Kendrick (Torey Hope: The Later Years #4)

by A. D. Ellis

  Kendrick’s eyes filled with tears as he looked to Audrey and Jeremiah.

  “Sarah’s parents didn’t want her to be remembered as the girl who committed suicide, so they were staging it to look like they were just moving out of town. They begged us to just go along with the moving story; they were always so damn concerned about what others in town would think of them. So, instead of grieving my girlfriend’s suicide, and getting answers as to what caused her to take her own life, I had to go about pretending that she’d just abruptly moved away. I wish I’d been older, more sure of myself, I would have told them to go fuck themselves. I have always felt like her parents caused a lot of her problems.”

  The family was quiet as they absorbed the information. But he wasn’t finished.

  “Mom and Dad left, but I asked to stay for a bit. I know now that Sarah probably wasn’t my one-and-only, but at the time I was pretty sure I was in love with the girl. I was sad; it hurt to know she was gone. And I was confused to say the least. Once Mom and Dad had left, making me promise to come home soon so we could talk about it, her parents dropped an even bigger bomb shell. Sarah was pregnant. They watched me with these looks on their faces that I can’t even describe. Anger, disgust, sadness, their faces were more than just parents who had lost a child. They had no reason to believe Sarah had been with anyone but me, even though the pregnancy had come as quite a shock when the autopsy was completed. I think they told me that information, especially out of earshot of Mom and Dad, to punish me. Make me feel bad, like maybe the pregnancy was something that pushed her over the edge. I don’t know if Sarah even knew she was pregnant before she died.”

  Audrey’s hand had flown to cover her mouth, trying to stifle the sobs threatening to erupt. Zoey climbed onto the ottoman and wrapped her arms around him.

  “They begged me to let Sarah’s name stay untainted. Begged me to not talk about the suicide, and definitely not about the pregnancy. I remember thinking they seemed almost more upset about the pregnancy at age fifteen than they did about their daughter taking her own life.”

  Dropping his head into his hands, Kendrick took a deep breath, trying to soldier on.

  “So, Mom and Dad knew she’d killed herself, but I didn’t tell them about the pregnancy. We all just pretended I was upset because my girlfriend had moved away. I started dating other girls. Life went on.”

  Kendrick’s red-rimmed eyes looked up.

  “Until it didn’t. Every year, around the time I think the baby would have been born, I think about him; the older I get, the harder the loss of my child hits me. What would he look like? Would he have blonde hair? What would he like about starting Kindergarten? For some reason, this year, when I knew the baby would be ten, it hit me harder than ever. He would be going to school, doing homework, playing sports, making friends. It kills me to wonder about that baby. Would I be a good daddy? What would have happened to me if Sarah and the baby had lived? I didn’t want to be a teen dad, I didn’t want to give up my dreams. I don’t know that Sarah and I would have stayed together, but I would have loved that baby.” He stopped, tears streaming down his face.

  There wasn’t a dry eye in the room as the family took in the information. Losing a family member, a baby, a child they didn’t even know existed…it tore at their hearts.

  Jeremiah and Audrey pulled Kendrick into a hug.

  “Thank you for sharing with us. I wish you’d been able to tell us so many years ago. But you’ll get through this. You would have been a terrific dad, and you still will be a great dad someday. I think our thoughts and feelings are mighty jumbled right now, so maybe we should save other discussions for later, huh?” Audrey held her youngest tightly.

  Kyle Martin knew the pain of losing an unborn child, and that pain was etched on his face when he approached Kendrick.

  “We can talk later. Anytime. I mean it, Kendrick, anytime. I know about the wondering and what ifs, I get it, man.” Kyle’s voice broke, and he pulled his wife, Josie, close to his side for comfort.

  Kendrick knew Kyle would be a good person to talk to in the coming months as he worked through his feelings. He had grown up hearing the story about Kyle’s first wife and child, the loss which had spurred him to move to Torey Hope, the hurdles he and Josie had to overcome.

  Each member of the family took a moment to comfort him and share their love for him. In the end, the cousins all headed back to the guys’ house. It was time for a little drinking, talking, and laughing.

  **********

  “Before we drink, first I want to thank you all for forcing me to talk about it. It hurts, but saying it out loud really helps. It’s like a weight was lifted from my shoulders.” Kendrick spoke to them all.

  “Forced sounds so negative. I’d like to think we persuaded you to talk to us.” Zach joked.

  “Also, before we drink, I’d like to put a two shot limit on everyone in this room. Need I remind you what took place the last time certain members of this group were drinking together?” Decker looked sternly at Kendrick and Zach; Zoey blushed.

  “You mean when I started my downward spiral and got Zach and Zoey shitfaced, and then they got busy doing the nasty for their first time? Yeah, that was some messed up shit.” Kendrick just smirked and shook his head.

  “Jesus, man. I’m glad you’re feeling better, but I’m not 100% sure I like the crude and crass side of you coming back.” Zach punched his arm.

  “I disagree, crude and crass is Kendrick. I want him just the way he is.” Zoey hugged him close.

  “Let’s drink, fuckers.” Kendrick laid out the shot glasses.

  Several moments later, when each person had taken their allotted two shots, and the alcohol was safely stored away, they ambled to the living room.

  “I think it’s time for story time.” Kendrick was feeling the heat of the alcohol traveling through his system.

  Chapter 6

  “Do you remember that time we accidentally beaned the Captain with a snowball to the face?” Zach’s eyes bugged as he smiled at the memory.

  “Oh man, I do remember that. I was only like five, but I thought the Captain was going to skin you guys alive.” Zach’s younger sister, and Zoey’s best friend, Aly, had joined the group.

  “Yeah, he was so mad his face melted the snow. I thought for sure he’d have us doing push-ups until midnight or something.” Decker shook his head.

  “That’s the great thing about him meeting Janie. He probably would have tanned our hides before Janie, but she softened him up a lot. So, instead of punishing us, he told us our energy would be better used elsewhere, and helped us to shovel every single driveway and sidewalk on his street.” Sawyer’s smile was bright.

  “My damn arms hurt for days after that.” Kendrick rubbed his shoulder. “What about the time our sweet Zoey Belle brought us along on breaking and entering her dad’s little home studio? She promised he had lots of ‘pretty paint’ we could use to paint our model cars. Little did we know she had us using his tattoo ink.”

  “Ohhhh, I remember that. Dad is pretty laid back, but I’m pretty sure he wanted to hang me by my toes for ruining all that ink.” Zoey giggled a little, the shots obvious in her eyes.

  “Do you remember the year we got the flu before we were able to get the flu shot? The four of us were quarantined to Grandma Cindy’s basement at the first sign of symptoms in hopes we wouldn’t contaminate everyone else. The grandmas took turns caring for us so our moms wouldn’t take germs back to the younger ones.” Zach shook his head in amazement. “I didn’t think about it at the time because I was sure I was going to die, but it’s pretty crazy the grandmas didn’t get sick at all. Grandma Cindy once told me it was because they had all been through it so many times with their own kids they were immune to the bugs.”

  “Man, we were sick. I remember telling Mom to make my appointment right then for the flu shot the following year so I could avoid it the next time. The only good thing about it was after the fever and headache went away, we had the rest
of the week to play video games and be waited on hand-and-foot.” Sawyer laughed.

  “Yeah, we were sort of like little celebrities when we returned to school the following week. Rumors had started flying that we’d died from the flu.” Decker shook his head. “When they found out we’d just been lying around drinking juice and playing games they were envious. No need to tell them we’d been miserable for four days.”

  Decker agreed to one more shot for everyone since it was evident no one was getting sloshed. Glasses held high in the air, the group toasted to family and friends.

  “I’ve got to ask. When that boy stood me up for the dance, and Zach took me instead, he told me Kendrick took care of the boys involved. But I never heard the whole story. It had to be good, because those boys were like whipped puppies the next week at school; getting flowers every day from them was a treat, but I never knew with certainty how that all went down. Kendrick, what exactly did you do?” Zoey’s curiosity glowed from her face.

  “Ahhh, yeah, that was a fun night.” Kendrick laughed, clearly enjoying the memory. “So, Zach had an upset Zoey Belle on his hands, and planned to take her to the dance in place of the douche bag who stood her up. He called me to take care of the little prick.”

  Kendrick launched into a retelling of that night.

  “Hey there, I see you’re playing some ball. Care if I join?” I bestowed my signature grin on the middle school boys playing basketball at the local park.

  The four boys looked a little baffled why a teenage boy like me would want to play ball with them, but they readily agreed.

  As the game continued, I made chit-chat.

  “What’s going on over at the middle school? Looked crowded.” I kept my face completely blank.

  “Some stupid dance.” One of the boys stated, and the rest of them broke into a fit of laughter.

  Fighting to keep my composure, I continued to play it cool.

  “Oh yeah, why aren’t you guys there? Fine young men like yourselves probably have to fight the ladies off.” I drained a three-pointer and waited on the kids to hang themselves.

  “Yeah, we fight the ladies off, but we had a little bet going about tonight.” The kid who spoke seemed to be the leader of the group.

  “A bet? Like you bet each other you wouldn’t go to the dance? Sounds pretty lame if you ask me.” I was beginning to understand what had happened, but I waited for the boys to say it out loud.

  “Nah, man. We each asked a girl to the dance, then dumped her. We assigned points for their reactions. Skipping the dance, getting angry, going by herself, every possible reaction earned certain points. The one of us who earned the most points gets his lunch bought for him all week at school.” The boys smirked and nodded their heads as if they thought their game was awesome.

  Taking a couple minutes to gather my thoughts, I dribbled and shot the ball over their heads a few times. Feeling ready to deliver my smack down, I held the ball and turned to face them.

  “Wow, that’s…cool?” I shook my head and made sure the boys realized I thought their bet was stupid.

  “So, you let a girl buy a dress, jewelry, new shoes, do her make-up, get excited about the dance, and then stand her up…all so you have the chance of having a cafeteria lunch bought for you?” I stopped and watched the boys’ faces to see if realization was setting in. It wasn’t.

  “Must have a lot better lunches at the middle school these days. Five years ago they pretty much sucked. Or at least they were bad enough I wouldn’t have given up the chance to hold a girl in my arms and maybe kiss her just for a couple of free lunches.”

  The boys just shrugged and looked like they wished I’d leave.

  No such luck.

  “So, what are the points for a beautiful girl getting stood up, but her very attractive, older cousin drives her to the dance and spends the evening making sure she has the time of her life?”

  “Um, well, we didn’t plan for that one. Probably 5 points.” The leader began to shuffle his feet, and the asswipe who’d stood Zoey up was starting to look extremely pale.

  “What about the points for the girl who has a cousin who hates little shit-ass punks like you, and comes to the ball courts to teach you a lesson?”

  When the boys realized they’d been caught, they started to back away like they planned to leave.

  “Not so fast, gentlemen.”

  I moved behind them and stretched my long arms to gather them all close.

  “I’d say I’m worth at least 10 points. Dontcha think?” I grinned evilly and winked.

  “What are you going to do to us?” The one who had stood Zoey up had trouble keeping the abject fear from his voice.

  “Oh, I’m not going to hurt you, although I’d really like to hurt you the same way you hurt those three girls tonight.”

  “It was actually six girls…”

  “Dude! Shut up, don’t tell him that!”

  “Ah, so not only did you each stand one girl up, you stood up multiple girls who all thought they had dates to the dance? Bravo, bravo.” I shook my head in disgust.

  “So, here’s what you’re going to do, and don’t think you can skip out of it. I have two cousins, an uncle, and several friends at your school, so I’ll know if you try to get out of your punishment.”

  I sat the boys down on the bleachers and listed my requirements.

  “One, you will take each girl you stood up a flower every day this coming week. Deliver it to her at her locker. If you get punched or slapped, take it like a man because you deserve it. Two, buy a lunch and give it to a kid who looks hungry or sad or alone. Three, you won’t need to buy another lunch because you’ll be brown-baggin-it with bologna or PBJ from home for the entire week.”

  Just when I thought I was done, inspiration struck.

  “Oh, and you have to sit together at a lone table, and put up a sign that says, ‘We can’t eat with the rest of the school because we suck for what we did.’ And of course you won’t breathe a word of this to anyone unless you want more punishment. I’m betting your parents had no clue you made the bet and planned to hurt those girls.’”

  By the time the boys scrambled from the bleachers and ran from the park, I was laughing and truly wished I’d be able to watch the lunch room that week. I’d have to make sure Uncle Nate knew what was going on. I also knew Zoey and Aly would keep me apprised of the boys’ progress in their week-long punishment.

  I headed home while I texted Zach, “It’s all taken care of, dude.”

  “Oh my gosh, Kendrick, that was perfect. Every girl those assholes stood up loved watching them suffer the next week at school. I always knew you had something to do with it, but I never knew the whole story. Thanks for that.” Zoey kissed him on the cheek.

  A comfortable silence settled over the group for several minutes.

  Then Sawyer chuckled.

  “Anyone else here feel like we’ve likely seen way too much of our parents and grandparents making out or having sex? I swear, Decker and I probably walked in on Mom and Dad at least ten times growing up. And we caught John and Cindy making out like teenagers in the bathroom one time when we were spending the night.” Sawyer pretended to shiver.

  “Don’t get me started on the times I’ve caught my mom and dad.” Aly shook her head in exaggerated disgust. “Dad is a total horn dog.”

  “Aly, stop! Please, say no more. I can’t stand the images you’re bringing to my mind.” Zach covered his ears and everyone laughed.

  “Catching the grandparents kissing doesn’t gross me out nearly as much as walking in and seeing my dad’s bare ass in the air.” Kendrick winced. “Of course, in hindsight, we all probably should have learned more quickly that a closed door is a sign to keep out, dangerous sights ahead.”

  “Or, maybe we all should remember that closing a door when choosing to make out with someone is a good idea. Because leaving the door open means your girlfriend may just see you making out with a guy on your bed.” Katie giggled and looked pointedly at
Sawyer.

  Red-faced, Sawyer laughed, “You’re never going to let me live that one down, are you Katie-girl?”

  “Nope.” She popped the p loudly, smiling widely.

  “How about the awkwardness of having your girlfriend’s grandma talk about your ass and indicate you better keep your junk in your pants around her granddaughter? Yeah, that’s all sorts of fun.” Decker teased Katie.

  “Oh, Katie, your grandma is a hoot. Remember when she saw me with my friend Adam and thought I was Decker? She went ballistic on me, thinking Decker was cheating on you with a guy. When you brought her to apologize, she looked like she’d swallowed a lemon having to admit she was wrong.” Sawyer laughed, rubbing Luke’s shoulders. “Damn, that woman was pissed. I was glad she didn’t have a cane when she saw me in the coffee shop with Adam. I’m pretty sure she would have walloped me with it.”

  “Dude, do you still have that book we found in Grandma Judy’s attic? The Joys of Satisfying Sex After the Age of Forty. It was a full color book, complete with demonstrative illustrations. It was all fun and games and laughter when we found that book. Until we realized that Grandma Judy and Grandpa Jack were older than forty and they’d probably been reading that book at some point. When she called us down to lunch, Kendrick stuck it in his waistband.” Zach looked to Kendrick.

  “Man, that book had some good pointers. Really helped my sexual prowess grow and develop, and now I have no fear of middle-aged sex being boring or bad.” Kendrick smirked and winked. “Yeah, I have it in my sock drawer I think. We should present it to our parents sometime. Gather everyone around, tell them about our discovery so many years ago, and let them know they can borrow the book on a rotating basis.”

  Silence and fatigue settled upon the room again.

  “So, I better be getting home. Zach, are you taking Zoey home?” Aly stood and stretched.

  “I think Zoey was going to spend the night here.” Zach spoke cautiously, knowing not long ago this announcement would have sent his sister into a tailspin.