My Name Is River Blue (21 page)

CHAPTER
ELEVEN

August
2000

More than two
months of summer had passed since the week in June when I met Papa Ray Long,
and each week, I grew more positive about my life. Every morning, I was excited
to wake up so that Ant and I could work on our goals to improve our physical
conditioning and football skills. We spent time with Papa almost every day, and
each time we left him, we had learned more than football.

On days when
Papa couldn't meet us because of other commitments, mostly involving his businesses,
we knew in advance and followed a training routine that Papa had given us for
those occasions. There were times when Papa suffered with severe headaches and
had to stay in bed all day in a dark room. It happened very seldom, but when it
did, Manny, his farm manager, would always call us to let us know that Papa
couldn't help us train that day.

When Papa
coached us football, he also worked in lessons on leadership, integrity,
teamwork, and sportsmanship. Each day, often when we were riding in his truck,
he helped correct our grammar and improve our manners. He taught us the
importance of good grooming and personal hygiene, and discussed appropriate
attire to wear for different social functions. Papa gave so much effort to help
us that we couldn't have expected more if we had been his sons.

During those two
summer months, my anger steadily diminished, and most days were good ones. My attitude
changed from one of bitter acceptance of the dismal fate that usually befell a
state kid like me, to one of hope and fierce determination to achieve my goals.
I intended to work as hard as necessary to earn a football scholarship to a
major university and afterwards, a contract to play professional football. As
Papa advised me, I would make my college education a priority in case pro
football didn't work for me. No matter what happened, a college degree would
give me more than one option to find a career that would pay for a good life.

For as long as I
could remember, I had craved to have the love of family, the pride that comes
with achievement, and the hope for a successful future limited only by my efforts.
For the first time in my life, I thought it was possible to have what some
people took for granted. I could see a life for me that included marrying a
great girl, buying a nice home, and raising our kids with all the love that we
could give them.

Ant and I were
not the only ones who benefited from Papa's influence over us. In Tolley House,
we boys obeyed the rules and occasionally volunteered to do more for Hal and Jenny.
Both of us were polite and respectful to our house parents as Papa insisted we
should be with all adults. I still had very little to do with the other boys in
the house, but I was always civil, and sometimes friendly. There were even a
few occasions when Ant and I surprised the house members by joining them for a
movie in the family room. The Mackeys were ready to declare Papa a miracle
worker.

Miss Martin was
pleased when she heard good reports about our progress in Tolley House. Since
the day she had to leave for an emergency concerning her mother, she had worked
a reduced schedule. I didn't know what was wrong with her mother, but I knew
that Miss Martin and her sister shared in the elderly woman's constant care.
The situation turned into a long ordeal, which meant that Ant and I rarely saw
our favorite caseworker. Even when Miss Martin couldn't stop by to see us, she called,
thanked us for our good behavior, and told us that she was proud of us.

***

In August,
official practices began for the Harper Springs Junior High Hawks. Our team not
only shared the same mascot name as the senior high school, we practiced at the
old high school field where we would also play our home games. After giving all
of us a fighting chance to become starters in the positions we wanted, Coach
Riddle announced his decisions one afternoon at the end of practice.

It shouldn't
have surprised anyone who watched our tryouts that Ant would start as one wide
receiver, and I would start at quarterback, having won the job from Max. I was
tall, which meant I could see over the line to find my receivers, and I was
clearly a superior passer to Max. I had a strong arm, my passes were deadly
accurate from the pocket or on the run, and I could consistently make any throw
the coach called. I was not as fast as Max was, but the difference in our speed
was minimal. I had the additional advantage that I was big enough to run over
defensive players of junior high age.

Coach Riddle
named Max the starting tailback, which was the perfect position for him because
of his speed, instinct, and agility. Since it was also a key position where a
player could grab his share of glory by scoring touchdowns, I hoped that Max
would not be too disappointed with losing QB1to me. Papa warned me that he
might not take it well and gave me some advice on how to act.

When Coach
Riddle ended practice and told us to hit the showers, I was standing near Max
in the large huddle of players surrounding the coach. I thought that I needed
to say something to see if we were okay.

"Max, I bet
you score more TDs than any running back in the conference," I said,
holding out my hand.

Max met my eyes
with intense, angry lasers of his own. I had never seen a frown from Max, much
less the twisted, hateful scowl he directed at me. For a moment, I thought he might
hit me, but instead, he silently left my offered hand hanging in air, and
stomped away towards the locker room. I was shocked to see a radically
different boy than the one I had come to consider my closest friend after Ant.

Ant spoke from
behind my right shoulder. "That didn't go very well, did it?"

I didn't know
what to think. I expected Max to be disappointed but not angry. Not
that
angry. Not so angry that he looked like he wanted to beat my ass. He certainly
didn't react like the Max I thought I knew.

"I don't
know, Ant. He was so cool about us competing up until today. I can't believe he
would act like that." My own anger flared. "Well, the hell with Max,
if he wants to be a jerk."

Gary Carson, the
best defensive player on the team, spoke to me as he was walking by us. I
didn't realize anyone was that close. "If Coach Riddle hears you swearing
at one of your teammates, he'll punish you. If you're lucky, he'll only run you
to death, but he might suspend you a game. He expects his players to show more
class then you and Max just did."

Gary pissed me
off. "Mind your own business, Gary."

"River, the
good of the team is every player's business, and if you knew Max's situation,
you would be a better teammate and give him some time before writing him off as
a jerk."

"What
situation?"

"That's not
my place to say. Just back off and let him tell you when he's ready." Without
waiting for a response from me, Gary followed the line of boys heading into the
locker room.

I wondered about
Max's "situation," but I had the sense not to ask any of the guys. I just
hoped that my new friendship with Max was not ruined. Besides losing my friend,
it would suck to lose any chance with Carlee. On top of that, it would suck to
play in the same backfield with an angry running back who might forget to pick
up a blitz from my blind side.

I didn't have to
worry very long because Max Summers apologized to me the next day. He even
admitted that I was the better quarterback, and that Coach Riddle made the
right decision for the team. I apologized for calling him a jerk where Ant and
Gary could hear, and we did the usual handshake and one-arm hug combo that guys
did with good friends. We agreed to work together for the good of the team and
afterwards, he acted as if nothing had happened. By the end of the year, I
discovered what most of his friends already knew, and I understood how a gentle,
fun-loving boy could show such intense anger.

***

Once or twice a
week, Papa would drive Ant and me through the country to his home at Deer Lake
Farm. From my first time there, I knew I belonged, and I was never happier than
I was during my visits with Papa. If there was ever any doubt in my mind, the
time I spent on the farm confirmed that I was an outdoors boy.

Each time Papa
took us home with him, Ant and I learned how to do something new that boosted
our pride and confidence and brought all three of us closer together. One of
the first things Papa did was teach us enough about the horses that we could earn
money taking care of them and their stalls. When we proved that we were doing
well with our schoolwork, we took riding lessons from the farm's riding
instructor.

Papa taught us camping
until Ant and I could pitch a tent, build a fire, and cook our own food. He soon
gave us permission to camp out by ourselves in a tent behind one of the barns. Eventually,
Papa trusted us to camp on the bank of Deer Lake, a small, sparkling clean body
of water located in the dense woods of his property. It was quite a hike for us
on foot, and as our riding skills improved, we rode horses along one of the trails
to the lake where camping overnight became something we enjoyed so much that we
thought we could live that way indefinitely.

One weekend, Ant
and I invited Max to the farm to camp out with us, and I discovered that he
enjoyed camping as much as Ant and I did. Since his family was rich, and he got
anything he wanted, I was surprised that he was so excited about hanging out
with us. He must have thanked us a dozen times, and I joked with Ant that rich,
white boys must be very strange. Ant suggested a different reason for his
behavior.

"Just
because Max's family is rich, ain't no guarantee that his home life is so
great, and I'm willing to bet that it ain't." Before Ant could tell me
what he meant, Max walked up to us, and I forgot about Ant's comment until much
later.

***

The last
Saturday before school started at the end of August, Carlee Summers had a
"last weekend of summer vacation" swim party and cookout at her house.
I was not supposed to know that Carlee liked me and plotted to have me there
without her parents discovering her attraction to me. Max and Carlee conspired to
tell the story that Max invited me to the party as his guest along with Ant and
some of the other boys from our team. It would work well since Max agreed to
host the party along with Carlee, and his parents were chaperoning with hers.

I almost
declined the invitation because I didn't feel comfortable going to Carlee's
house, but Ant reminded me that the cheerleaders would be in swimsuits. I
realized that except for TV and magazines, I had never seen a girl in a
swimsuit. If I ever had, I was too young to care, but things had changed and I
cared a lot. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see more of Carlee.

On the day of
the party, Papa drove Ant and me to the Summers' house in the gated Walden
Hills neighborhood, which bordered Lake Bergeron and the Harper Springs Country
Club. Ant and I had never seen so many large, expensive houses in a more
beautifully landscaped neighborhood. Ant joked that when we grew up, if we
couldn't play pro ball, we might be lucky enough to be gardeners in Walden
Hills.

As Papa drove up
to yet another gate, he had to convince us that everything within the wrought
iron fence belonged to Carlee's family. The grounds were so large that we could
not see where the fence ended. The Summers' home, which was more of a mansion
than a house, was surrounded by fifteen acres of professionally landscaped
grounds that included gardens, fountains, a duck pond, and a tennis court. I was
amazed that the Summers' property was larger than the land that held Stockwell
and the juvenile center combined.

Directly behind
the house, there was a huge recreation area similar to what a hotel resort
would have. It included a kidney-shaped swimming pool, a sauna, a steam room, a
hot tub, changing rooms, bathrooms, and a bar. For dining and dancing, there
was a spacious floor area built with smooth brick pavers, which matched the beige
brick of the house and the high stone privacy wall that surrounded it all. In
the spring of that year, the Summers family had used the area to host over two
hundred guests for the wedding and catered reception of Big Bill's nephew. The
attendees were still gossiping over how much money Bill Summers spent on the
affair.

After Ant and I
changed into our swim trunks, we were both apprehensive about coming out of the
changing room to join the party. We felt as if we had big signs around our
necks that marked us as Tolley House trash. I feared that Carlee's parents
might watch us for any unacceptable behavior that would give them an excuse to ask
us to leave in front of our classmates.

In whispers, Ant
and I briefly discussed asking Papa to take us back to Tolley House, but we decided
that it would call even more attention to the fact that we didn't belong there.
The other problem was that we would place Papa in an awkward position of
breaking his word.

Although he and
Bill Summers were not close friends, they had known each other since high
school and were on friendly terms when they were not arguing on opposite sides
of some local political issue. Since there were so many kids, and Big Bill had
a project to complete in his home office that day, he asked if Papa could help
chaperone in return for a donation to the booster club. Papa enjoyed the kids,
and the booster club always needed money, so he agreed to help.