CHAPTER 3: HEADING OUT

I froze, my eyes wide. All I could do was stand there as I listened. "Hey, Mickey, how's it hanging?" Chris asked.

Mickey said, "Come on! You gotta see my new painting! I'll get Joey to see it, too. She's already seen it, but she won't mind. It's in her room. I'll go get her." With that, Mickey dragged Chris into the kitchen, facing me and my dad.

"Hey, there, Chris," my dad said, extending his hand for Chris to shake.

Chris took it and replied, "Hello, Mr. Randall." He then turned to me and said softly, "Hey, Joey."

"Hey, Chris," I replied just as softly. Just when things couldn't get any more awkward, Mickey saved the day by pulling me and Chris up the stairs. As my brother dragged us up, I turned to Chris. "What are you doing here?"

Chris all of a sudden got very defensive and said, "Hey, can't a guy pick up his best friend without it having to mean something?"

"Well, excuse me for being curious, Chambers. I never said it had to mean anything." What was Chris's problem?

Once we got to my room, Mickey turned around. "Joey, can I have a drumroll please?"

I nodded. "Sure thing, Mick." With that, I pounded against my knees as Mickey opened the door and pulled Chris inside. "You see, Chris? You see it? There's Vern and Gordie and Teddy."

"Why is Vern Italian, buddy?"

Mickey sniffled. "That's chocolate, Chris. Don't you see that?"

Before Mickey could begin to cry hysterically, Chris quickly said, "Oh, I'm sorry, Mick. I can see it now. Yeah, I can see." When Mickey still didn't stop sniffling, Chris actually picked him up and held him and whispered, "Shhh. It's alright, Mickey. Don't cry. Chris is here, you're alright." I couldn't help but smile: Chris sure had a way with kids.

Chris then noticed me smiling and faked a tough guy stance. "What are you looking at, Randall?" he asked.

I sighed. "Christopher Chambers, I know you better than that."

Chris laughed (ah, that laugh) and put Mickey down. "How about me, Mickey, where am I?"

Mickey grinned, showing his four teeth. "You're holding hands with Joey. You see?"

Chris stood there with mouth agape. I kind of shuffled off to the side and became very fixated on the flowers adorning the wallpaper. Were those tulips maroon or burgundy?

"That's um… that's a great painting, Mick," Chris finally said. "Why don't you go downstairs? I want to talk to Joey about something private." Oh, God. Why, why, WHY did I like my brother so much that I told him all of my secrets? When Chris and I were left alone, he turned to me. "So… your kid brother is quite the artist, isn't he?"

Whew. I thought we were going to have to talk about…

"Why do you think he painted just you and me holding hands?"

Aw, dang it. "Chris… um… there's something that I kind of have to tell you. I was pretty much hoping that I would never have to tell you, or you would never find out, but there's no sense in avoiding it any longer."

Chris looked at me, confused. "Joey, come on. You know you can tell me anything."

"I know, Chris, I know, but… this kind of goes on a whole other level of trustworthy."

Chris held up his pinky and looked at me with serious eyes. "I swear on my mother's, father's, your, and my grave… I also swear by my pinky… that I will never tell your secret."

I sighed. This was going to be like World War III. "I… I like you, Chris."

"As in… you like me as a friend? You really like me? You love me? You want to be with nobody else but me for the rest of our lives?" he asked.

I actually laughed. "Chris, enough with the jokes."

Chris held up his hands and said, "Alright, alright. No more jokes." He then let out a breath and said, "Joey, um… I can tell that you probably don't want to tell the secret. So, I won't make you spill. I will, however, pester you with it for the entire trip."

I put my hands on my hips. "If you even try to do that, I swear to God, I will knock your front teeth out."

Chris laughed. "Oh, I'm trembling, Jo." Then, he gently punched my shoulder and asked, "So, you got everything you need?"

I nodded. Then a though popped into my head: Shouldn't I bring food? I thought for a minute, and then figured that one of the guys would bring something. I picked up my sleeping bag and slung it over my shoulder. "Ready, Mr. Chambers, sir."

Chris nodded. "March forward, Private Randall." We marched down the stairs. Left, left, left, right, left. Left, left, left, right left. Once we got downstairs, my dad and Mickey were sitting at the kitchen table looking over Mickey's extremely small collection of baseball cards. "Dad, Chris and I are leaving, okay?"

My dad stood up and hugged me. "Be careful out there, Joey. Have fun for your old man, okay?" He then picked Mickey up and held him at eye level to me. "Say goodbye to your sister, Mickey."

Mickey smiled, showing his four teeth again. "Joey, are you going on an adventure?"

I looked over at Chris. "Yeah, Mickey, I guess you could say that," I replied. I then kissed Mickey on the top of his head, did the same to my dad, and walked out the door with Chris.

Gordie came running out of his house to join Chris and me, wearing his brother's Yankee cap and breathing heavily.

"What's wrong with you, Gordie?" I asked, noticing his expression.

Gordie shook his head. "Nothing. My dad was just being my dad again, that's all."

Chris shook his head. "How many times do I have to tell you that your dad is a total, complete, 110%, utter, absolu-"

I sighed. "Chris, we get the point."

Chris continued, not paying attention, "absolute, positively complete ASSHOLE!"

We stood in silence for a minute, and then Chris said, "Well, since we're all going to be walking together, let's stop at the coffee shop over by Maple Drive. I want to show the both of you something."

I got excited. Whenever someone told me about something I couldn't see until later, I became obsessed with finding it. "Oooh, what is it?" I asked.

Chris wagged his finger and smiled. "Eh eh eh, little missy. You're just going to have to wait."

I sighed and headed into town with Gordie and Chris. It was the day before Labor Day in 1959. Little did I know that nothing would be the same between me and my boys again.