Last Summer Boys(16)

And that’s where Frankie has to make his jump.





Pete pulls off his shirt as he steps out onto the creek bank. “Water looks good today,” he says, tossing his shirt onto a fallen tree.

“Looks the same as it does every day,” says Will as he kicks off his shoes. He balls up his socks and stuffs them in before unbuttoning his shirt.

Looking at the glassy smooth water, I decide that Pete’s right: the water looks extra smooth. Perfect, even. I strip down right quick and lay my clothes next to his on the log.

My brothers and me always swim naked because there’s never anybody else around to see us. But once I’ve stripped down, I turn around and see Frankie with his mouth hanging open, a horrified kind of look on his face.

“What are you doing?”

“What’s it look like? Swimming!” I ain’t yet, but I will be soon.

“Naked?”

“’Course I’m naked. We always swim naked.”

Frankie stares.

“What on earth for?”

Behind us, Pete and Will run into the creek for their traditional race to the far bank. In two seconds, that peaceful green water is roiling with their kicks and splashes.

“Because, Frankie, that’s how we do it.” I sigh. Hot sand begins burning my feet. “Ain’t nobody out here but us, so don’t be so bashful. Strip on down and get in!”

Frankie shakes his head.

“But, Frankie! You got to! You can’t swim with your clothes on.”

The sand is really burning my feet now. I begin to hop from one foot to the other.

“Look, I’ll even turn around while you undress, okay?” I say. “Just leave your clothes on the log next to ours and come on in when you’re done.”

Pete and Will are racing back to our bank by the time I run into the water. Pete wins. Pete always wins. He comes up from the shallows and shakes the water from his shaggy head, throwing drops every which way. Will comes up coughing, his chest heaving. He’s barely caught his breath when Pete scoops a handful of mud and throws it at him, splattering him along his neck.

Before I know it, the three of us are flinging mud fast and hard as we can. I take a stinging slap in the chest. Pete hits Will across the back. I beam Pete upside the head. When it’s over we dive under and let the easy current wash us clean. I stay a little longer under the surface, just to feel the smooth silt under my toes and the easy pull of the water. When I come up, I wipe the water from my eyes and look to the bank to see if Frankie’s gotten undressed yet.

The bank is bare. Frankie is nowhere in sight.

My heart flips.

Did he leave?

Quickly, I run my eyes along the path along the creek. No sign of him.

Frankie’s quit.

I’m just about to swim for shore to see if I can’t catch up to him when there’s a sputtering sound to my right. Turning, I see Frankie, coming up for air.

“It’s cold,” he says through chattering teeth.

Will glides over. “So, city boys can swim after all!”

Pete joins him, and now my brothers are circling us like sharks.

“Did you tell him about the eels, Jack?” Pete asks. “Should have seen the one we found last week, Frankie. About this big around.” He touches the thumbs and index fingers of both hands together in a wide circle. “Must have been ten feet long!”

I splash at him. “Don’t pay him no mind, Frankie. Ain’t no eels in Apple Creek.”

“Plenty of snakes, though!” Will pipes up. “Water moccasins and copperheads.”

“And snapping turtles,” Pete adds.

“Yeah, and every one of ’em all scared off thanks to your kicking and splashing,” I tell them.

Frankie ain’t paying attention. Instead, he takes a deep breath and slips under the surface. Gracefully, he swims to the far bank, coming up for air only twice, making hardly no more than a ripple each time. My brothers and me watch him swim back to us in silence.

“See?” I say triumphantly. “He’ll do just fine on the expedition.”

“We ain’t swimming into them hills, fool,” Will snaps. “And just because he can swim all right don’t prove if he’s tough enough.” He looks to Pete. “Let’s get to jumping and then we’ll see.”

Pete frowns. He wanted to swim a while longer before we got down to business. Our cousin comes up alongside us, treading water quietly. “All right, Frankie. Time to climb.”





The valley spreads out below us like a painting, Apple Creek glittering yellow diamonds as it ribbons away through the trees. The wind whips across the stony tops of the pilings, blowing hot in my ears and in my hair. Already it’s dried the water from my naked body.

We stand at the edge to catch our breath. My arms still burn from that climb, and I’ve lost feeling in the tips of my fingers from gripping the stones so hard. Frankie’s chest heaves and his face is flushed, but if he’s scared any about the jump, he don’t show it. Pete stands with his hands on his hips, head back, eyes closed to the bright bowl of blue sky above. The freckles on his nose look darker in the sun. He lets the wind throw his blond hair back from his face. He is feeling every part of the day.

Will ain’t having any of it. He’s all business, with his arms folded across his chest and one foot slapping the stones impatiently.