Chapter 33

Monday-Tuesday, June 4-5

Arlene showed us a few other features of the small apartment, including a window unit air conditioner.

“It’s not quite the Taj Mahal, but it’s better than a college dorm room,” she said. “At least you won’t have to hang a sock on the doorknob when you’re entertaining.”

“I’ve got tomorrow off except for morning and evening workouts with Jed,” I said. “If you want, I can come over and help clean things up.”

“You’d better,” Morgan said. “I want to try it out before I leave for camp. Maybe help me build up some memories to help me get through the next two weeks.”

At Arlene’s questioning look, Morgan explained how her attendance at camps and other summer programs was going to take up a big chunk of her time over the next two months.

“So our boy’s going to be at loose ends,” Arlene mused, getting a gleam in her eye.

“I want to say, ‘Hands off, bitch,’ but I don’t think you’d listen,” Morgan said. “Besides, I’d rather you look after him than let the other girls try to get their hooks into him.”

I just rolled my eyes at Morgan’s antics and thanked Arlene for her generosity. We went back to the courtyard and helped our hostess clean up the refreshments, downing another glass of tea after escaping the stuffy apartment. That window unit was going to get quite a workout as the summer grew hotter.

Arlene had one last idea as we prepared to leave. Looking at the Z4 and the space between her kitchen door and garage, she asked me to pull up there. I had to angle the car rather sharply, but it just fit. Looking at the corner of her house, my back bumper and the garage, she seemed satisfied.

“That ought to keep you out of sight from the street, just in case any neighbors get curious,” she said. “It also gives me enough room to get the Jag in and out of the garage when you’re here. I doubt Morgan would appreciate me asking you to move your car at that special moment.”

I thought Arlene was having too much fun with all the skulduggery, but she was offering a safe haven away from the prying eyes of our parents, so I was willing to let her little barbs slide.

Morgan was full of plans on how to decorate the place as I drove us home.

“You might want to check with Arlene first,” I said. “It’s not like we’re moving in as residents. More like hotel guests”

“But it will be our place,” she said. “Our little hideaway. We’ll need to stock the bathroom — towels, soap, shampoo and stuff — maybe put some drinks and snacks in the kitchen. And we probably ought to offer to help with the bedding. We can’t expect Arlene to pick up after us.”

“I’ll let you and Arlene work that out,” I said. “Just don’t do anything that would make your parents suspicious.”

I pulled up in front of Morgan’s house and walked her to the door.

“Will I see you tomorrow after your driving lesson?” I asked, pulling her close for a goodnight kiss.

“Maybe,” she said. “Let me see what’s going on with the other girls first. And don’t tell Kacie about Arlene’s place just yet. Let’s get it fixed up for ourselves first.”

She gave me a smooch and headed inside. I headed home and went to prepare for bed. Kacie looked through the bathroom door as I brushed my teeth.

“Some of the girls want to do something Wednesday night if we can,” my sister said. “Call Eddie and Jed and see if they’re available.”

“What are we looking at?” I asked. “Pizza and a movie? Miniature golf? Something else?”

“We’ll figure things out tomorrow,” she said. “Most of us will be at the pool.”

“I probably won’t be,” I said. “We finally got a schedule worked out and I’m off Mondays and Tuesdays. I told Arlene I’d help clean out a storeroom in her garage tomorrow morning.”

“Is that what they’re calling it these days?” my sister asked, giving me a kiss away from my injury and heading to bed.

Tuesday morning was pretty much like most others had been since school let out. There was still plenty of pineapple juice to go around.

Mom headed to the club and Kacie departed for her driving lesson. Dad hung around just long enough to consult with the crew installing the carport, then helped make sure the way was clear for them to back in the truck and utility trailer carrying a cement mixer.

I jogged to the driving range, getting there just as everyone was lining up for gassers. I noticed Coach Tucker was again hitting a bucket of range balls.

“Is he going to be here every day?” I asked Jed.

“Probably not, but he does like to play golf,” my friend said. “Now that school’s out, he’s not allowed to actually coach us until practice starts, but he can observe and make suggestions.”

Suggestions which, of course, carried the same weight as a direct edict from God.

We advanced through our running and spent about 20 minutes taking snaps with me getting the ball on the tee. It was one of those things that was basically muscle memory, like shooting free throws or putting. The more you did it, the easier it became to do correctly.

Coach Tucker just gave us a friendly wave as we broke up, four guys headed to the pool, me to home and the others to wherever their day took them. I texted Arlene that I would be there in about 20 minutes and got a thumbs-up response.

Before I left, I mentioned to Jed about Wednesday.

“You can check with Kacie and Morgan,” I said. “They’re supposed to be at the pool today. I’ll call Eddie and you can check with Hunter and Devin.”

I didn’t even bother changing when I got home, figuring I’d only get sweaty again. I made it to Arlene’s by 9:30 and she showed me what she had in mind, moving the boxes and excess furniture into a vacant bedroom on the corner of the house nearest the apartment. The room was even larger than the apartment, so running out of space shouldn’t be an issue.

The task was made much easier by the bedroom’s French windows. The bedroom had a tile floor, meaning I didn’t have to worry about messing up any carpet.

Arlene reminded me that the water to the apartment wasn’t turned on. If I needed to relieve myself, I was to use one of the bathrooms in the house.

My first task was clearing enough space to reach the window unit in the already warming apartment. My second was clearing enough space to find a nearby wall outlet so I could plug it in.

With the air conditioner chugging merrily along, I took the end tables and kitchen chairs stacked up just inside the front door and moved them out onto the apartment’s walkway under Arlene’s direction. They would be the last items moved into the house. I really needed some kind of diagram to show what needed to go where. The boxes in the apartment’s dining nook had obviously been the first thing moved in however long ago.

Once I cleared the path to the back of the apartment, things went a little smoother. I was able to clear the boxes off the bed and get them stacked in a corner of the bedroom.

“I should have brought a two-wheeled dolly from the pool,” I grunted as I hoisted a box.

“Oh! I think I have one of those in the garage,” Arlene said.

I followed her back around front and she opened the door on her parking space.

“I’ll have to back the car out,” she said. “It’s back there against the wall.”

Once the car was out of the way, I went in to dig the dolly out of it’s hiding place. It must have been 60 years old, if not older, with a frame made of wood instead of aluminum like the ones we had at the pool. The only metal in its construction were the wheel assembly and the blade at the bottom. It reminded me of one Grandpa Robinson used to move sacks of feed at the farm.