The Carolyn Chronicles, Volume 1

by Derek Ciccone

  Carolyn tilted her head. “It wasn’t the right thing to do—I don’t know what came over me.”

  “When you stick up for your friends, it’s always the right thing to do.”

  She perked up. “Are you keeping it real?”

  “That’s the only way I roll, you know that.”

  “I still probably shoulda let the adults handle it.”

  “Have you ever watched the news? Adults don’t always handle things very well.”

  “You’re my friend, Piano Wire, so I’ll always stick up for you.”

  “Right back at ya, Wall. And thanks again for my song.”

  “Lindsey said it wasn’t a John Lennon song, but it was one he played with his friends.”

  “I get by with a little help from my friends,” he sang out.

  Carolyn looked strangely at him.

  “See what I did there? Some Beatles humor?”

  “What do beetles have to do with this?”

  “The friends John Lennon played that song with were The Beatles.”

  “Why did he play music with bugs?” Her face scrunched as she thought about it. “Actually, are beetles bugs?”

  “I don’t know. Why don’t you Google it?”

  “I’m not allowed to use the computer unless my dad’s there.”

  “That’s probably a good thing—you’re not missing much.”

  They were soon joined by a panting dog, who ran to Carolyn. She petted him, and said, “Ryan—this is my dog that I told you about. Nails.”

  Ryan crouched down and stroked his fur like they were long-lost friends. “Aren’t you a beauty. I’ve heard a lot about you, Nails.”

  “Now we have Piano Wire, Hen’s Teeth, Wall, and Nails,” Carolyn said excitedly.

  Ryan just smiled at her.

  “I thought Hen’s Teeth might have come today too,” she said, her excitement slightly trailing off.

  Ryan looked away. “He went home—just like I told ya.”

  She nodded. “I guess I can’t blame him—home is like the best place.”

  “So he’s really painless, like you?” Ryan asked, while continuing to pet Nails.

  “Do you want me to show you?” she said and pulled out a small plastic object.

  Ryan threw up his hands. “Last time I asked, you stuck a tube up your nose. I’ll take your word for it.”

  She shrugged. “It’s a nose clip—it goes on my nose for when I swim. Not in it.”

  Carolyn then ordered Nails to go on his way. But the dog didn’t budge.

  “I said go play with Ronald and Reagan. Me and my friend Ryan are going to play together. You and me play every day.”

  Nails just looked at her with his, well, puppy dog eyes.

  “I said go! Now!” Carolyn raised her voice, and pointed off in the distance. This time Nails scurried away.

  “Wow—you’re pretty bossy,” Ryan observed.

  “I’m his mom—mom’s are bossy.”

  “As they say in French—moms can be a pain in zee arse.”

  “My mom was real bossy … I miss that.”

  “I would too.”

  When they arrived at the pool, all Ryan could say was, “Wow.”

  Anna and Maddie were taking turns diving in, seeing who could make the bigger splash. But Ryan barely noticed. He was looking at the two girls in the skimpy bikinis, floating on inflatable rafts in the shape of an alligator, and sipping drinks with a straw.

  “That’s Kaylee and Cassidy,” Carolyn said, noticing his drooling stare. “They’re nice.”

  “They’re real nice,” Ryan said, maintaining his gaze.

  The “lifeguards” paddled ashore, and then pulled themselves up out of the pool—a slow production that reminded Ryan of a beer commercial; the water glistening off their toned, tanned bodies. For a brief moment Ryan thought that maybe he had died in the hospital, and he was really liking heaven.

  They went right to him. “So this is your friend Ryan you’ve been telling us about,” Kaylee said to Carolyn, but her eyes never left Ryan.

  “He’s even cuter than that picture you showed us of him,” Cassidy said.

  “A total dime,” Kaylee added.

  “I’m going swimming now,” Carolyn announced, and removed her party dress, revealing a one-piece Donald Duck bathing suit. “Make sure you watch me, Ryan.”

  “Show me what you got,” he said, but remained distracted.

  Carolyn attached her nose clip and was about to dive in, but had some last instructions, “Remember—no swimming, Ryan. And put on your sun block, so the ubee rays don’t get you.”

  “We’ll make sure he applies that sun block all over his body,” Kaylee said.

  “It’s very important that you don’t miss a spot,” Cassidy followed up.

  Kaylee grabbed a tube of Coppertone and dragged him to a chaise lounge. “I’m a professional lifeguard, let me handle this.”

  Cassidy helped Ryan off with his shirt. His body still hadn’t fully recovered from the ravages of cancer and chemo.

  Kaylee rubbed lotion on his shoulders and then his chest. “Grade-A top sirloin,” she hummed.

  “Excuse me?”

  “All lean, no fat,” she said, continuing to rub in the lotion over his ghost white skin.

  “I guess that’s one positive of cancer—no appetite. Can never get fat that way,” he said, showing off his sardonic sense of humor, which was slowly returning along with his weight.

  “You were so brave to beat that disease—it makes my problems seem so not important,” Cassidy said.

  “That’s because they’re not—way to make it about yourself,” Kaylee shot back, and turned to Ryan with a roll of the eyes. “Little sisters, what are you gonna do?”

  He smiled. “I’ve got a couple of them, so I know what you mean. They couldn’t come—they’re at camp.”

  “They are lucky to have such a courageous big brother—I’ll bet they’re so proud of you.”

  “When we’re not fighting over the TV,” Ryan said with a grin.

  “Um, how can you watch me swim if you’re not looking?” Carolyn called from the pool, as she fought her way through the water with choppy strokes. Anna and Maddie had taken up residence on the rafts and Carolyn swam around them like she was navigating a slalom course.

  “How about I’ll worry about watching and you worry about swimming,” he shouted to her.

  “Just keeping it real,” she said as she paddled on.

  Kaylee had him lay on his stomach so she could apply the sun block to his back, and he was eager to oblige. “This sure beats some of the things they did to me in the hospital.”

  “I can only imagine … you poor baby,” Cassidy said. “Were you in a lot of pain?”

  “It wasn’t a picnic, that’s for sure. But I think the emotional pain was worse. Missing my teammates, and my girlfriend dumped me, even though we acted like it was a mutual decision. And it sucked to know I was missing my senior year, while all my friends were living it up. I have to repeat it next year, but it won’t be the same.”

  “So you and Cassidy are the same age then—she just graduated last month,” Kaylee was quick to point out.

  “Off to Vanderbilt in the fall—Kaylee goes to Duke.”

  “Those are some serious schools. Sounds like you two are as smart as you are beautiful … and that’s saying a lot.”

  Their smiles were as bright as the sun, and for the first time since his mom got that call from the doctor that evening—the tests were supposed to just be precautionary!—Ryan Borcher felt like his old self.

  “I don’t know if we’re smart,” Kaylee said, “but we’re sure smarter than that girl who dumped you.”

  “What a total dunce cap—I’ll bet she’s totally regretting it,” Cassidy added.

  “I’m not,” Ryan said with a shrug, and then he pushed his luck, “My grandparents live in Nashville—maybe I’ll go see them over break next fall and I can visit you at Vanderbilt.”

  “I’
d love that,” Cassidy said, flashing another smile that Ryan got lost in.

  Carolyn grew impatient. “Hey Ryan—look at me try to do the backstroke.”

  It didn’t go well—she splashed around for a few seconds, before starting to sink. She re-surfaced, coughing the water out of her lungs, and decided to return to the comfort of her doggy paddle.

  “I’m watching,” he reassured her, but had already returned his attention to his new friends.

  “So your father is Guy Borcher—the hockey star?” Kaylee inquired.

  “It will be in the first line of my obituary,” he replied with a smile. After what Ryan went through, he would have thought death jokes would be the least funny things ever, but during the darkest days in the hospital it was often the morbid humor that got him through. And he often found it empowering to laugh in the face of death.

  “I know what you mean—welcome to the ‘famous father’ club. Not that I’m complaining,” Kaylee said.

  “Who’s you father?”

  “Kat Scroggins.”

  That got Ryan’s attention. “Like the music producer?”

  “The one and only. Carolyn says you play guitar.”

  Ryan shrugged—the sun block application had been completed and he was now sitting up on the edge of the chaise lounge. Kaylee and Cassidy did the same on neighboring chairs. “Just something I picked up in the hospital. A lot of down time. You can only play so many video games.”

  “If you ever pursue it, I can get you an audition. Maybe it will lead to a contract.”

  Now Ryan was sure he had died. Even in his best fantasies while hooked to all those tubes in the ICU—staring at the wall, because the other alternative was to look at his mother, and he couldn’t handle the pain he was causing her—could he have imagined this. Sitting by a pool under a perfect blue sky, flirting with a couple of hot girls who looked like bikini models. And a music deal? No way this could be real.

  He felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked to see Carolyn, who’d gotten out of the pool without his notice. She didn’t appear to be happy. “Are you going to watch me swim or not, Ryan?”

  He smiled at her. “I’d rather see you dive.”

  “No diving allowed at the pool.”

  Ryan took note that there was no diving board. Probably a smart move—if Carolyn was willing to shove pens up her nose and run into walls at full speed, who knows what she’d try off a diving board.

  “It is today,” he said with a mischievous grin. He struggled to his feet and took Carolyn into his arms, cradling her. Either she was heavier than he thought, or his strength had yet to return.

  She happily screamed as he walked her to the edge of the pool and tossed her in.

  Kaylee joined the party—sending Cassidy into the water. Then Ryan pushed Kaylee in. Her top came partly off, he thought on purpose, but to use her words—he wasn’t complaining.

  Anna and Maddie scrambled out of the pool, and ran to Ryan. “Can you throw us in?”

  Ryan used his limited strength to individually lift each girl, and toss them in to the sound of their excited yelps. He acted unaffected, but truth was, what once would be like lifting a water bottle now felt like a truck.

  “So who’s going to throw you in, sexy?” Kaylee asked from the pool, still adjusting her top.

  “Maybe all of us should,” Cassidy suggested.

  Followed by “yeahs” from Anna and Maddie.

  But Carolyn dissented. “Ryan isn’t allowed in the pool—his mother said so.”

  He thought for a second. “No—she said I couldn’t go swimming. She never mentioned diving.”

  He moved around the pool deck gathering plastic chairs. He then piled them on top of each other. He climbed on top of the chairs, about five feet high, and stood still, his back straight as a razor’s edge. It wasn’t the sturdiest of “diving boards” as he felt it swaying, and knew he better make this fast before he fell flat onto the concrete pool deck. His mother would have a field day with that one.

  “Be careful, Ryan,” Carolyn said, a rare cautious thought.

  He smiled at her to let her know he’d be fine, and then pushed off with all his remaining strength. He performed a twisting dive into deep end of the pool, finishing with a splashless entry into the water. When he returned to the surface he sucked as much breath as he could into his lungs, and it didn’t feel like he could get enough.

  He heard Carolyn say, “Diving looks like fun.”

  But when he searched for the voice, he couldn’t locate her. He was so busy receiving congratulations from Kaylee and Cassidy that he hadn’t seen her get out of the pool and climb to the top of the chairs.

  “Watch this, Ryan,” she said with a huge smile on her face, about to attempt a dive. But before she could, the chairs began to wobble.

  Chapter 34

  They arrived at the guest cottage, which had become known as “Billy’s house.” He was halfway through his second one-year lease and Chuck would have to see it to believe it, as far as he and Dana buying a place of their own. Bevelyn Farms seemed to have a magical pull for all of them.

  They took the wooden staircase to the roof-porch that sat atop the cottage. Chuck explained that they called it the “Supergirl staircase” because Carolyn infamously tried to fly off it once—the final straw that led to her CIPA diagnosis.

  They took a seat around an umbrella-covered table and he passed around the beers. The sounds of splashing and giggling coming from the pool were prevalant, and Chuck could tell that it pained Heidi that they couldn’t view the happenings from their vantage point, blocked by trees.

  Chuck told them of how the main house had been a milking barn for cows, while the cottage was built to be an icehouse to store milk. This explained the thickly insulated walls and few windows.

  Guy was still hanging on every word, but Heidi was a thousand miles away. Actually, more like a few hundred yards away, at the pool, focused on what she witnessed when they’d stopped by the pool on their way to the cottage. If not for Guy pulling her away she would have stormed the gates and sent Ryan to his room without supper.

  Chuck added that the cottage once had an ice-chute, but they had to take it away when then three-year-old Carolyn would use it as a slide, leaving a few cuts and bruises … but no tears.

  Guy laughed. “Never a dull moment with children, no? I keep re-reading the instruction manual, thinking I missed something.”

  Chuck and Lindsey laughed, but Heidi remained stoic, as another round of splashes and giggles came from the pool area. She finally said, “Ryan better be having some dull moments, if he knows what’s good for him.” The sight of the two girls applying lotion to his back was still stuck in her mind.

  Guy’s laughter continued, irritating his wife. “You told him to put on sun block and not go swimming. You should be proud—it’s the first time in history that a teenager listened to his parents.”

  “When I told him not to go into the water, I didn’t know the sharks were on land.”

  Guy shrugged, while sipping his beer. “He’s a boy, almost a man, if not already. He was stuck in a hospital while his friends partied all senior year. I think he deserves to have lotion rubbed on him by a couple of pretty girls. It’s hardly something to be upset over.”

  “Those weren’t girls, they were …” she caught herself.

  Chuck intervened, “For what it’s worth, Kaylee and Cassidy are certified lifeguards, so we feel safer with them there. Sort of a second set of eyes when we can’t watch the kids.”

  “They certainly have a set on them,” Heidi said with an edge.

  “I used to work with Kaylee at a bar called Durazzo’s. She likes to put on a show, but she’s pretty harmless.”

  “See, honey, she doesn’t bite,” Guy said.

  “I didn’t say that,” Chuck replied with a cautious smile. “But if it will make you feel any better, Ryan isn’t really her style—she’s more into the older, richer, master of the universe types. I don’t know Cassidy
as well, but she seems cut from the same cloth.”

  “I think she cut the cloth from her bikini … what there was of it,” Heidi said with a sigh, and gulped her beer. “I know Ryan’s a red-blooded man like his father, and that I can’t protect him all his life, but he just needs to be careful right now. He wants too much, too soon, since he got out of the hospital, and he’s been known to do dumb things to show-off for a girl. He just can’t afford dumb things right now.”

  Guy gave a “that’s my boy” nod and grin between sips. “I remember doing a few crazy things to woo you—almost ended my pro career before it started. And that turned out pretty well.” He slipped his arm around his wife. It didn’t seem welcome.

  “Unfortunately, the decisions Ryan makes right now could decide life and death. We never faced that.”

  “I think you underestimate your father,” he said, still grinning, before changing the subject, “Speaking of fathers and daughters, I saw Carolyn on the news last night. She has a lot of her old man in her—always protecting her teammates. And she throws a pretty good punch.”

  “I think she learned that from Beth,” Chuck said with a smile. “Four minutes for fighting, two minutes for roughing.”

  “And worth every minute in the penalty box, I’m sure,” Guy said.

  “Not that I’d condone that,” Chuck replied.

  “Not at all, not at all,” Guy smiled, and they clinked beer bottles.

  “The transformation in Ryan is amazing. I was shocked when I saw him … in a good way,” Lindsey redirected the conversation once more.

  “Don’t get me wrong—we’re thrilled about his progress. I just want to make sure he doesn’t end up back in the hospital,” Heidi said.

  Guy agreed. “Recovery is a long process. And just because he was released, and they use pretty terms like ‘cancer free’ and ‘remission’ doesn’t make the road any shorter. We’ve found that cancer is one step forward, two steps back, and onto a landmine.”

  “He wants more, more, more, now, now, now—I’ve never seen him so driven,” Heidi added. “The last few months have been a blessing, but I just hope it’s not a mirage.”