“All right!” Bucky pulled his shirt over his head, then gave Rachel Marie a pointed look. “Out, kiddo, before the show really gets exciting.”
The streams of warm water seemed to wash away the fatigue that had penetrated to his very core. He looked down at the water swirling around the bathtub drain, wondering if some of Bangkok’s grime had come all the way to Hampton Beach with him. The tepid trickle in Dr. Geltje’s missionary apartment was no match for the relaxing flow of his own shower at home.
Forty-five minutes later a refreshed Bucky Stone pulled open the door and greeted his two best friends. “Hi, guys.”
Dan bowed low, holding his hands together in what was now a familiar gesture. “Sawatdee,” he intoned awkwardly, trying to repress a huge grin.
Bucky began to laugh. “That’s the worst pronunciation I’ve heard since – ” He paused.
“Since you first got over there and mangled it yourself!” Sam interjected.
“Yeah.” All three of them laughed. “How’d you learn even that much?”
Dan pointed to the tall Vietnamese senior. “Sam knows some guy in L.A. who speaks Thai. So he asked him how you say ‘hello.’”
“Well, in two weeks that’s about all I learned too,” Bucky grimaced. “But at least I learned to pronounce it right.”
“Tell us about your trip, man.” Over a supper of burritos and jello, Bucky described the mission trip and his harrowing adventure of getting lost in Bangkok.
“Man, that’s unreal.” Dan shook his head before taking another big bite. “Somebody at the service station was tellin’ me about Bangkok. One mean city.”
Sam nodded. “There was an article in Time just the other day.”
“Yeah, I read that,” Mr. Stone put in.
Bucky looked at the older boy. “What about it?”
“I guess AIDS is spreading there almost worse than anyplace else. All those bars and, you know, prostitution and stuff.”
As Bucky nodded, he felt a slight stab of sympathy when he thought of the good - natured Thai people. “Man, that’s too bad.”
Mom came in from the kitchen holding a big chocolate cake. “It’s nobody’s birthday,” she beamed, “but we’re celebrating anyway.”
Dan gladly accepted a piece that was noticeably larger than the others. “Don’t mind if I do.” At least he had the good grace to blush a little bit. “I guess I say that a lot around here.”
“Go for it.” Bucky salivated at the sight of an American dessert after two weeks of sampling Asian food.
Sam polished off the cake and set down his fork. “What were the kids in your group like?”
Bucky thought for a moment before answering. A mental picture of Vasana danced in his head, her soft brown eyes flashing. “It was great,” he responded. “They were all really nice and – well, it was kinda good to be around a bunch of kids who were all Christians.” He could sense that his father sitting at the far end of the table was listening.
Dan wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Well, what are we? Moonies?” He laughed.
“Oh, you know what I mean.” Bucky shrugged. “I mean, sure, you guys are great. But it’s always just the three of us. And here there were eighteen kids who all – you know – kind of saw things alike. Most of the time, anyway.” He remembered Benny and his fiercely cheerful arguments with the other student missionaries.
After supper the three boys plopped down in the living room. An A’s game was on with the TV sound down low. “Season’s over for these turkeys,” Dan grumbled as the Toronto Blue Jays sent hitter after hitter to the plate. “What else did you guys do?”
Bucky described as much as he could remember, pausing to make a fuss over Rachel Marie as she paraded various Thai trinkets in to show the boys.
“You ready for school?” Sam abruptly changed the subject.
Bucky made a face. “I guess. Bein’ so far away, I almost forgot that it starts in only two days.”
“School and varsity basketball.” Dan pointed at the younger student. “Litton and Stone make the big time.”
Bucky felt the familiar tingle of excitement. “You think we can get on varsity?”
“Oh, if I run over a few key players with my Camaro.” Dan gave a confident little nod. “No problem.”
“That’s a great way to make the team,” Sam laughed. “Prayin’ for other guys to go on the disabled list.”
“Hey, the power of prayer.” Dan struggled to his feet. “I gotta split. Tomorrow’s another workday for poor guys like me who can’t go jetting around the world.”
“Hey, me too.” Bucky stood up and walked his friends to the door. “Back to good old First California Bank tomorrow.”
“Full time till school starts?”
“Yeah.” He gave his friends a wave as they climbed into their respective cars. “Thanks for coming over, you guys.”
“No sweat. Welcome home.” The house seemed suddenly still as the taillights disappeared in the cool August twilight. Upstairs he could hear bath water running and Rachel’s chatter to no one in particular.
He looked over to the secluded far corner of the living room where a new phone sat on a small sofa table. The slim instrument seemed to glow with warning as he took a deep breath and walked over to pick up the receiver. It was a call he knew he had to make.
He dialed in a 206 and the seven familiar digits. A sudden attack of nerves seemed to shake his stomach a little bit. Inexplicably he found himself hoping no one was home.
“Hello?” The voice on the other end was cool.
“Hi. Mrs. Nichols?” His voice betrayed uncertainty.
After a brief silence the woman responded. “Yes.”
“This is Bucky.” He took a breath. “Is Lisa home?”
Outside the Stones’ picture window a car engine revved, making it hard to hear. Bucky cupped his hand to the receiver. He remembered evenings at Lisa’s house – and the aloof demeanor of her mom.
“Just a minute.” Another long pause – almost thirty seconds – before the familiar voice came on the line.
“Hello.”
“Hi.” Bucky coughed. “It’s me.”
“I know.” The silence seemed almost deliberate.
“I just got home from my trip.”
“Uh huh. I know.” More silence.
Bucky’s stomach fluttered again as he remembered the scene hours earlier at Portland International Airport. Saying goodbye to Vasana . . . and then moments later seeing a familiar figure – Lisa?- rapidly disappearing out of sight. May as well come out with it. He swallowed hard. “Listen,” he managed, “I guess I just have to ask you. Was that you at the airport?”
As he braced himself he hoped to hear a startled denial. Seconds of awkward waiting ticked away.
Her voice was flat. “Yeah.”
Bucky flushed as he imagined her emotions. “How . . . how come you left so quick?” he asked lamely.
“What do you think?” It was the first time he’d ever heard such an impatient edge to her voice. “I get off work to drive clear down from Seattle to surprise you – 175 miles – and then when I get out there to baggage claim, I see you tripping through the concourse holding hands with some girlfriend.”
His head spun. “I . . .”
“Anyway, so I took off.”
Bucky shifted uncomfortably in the overstuffed sofa. The large TV in the corner was still on, but the images of the ballplayers were just a muddled blur. He tried to think of something to ease the situation. “Oh man. I’m really sorry. I didn’t know you’d be coming.”
“Obviously.” Nothing but ice.
Wincing, he glanced up just as Mom entered the living room. He gave her a fierce shake of his head. Mystified, she walked back into the kitchen.
There was still nothing but a chilly silence on the phone. “I guess you’re kind of upset, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
He took a deep breath. “Look, I . . .” His thoughts were a jumble. We�
�re not married or anything! “I mean, I just met her on the trip, and we kind of got along. It’s not like you and I were, you know, still going together or anything like that.”
More silence.
“I really had no idea you were coming.” His hand shook slightly as he switched the receiver to the other ear. “And this . . . thing with that girl you saw was no big deal. I mean, you could have . . .” His voice faded away as he tried to envision Lisa and Vasana happily walking through the airline terminal with him, each one clutching an arm like in a Diet Pepsi TV commercial. Girls just didn’t think that way, he realized.
“Well, I wasn’t about to come up and break up the party,” Lisa retorted, her voice more downcast than angry now. “Then when I got home I called Denise up, and she told me you’d been dating some other girl there at Hampton anyway. So I don’t know why I ever thought . . .”
Bucky’s head spun. Now Deirdre too? “Oh, boy,” he muttered.
“Anyway,” Lisa went on, “it’s no big deal. Obviously I made a fool of myself driving all over the state of Washington for absolutely nothing.”
Bucky tried to choke down the lump of emotion in his throat. “Look . . . Lisa . . .” He sent up a quick prayer. “I hope you know how I felt about you. You really were very special to me.” He caught himself. “I mean, you . . . still are. But when you moved away, I thought you and I both figured that, well, things had to go on.”
“I know.” Her voice was still glum, but the level of hostility had ebbed.
“Anyway, I never said anything to you about Deirdre, because it really . . . was over before there was anything to tell you. It lasted like one - and - a - half dates. And that’s the honest truth. Plus I guess nobody likes to call up an old girlfriend and say, you know, ‘Guess who I just met?’ And the girl on the plane . . . I mean, really, I just met her. Nothing happened the whole trip except . . . well, you know, it was a long plane flight and we were talking and stuff . . . and I gave her a half-second kiss goodbye. Which obviously looked worse than that from where you were . . . standing.”
Lisa didn’t respond.
“I swear to you, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings. If I’d known you were going to drive all that way to see me . . .” His voice softened. “That really was awesome of you to do that. I . . . wish we could have had some time to see each other. I mean that.” He forced a smile. “I swear, I would have sat by myself the whole way to Bangkok and the whole way home again just for fifteen minutes with you.”
Neither one said anything for a long time. The blender quietly hummed in the kitchen.
“Oh, Bucky . . .” The girl’s voice had a catch in it. “I . . . I’m sorry. I don’t have any right to yell at you. It’s just that I missed you so much. And then when I drove all that way and saw you with that girl, I just . . .”
He waited.
“I didn’t know what to do. So I freaked out. And drove all the way home crying along with the country music on the radio.”
“Sure. I would have too.” He swallowed hard. “Man, I’m really sorry.”
“Anyway, I had a lousy school year up here, and it rained up here all summer . . . and I haven’t been to church since Christmas. And I really miss it . . . and I guess I miss you, too.”
The words brought an ache to Bucky’s heart. The tingle of excitement he’d experienced with Deirdre and now Vasana seemed a distant romantic fog as he recalled the closeness and even spiritual blessings he’d had with Lisa.
It was more than jet lag that dogged his footsteps as he finally dragged himself up the stairs to his room. The grandfather clock struck 10:30 as he pulled off his jeans and slipped into bed. Fragments of the phone call bounced around in his mind as he tried to settle into a comfortable position. All at once he remembered his prayers. “God,” he whispered, his mind too tired to think. “Please be with Lisa . . . and . . .”
“Bucky?” Mom poked her head into the darkened bedroom. The dim light from the hallway bathed her robe.
“Yeah.” Rubbing his eyes, he turned on the lamp by his bed. She sat down on the edge of the bed next to him. “You OK, honey?”
He managed a tired grin. “Yeah. I guess.”
“That was Lisa on the phone?”
A pause. “Yeah.” He looked at his mother with tired eyes. “Not too good.”
She seemed to understand without an explanation. Her eyes soft, she touched his cheek. “I’m so glad you’re home, sweetheart.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
A little smile came to her face. “And I thought you might like to know something. Your dad and I – while you were on your trip, we talked for quite a while about this coming school year.”
Bucky looked at her. “And?”
“How do you feel about going to the Christian academy starting next week?”
Chapter Two: Christ the King High School
Bucky carefully stamped a deposit slip and counted the bills before slipping them into his teller tray. “Thanks for coming in,” he smiled to the customer, but his mind was still humming with last evening’s stunning announcement. Christian high school!
Dad had confirmed the news at breakfast this morning. “I’ve been watching you do your thing these last two school years, son. This church thing – you and your mom – I guess it’s real after all.”
All morning at the bank thoughts of academy kept distracting him. The camaraderie, the Christian fellowship he’d savored during the two weeks in Thailand – was this going to be a full-time experience for him now? Christ the King’s registration was just two days away.
He tried to envision Bible classes and chapels with three hundred born-again friends. No more booze parties to turn down. A campus full of students – half of them female – and all members of the community of faith.
He pictured playing hoops in a Christian intramural league with Dan. What were his chances of getting his two best friends to switch schools as well?
A jarring dose of reality hit. What about Sam and Dan? Brand new believers without spiritual roots – if they didn’t come along with him – how would they do at Hampton High without him? The question kept nagging him.
Deep in thought, Bucky drove over to the Littons’ bedraggled home after his shift at the bank. The tires on his little Toyota seemed to hum approval of the upcoming trip to Christ the King.
But Dan appeared to take the news with a shrug. “That’s cool, I guess. You’ve been waitin’ to go. Just . . . jeez, that really kills varsity basketball.”
“What are you talkin’ about? You come with me!”
Dan snorted. “Are you kidding? My dad wouldn’t fork out for a new lunch box for me to take over there, let alone all that tuition. Get off it.”
“Yeah, but . . .” Bucky’s mind raced, trying to think of a solution.
“Forget it, man. It ain’t gonna happen. And you know it.”
The dour words landed on Bucky like a waterlogged blanket. He nodded in frustration as he eyed the stockier student. “Man, I wish you could come. That’d be great carpooling over there together.”
Dan set down the polish rag and leaned against his sports car. “Well, only place I’m going to be is right here at the Hampton Hilton. Me and the old man.” He thrust his fists into his pockets. “But you go for it, Stone. That’s really the best place to be.”
“Do you think so?”
“Sure.” Dan shrugged and resumed the wax job. “I mean, look at what Pastor J was sayin’ the other day. In that big Education Festival. Every kid belonging in a Christian school and all that.”
“Well, that means you, too.”
For a second Dan seemed to hesitate. Then he shook his head. “There’s no way.” He glanced toward the house. “Anyway, we’d be gone way too much. And I can’t leave my dad here all by himself. The way things are.” With a meaningful look, he added, “You know what I mean?”
Bucky nodded.
“Maybe Sam’ll go.” Dan flipped his car keys into the air once and neatly caught them. �
��Come on, I gotta drop off some DVDs.”
Bucky slid into the passenger seat. “You think Sam would?”
“I don’t know.” The engine sprang to life as Dan eased the expensive car out into the street. “That’d leave me here to have all the wicked city women to myself.” He grinned.
Bucky looked down by his feet. A pile of DVD boxes lay carelessly strewn among several empty cans of soda. He picked up one and examined the garish artwork on the cover. “What’s this junk?”
“Hey, three for two bucks with a coupon.”
“I know, but this . . .” He swallowed his words as he scanned the sexually explicit description on the back and the big ratings box with the R in it. “This stuff ain’t too good, Dan.”
Dan colored slightly. “Yeah, you’re right.” He shifted in his seat as the Camaro squealed around the corner. “I didn’t know what else to get, so I just grabbed those. Pretty cheap, but the babes in that show . . .” He laughed.
An hour later Bucky pulled up in the driveway on Woodman Avenue. Rachel Marie came running out of the house to meet him. Forcing a smile, he gave her a squeeze. “How’s it goin’, Squirt?”
“Fine. Mommy bought me new shoes for school. See?” She dangled a purple-clad foot in front of him. “High tops.”
“You’re not really going to be in third grade, are you?”
“Uh huh.”
“I thought they were going to keep you back in second grade again.”
“Nope!” She skipped down the street, admiring her feet as she hopped over the sidewalk cracks.
Mom came out of the kitchen with a scrap of paper in her hand. “You need to call the academy dean,” she said with a big smile, “so he can tell you what to bring. And I made a list of other stuff. Transcripts from the high school, your medical records . . .”
Bucky took the piece of paper from his mother and set it down on the kitchen table. “I’m not going.”
The words took her by surprise. “What?”
Her tall son eased his lanky frame onto a stool next to the counter. “I’m not going to go.”
Bucky Stone: The Complete Adventure (Volumes 1-10) Page 53