pointed at the far side of the radio table. She whispered so as not
to interrupt the guys. “There they are. Can you see Jennifer? Cori’s sitting on
the floor next to Ted. Come on, you can help me rescue them.”
They walked
into the dreaded radio room. Mary stood behind her father, placing her hands on
her Dad’s shoulders. Leaning over, she spoke to him quietly: “Dad, it’s getting
late. The girls want to go, and they’d like their boyfriends to walk them home.
Will you be all right without them?”
Her father
took hold of her hand and turned his chair to face her, tugging her into his
lap. He looked into his daughter’s eyes, announcing to the boys, “Okay, guys. My
little princess has spoken. I guess it’s getting late and the ladies would like
you to walk them home. Thanks for indulging me as much as you did. I kept you a
little longer than I should have. Thanks for coming to Mary’s party. You all
made her happy. Be safe on your way home.”
The
girls had all followed Mary and Rosie into the room. Each girl took her
respective boyfriend’s hand and led them out of the room. As the boys left,
they shook Matt’s hand, thanking him for showing them his radio.
Jennifer
said, “Thanks for inviting us, Mary, and Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, thank you for having
us. We had a great time.”
Rosie
agreed. “I had so much fun tonight, Mary. I didn’t have to babysit Stan all
night! Your dad was our babysitter!” They all laughed at that. “Stan has to get
home to his parents, and I need to get home too. My folks always have a big family
for dinner the night before they leave for the beach. They need to fleece the
tourists for as much as they can before summer is over. When school starts, the
gravy train is over until next year.” More laughter.
Then
it was Cori’s turn: “Mary, your party was the best. Your Mom and Dad always
give you the best birthday parties. Thank you for inviting me and letting me
bring Teddy, and Mr. Johnson, thank you for giving him something to do besides standing
around, bugging me to leave every five minutes.”
Mary
led everyone to the front door. There was an enormous smile on her face, and her
eyes were sparkling. She had both of her arms wrapped around Jerry’s left arm,
holding him tight. As she saw everyone out, she told everyone. “Thank you all for
coming. You all made my birthday so beautiful. Please be safe and call me when
you get home. We start our senior year in just a few weeks.” They all hooted
and cheered.
As
each girl walked out, Mary gave them a big hug. Jerry was the last to leave. He
gave Mary a big hug and a kiss on the cheek. As Jerry walked out, she closed
the door. Her party was officially over.
Early
the next morning, before Mary got up, her parents left to go to work. There
were rows and rows of booths lined up near the beach, most of them owned by people
living in East Norwich. More than half of the owners and their children worked
their booths for the last few weeks before school began.
Mary
wouldn’t see her parents again until after school started. As in prior years,
this was the final push for everyone who owned a booth to make as much as they
could before the season ended. This year was no different than other years, but
no one knew that this was the year that everything would change. This was the
beginning of the end. No one imagined what was coming.
There
was nothing special about Saturday; it was the same old boring summer doldrums.
When Mary got up, she went over to Jerry’s house. They were a perfect couple. He
was a member of the ROTC and the first string quarterback on the football team,
and Mary’s cheerleading squad was there cheering for every game.
Both
of them had been born and had grown up in East Norwich. It was a small town.
They’d been in classes together ever since the first grade. They had started to
notice each other as far back as the fifth grade and had started dating when
they were freshmen.
Today,
they’d been