Their two paths had diverged somewhat in the preceding months. At their particular ages, their social opportunities were quite different. So Tommy was surprised by her suggestion, but secretly pleased by this apparent attention from his big sister. “Sure,” he said. “I just bought some new balls yesterday.”
The two of them walked down to the city park an hour later. Susan decided that she didn't want to come on too strongly about the night before, just as they were beginning to play. So as they walked along, she asked some chatty questions about what courses he would be taking next year, what girls he liked, and so on. The majority of his answers were some variation on a muffled grunt.
They played one very even set of tennis, and she realized that soon his increasing strength would overcome her advantage in age and placement. Susan just barely won the set, and as they rested for a moment on a bench under two large oak trees, Susan asked, as casually as she could, “Didn't I see you last night at the shopping center in a car with Brent and some older boys? Wasn't that Derrick and Paul in the car?”
Tommy was so startled by her question that he did not have time to think through that their entire tennis outing had been planned around it. He considered lying to her for a moment, but he looked at her face and did not see either hostility or a setup. So he glanced down at his racquet strings and answered, “Yes. Why?”
“Well, you know that I know those guys—well, I don't really know them, but they're in my class,” Susan explained slowly. “And I just can't really imagine what you have in common with them. Either you or Brent.”
“What exactly do you mean?” Tommy asked, with some obvious hostility in his voice.
“I don't know, exactly. I mean, they're not like, bad, that I know of. It's just that they're sort of, well, I guess…loners. Like, I don't think either one of them has ever had a date with a girl, at least not from our school. You know, they're just sort of geeky, I guess.”
“And you think that's how I am?”
“No. That's just it. I don't think of you like that, which is why I wasn't even sure it was you in the car.”
“Well, I happen to like them a lot. And sometimes Brent and I just hang out with them, not that it's any of your business.”
“But Tommy, Mom and Dad thought you were at Brent's house last night, and there you were out driving around God knows where. What if something had happened to you?”
Tommy finally connected his sighting last evening with this morning's tennis game. “I can't believe it. You asked me to play tennis for the first time in months, and it was all just to bash me about my friends! You've got some nerve. What are you, some kind of a perfect angel, loved by everyone, checking on us lowly sinners?”
That remark hit closer than he knew, as a visual image of what she and Drew had done together the night before leapt quickly at her. “No, Tommy, That's not it at all. I can assure you that I'm no angel. Maybe I did ask to play tennis so that we could talk about it. But you and I have said hardly two words in the last three months, and I am your sister. And, as hard as it may be for you to believe, I do care about you, particularly if you start to hang out with guys who can't do you any good.”
“Do me any good? What do you mean by that remark?”
“Well, I mean, Tommy, you're sort of a handsome guy, and you ought to have lots of girlfriends. I don't know what the crowd that they are in does, but I don't think they go out very much—I mean with girls—and, well—Look, Tommy, I guess that being a fourteen-or fifteen-year-old boy must be worse than being a girl. I've talked to some of the guys in our class; and I know it was tough, when we were dating older guys who could drive. It is hard, but you're almost through it. Everybody eventually comes out the other end of those years, and then I guess you have new problems. Believe me. But what I mean is I would hate to see you get in with boys who…well, I can't put my finger on it. I'm sorry, Tommy. But there's just something about those guys that has always given me the creeps.”
“Well, thanks a lot, big sister. I really appreciate the lecture. You should definitely major in psychology in college! I've got two parents, which is plenty. I don't need a third. So you can just take all of your advice and stuff it!”
With that, he took their tennis balls and lofted them one at a time as far as he could into the adjoining woods. Without another word, he picked up his gear and jogged off towards home, leaving Susan alone, frustrated and upset on the bench. After five minutes of feeling like an idiot and reflecting on the unexpected anger which her conversation had aroused in Tommy, she stood up slowly, gathered her things, and walked home, thinking.
She wanted to talk to Tommy again. To try to work past his anger. To apologize, if she had to, for “setting up” their tennis game. She again wanted to explain that she had done so out of concern, even love, if he would listen. She was mad at herself—and mad at him.
When she came in the back door, her mother was working on a shopping list. “Where's Tommy?” Susan asked.
“He blew through here a little while ago, dropped his things, and said he was going over to Brent's on his bike. How was your game, and why didn't you come home together?”
“Oh, it was fine. I don't know. Tommy just wanted to jog some. Is Dad here?”
“No, dear. He had to go to the office again, on this beautiful Saturday morning, to work on some documents. I hate it, but he says he has to do it. I guess that there just aren't enough hours in the regular work week, or something.”
“Well, I guess I'll go take a shower and get ready for work, then,” said Susan.
SUNDAY, JULY 30 – Between her work schedule, everyone's dates, and weekend activities, Susan never saw Tommy alone again during the entire weekend. It was Sunday afternoon before she could say a few words to her father, but by then she had decided that it was best just to stop meddling and to drop the whole thing. But I just don't understand what Tommy has in common with those guys, Susan thought to herself, alone on Sunday evening.
* * *
Late that same Sunday, Bobbie called Susan. The two of them had not seen each other for several weeks. Susan blamed it on their odd work schedules, but part of the reason was that she and Amy had grown unconsciously apart from Bobbie through their double date activities and purchasing their birth control pills. They had talked about the fact that Bobbie would probably neither approve nor understand either decision.
“Susan, do you have to work next Saturday night?” asked Bobbie.
“Let me see. No, next Saturday I work from morning until early afternoon, which is pretty easy, except at lunch. Why?”
“You may think this sounds crazy, so don't say no when you first hear it. I thought it would be great for you, Amy, and me to have an old-fashioned three-girl slumber party here at my house on Saturday night, like we used to do years ago. You and Amy can both spend the night, we can stay up late and talk, and then you can both come to our youth program and church service with me, like we talked about before. What do you think?”
Bobbie had been right to be cautious. The mention of the word church immediately triggered a voice inside Susan, which said, “No fun,” and she almost declined. But then she thought about Bobbie and how they had not seen much of each other and how it might actually be fun—as well as a relief from Drew's pressure—to spend a Saturday night with her two best friends, the way they used to.
“Have you asked Amy yet?” Susan inquired.
“No, not yet. I get the impression from our few conversations that she somehow doesn't feel ‘worthy’ enough to go to church, because of what happened. So I was hoping that you would say yes, and then the two of us could call her.”
“OK, Bobbie. That really does sound like fun. Let's put on our old pajamas and sleep in sleeping bags on the floor, like we used to.”
“Great,” Bobbie exclaimed, obviously happy. “Now let me see if I can make this conference call gizmo work, and we'll both be on the line to Amy.”
Amy's reaction was even more negative than Susan's at firs
t. She didn't like the idea of giving up a Saturday night with Jay. But, like Susan, she missed being with Bobbie, and under pressure from both of them, she finally also agreed.
MONDAY, JULY 31 – “The tax and estate attorneys tell Marty Tsongas that they should be all wrapped up by the end of the summer, so hopefully we will be able to close in early September. Unfortunately, neither Marty nor I can directly speed up the process, except with phone calls and prodding, which we have both done. How is the Fairchild stock doing?” asked Richard that Monday morning.
Bruce McKinney answered, “It's been in a slow slide these last few weeks, as the Japanese have announced more plans for upgrading Apex. This morning it opened at 24.5. Hopefully the Fairchild board is working on some sort of an investment strategy, to counter these Apex stories. I just hope they hurry up and announce something positive so the stock will stabilize.
“You and me both, Bruce. I promise you I'll keep the pressure on, even if I become a little obnoxious.”
“Thanks, Richard. That's what legal friends are for!”
10
SATURDAY, AUGUST 5 – That Saturday evening would be the last one when all of the Sullivans were in town for several weeks, since the next Saturday morning Janet and the kids would drive off for Vermont. It had been a beautiful, warm, early August day, and the four of them had gone to swim and to sunbathe at the neighborhood pool, next to the city park. Richard had invited Janet to go to dinner, since they would not be together the next weekend. Susan had the slumber party at Bobbie's house. Tommy was again supposed to be at a movie at the mall, and then Brent was to spend the night at their home.
Nepravel was ecstatic about Tommy and Brent spending another evening with Roger and his crowd. With orientation starting for the new freshman class at the university, Nepravel had a special night planned for these two teenagers, which he hoped would produce even more confusion and guilt in their young minds.
But he had been horrified to learn that both Susan and Amy were going to Bobbie's house—and to her church! How had he missed that arrangement? What had happened to the voices in the two of them? Probably all those answered prayers had dulled them, and he had failed to notice. If anything happened, Balzor would be livid.
Because Bobbie lived in Zloy's neighborhood, Nepravel had alerted Zloy to be on the look out, but he knew it was asking a lot. Although an angel typically did not station himself permanently at the home of a believer, the answered prayers nevertheless kept bringing angels there on a regular basis. A demon could get in and do some damage in a believer's home, but the risk of being caught by a roving angel, summoned by prayer, was just too great, except in unusual circumstances. With so many other, easier families targeted for destruction up and down every street, most of the demons steered clear of the believers’ homes, for simple self-preservation. And of course none of them would go near Morningside Church, particularly on a Sunday morning, when Amy and Susan would be there. The praise and worship would have angels swarming around, empowered by prayer and just hoping that some demon would stray too close.
So the unfortunate situation for Nepravel was that unless Zloy could slip into the Merediths’ home that night to check and to reset the demonic voices, Amy and Susan would be completely out of their control for about eighteen hours. There was no telling what they might hear or learn, particularly in those environments! Nepravel was worried, and dreaded their nightly report session.
When Amy and Susan arrived at Bobbie's home, her mother, Anne, greeted them at the door. They could look through the house and see Mr. Meredith already grilling hamburgers for them in the backyard.
Bobbie had two younger brothers, younger than Tommy. One was at camp, and the other she had convinced her mother to “farm out” for their slumber party. So the Merediths and the three girls enjoyed a pleasant dinner on their back patio together. Bob and Anne Meredith had watched these three girls grow up together since grade school, and they had always enjoyed hosting events for them. They had noticed that in the past two months Bobbie had not seen as much of her two best friends as usual, but they had explained it away by summer job schedules. And they were delighted tonight to have these three good friends enjoying themselves in their home. Bob even thought to himself, as he watched Anne laugh with them about some new fashion foible, what wonderful women the three girls were becoming and how lucky three men would someday be to have them as wives.
After supper, while it was still light, the girls purposefully changed into their pajamas and spread their sleeping bags out on Bobbie's bedroom floor. Anne, getting into the spirit of the slumber party, brought them a tray of milk and cookies. They leaned back on beanbag chairs and began chatting and calling a few of their friends on the telephone.
Meanwhile, Tommy and Brent, always ones who went along with the crowd, were about to go along in a newer, faster, and more ominous lane. Roger had an older friend, Phil, who was already in college, and who had invited Roger and Zane to come with him to an adult book store in a particular area of the downtown where several such stores, and the Platinum Club, were located. The Platinum Club was a “world class” strip club, where a hundred young women at a time, some of them school teachers and secretaries by day, came out for floor shows, completely naked, except for garter belts and high heels. As they danced on tables, men stuffed money into their garter belts. The club was known not only in their city, but throughout the entire region, and businessmen and conventioneers who visited the city often made it a point to visit the Platinum Club while in town. Because of its status, the club was very strict about checking IDs.
But that was not true of the adult book store where Roger's friend Phil had a fraternity brother behind the counter that Saturday evening. After they left the Holcombes’ house, supposedly on the way to the mall, Roger told Brent and Tommy that he would try to get them into the adult book store as well, but he could not promise their success. The younger boys had never been in such a place, and they were certainly eager to go.
Richard took Janet to a very fine French restaurant, and they sipped white wine in the quiet bar while waiting for their table to clear. They discussed the upcoming trip to Vermont, and Richard reminded her of the few items that had often been forgotten on previous trips.
* * *
The three girls had been talking for over an hour when Bobbie asked Amy how she was feeling following her “procedure.”
“Fine, just fine. No sweat. Sometimes, every now and then, I do feel like it would have been great to actually have a baby, in the sense of being a mother. But I know it would never have worked for me in any other way. And now,” Amy smiled, looking at Susan, “we've made sure that it won't happen again.”
“What do you mean?” asked Bobbie, genuinely surprised.
“She means,” said Susan, taking a deep breath and looking down at her knees, tucked up in front of her, “that we both now have birth control pills.” As she finished, she looked up at Bobbie.
It was again Bobbie's turn to be shocked by the news from her two friends—shocked, saddened, and suddenly feeling left out. “You both…both of you…now have birth control pills?” asked Bobbie.
Amy and Susan nodded. “I actually haven't started taking mine yet,” smiled Susan, a little sheepishly. “But I've got them hidden in my drawer, in case I need them. So that nothing like what happened to Amy will happen to me.”
“What do you mean, ‘in case you need them’?” asked Bobbie.
“You know very well.” Susan smiled even more, diverting her eyes from Bobbie and rearranging her legs. “In case Drew and I decide to go all the way…you know…make love. We've done about everything else, and I don't see anything wrong with it, by the way, if you love the other person. Drew is such a great guy. I figure one day, maybe soon, we'll do it, and I want to be prepared. But you must feel the same way, Bobbie. You and Thomas Briggs. Haven't you been dating pretty heavily this summer?”
“Who are these two guys?” asked Roger's older friend, Phil, as he looked in
the back seat of Roger's car, parked around the corner from the Platinum Club.
“It's Zane's brother and a friend. They're cool. Do you think you can get them into the bookstore too?” asked Roger.
“I don't know,” said Phil. “Hank will be taking a small chance with the two of you, but these other two are really young. I'll go ask him. Maybe it'll be OK for just a few minutes.”
There was a five minute wait, and then Phil returned with the news. “I convinced him to let us all go in for five minutes, while we pick out some videos for tonight. But you two,” looking in the backseat, “be ready to jump into one of the curtained booths in the back if anybody starts to come through the front door. OK?” The four boys were out of the car in an instant.
Inside the store, Tommy and Brent nodded in Hank's direction, then kept their heads down as much as possible, trying to look “old.” But their eyes wandered over video covers, book covers, paraphernalia, and magazines that, frankly, they had not known until then even existed. While they walked from aisle to aisle looking at the merchandise, Hank asked Roger and Phil, “So, are you guys going over to Freddie's place for the party tonight?”
“We'd planned to just rent some videos. But what's happening at Freddie's?”
“A great party, I think. Freddie's got an old house off campus, and it should really be fun. Two or three videos will be going at one time, lots of guys, and some new boys from the incoming freshman class. I'm going over when I get off. Take them,” he nodded toward Tommy and Brent at the back of the store and smiled, “and they'll be real popular.”
Zane, Brent's older brother, had been listening, standing next to his friend Roger. He had taken the plunge into the “alternative lifestyle,” and Brent seemed to like it too. But the party being described sounded a little rougher than the small get-togethers they had initiated during the summer, and he was not sure that it was such a good idea for Brent and Tommy to participate.
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