The Wanderers (11 page)

"Hey!"

"Hey!" He greeted them like long-lost friends.

"Mah man Buddy!" They devoured Despie with their eyes, taking special note of the fact that Buddy was holding her hand.

"Hey, this is Despie ... this is the guys."

She stared at Richie. "Are you Denise Rizzo's boyfriend?"

"Yeah."

"I know you ... me an' Denise are in the same homeroom at Evander. I saw you one day after school."

"No kiddin'. Hey, maybe we could double sometime," suggested Richie.

Buddy flinched. He hadn't asked her for a date yet, and Richie could blow the whole thing.

"Sure!" she said.

"Yeah, we could go bowlin' or somethin'."

"Hey, ah ... lissen. I'll see you guys later, O.K.?"

"Later."

"Later."

After Buddy and Despie walked a quarter of a block, Buddy looked back at the Wanderers, made crazy-eyes, and let his tongue hang out. They thought that was cool and cracked up.

"I live on the next block."

"Nice street."

"It's O.K."

They stopped at her door.

"Ah, lissen ... whyncha gimme your phone number, maybe we could double with Richie and C."

She took a soiled piece of loose-leaf paper and a funny-looking oversized pen out of her pocketbook. "Here."

"Hmm." He studied the number, stalling for time. "Despie Carabella. TU-six, four-two-three-one."

"That's right."

He studied the note a little longer, then stuffed it into his pocket. "Well..." He shuffled his feet.

"G'night."

He put an arm across her shoulder and brought his mouth to hers. She resisted for a second, then closed her eyes and put her arm around the back of his neck. She tongued like a pro and stood right up against his body. They mingled tongues for a full five minutes, until both their chins were dripping with spit.

"I like you, Despie."

"I like you too."

"Maybe we could go out Saturday."

"Sure."

She turned to go inside. Buddy walked away, wiping his chin on his jacket sleeve. After he crossed the street he shouted to her loud enough to turn on some lights.

"I'll call you tomorrow!"

She waved, and he took off like a jack rabbit for White Castie.

In homeroom the next day Despie slipped a note to Denise three aisles over:

DO YOU KNOW A FRIEND OF YOUR BOYFRIEND'S NAMED BUDDY? I MET HIM LAST NIGHT AND WE ARE GOING OUT SATURDAY. DO YOU WANT TO EAT LUNCH TOGETHER AND TALK?—DESPIE

Denise wrote back:

YES, I KNOW BUDDY. I LIKE HIM AND I THINK HE IS CUTE. I WILL MEET YOU IN THE BACK OF THE LUNCHROOM NEAR THE WINDOWS—DENISE

"So how'd you meet Buddy?" C asked, taking a bite out of a thin bologna sandwich.

"Well, last night I had nothin' to do so I was walkin' down Allerton when I saw Buddy walkin' up the other side of the street. I thought he looked cute. He didn't see me or nothin'. Anyways, he bumps into this fat lady an' starts elbow tittin'. This lady knocks him down. It was really funny. She started yellin' at him an' then I see he's wit' these other guys."

"Was Richie wit' them?"

"That's your boyfriend?"

"Yeah ... I'll kick his ass if he was elbow tittin'."

"He was there but he was just hangin' aroun'. Anyways, I figure I'll play along, so I walked around the block and come down on the other side of the street, and Buddy starts walkin' toward me."

"What happened?"

"He bumped into me but he didn't do nothin' else."

"So then what happened?"

"He asked me if I wanted pizza. But first he gave me this bullshit story about gettin' jumped by two guys in a Cadillac."

"That sounds like Buddy."

"Then he walked me home an' asked me out for tomorrow night."

"That's too much."

"Yeah. What's he like?"

"Well, he's cute, he's in the Wanderers, he lives in the projects."

"Did he have a girl friend that he broke up with because she was seein' someone else?"

"Well, he was goin' wit' this girl Margo that was seein' someone else, but she broke up with Buddy. Buddy didn't break up wit' her."

"He told me he broke up wit' her."

"Sure."

"Is he on any teams?"

"Nah, but he's a good bowler, they all are," said C.

"Do you wanna double tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we're goin' to the Globe. You wanna come?"

"Yeah. He's gonna call me tonight."

"Howdja do on the Social?" C asked.

"I passed. I copied offa that creep Barry Jacobi."

Buddy was late coming down to the lunchroom. The Wanderers were already eating at their table.

"Hey! The man of the hour!"

Buddy sat down and took out a ham sandwich.

"You goin' out wit' Despie tonight?" Richie asked.

"Nah, I gotta call her."

"Lissen, me an' C are goin' to the movies tomorrow night. You wanna come?"

"O.K. As long as we can split up later, if you know what I mean."

"Yeah, well, my parents won't be home tomorrow night. They got a Cousins' Club meetin'."

"Dynamite!"

"Yeah, you can have my room. Me an' C will take my parents' bedroom."

"You got any bags?"

"My old man does. Hey, wait. Whadya mean do I got any bags. You ain't gonna need 'em."

"Don't be too sure."

"Five dollars."

"You ain't got five dollars."

"That's O.K. You ain't gonna get laid."

Buddy couldn't get his father's car, so they walked to the Allerton Globe to see two good horror pictures, which was fine with Buddy because Despie shrieked a lot and buried her head in his armpit. With his arm around Despie's shoulder, Buddy leaned his head over the back of the seat and caught Richie's eye. Richie did the same, wiggling his tongue obscenely. C excused herself, and she and Despie split for the john.

"Hey, man!" Buddy jumped over two seats. They slapped palms loudly. "I got such a fuckin' hard-on I'm bustin' my drawers!" Buddy squeezed his crotch in mock pain. Two elderly people turned around to give him dirty looks.

"Ja get tit?" Richie whispered.

"I din't try yet."

"She got nice ones."

"Hey," Buddy said, "I got your bedroom, right?"

"You get gizzem on my bed I'm gonna make you eat it with a spoon."

"We'll do it on the floor."

"You got class."

"Yeah, I'm elegant," said Buddy.

Buddy put records on Richie's record player and turned out the light. Despie almost pulled him down on top of her. Buddy excitedly started grinding, and she groaned appreciatively.

"Buddy?" She tapped him on the back and whispered huskily, "Get me a glass of water."

"Huh?"

"I'm thirsty."

"Yeah ... wh ... yeah." He stood up, his shirt half out of his pants, his hair messed up. He padded to the bathroom, took a piss, and brought Despie a glass of water. Despie put the glass on the floor.

"I thought you wanted water."

She took his hand and placed it between her legs.

"Jesus God!" Despie was naked. Buddy had never been with a naked girl before. She unbuttoned his shirt as he sat paralyzed, his hand frozen where she placed it. "Are you a virgin?" he whispered. She didn't answer but started on his pants. " 'Cause if you are, don't be scared." She pulled down his shorts and caressed his hard-on. "I don't got no bags but I'll pull out before I come." She put an arm around his neck, slid under him, and with her other hand guided his prick. The moment he was in, he came a bucket.

Early the next morning, Buddy lay in his own bed thinking about Despie. He looked at his alarm clock. Five-thirty. He got up, went into the kitchen, and dialed her number. He prayed her parents wouldn't answer. The phone rang four times; he was about to hang up when she answered.

"Hello?"

"Despie?" he whispered.

"Who's this?"

"Buddy."

"Whassamatter?" Her voice was thick with sleep.

"Nothin'. I just wanna talk."

"Wha' time is it?"

"I dunno, about two."

"Whadya wanna talk about?"

"I dunno. I miss you."

"That's nice."

"Do you miss me?"

"...yeah."

There was dead silence for a minute.

"Despie?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I come over?"

"Tomorrow?"

"Now."

"Now? Everybody's sleeping."

"I gotta talk to you."

Another silence.

"O.K."

"See you soon." He hung up, got dressed, took his father's car keys, and drove over to her house. She was waiting for him on the porch. "Hi."

"Hi." She wore a quilt bathrobe and a kerchief over rollers.

"Let's go inside," she whispered, taking his hand and guiding him up the steps to her room. "Don't talk out loud. You'll wake them up." She closed the door, and they lay on the bed.

"I missed you, Despie."

"Me too."

"It was a good date."

"I had a good time."

Sitting up, he took off his coat and shoes. She lifted the cover, and he slipped in, right up next to her.

"Despie?"

"Yeah?"

"That was numero uno for me."

Another silence.

"Me too."

"Did it hurt?"

"A little."

"I tried not to hurt you ... did you have an orgasm?"

"I don't know."

"Whadya mean?"

"I dunno ... I couldn't tell."

"Did it feel good?"

"Yeah."

"I came pretty quick."

"That's O.K."

"I won't come so quick next time."

"It's O.K."

"That was your first time?"

"I told you yeah."

"Did you bleed?"

"I didn't look."

A light went on in the hallway. Slippers shuffled toward Despie's door. Buddy jumped out of bed and hid in the closet. A soft knock. Despie pretended she was asleep. Her mother opened the door, poking her head into the room. "Despie?"

She peered into the darkness for a moment, then softly closed the door. Twenty minutes later Buddy came out of the closet. Despie was fast asleep.

The next day in Big Playground Buddy was moody and quiet. He couldn't play basketball or join in with the every minute bullshitting. Thinking of Despie made him miserable. He thought of her with intense longing, yet there was something about her that made him wish they'd never met.

"Hey, man." Richie sat on the bench next to him. "Why ain'tcha playin'?"

"I dunno." He shrugged. "Don't feel like it."

"Despie give you a bad time las' night?" Buddy smiled. If Richie only knew Buddy lost his cherry he would flip. Buddy himself was amazed that he wasn't shouting it from the rooftops. Sex wasn't anything like he thought it would be. It was a bitch. "Despie give you trouble?"

"Nah."

"How far you go?"

"Far enough."

"Don't wanna talk?"

"I guess not, man."

Richie shrugged and got up. "O.K., man, it's on you."

Sunday was always a drag. It was cold and windy. The few trees in Big Playground were leafless. Buddy still hadn't finished the report due Monday for social studies. He couldn't concentrate on anything but Despie. He walked across the basketball courts and through the hole in the fence to the street. Fishing in his pockets for a dime, he went into Pioneer's Candy Store and sat in a phone booth. He hated the panicky feeling in his gut. He had nothing to say, vet he had to talk to her.

The number was busy.

No one answered.

Wrong number.

No one answered.

No one answered.

Buddy left the candy store, his clothing soaked with nervous sweat. Everyone had left the playground. He went upstairs and tried to call Despie. Still no answer. He took out his loose-leaf, opened it to a clean page, and wrote

He took out the WYC-XAU volume of the
Home and Hearth Encyclopedia,
opened it to the XYZ Affair, and began copying verbatim. After every ten sentences he would get up and call Despie's number. She hated him. He bored her. She wasn't a virgin. She fucked Nazis and niggers before breakfast. His dick was too small. He loved her. She gave head to all the guys on Lester Avenue. Terror liked to shit in her mouth. When he was in the closet she laughed herself to sleep. She told her parents, and they all had a good laugh. Lenny Arkadian knew the inside of her cunt like the back of his hand. She was out fucking
right now.
He loved her. He did. He really did.

"Hello?"

"You're home."

"Who's this?"

"Buddy."

"Hi."

"Where were you?"

"I was at my uncle's house."

"What were you doing there?"

"Whadya mean what was I doing there? He's my uncle. We went to visit my uncle."

"Sorry."

"Buddy, is something wrong?"

"Nah."

"Look, I gotta go, my friends are waiting for me. Bye."

Before he could say goodbye, the phone clicked. His stomach frosted over. Friends. What friends? Boyfriends? Probably. But he'd be cool. The fastest way to lose a girl is to be possessive. What uncle? She didn't say anything to him before about an "uncle." Uncle my ass. Uncle Sam maybe. Fucking for the troops. Uncle Sam wants you.