November 11, 2006
Chapter 12
(Filed under: The Novel)Oliver and Anwyn closed the door letting Mateo drift off to sleep to the hum of the music.
"It is a terrible thing," Anwyn said. "Just asking for help. It's not even that hard."
"I guess it depends on your circumstances—what you're trying to escape from," Oliver said. They walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. "In some cultures suicide can be considered honorable."
"Yeah," said Anwyn, "And Catholics say if you commit suicide you go straight to hell. Not exactly much comfort for the survivors."
"Good thing you're not Catholic." Anwyn just back her head spinning and thinking.
"This is really bothering you, isn't it?" Oliver asked.
"I do think about it a lot," said Anwyn. "It's not like I’m slipping into depression of thinking about following in Isabelle's footsteps, I just wish I could understand it all."
"I blame it on our family," Oliver said. "We're a pretty messed up bunch."
"How so?" Anwyn asked.
"Well, we've got death," Oliver started. "That can always mess people up. There's Isabelle, of course, and Grandma Nelson died along time ago. There's the train wreck of Robert Nelson, Caterina's father. He took off before she was even born. History repeated itself with Caterina. Your parents are divorced. Mine are remarried, making for a blended family of half-siblings. Heck, I don't even live with my parents anymore, and I'm not even 16."
"And don't forget my racist, alcoholic Grandpa Miller," Anwyn added.
"Hey, that's your side of the family," Oliver said. "I've got no ties."
"You technically have no ties to my family anyway," Anwyn said. Oliver shrugged.
"I have a feeling most people are pretty messed up like this," Oliver said.
"Am I messed up?" Anwyn asked.
"You are preoccupied with suicide," Oliver said with a smirk. "That's pretty weird."
"You'd be preoccupied with it too if your sister killed herself," Anwyn fired back.
"No, I'd be pissed," Oliver said. "And too busy changing diapers to worry about the why."
"I should probably get going," Anwyn said, standing up and heading towards the door. "You can manage now that Mateo's asleep?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine," Oliver said. "You sure you want to go already? I could talk for another few hours about suicide."
Anwyn smiled. Oliver always did fine a way to make her smile.
"Yeah, I've got homework to do." This was only partially true. Oliver followed her to the door and held it open while she walked out. It was dark now, colder, but not enough to complain about. Anwyn turned and waved, and she headed home.
The night seemed darker and yet not darker than the city. It felt darker because there weren't light on everywhere. The lack of light pollution also meant the stars shone brightly, a blanket of them, stretched as far as they eye could see.
Anwyn remembered one night when her, Oliver, Catalina and Isabelle stayed out late to watch the stars. They were sleeping over at Aunt Alejandra and Carlos's house, and the kids had talked their way into sleeping outside in the backyard. Oliver set up the tent with the girls' help and the four laid out their sleeping bags, all lined up in a row inside the tent.
They had flashlights and a little lantern and stayed up late telling stories and jokes. They played truth or dare. Isabelle always said truth and Oliver always said dare.
They dared Oliver to do all sorts of goofy physical stunts, like jumping the neighbors' fence and staying in the yard for a full minute or running around the house in nothing but his underwear. Once Catalina and Isabelle ganged up and dared Oliver to kiss Anwyn. She argued that they were cousins and it'd be illegal, but Isabelle pointed out that they weren't really cousins.
Oliver didn't speak up, partially because it was late and dark and somehow that always fuels boys to do stupid things they wouldn't do during the calm and reason of the daylight, but also because as a 10-year-old boy kissing a girl was an intriguing notion.
"Then you kiss him," Anwyn had said. And she did.
She turned to Oliver. "I dare you to kiss me," Isabelle said. Catalina giggled. Anwyn's mouth hung open. Oliver tried to play it cool. Isabelle sat up and leaned forward slightly, her lips pouting and her eyes closed. She had the princess role down and she milked it.
Oliver sat up and suddenly he didn't look as cool. He looked a little nervous and wasn't sure if kissing a girl would be as intriguing as he thought, especially with two others watching.
He leaned forward to kiss Isabelle on the lips. Anwyn and Catalina both leaned in, though Catalina was about to explode in giggles and Anwyn still looked shocked. Isabelle was frozen in position, waiting for the dared kiss.
Oliver slowly moved in, and then quickly planted a kiss on Isabelle's cheek. He sat back down as quickly as he could. Catalina erupted. Anwyn's expression didn't change. Isabelle relaxed and opened her eyes. She thought for a moment and then smiled. "Not bad."
Catalina's alliance with Isabelle to get Oliver to kiss Anwyn had failed, so now Catalina turned on Isabelle.
"Isabelle," she said, relishing the surprise that registered on her face. Up until then they had always targeted the Oliver and Anwyn. "Truth or dare?"
"Truth," Isabelle said, as always.
"Have you ever done it with a boy?" Catalina asked. This time Anwyn cracked up. Oliver rolled his eyes. Isabelle mulled her options.
"Dare," she said after a moment's consideration. Anwyn stopped laughing. Oliver's mouth fell open. Even Catalina was surprised. Isabelle always went with truth, happy to lay out any detail. Anwyn and Oliver exchanged looks. It was only a few days before that they'd seen Isabelle kissing the boy with the hat down by the river. Later they would talk, debating whether or not anything had actually happened, whether or not Isabelle was just trying to create mystery and make everyone thing she was older and more mature than she was.
"Maybe she saw us," Oliver had said to Anwyn. "Maybe she knows we were watching and so she wants to play up what might have happened, when really nothing happened at all."
"But if she wanted us to think she was having sex," Anwyn said, "Why wouldn't she just say so? She didn't shy away from anything else when we played truth or dare." And it was true. Isabelle had told them she had a crush on Justin Crenshaw. She told them she had once cheated on a spelling test. She told them she kept a diary hidden in the vent—and she said that truth with eyes blazing at Anwyn, warning her to not even try sneaking a look at it.
Now Catalina had to come up with a dare, and after watching her brother do the stupidest, childish things it was time to do something serious. And she said it without hesitation: "I dare you to steal Dominic Warren's underwear."
Simply saying underwear after a certain hour was sure to cause hysterics, and it did. Oliver and Anwyn cracked up, rolling around on the floor of the tent. Even Isabelle smiled. After they finally settled down, Anwyn asked who Dominic Warren was.
"He was a boy who came down to the river today while you guys were swimming," Catalina explained.
"We didn't see any boy," Anwyn said, trying to play dumb.
"You guys were south of the bridge or something," Catalina said. "But he was there. Isabelle knows who he is." Now it was Isabelle's turn to be embarrassed. But this was the granddaddy of dares. This wasn't running around the house in your underwear or hanging upside down from the pole of the clothesline. This dare involved some serious work.
"How can I even do that?" Isabelle asked, not wanting to shy away from the dare, but unsure of how to even go about pulling it off.
"He lives three blocks over," Catalina said. "You sneak over to his house. You find a way to get his underwear." Oliver cracked up again.
"What am I supposed to do," Isabelle asked, "Ask his mom?"
"If that works," Catalina said, a wicked grin on her face. "Or you could knock on his window. His room is on the main floor."
"And what's she going to say?" Anwyn asked. "'Excuse me, can I borrow a pair?'" Her and Oliver cracked up again.
"I think she can figure it out from there," Catalina said. Isabelle nodded and started looking for her shoes.
"You'll have to come with me and point out his house," Isabelle said. "And his room. I'm not knocking on his parents' window."
"I'm coming, too," Anwyn said. She wasn't going to miss this.
"Me, too," Oliver said. "I'm not staying here while you guys run around town."
"We're not running around town," Catalina said. "We're going straight to the Warren's house and coming straight back. She unzipped the tent and turned back to shush everyone.
The four of them filed out of the tent and stole across the dewy yard. Catalina was first, then Isabelle, then Anwyn, then Oliver last. They were all wearing pajamas and tennis shoes. Oliver wore shorts and a long sleeve shirt that was too small. Anwyn and Isabelle both had patterned pajama pants, Isabelle's with hearts and Anwyn's with unicorns. Anwyn wore a T-shirt and Isabelle a tank top. Catalina wore sweatpants and one of her dad's T-shirts.
The four made it out of the yard, pausing in the street to listen. The town was quiet. It was well past midnight and dark, but the stars lit up the sky so they didn't even need flashlights. They'd left them in the tent. The group scampered down the street, turned left, and then went down three blocks.
They stopped by a hedge on dividing the Warren's yard from the neighbors.
"That's it," Catalina said, pointing to the house. Dominic's room is in the back, the far corner."
"You sure?" Isabelle asked.
"Yes," Catalina said. "I had to do a group project with him last year. We worked at his house. Their dining room is the corner closest to us, the back corner closest to us is the family room, his room is the far back corner, and his parents' and sisters' rooms are upstairs."
Isabelle looked convinced. She took a step forward and then turned back.
"Wait for me here," she said. "If you hear anything or lights go on or anything happens, run back to the house." Then she turned and hurried to the house, trying to keep low to the ground. She made it to the corner of the house and flattened herself against it. She looked back to the edge and the three faces that stuck out around it.
Isabelle nodded to them and then snuck around the house and out of view. Catalina, Anwyn and Oliver all relaxed now they couldn't see Isabelle. Catalina kept watch on the house, watching for signs of movement or light. Anwyn and Oliver sat down and waited, silently exchanging glances. Oliver picked up a stick and started fiddling with it. Anwyn looked up at the stars. Catalina laid down in the grass and continued to watch.
Five minutes passed. Then ten.
"Maybe we should go check on her," Oliver said.
"No way," Catalina said. "It's her dare."
"What if she got caught?" Anwyn asked.
"No lights have come on," Catalina said. "The whole place is quiet. She didn't get caught. We wait."
Another five minutes passed.
Then Isabelle reappeared at the back of the house. She stuck her head and looked both ways, spotted Catalina and waved. She snuck passed the family room window and then sprinted for the hedge. Her face was serious and it wasn't until she reached the hedge when she finally smiled.
"Well?" Catalina asked. Oliver and Anwyn looked on in amazement, unsure of what to expect.
Isabelle looked at each of them, her face blank. Then she pulled a pair of white Hanes underwear that had been tucked into the back of her pajamas. She tossed them at Catalina who squealed in the darkness.
Posted by kevin at November 11, 2006 5:15 PM
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