MC: Callahan (17 page)

Tiny is in the water with Dave, the principal of the elementary school. They’re standing guard over the kids and it looks like they’re having a good chat. Rowan, Davis’ wife, and his sister, Steph, are between me and Tess on the deck chairs. Rich, Patches, and Cloud are with the bigger kids on the water slides and CJ has the babies with Joey and Sheila. Everyone is happy and having a blast.

I know Steph has had a hard time since her husband died, but she’s smiling today. Tess is talking to her about the Little Sisters. Rowan is really nice and we get to talking about the kids and the Little Brothers. They both like the programs and have the kids at the Center for the summer.

We spend the afternoon in and around the pool, chatting and playing. When it’s time to leave Rowan asks how we get the kids to listen and move so quickly. “Damned if I know,” I tell her. “It’s the Little Brothers. They get them to think of others before themselves. It’s just always been like that.”

“My kids are staying in it if this is the end result,” she mutters, making me laugh. We have all the kids today. It will take us four SUVs to get them all to Kate’s. Jeremy and Jacob hold Steph’s hand as we head out. I notice they ride with her too and wonder if they feel her getting anxious.

*  *  *

The kids are running all over the beach. Security is following and they watch themselves mostly so no one’s too worried. The Brothers are gathered around the fire and the old ladies are up on the deck with the babies and toddlers. I’m waiting for someone to tell me what’s going on with the boy that’s still being sold, but I don’t want to ask. Danny asks if Geek found any more information, but VP stops him with a nod toward Dave and the two regular Security following Jeremy and Aaron around the fire. I guess we won’t be hearing about it tonight.

A couple of houses down a few of the party goers start playing football. I notice they keep moving closer to us. When someone throws the ball our way I slap it away from hitting Aaron and tell them to move it back up to their area. One of the pussies starts yelling that it’s a free beach and they can play where they want to. I hear growling behind me and know the Brothers are all at my back. “Keep your fuckin’ ball and game away from the kids and you’re free to play wherever the fuck you want,” I yell at the asshole. He takes the ball, talking trash all the way back. I let him go, knowing this isn’t the end.

The kids start gathering around the fire, roasting marshmallows and hotdogs when the ball flies through again. Steve takes the ball and lobs it into the fire; we hear it hiss the air out before the pussies even make it to us.

“We need our ball,” the mouthy pussy says.

I smile at him. “You’re welcome to go get it from the middle of the fire,” Danny tells him. He runs toward Danny, but Steve has him on the ground before he gets close.

“Told you to keep it away,” he says to the pussy, pushing his face in the sand. “Not lettin’ you hit a kid ‘cause you’re special. Get the fuck out stay away from the kids.” He stands straight and steps back. The pussy gets up, swearing. Steve laughs at him, pissing him off. “You think you got what it takes,
Sandman
? Go for it.” The pussy looks back at his buddies that are not moving to help him out. He walks away from us. Brothers would have had his back; friends like that I’d keep my mouth shut and just move away from the kids. Not our pussy. He talks shit the whole way back, yelling like an idiot that wasn’t just eating sand.

We move back, talking and watching the kids when fireworks start going off. The kids get excited until they start falling around us. The fuckin’ pussy is aiming them down the beach. Steve points at Rich and Cloud. “Go around the east side.” He points at Danny and Bob. “The west.” He points at me and a regular Security, telling us go straight up the beach. We all move, wondering what he’s going to do to the mouthy bastard.

Once we’re away from the fire I lose sight of everyone but Security by my side. I don’t know this guy, but Steve had him out here, so he must be good. We make it to where the asshole is still shooting fireworks down our way and scare the hell out of him, walking into his circle of friends. Steve is behind him and pulls him into the shadows so fast I wonder if I really saw him. “Since you’re determined to fuck with us, we thought we’d make it easy on you. Now we’re here. We’ll take the fireworks you’re just dying to show us,” I tell one of the pussies.

He laughs. “You ain’t gonna take our shit.” He steps in front of the box of fireworks. My Security buddy picks up the fireworks they have set up and puts them in the box.

“Yeah, we are. You want a show, we’ll show you how it’s done without putting the fuckin’ kids in danger,” I tell him, moving him away from the box.

He lifts his arm and Danny leans in from behind him. “Wouldn’t do that if I were you. Your friends took off, leaving your ass swinging in the breeze all alone, pussy.”

I laugh. The pussy looks around and he’s surrounded by Brothers. The moron swings at Danny and is flat on his back before his arm comes around. Danny pulls the string from the pussy’s shorts and has his hands tied in seconds. “Hmmm, what to do, what to do...” I laugh and pick up the box. “Let’s let him watch the show so he knows how to be safe the next time they light fireworks. Safety first, that’s our new motto.” Rich walks the pussy down the beach, laughing. I look around but don’t see Steve with the loud mouth. I hope he didn’t fuckin’ kill him.

The kids are all excited we’re going to have our own show. Little Ben, Jessie, and Darren help set up the fireworks. They raid the garage and build mini blasting caps. They’re good at this. I think then wonder how the hell they learned it.

Cloud and Bob help me get an old gazebo frame set up in a foot of water where the soft sand is. Using wire ties and duct tape we get the pussy hung on to the frame and tape his mouth so he’ll stop yelling. He’s facing in so he can see the show.

We watch the boys and Rich get the fireworks set to go off in bursts then they start. The pussies have a good selection and get oohs and aaahs from the kids and old ladies. The pussy in the water is still making noises every time another one lights. I don’t know why, they look like they’re shooting at him, but the boys know better than to aim at a person. They’re missing him by at least five to ten feet.

Steve shows up when the show’s almost over. He doesn’t say anything about the pussy he took and no one asks. He looks at the gazebo frame and smiles. “Recyclin’, good for the environment.”

“I thought so too. I’m taking bets on if he’ll still be there in the morning. Patches thinks his buddies will save him,” Danny tells him.

Cloud shakes his head. “They aren’t coming down here. They ran when Tiny showed up. Locked themselves in the fuckin’ house like we were going to bang down the door or something.”

Pres walks over to us. “You teaching him the dangers of airborne explosives?” He smiles at Danny.

“Yeah, the bets whether his friends will save him tonight.”

“They won’t,” Bob says.

Pres shakes his head and walks back to the kids, watching the show. “They’re doing a good job with the timing,” Cloud says. The pussy jumps and mumbles every time more whistle’s going up.

Danny leans into Steve. “Where’s the other one?” I look around. No one is close.

Steve looks at him like he’s deciding whether he’ll answer. “In the front.”

We walk around the side of the house to the front. Coming down the hill I don’t see anything until Danny and Rich are doubled over laughing. I look up and see the guy hugging on the telephone pole like a koala bear. His legs are dangling through a hammock. My balls hurt just looking at him. The whole top of his body is gray duct tape. Even his head is duct taped to the pole. I look at Steve. “How the fuck did you get him up there?” He must be thirty feet in the air. He looks at me like he’s debating whether to tell me or not. “I might want to put a hammock up.” Everyone laughs. He doesn’t answer.

“You recycled too,” Rich says through his laughing. Fuckin’ LaPonte’s always laughing.

“Nah, cut it from the trees on the way.”

The pussy moves his leg and moans. “That’s gotta hurt. It’s like an atomic wedgie,” Cloud says.

We all wince. I walk away. Crazy ass Brothers. When the show ends we get the beach chairs and table back under the deck. Ricky helps the Little Brothers clean up the firework debris. Danny tells little Ben they need to explain firework safety to the pussy hanging in the water.

Dave and his family thank us a million times and head back to the hotel. The Security teams split up. Four go to the cottage Pres rented a few doors down. The other two get lost in the dark. They’ll stay outside tonight.

I help get the little boys ready for bed. The old ladies get the girls taken care of. Every Brother goes to the kids’ rooms to say goodnight. As I’m leaving the boys’ room Diego stands up to follow. “He can’t sleep there,” Jacob says. I rearrange the beds and settle him in.

I walk out to the deck where Rich, Cloud, Bob, Steve and the four older boys are sitting already. “Kids okay?” Steve asks.

“Yeah, had to switch kids around. They’re set now.”

“Diego?” Danny asks.

“Yeah, I put him by Ricky’s bed with Jeremy and Jacob near him.”

He nods. “Good. I didn’t think of it when I laid the extras out.” There’s no moon. It’s dark as hell out, so we sit and listen to the waves. “Did you teach our pussy safety?” he asks the boys.

Little Ben nods. “Yeah, we drew it out as long as we could, but it’s pitch black out there. Darren couldn’t see us. It started getting boring, so we left him to think about it.” Rich laughs. Fuckin’ kids.

Jessie laughs. “I told him to watch the sand sharks and crabs.”

Steve looks at them. “He’s right. He bleeds, he’s done for.”

Danny, Rich, and Bob stand up and walk down to the beach. We hear them laughing on the way back. They’ve been down there about thirty minutes. They don’t say anything when they sit, so I guess they fixed it.

Danny, me, Rich, and Bob split the kids up and head off to pick up breakfast. I got the Bakery run with four kids. Luckily I get the ones that don’t talk much and Joey. She cracks us up with a running commentary the whole way. When we get back I look up and the pussy is still there on the pole. Jeremy laughs but no one says anything, so we carry our boxes in without talking about it.

*  *  *

The guys get the food out and everyone eats as they get up. It works well for the amount of people here. The women are always the last to eat. The guys decide to take the kids to go-kart and mini golf. The house is quiet as soon as they leave. We have the babies in the kitchen and coffee in front of us. “This is nice, calm and quiet,” CJ says.

Tess laughs. “Enjoy it while you can. It won’t be like that for long.”

“I’d go for a walk on the beach, but it feels good sitting and doing nothing for a while,” Jess says.

“We should take them all for a walk later. The little ones are trying to collect shells,” Kate says.

“Bob and Tiny are taking the older kids quahoging at low tide. They’re hoping for enough clams and quahogs to feed everyone,” I tell them so they plan around it.

“Shit. I don’t know if he brought his leg,” Amanda says.

“He used his brace the last time,” Tess says. Amanda nods. I guess he brought the brace.

“We should go down to the little market and get the stuff for a clam boil.” Everyone agrees, so we get the kids, strollers, and diaper bags out the garage and go down the road. The market is at the end of the street so it’s a good walk but not too long. We check out a couple of shops while we’re on the main road. Everyone gets new bathing suits and cover ups then our supplies for the clam boil. Pushing the strollers back is work because they’re heavy with bags of hot dogs, sausage, potatoes, and onions. Security ends up pushing them, making us laugh until we see the fire truck in front of the house.

The other Security detail is talking to the firemen; they’re smiling so it can’t be bad. I wonder how many details are here. I know the guys had some following when they left. I look to where a fireman points and stop. A man’s legs are hanging out of a hammock. He’s stuck on the pole with duct tape. His arms are taped, wrapped around the pole and it’s wrapped around the top of his head, his mouth and from his shoulders to his waist. I look at Kate. We’re all standing shocked. She turns toward me and cracks up, then they all do. I start laughing and can’t stop.

Steve pulls up with Ben and a load of kids. They all walk to the curb. The kids stay at the curb, but Steve and Ben go to the firemen, smiling. All I can think is at least the police aren’t here. The other guys and kids pull up and do the same thing. I get a Prospect to bring the food in. This may take a while. The kids find this hilarious. We move closer and stand with them, watching. A rescue truck pulls up and sets a ladder against the pole. The fire truck moves and extends its ladder up.

The kids are taking pictures and the firemen start posing for them, making us laugh. We stand around, watching them decide the best way to get him down. “That’s got to hurt. I bet his legs are numb,” CJ says. We all nod, then laugh as a fireman rips the tape from the guy’s face. He used to have a goatee. Some of it is left on his face. He screams then starts crying. It’s like watching a car wreck. We shouldn’t be looking, but we can’t stop. They get him cut from the pole but leave the duct tape on him. I can’t imagine how he’s going to scream when they get that off. Once he’s down it’s not so exciting. Some of the guys walk away, but Steve goes to the guy and hands him a wallet. “That was nice. He won’t have to try getting his license and credit cards now that he’s got his wallet back,” CJ says. The guy is sobbing and covers his head as he starts to fall.

“Guess his legs
are
numb,” Jess says with a smile.

“Is that the football guy?” Kate asks. I shrug. Yes, it’s the football guy! “I bet that’s who was shooting the fireworks at us last night.” Sometimes I wonder about these women. They’re so smart but sometimes not so much.

Chet yells from the side of the house. “Got another one, think he’s sunburned.” He’s smiling. We all walk through to the beach; Jess, Tess, and Kate get the little kids over to the house and up on the deck. A man is hanging by his hands and feet by a portable patio that’s stuck in the water. He’s naked and facing east. I bet he is sunburned in the most unfortunate places. These guys are crazy. At least he’s not in our direct view. I shake my head and go in the house to make some drinks and find my tablet. We might as well get set up on the deck. It’s going to be a long afternoon.

*  *  *