three folding lawn chairs and a couple of old blankets. Thus armed, he joined his brothers on the viewing balcony.

John was already bent over his telescope, hooking up the USB cable, oblivious to everything else. Gordon rolled his eyes, and Alan sniggered, but both boys were careful to set up a chair where John could just sit without having to move away from his new toy.

Once they had set up their own chairs, Gordon and Alan settled down under the old worn blankets and for a while, just stared up at the host of stars in the sky. Gordon reflected that it was nice, just sitting quietly with his brothers. Not that he'd like to make a habit of it. There'd be plenty of time to sit when he was old, like his dad. But for now, listening to his older brother mumble over an instruction manual, it was nice.

Gordon sighed. He'd better enjoy the silence now, because when his grandma showed up, he'd be seeing more fireworks than any puny skyrockets could produce.

He thought about the last two days, and tried to think of anything he would have done differently, but he admitted to himself, there wasn't much he'd change. The trouble Morgan Watts had caused him was far outweighed by the sweetness of his time with Patty. Even the fire was worth the sheer joy of the fireworks.

Gordon felt as if he had gone through a rite of passage. Somehow, Alan seemed much younger to him, and John much closer. Pondering the changes in his life, he leaned back and smiled.

Ruth Tracy said her good-byes and got in her car and headed home. The evening of planning casseroles and home visits had been successful, but surprising. Successful in that several women from the church had come over and so the work had been divided so that no one person was burdened, yet the Wilkens family would be relieved of the necessity of cooking for at least two weeks.

Surprising, because Ruth had heard an earful about her grandson Gordon's antics at last night's dance. She'd been in her room reading when he and John had gotten home, and hadn't been aware of any problems.

It had been a bit of a shock when Elise Lawrence, a woman given to bitter self-righteousness, had accosted her demanding to know how she intended to punish her grandson for his transgressions. Her best friend, Tina Fought, had stepped in and taken Ruth aside, explaining what had happened.

When Elise had pressed the matter, Ruth had sniffed that she was not inclined to punish Gordon for saving a life. As for what he and Patty McCormack were doing there, well, they were both good kids, but they were of an age where they were going to experiment, and no amount of punishment would stop them. The best any decent parent could do was give them a solid foundation and hope that they made the right choices.

Ruth got unexpected support from Maggie McCormack, who agreed that she trusted her Patty, and that Gordon had always shown himself to be a good boy. She had talked to her daughter about what had happened, and she was confident that Patty understood the consequences of her actions.

Looking as though she had sucked a bad lemon, Elise had marched off the accost Kari Pendergast, the president of the school board, insisting that at the very least, Evan Daugherty should be fired. No more inclined to punish him for the incident than Ruth or Maggie, Kari had serenely told Elise that she had checked the rules and regulations regarding school property, and had found nothing to indicate a teacher could not leave a door unlocked. However, she intended to address that loophole at the next meeting of the school board, and that would be an end to it.

As she drove down the quiet farm road, she reflected that her boys, all of them, were good boys, but they were growing up very fast. Soon, John would be off to college, and she would be left with just the two babies.

Well, not babies. Not any more. Gordon had barely lost his baby fat, but here he was courting young Patty McCormack, who had looked so grown up last night. To date, Alan had shown no interest in girls, but Ruth had no doubt that that would change soon enough.

As she pulled up in front of the old farm house, Ruth was feeling very good about her family and herself. Entering the house, she heard no sound. Knowing it was unlikely that the boys were asleep this early on a Saturday night, she headed for the kitchen to make hot chocolate. Glancing out the window, she could just make out three dark silhouettes on the roof of the barn.

Setting a pan of milk to heat, she pulled out the ingredients for her special extra dark chocolate. Just as she was finishing stirring it all together, she heard the kitchen door open. "You boys sit down and I'll have this hot chocolate ready in just a moment."

The silence behind her caused her to turn. Her heart fell a bit at the looks on her grandsons' faces. Something was wrong. Alan was wringing his hands, as he was wont to do when nervous. Gordon was biting his lip. And John, well John just looked like someone had kicked his puppy.

Ruth turned back to the stove, and picked up the pan of hot chocolate. "All right, boys, hold up your mugs, and then you can tell me all about it."

Each boy took a mug from the tray in the center of the table, and held it out as Ruth filled it from the pan. John automatically pulled a fourth mug which Ruth filled before putting the pan back on the stove. All four sat down at the table and took a moment to take a sip of the hot drink.

Ruth waited patiently. The three boys looked at each other guiltily. Gordon looked to John to take the lead, but it was Alan who blurted out, "Grandma, we burned down the barn."

Ruth sucked in a breath, taking a moment to calm herself before asking, "What happened?"

John looked down at the table. "Uh, I decided to shoot off some fireworks, in honor of my birthday, and one of them hit the barn, and it caught fire."

"It's only a little bit burned. Just on the outside." Gordon was quick to say.

"And none of you were hurt?" Ruth asked, although she could plainly see they were all right.

"No, ma'am. We caught it right away. It didn't even burn through the wall." John said firmly.

"And you think that excuses it? John, you could have been killed. Your brothers could have been killed."

"I know Grandma. I'm sorry."

"As well you should be. When I leave home, I expect you to take care of your brothers, not put them in danger."

"Grandma, it's as much my fault as Johnny's. I talked him into firing off three at once. If it had just been the one, it wouldn't have happened." Gordon was red-faced with shame, but determined not to let his brother shoulder all of the blame.

"Do you boys understand how I would feel if any of you were hurt? How your father and brothers would feel?" Ruth had to wipe away a tear. Just the thought of losing one of her precious boys was terrifying. "I think all three of you should go to your rooms, and consider what your lives would be like if any one of your brothers was to be taken from you. In the morning, we'll discuss how you will fix the barn."

With hanging heads, the three boys got up and left the room. Ruth put her hands flat on the table to keep them from shaking. At a small sound, she looked up to find Alan standing there practically in tears, his hands almost a blur from his wringing of them. In a tiny voice, he said, "Grandma, it's all my fault. I gave Johnny the fireworks for his birthday."

As she looked upon her youngest grandson, miserable, but defending his brothers, Ruth felt a flush of love rush over her. Her boys were good boys. But still, discipline had to be maintained. "Thank you for telling me, baby. Now you get up to bed, and we'll talk in the morning."

Alan nodded, and with a sniff, turned away. Ruth considered, as she watched her youngest grandson trudge away. If she had them use their allowances to buy wood and paint, they could spend the next few weekends repairing and painting the barn. She nodded to herself. That would suffice for penance, and would have the added advantage of hiding the damage from their older brothers and father, who would be furious when they heard of the incident.

Having decided, she collected the mugs and turned to put them in the dishwasher. It had been an eventful two days, but she realized it was just life playing itself out for her. With a sigh, she turned off the kitchen light, and headed for bed.