What They Left Behind

Ben didn’t bother to answer the phone in the ensuing weeks. He didn’t want to talk to Gennie. Though he missed her, his life was easier now because he wasn’t being hassled about Charlene. He hadn’t asked her out yet as he had planned, but still, things were progressing well with her. When she turned sixteen on April 24, her parents bought her a new car, a Mercury Comet Caliente. Though she told him it wasn’t quite as nice as Johnny’s car, it had all of the latest features, including a fantastic hi-fi AM/FM radio. Any kid would kill to have a car like that. It was first time Ben was embarrassed he didn’t have a car and wasn’t driving yet.

  “When I get my license,” Charlene said, as they were walking back to his house after rehearsals, “I can pick you up from school and drive you home.”

  “You know, I should be taking you home, not the other way around.”

  Charlene smiled.

  “I don’t mind,” she replied. “Having a car isn’t everything. But, if you want, you can drive it sometime. Do you have your permit yet?”

  “No,” Ben said. “I really haven’t had time to go to the DMV and apply for it.”

  “Maybe tomorrow we can go down there so you can fill out the forms.”

  “Is it a hard test?”

  Charlene shook her head. “It’s a little long, but it’s super easy. You’ll pass it, no problem.”

  “I’m not as smart as you, though.”

  “Trust me, Ben. If you can read, you’ll pass it. Then you can use my car to practice in.”

  “Will your boyfriend mind?”

  “Johnny doesn’t care. He’s so wrapped up in baseball right now he doesn’t know what’s going on.”

  Ben nodded. “I guess we can go to the DMV after rehearsals tomorrow then.”

  Unexpectedly, in the middle of the sidewalk, Charlene gave him a hug. Having her arms wrapped around him put a tingle down his spine.

  “You know what I like about you?” Charlene said.

  “What?”

  “You’re the first guy who just wants to be my friend. Most of the boys I meet are only nice to me because they want me to make out with them.”

  Ben tried his best not to cringe. “I wouldn’t do that to you,” he said, rubbing her arm.

  “I’m so glad to hear that. I guess that’s the difference between straight and gay men.”

  “What?”

  “You’re gay, aren’t you? That’s what everyone’s told me.”

  “No, I’m not,” Ben replied, trying to stay calm.

  “Why do you change separately from the other boys then?”

  “Because they do weird stuff like give me wedgies. I don’t want to be anywhere near them.”

  “Really? I’ve never heard of that.”

  “I don’t think they would tell you.”

  “Well, I’ll make sure they never bother you again. I’ll tell Johnny about it. He’ll take care of them.”

  Ben didn’t mention that Johnny was one of the perpetrators.

  “So, you’re interested in girls?” Charlene asked.

  “Sure,” Ben said.

  “That’s great. Do you know Barbara Duffy?”

  “Yeah, she’s the girl with the two foot tall bouffant, right?”

  Charlene giggled. “She just broke things off with her boyfriend and I’ve been trying to think up something to take her mind off it. Would you like to go out with her this Saturday night?”

  “Uhh…”

  “I know she can be a little hard to get to know, so maybe you two can go out with me and Johnny. Oh, I have another idea too! Does your sister have a boyfriend?”

  “No,” Ben replied. He didn’t like where this was heading.

  “You see, I’m trying to get Foster away from his girlfriend. I swear she’s the nastiest person in the universe and she’s probably cheating on him. I’ve wanted him to meet someone new for a while now. Maybe we can invite your sister out too and she can get to meet him.”

  “I don’t know if that’s a good idea.”

  “Why not?”

  “Well, my sister hates dressing up and going out places. She only likes fixing up stuff, like cars.”

  “Oh my god, then she’d be perfect for my brother! He hates dressing up too and his favorite thing in the world is fixing up old cars. He buys these clunkers for about fifty dollars each and makes them look beautiful again. He usually sells them for a thousand dollars or so. He has enough money saved up for his entire four years of college. I really think they would have a lot to talk about.”

  “Another problem is that Gennie and I aren’t talking to each other. She moved out of the house last month.”

  “That’s awful! Why is she not talking to you?”

  Ben wasn’t about to say it was because of her. “It’s a lot of things, really.”

  “Well, maybe I can talk to her and smooth things over with the two of you. Where is she staying?”

  “Page Goodman’s house. It’s on 19th Street. You’ll see her bike parked outside there.”

  “I can do that tomorrow. We can have our little girl talk while you sit tight outside. I’m sure I can get this cleared up in no time.”

  Ben didn’t think she would be able to do that, but since things couldn’t get any worse between them, he would let her try. He was a little worried she might tell Charlene he strangled and hit her, but since she hadn’t told Malcolm and Colleen yet; he doubted she would tell Charlene. Also, it would show Gennie that Charlene was interested in him. He wondered if she would agree to go on a group date with Charlene’s brother. She might be tantalized by the fact that Foster had a lot in common with her. It would be nice to see her hanging around with someone besides Page, even if they didn’t become an item. He wondered if she would go if she knew he was going to be there. Probably not.

  “Don’t mention that I’m going to be there, because she might not come. Just say it’s you, Johnny and Foster.”

  “Okay,” Charlene said.

  That night, as he lay in bed, he realized he got a very lucky break, an open invitation to the ‘in’ crowd. He was hoping his new girlfriend would be Charlene, though. It was so disheartening to know she was so dedicated to Johnny. He imagined her parents were partly behind that. Johnny was from a very wealthy family.

  He thought of Barbara Duffy. Really, out of all her friends, did it have to be her? She smoked, was constantly spraying her hair with Aqua Net and when she didn’t have a cigarette butt in her mouth, she was chewing gum and blowing hot pink bubbles. Ben didn’t find her particularly attractive. Even though she had a nice figure, clear skin and knew how to dress, there was something about her Ben didn’t like. He would have gladly gone out with all the other girls. Miki, the Asian with the shiny black hair, Cindy with the blond pixie cut, or Francine, who was extremely good-looking but more athletic than her friends. He chastised himself. He should grateful he got this far. Though he had to put up with Bouffant Barbara, at least he was able to spend the evening with Charlene. That was much farther than even some of the popular guys had gotten. The only thing he was really dreading about the evening was his sister’s reaction when she found out he was there.

  Chapter 20: May 1