CHAPTER 4: THE MIDDLE OF SUMMER AND, YET, IT HAS NEVER BEEN SO COLD!

By the time July had rolled around, most of the kids were in the middle of plenty of summer activities. Many were going to the lake to swim, or playing various sports, going to the fair, and much more. But for Charlie Brown, a good chunk of the summer season had already passed. He had finally got the cast off, but still had to wear a splint on his calf so his shinbone could continue to heal further. At least he was able to do more than he could when he had the cast on, but still couldn't do what he wanted to do most, and that's play baseball. He tried to fly his kite, but the doctor told him not to run too much, thus aggravating the bone again. While he was slowly mending and was now pretty much mobile again, sadly, one thing hadn't change.

He was still avoiding Marcie like the plague, and when Peppermint Patty invited him somewhere, he made sure Marcie wasn't around. He knew that she and Patty were best friends and still respected that, but he insisted that he would do something with her when she wasn't hanging out with her. While his anger towards her subsided some, he still wasn't ready to deal with her again. What if she kicked him again due to some faux pas on his part that would be normal to other folks, and actually breaking his leg than fracturing it? He didn't want to take that chance.

So, when Franklin invited his closest friends to his birthday party, Charlie Brown did decide to come. He figured Marcie would be there, so not seeing her would work this time. Her parents had since took her off punishment, but she was still on probation with them. Charlie Brown, with Snoopy in tow, walked up to Franklin's house with a present in hand. He made sure that his situation with Marcie wouldn't mess up Franklin's day. While he had issues with the girl, he didn't want to drag his friend into it, since it was supposed to be his day. Charlie Brown looked at a note on the front door saying that the party was in the backyard. They went back there and saw most of the gang had shown up already.

"Hey, Charlie Brown!" Franklin greeted his friend. "Hey, Snoopy! Glad you were able to come!"

"Was glad to come, Franklin," said Charlie Brown, smiling. "Happy birthday, by the way. Here's your present from me."

"Thanks, Charlie Brown. And have fun!"

Charlie Brown and Snoopy went to greet Linus and Lucy, who were sitting at a table with some of the other kids. They sat down next to them.

"Hi, Charlie Brown and Snoopy," greeted Linus. "How's your leg doing, Charlie Brown?"

"Much better, Linus," said Charlie Brown. "The doctor told me if things continued to progress like they were, I could take the splint off sooner than originally expected."

"You're not coming back to play soon, are you, Charlie Brown?" asked a worried Lucy.

"Relax, Lucy, I won't mess up the wins the team has been receiving in my absence," Charlie Brown retorted, rolling his eyes.

"Whew!" sighed Lucy. "You had me worried there for a moment. While you may be back next year, it's good to have some wins, for once. I don't expect a clean sweep or a bid at the championship, but one decent season, for a change." At that moment, Peppermint Patty walked up to the group.

"Hey, Chuck!" she said to her round-headed crush. "Glad you made it! How's the bum wheel?"

"It's better, Patty," said Charlie Brown. "I still have to wear this splint, but it's better than that heavy cast. At least I can move around again."

"That's good, Chuck," said Patty, smiling. "By the way, Marcie is here. You're going to be okay?"

"It's fine, Patty," assured Charlie Brown. "This is Franklin's party. I'm not going to let my aversion to your friend ruin it." Lucy and Linus looked at each other. Charlie Brown was still avoiding Marcie. Linus decided he would talk to Patty when the time was right about the situation.

As the party progressed, the kids had some cake, which was red velvet, Franklin's favorite, and ice cream. Snoopy and Woodstock won the piñata hitting contest, scoring all the goodies inside of it. A lot of the kids enjoyed the inflatable bounce house that was set up for them. At one point, Charlie Brown was getting some more cake when he bumped into someone, who happened to be Marcie. The two of them just stared at each other for a moment. They hadn't spoken since that day Marcie kicked him in the shin, sending him to the hospital. And now they were face to face for the first time since that day.

"Sorry about that," he said.

"No, it's my fault," Marcie replied. "I was in the way."

"It's okay, Marcie. I was just getting some cake." And Charlie Brown grabbed his piece of cake and continued about his business. Marcie just watched as her crush walked away and rejoined Lucy and Linus at their table. Patty walked up.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm okay, sir," Marcie said, sadly. "At least he didn't tear into me for what I did to him. Maybe he didn't do it out of respect for Franklin and would have done it when it no one was around but us."

"I don't think so, Marcie. While Chuck is obviously avoiding you, he wouldn't yell at you or been mean towards you. I think he's just hurt, and doesn't want any more trouble from you."

"I understand, sir. But all I want to do is apologize to him, and… and…" Marcie was starting to break. "…and I want us to b-b-be friends ag-g-g-gain!" And a weepy Marcie fled the party. No one, besides Patty, knew that she was crying. She wasn't upset with Charlie Brown. He did nothing wrong, but she was upset about how her friend was feeling. When Charlie Brown and Lucy went somewhere else, Patty walked over to Linus.

"Hey, Linus," she began. "You got a minute?"

"Funny," said Linus. "I was going to ask you that when the time was right. Is it about Charlie Brown and Marcie?"

"You know it. Let's go in the garage. No one is in there right now, and I want us to have some privacy to talk about this." And the two kids went towards the garage to talk.

"Marcie is torn up about what she did to Chuck that day," Patty began. "She just left here in tears. All she wants to do is apologize to him and to be his friend again."

"I understand that," said Linus. "Maybe we could set something up. That's what I wanted to talk to you about. I can get Charlie Brown to come somewhere, and you get Marcie to go to the same place. Somewhere on neutral ground where both could feel comfortable to iron out their issues."

"Great idea, Linus! I'll let Marcie calm down today. But maybe we can set something up for this week sometime. What do you say?"

"It's a go, Patty!" And they shook on it. Then they returned to the party. When Franklin asked Patty what had happened to Marcie, she told him she wasn't feeling good and went back home. It wasn't a complete lie. Marcie was feeling bad about her kicking Charlie Brown. She wanted nothing more than to apologize to him. It didn't matter if he never forgave her, she just wanted to clear the air with him. Little did she know that her best friend and his best friend were putting that into action.

NEXT CHAPTER: GETTING IN ACTION