“Summer’s ending,” he said.
Funny how they were both thinking the same thing.
“I’m gonna have to go back to school.” Spazzy didn’t sound happy.
“I thought you liked it,” Kai said.
“It’s okay. It’s just … You know, it’s full of kids like me. I mean, they don’t all have Tourette’s syndrome, but they all have something that makes them look and act different. And no matter how many times they tell us that our handicaps don’t really matter, and we’re just as good as everyone else, and that it’s not really our fault and blah, blah, blah, you never really forget that you’re different. You never really believe that there’s nothing wrong, or bad. You never stop wondering why this had to happen to you and what did you do to deserve it. Until this past month I never really believed that it would ever be different from that, you know? That’s why my whole world used to be my sister and a few friends at school and maybe a couple of people like Ms. Lantz.”
Kai scowled. He couldn’t remember who she was.
“My teacher out in California,” Spazzy said. “The one who taught me to surf.”
“Right.”
“And that’s why this last month has been so amazing,” Spazzy went on. “For the first time in my life I really did feel like it was okay to have Tourette’s syndrome. Or at least, I was finally with a bunch of friends who honestly didn’t care and weren’t just pretending it didn’t matter if I acted weird. It’s hard to leave that, you know?”
Kai nodded, but he was distracted by Lucas, Derek, and Sam, who’d finished eating and were coming toward their table.
“Hey,” Lucas said.
“Hey.” Kai nodded back. His eye caught Derek’s. “Thanks again for helping me out this morning.”
“No sweat,” Derek said. “It was kind of fon.”
“That’s some arm you’ve got,” Kai said.
“I used to play center field for my high school team,” Derek said. “My favorite thing was nailing guys trying to score on sacrifice flies.”
“So my dad wants me to give you a message,” Lucas said. “He says he’ll pay the entry fee for you to compete in the Northeast Championship.”
Kai felt his eyebrows dip with puzzlement.
“He thinks I need someone to push me,” Lucas said. “Otherwise I’ll be too complacent.”
“What the hell’s that mean?” Sam asked.
“Means he’ll think he’s already good enough to win, so he won’t work that hard,” Kai said. “Then he’ll get into the competition and find himself losing to guys he didn’t know would be there.”
“It’s like having a sparring partner,” Derek said.
“How come your dad doesn’t want me to do that?” Sam asked Lucas. “And he can pay for my entry fee too.”
Nobody answered.
“So what do you say?” Lucas asked Kai.
“I don’t know,” Kai said.
“You never know,” Sam said. “That’s what you always say.”
Lucas turned on him angrily. “Will you shut up?”
“What did I say?” Sam looked surprised.
“He’s the guy who had the highest single-wave score at Fairport, remember?” Lucas said of Kai. “That’s why my father picked him and not you.”
Sam shrank back.
“Tell you what,” Kai said. “I’ll be your sparring partner until the competition. Maybe I’ll enter; maybe I won’t. But you won’t know. And anyway, there’ll be way better surfers there than me, so it’ll be good for you.”
“Deal.” Lucas held out his hand. Kai shook it. “Tomorrow morning. Sunrise?”
“See you then,” Kai said.
Lucas and his brahs headed off, leaving Kai and Spazzy at their table.
“If Buzzy’s willing to pay, you should enter,” Spazzy said.
“I wish it was that simple,” Kai said.
“What’s the problem?”
“It’s a long story. I promise I’ll tell you some time, but you know what it’s like when everybody keeps asking you the same thing over and over?”
“Are you kidding?” Spazzy replied. “You know how many times I’ve been asked what’s wrong with me? Believe me, I know how it feels.”
“Thanks, dude.”
The breeze blew, and the bolder sparrows hopped around at Kai’s feet, pecking at crumbs.
“I’m thinking of entering,” Spazzy suddenly said.
The announcement caught Kai by surprise.
“I figure I might go a couple of heats before getting knocked out,” Spazzy said. “After all, I made it to the finals at Fairport, didn’t I?”
Kai nodded. But he knew the reason Spazzy had made it to the finals at Fairport had been partly luck and partly because Kai had gotten himself disqualified on purpose.
“I mean, think about it,” Spazzy went on. “The Northeast Championships are gonna be covered by all the magazines and Web sites. Those media guys are always looking for something new and different to write about. So here’s this kid with Tourette’s syndrome actually competing in a major surfing event. If that gets covered, it’s gonna do a lot for how people look at kids with Tourette’s.”
“I agree,” Kai said. “Just don’t forget that this is going to be a big-time event. It’s gonna make Fairport look like a kickball game. All of us could get blown out in the first heat.”
“Hey, don’t I know it,” Spazzy said. “So that’s why I wanted to ask you if maybe tomorrow morning I could come out there too.”
Kai smiled. “You don’t have to ask. Remember, as far as I’m concerned, Screamers is open to everyone. Only, what about your sister and the jellyfish?”
Spazzy grinned. “Leave it to me, dude.”
Seventeen
Later Kai walked into the office of the Driftwood Motel. Two guys were standing at the counter, ringing the bell. Kai recognized them immediately. One was thin, with tousled blond hair. He had tattoos on both arms and looked like he was in his twenties. The other was stocky, with dark hair shaved close to his head and black tattoos on both shoulders. Kai had spoken to them the first time he set foot in the backyard at the Driftwood.
“You know where Curtis is?” the stocky one asked. “We’ve been ringing the bell for fifteen minutes.”
The thin blond guy narrowed his eyes. “Hey, haven’t I seen you before?”
“Yeah, about three months ago,” Kai said. “In the back.”
The blond guy nodded. “Right. You’re the one who said we could probably get tubed down at Screamers.” He nudged his buddy with his elbow. “You remember, don’t you?”
“Yeah.” The stocky guy grinned. “So you been tubed at Screamers yet?”
“A couple of times,” Kai said. “The swell out of the southeast has to be just right, you know?”
Both guys frowned. “No, we wouldn’t know,” said the stocky one.
“And I think you’re full of shit,” said the skinny one. He turned and rang the bell again. “Where the hell is Curtis?”
“I’ll see if he’s here.” Kai went around the counter and knocked on the door behind it. “Hey, Curtis,” he called. “You got some visitors.”
No answer.
“Guess he’s not there,” said the stocky one.
Kai pressed a finger to his lips and moved his ear close to the door. Inside he heard glass clink. He knocked on the door again. “Come on, old man, you’ve got some paying customers.”
“Fuck ’em,” Curtis muttered from inside.
Kai turned away from the door and pulled open a drawer behind the counter. Inside lay a jumble of mixed-up keys. Kai looked up at the guys. “What room do you usually stay in?”
“Twenty-three,” said the blond one.
Kai sorted through the keys and found #23. “That’ll be forty-five bucks.”
“We pay when we check out,” said the dark-haired one.
“Not this time,” said Kai.
The two guys shared a look. The blond one shrugged. “Go ahead
, pay him.”
The dark-haired guy peeled off two twenties and a five. Kai handed over the key. “You guys don’t mind jellyfish, do you?”
“Clear ones or bluish with tendrils?” asked the blond guy.
“Mostly clear,” said Kai.
“Pain in the ass, but that’s life,” the blond guy said.
“Good, see you at Screamers tomorrow,” Kai said.
The dark-haired guy made a face. “That break’s owned by the locals.”
“Not anymore,” said Kai. “And definitely not when the jellyfish are around.”
The thin blond guy with the tousled hair gave Kai a curious look, as if maybe he wasn’t so full of shit after all. “Okay, thanks.”
Both guys went back out. Kai tried the door to Curtis’s apartment. It opened, but the room inside was dark. No surf videos on the TV. Kai stood in the doorway and waited for his eyes to adjust. The room smelled faintly of body odor and rotting garbage. Kai had the feeling Curtis had been in here for days. He could barely make out the form of Curtis sitting on the couch.
“Kind of dark in here, isn’t it?” Kai asked.
“Metaphor for my life,” Curtis answered.
“Is that what they mean by self-pity?” Kai asked.
“Fuck off and leave me alone.”
“I’ve got some money for you,” Kai said. “It’s not much, but I’d guess every little bit helps.”
Curtis didn’t reply.
“Come on, old man.”
“I’ve hit rock bottom, grom. There ain’t no where to go. The Feds are gonna make me sell this place for back taxes. Imagine getting to this point in your life and you don’t have squat.”
“What about the tax attorney?” Kai asked.
“He helped, but this place is going just the same.”
“But you always knew you’d give it up someday, didn’t you?” Kai asked.
“Sure I did,” Curtis said. “Just like I know I’ll die someday. Only that don’t make it any easier when the time comes.”
“Well, you may not have this place much longer, but I can show you something you didn’t know you had,” Kai said.
“What’s that?”
“You have to come see for yourself.”
Curtis didn’t budge. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about showing you something you’ll be glad to see.”
“A treasure chest filled with gold?”
“Not quite.”
“Then I ain’t interested.”
“Believe me, old man, you will be.”
“Don’t play games with me, grom. The fuse is short and the powder exceedingly dry.”
“Trust me.”
“Trust you? What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Why don’t you give it a chance and come see?”
It wasn’t easy, but Kai finally got Curtis off the couch and through the door. When they stepped outside into the low, orange, predusk sunlight, the older man stopped and shielded his eyes with his hands. “Lord, it’s bright out here.”
“The sun’s going to be down in twenty minutes,” Kai said.
“It always this bright this late?” Curtis asked.
“Only when you haven’t left your apartment for two days,” Kai said.
“We goin’ far?”
“Couple of blocks.”
Curtis took a step and almost stumbled off the walk. Kai grabbed his arm and steadied him.
“Maybe we ought to take a cab,” Curtis muttered.
“The walk’ll do you good.”
“A shot of JD would do me better.”
“I think you’ve had enough of those for now,” Kai said.
But Curtis shook his arm free. “What are you, my nursemaid?” He started off with a determined limp. Kai stood still behind him. “Uh, Curtis?”
The older man stopped and spun around. “What now?”
“Wrong direction.” Kai pointed in the other direction.
“Well, you should have said so.” With equal determination Curtis started back. They walked though town and stopped outside L. Baiter & Son.
“We’re here,” Kai said.
Curtis looked up at the funeral home. “Has my time come, oh angel of death?”
“Not quite.”
“You sure you’re not the grim reaper disguised as a grom?”
“Pretty sure,” Kai said. “Let’s go around to the back.”
“Whoa.” Curtis didn’t move. “We ain’t really goin’ in there are we?”
“We are if you want to see what I’ve got for you.”
“Let me guess, a new body to replace this piece of junk?”
“Sorry.”
“Darn.” Curtis started to walk, then stopped. “Wait a minute. You ain’t gonna perform one of those operations where they drain out all your blood and replace it with other stuff like they did to Keith Richards, are ya?”
“Who’s Keith Richards?” Kai asked.
“Christ,” Curtis grumbled. “Make me feel old, why don’tcha?”
They went around to the back. Kai noticed that the hearse had all new shiny black tires. He rang the bell. Footsteps came down the stairs and Bean opened the door.
“Hey, Kai,” he said. It wasn’t the warmest greeting Kai had ever received, but he couldn’t blame Bean for being a little ticked off.
“This where you live?” Curtis winced, obviously grossed out by the idea that Bean lived with dead people.
“Look at it this way,” Bean said. “My roommates are really quiet and they never steal any of my stuff out of the refrigerator.”
“That is sick,” Kai said.
But Curtis grinned. “I like it.”
“We’re here so Curtis can see what we’ve got for him,” Kai said, winking quickly at Bean to warn him not to give away their secret.
“Oh, yeah,” Bean said. “I can see why he might be interested.”
“So, is this a good time?” Kai asked.
“Well, the body’s not quite ready,” Bean said.
“What the hell?” Curtis blurted out. “Body? I don’t want to see no damn body.”
“You sure?” Kai asked him.
Curtis hesitated. “Well, not unless it’s Buzzy Frank’s. But the last I heard he was alive and well and counting his money.”
“I guess now’s as good a time as any,” Bean said, and held open the door for them to go in.
Kai went in, but Curtis didn’t move. “Somethin’ about this don’t feel right.”
“Hey, old man, you really think I’d do anything bad to you?” Kai asked.
Curtis let out a major sigh and went in. Bean led them downstairs. At the bottom of the stairs he turned on the hall light. To the right was the embalming room. To the left was the dressing room.
Bean was just about to lead them into the dressing room when Kai caught sight of what was on the embalming table and got an idea.
“Aren’t we going this way?” Kai gestured toward the embalming room.
“What?” Bean scowled.
Kai made a face indicating that Bean should just go along and not ask questions. Bean rolled his eyes as if to say, “Okay, but I’m getting tired of going along with these crazy ideas of yours.”
Lying on his back on the embalming table was the corpse of a large man with a big belly, heavy limbs, and several chins. His gray skin looked waxy.
“This the one who died from cirrhosis of the liver?” Kai asked Bean.
“This is what you dragged me all the way here to see!” Curtis practically bellowed. “Some fricken dead guy who died from drink? You think this is gonna scare me off booze. Who the hell do you think you are? If I want to drink myself to death, I got every fricken right to do it!”
He turned and stormed back toward the hall. Kai could see he’d made a mistake. “That’s not what I brought you down here to see,” he said.
“Screw you!” Curtis yelled.
“I swear.”
“You can go to hell.”
It was clear to Kai that nothing he could say would change the old man’s mind. He turned and looked to Bean for help.
“There is something else,” Bean said, reaching for the door to the dressing room.
Curtis paused and studied him.
“This you really will want to see,” Bean said, reaching into the room and flicking on the light.
Curtis stepped to the doorway and peeked in. “Oh, my lord,” he mumbled.
Eighteen
You would have thought Curtis had just found a long lost brother. He stepped close to the boards and ran his fingers over them, like he wasn’t sure he could trust his eyes. The gratitude he was feeling seemed to spill out of him and fill the room. Kai would have sworn the place warmed up a few degrees.
“There’s one we lost,” he said.
“The Yater.” Curtís had already noticed. “It’s okay, grom. Believe me, it’s more than okay.” He stood there among the caskets and stared at his boards for a long time. Then he turned to Kai and Bean. “How?”
Kai shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.”
“Does to me,” Curtis said. “You know who took them?”
“Not quite.”
Curtis frowned. “Then how’d you find them? Aw, forget it. You don’t want to tell me, you don’t have to. You boys want to give me a hand gettin’ them back to my place?”
“Not just yet,” Kai said.
“Huh?”
“We still need ’em for something,” Kai said. “But I promise you will get them back soon.”
“You realize these are my boards, and if I want ’em I can take ’em right now?” Curtis asked.
“I wouldn’t,” Kai said. “Really, old man, it’s important.”
A crooked smile appeared on Curtis’s face. “Boy, you are some piece of work. Okay, I guess since you got these boards back, it behooves me to let you play with ‘em a bit longer.”
Curtis backed out of the room and Bean turned off the light. Kai thought they were going to head back up the stairs, but Curtis went toward the embalming room and stopped a few feet away from the stiff lying on the embalming table.
“What’d he really die of?” he asked.
Bean went over to the table. “I don’t remember what they said, but I doubt it was a disease like cirrhosis or cancer. Those ones usually waste away. This guy looks like he went pretty fast. Since there’s no visible trauma, if I had to guess, I’d go with a heart attack. Although a stroke or aneurysm is always a possibility.”
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