Chapter Nine
"Keith! Come play hide-and-seek with us!" For the third time that afternoon, Tracy tugged at his arm, begging for his attention. The 'us' she was referring to was she, Chris, and Danny. Keith had still yet to figure out why Danny was playing, but didn't bother to ask. He didn't feel like playing himself.
After his confrontation with Cheri in the sunflowers, Keith had returned to the farmhouse to find that Cheri had locked herself in her room and wouldn't come out. Gladys was furious at first, but Mrs. Partridge soon persuaded her that maybe Cheri needed a little time alone. Mrs. Reyes soon calmed and admitted that Shirley was probably right, but come lunchtime, Cheri still hadn't made an appearance and Gladys was angry again. Shirley had again intervened and convinced Gladys to cool down. She then sent all the children outside to play. That's why Keith now found himself sitting on the steps to the back porch, being pestered by his three youngest siblings.
"Keith!"
"Not now, Tracy. Alright? You three go on ahead."
"But, Keith-!"
Keith looked up at her, her eyes pleading, as wide as a begging puppy's. He hated it when she gave him that look. It made him cave in every time. "Alright, fine." He sighed and stood up from his place on the steps. "But just as long as I'm not 'it' first. Where's Laurie?"
"I think she went out on a walk." Said Tracy.
Keith shrugged.
"Who's 'it'?" Chris wanted to know as they walked into the middle of the clearing.
"Tracy. It was her idea to play the game, so she should be 'it' first." Danny looked to the young strawberry blonde.
Tracy didn't look happy, but she didn't complain either. "What number should I count to?"
"A hundred." Said Danny.
"Fifty." Corrected Keith. He refused to be standing in any one place for longer than a minute.
"Okay." Agreed Tracy and she closed her eyes and began to count. "One… two… three…"
Keith knew where he would be hiding before she hit five. He instantly took off and sprinted to the barn. Then, as quickly as he could, he reached the ladder and climbed up into the hayloft. He decided to make his way over to the window so he could spy on Tracy's progress.
"Twenty-six… twenty-seven… twenty-eight… twenty-nine…"
From his vantage point, Keith could see his youngest sister by the tree. Yes. This was the perfect spot. He could see almost everything from here.
"Thirty-four…thirty-five… thirty-six …thirty-seven…"
Feeling fully relaxed, Keith leaned back against the hay pile behind him to wait. He suddenly sprang up in surprise. "What in the world?"
He turned towards the pile and brushed some straw aside, revealing a sturdy, cardboard box. From the look of the outside, Keith figured it hadn't been out there for very long: a couple of days at the very most. He wondered what was inside.
"Fifty! Ready or not, here I come!"
Keith turned back to the window and cautiously peeked out. Tracy was headed away from the barn. He let out a sigh of relief. Good. It would be a while before she found him. Meanwhile, he could explore the contents of the box. Keith turned back to the container and hastily flipped open the lid. What he found inside surprised him.
"Partridge Family Records? Pictures?" Keith gently shifted through the miscellaneous items. Everything he found, he recognized, well, give or take a magazine or two. "These must be Cheri's." He took out a stack of old photographs and leafed through them. Each picture was either of Keith or featured him in some way. There were several of he and Cheri:
He and Cheri in her red wagon. He and Cheri giving old Floppy Ears a bath. He and Cheri playing their guitars. Keith couldn't believe it. Why would Cheri store all this away? Because she hates you. But Keith knew she didn't.
He paused when he came to a picture of a fourteen-year-old Cheri kissing him on the cheek. He smiled and gently traced the outline of her face with his finger.
"Keith! I found you!"
Keith's eyes suddenly snapped up, and he saw Tracy standing at the top of the barn's ladder. "Am I the last one?"
Tracy shook her head. "Nope. The first. That means you're 'it'."
Keith merely nodded. "Um... okay? Alright. Hey, I'll be down in a minute, okay? Go find Danny and Chris."
And bless her little soul, she didn't ask questions. "Okay."
Keith waited until she had left the barn before turning his attention back to the pictures. They were all great! Keith couldn't imagine anyone throwing such treasures away. He set the photographs back into the box and then grabbed the framed photograph that lay with the vinyl.
Two children smiled up at him. They looked so happy that the joy was infectious and Keith couldn't help but smile back. He and Cheri. They couldn't be more then eight and seven years old at the most. The two children were sitting on the old porch swing on the back deck. Hank had taken the photo, Keith was sure.
"Man! Why did I have to mess all this up?" Keith closed his eyes for a moment as he plunged back into the sorrows brought upon by his younger-self's mistakes. He hated seeing all this stuff out here. It made him realize just how badly he had hurt Cheri. And she's hurting now.
He returned the photograph to the box and then looked at the newspaper clippings. It looked like Cheri had been keeping close track of his life of fame and fortune all these years. He only wished that he had kept a similar eye on Cheri. She's changed. He thought. She's grown up, and so have I.
"Keith!" Keith looked out the window and down into the clearing. Danny and Chris now joined Tracy at the entrance to the barn.
"Coming." He hastily put the box back together and climbed down from the hayloft. He'd come back after dinner and finish looking through the things. They seemed to have a therapeutic effect of him in a way, and Keith was glad he had found them.
