The Challenge(42)
The Pollocks had invited Harvey Mack as they always did, but they felt especially close to him this year, because of all he’d done for them. He made a point of speaking to each of the seven kids. He was pleased to see that they all appeared to have recovered and had bounced back from the traumatic days they had experienced. He had a long talk with Benjie, who told him all about the bear again. It had gotten bigger and taller in the telling, but Justin’s quick thinking and heroism were unquestionable, and had won him two pins and a steel plate in his ankle. He wouldn’t be playing football again, or not for a long time. He had been the star running back for his high school team. But the damage could have been worse. The bear could easily have killed him, or several of them.
All the parents made a point of talking to Harvey at the barbecue and thanking him again. It had been the biggest event of the year in Fishtail, and Harvey was the hero of the hour for marshaling the troops and bringing in the National Guard. He had handled the Granite Peak fires well too. He was good at his job.
Tom enjoyed talking to Harvey. He was an erudite, interesting man, and his stories about his years in the Navy SEALs were exciting. Harvey told Juliet to say hello to her mother for him, and she said she would. Then she ran off with Peter to play Marco Polo in the pool with the others. Justin couldn’t play with his cast, and sat apart, watching the others and looking sad. It was no mystery to anyone why the Wylie boys were quieter than usual. Noel had perked up by the end of the evening, but Justin was taking his father’s imminent death very hard. It was a brutal rite of passage for him, and a huge loss.
Marlene said something to Tom about it, when they sat together eating dinner by the pool. Tom enjoyed her company, and liked the boys. He felt terrible about what they were going through and volunteered every day to help.
“I’ve been relying on Justin too much,” Marlene confessed to Tom as they ate Pitt’s excellent barbecued ribs. He was the master chef of barbecue in the area, and everyone loved the food. “I don’t mean to put a burden on him. He’s the man of the house now, and he wants to help. With his ankle in a cast, he can’t do much with his friends. He’s really going to miss football, and he probably can’t ski this year either.” But at least he was alive and had come back from Granite Peak. “Pattie says Benjie is having nightmares. I think my boys are too, but they’re even more upset about their dad.”
“Don’t hesitate to call on me,” Tom reiterated, and she had, more often than she thought she should. She didn’t want to take advantage of him, but he was very kind. Noel and Justin and Juliet were good friends. They treated her like a sister, and Justin was the big brother she always wished she’d had.
“We’re all so happy that Juliet is staying for the school year,” Marlene said to Tom, and it was easy to see that she was a very attractive woman, despite the tired eyes and the dark circles. She was under a tremendous strain, and more than the other parents even, it had been a nightmarish summer for her.
The barbecue went late, as it always did. Everyone was having fun, and relieved that the summer had turned out as well as it had. Peter and Juliet disappeared for a little while. They went to sit on a bench behind a shed and kissed, as they had been doing ever since they’d been rescued. It had been an exciting summer for Juliet. She and Peter were crazy about each other, but they didn’t let their youthful passion get out of hand. They hadn’t done anything they’d be sorry for yet, but the temptation was great. Peter had a very adult body, and Juliet had womanly curves. They both looked older than their years and were mature for their age. Even more so as only children.
Juliet went back to the party first when things started getting too heated between them. They didn’t want their parents to see them come back together, although nobody was fooled. Tom and the Pollocks were keeping an eye on them whenever they were together. They knew that young bodies had minds of their own that defied reason, and they hoped that Peter and Juliet wouldn’t do anything foolish. Anne and Pitt were on the same page with Tom on that. They were also aware that the intensity of what they’d been through together had deepened their feelings for each other. They had survived a life-and-death experience, which made them feel like adults overnight.
Juliet was on her way back from the bench behind the shed when she saw Justin coming out of some bushes, looking disheveled with an open bottle of wine in his hand. He looked startled when they nearly ran into each other. She noticed the bottle of wine immediately, and his eyes looked glazed.
“What are you doing here?” he said to her in a harsh tone, and they both felt awkward being there.
“I went for a walk,” she answered, but didn’t ask him the same question. She could see what he was doing. He’d obviously been drinking, but she didn’t blame him, knowing what he was going through with his dad.
“You shouldn’t be out walking alone,” he scolded her. She didn’t want to tell him she’d been with Peter. She didn’t tell him that he shouldn’t be drinking either. He dropped the bottle behind him in the bushes and staggered once as he walked her back to the party. She could see that he was drunk, and she wondered if anyone else would notice. His mom had been so distracted these days that he could have passed out cold in front of her, and Juliet wasn’t sure she’d see it. But she didn’t want anyone to think she was drinking with him. She left him as soon as they got to the pool, and he slid into a chair. Tom had seen them return and questioned her when she walked by him.