Dino's was the drive-in hamburger stand in Bloomburg where everybody hung out. On Friday and Saturday nights a long line of cars snaked through the place, around the block, and down the alley. Kids in washed and waxed cars looking for a girl, or a party, or a race, or a fight. Everybody looked at everybody else and hollered and honked. The cops would crack down on the action once or twice a year, when the local businessmen complained, handing out tickets and putting up barricades, but things would be back to normal in a few days.

This being a Monday night things were a little slow, but it would pick up when everybody from the race showed. We got there early and got the parking place on the end, considered the prime spot, and pushed the button and ordered Dino burgers, fries, and Cokes. Ricky had called shotgun before I had, so he rode up front with Kenny.

"Wow, man, did Nance disintegrate that Harley, or what?" Kenny said for the tenth time, slapping the dashboard for emphasis. The radio quit when he did that and he had to slap it again to get the music back.

"Yeah, he's fucked now," Ricky said. "It's a bad deal to have the Caretakers pissed off at you." He waved at a carload of girls that was cruising down the alley in front of us.

"Paul Maroni's sister."

"Oh," he said, sounding disappointed. "Bony Maroni."

"Not so bony anymore. You ain't seen her lately."

"Really?"

"Yeah.

"Maybe they'll be around again."

"What the hell made Nance go out of control, I'm wondering," I said.

"Looked like something broke," Ricky said.

"What?"

"U-joint, maybe. Tranny. Rear end."

"His whole car's broke, now," Kenny giggled.

"Hey, there's Norma," Ricky said, waving at a DeSoto full of girls.

"Hey, Norma! Wanna go to a party?" Kenny hollered out the window. When they kept going, with no response, he said: "It's in your mouth, everybody's coming."

The place was getting busier now, with almost a solid stream of cars crawling by bumper to bumper and the music from a hundred different radios playing. Every few minutes someone would rev their engine and then we would hear tires squealing. I recognized some cars that had been at the race. Bodiford, the cop, who had somehow missed the info about the race, cruised by, giving everybody the hairy eyeball.

A waitress in a little uniform with a checkered apron brought our food and Ricky and I dug in our pockets to come up with enough money. Kenny figured we would buy his, since he was driving, using up his gas and everything. He fiddled with his hair in the mirror while the waitress collected, but she didn't seem to notice him much. He had his hair cut in a flat top with fenders and he used some sweet-smelling pink stuff that came in a blue tube called Southern Rose on it to make it stand up.

"Hey, look!" I suddenly hollered through a mouthful of hamburger. "It's Shauna!"

There she was, going by in a red '59 Impala. She was in the passenger seat, and a girl with glasses and long straight hair was driving.

"Down, boy," Ricky laughed, throwing a french fry at me.

I leaned out the back window and waved at her, smiling my most sincere smile. She looked at me for a moment and then broke into a small smile and waved tentatively back. She remembered me!

"Who's she riding with?" I asked.

"Mary Lou Crankshaft," Kenny snickered.

"Mary Lou Cranston," Ricky said. "She's a senior. Honor roll, debating team, class officer, all that shit."

"And a professional virgin," Kenny added.

"Well, she doesn't date a whole lot," Ricky said, stuffing the last of his Dino burger in his mouth. "Too busy with the books. Kinda shy."

"Aahh, she's an ice cube," Kenny said.

"They don't come down here much," Ricky said. "In fact, I don't remember Shauna being down here since her boyfriend went off to the service."

"She must be down here lookin' for you," Kenny guffawed at me.

"Yeah, I bet," I said. It was a nice thought, though. I'd told her at the dance that I came down here sometimes.

They turned right and went down the block. Maybe I would get a chance to talk to her later.

"Man, Nick had the race won," I said. "Too bad Nance wiped out."

"Yeah, he was ahead the whole way," Kenny said. "Nance lost it out of the hole when his tires broke loose."

"Too much gas pedal," said Ricky.

"You think Nick would've taken the title to Nance's car if he hadn't wrecked?" I asked Ricky.

"Why wouldn't he?"

"Well, he gave him back the title."

"The title to what? A wrecked car."

"Yeah, but I just thought maybe he woulda been nice about it."

"I don't see why he should."

"Yeah, why should he give that creep Nance a break," Kenny whined.

"I dunno. I just thought he might," I said.

"Nick did save his ass," Kenny said.

"Yeah, he pulled him out of the car," I said. "That's what makes me think he might not have taken his car."

"Maybe not."

"And, hey, what's the deal with that girl who started the race? Whuz her name?" I said.

"Candy," Kenny said. "The official starter. And that's not all she starts," he giggled.

"She's a tradition," Ricky said. "She starts the race with her panties and gives 'em to the winner."

"Really?" I thought about the poor girl running around the rest of the night with no panties. But maybe she'd brought a spare pair.

Nick finally showed, alone, cruising down the alley next to Dino's. Everybody cheered and whistled as he pulled into a parking spot in the lot on the other side of the alley facing the line of cars parked in Dino's. He cut the engine, got out and leaned against the fender and lit a smoke.

There were a bunch of other cars parked in the lot, some guys from the Millwinders car club, a couple guys on bikes, a couple clods out in Daddy's Chrysler four-door. Nick had parked next to Ronnie Dickinson, the president of the Millwinders. He had a bitchin car, a '55 Chevy, too. It was black, with orange flames painted down the side, and a tuck and roll interior and Moon hubcaps. More for show than go, and Ronnie had a bunch of trophies to prove it. Nick wasn't much for hanging out with anyone, but he spent a little time with Ronnie and the Millwinders, working on cars and going to races and shows. Ronnie's Dad owned a body shop and he let Nick work on his car there. That's where Nick had his Chevy painted. He shot the shit with Ronnie while he smoked his cigarette and then walked over to where we were parked.

"Hey, Nick, way to go!" Kenny said.

"You had him all the way!" Ricky said.

"Aahh," Nick muttered.

"Hey, where's them panties?" Kenny asked.

"I used 'em to check my oil."

"Oh, sure," Kenny said.

"Hey, order me a Dino burger with cheese, willya? And a Coke?"

"Sure, Nick," Ricky said, pushing the button.

"Hey, where's Nance?" Kenny asked. "How'd he get home?"

"I called him a cab," Nick said.

"Huh?" Kenny said.

"I bet he don't show up down here," Ricky said.

"Naw," Nick said. "He got a ride with one of his buddies."

"I wonder if they can tow his car out of the river?" I said.

"Why?" Kenny snorted.

When the waitress brought out Nick's food she took it across the alley to him. Not a thing a Dino's waitress would normally do, but in Nick's case she made an exception.

"So Nance used to go with Reba, huh?" I said. "I never knew that."

"Well, it was no big deal, I guess," Ricky said. "But they went out a coupla times. I think Nance liked her more than she liked him."

"I wonder how he feels about what happened to her? Kenny said.

"Knownin' Nance, he's probably happy about it," Ricky said.

"Yeah, he's a nasty bastard," Kenny said. "I remember when he wired up the shop teacher's desk so when he opened a drawer it about electrocuted him."

"Yeah, but they never proved it was him," Ricky said.

"It was him."

"If it weren't for all the evidence pointing at the Ol' Man, I'd think Nance mighta had something to do with the murder," Ricky said, looking back and forth at Kenny and me through half-closed eyelids. I could tell he was just putting Kenny on.

"Shit, he's too much of a wimp to kill anyone," Kenny said.

"Ya never know," Ricky grinned.

"Yeah, and I suppose he killed Nick' sister, too," Kenny said.

"Ya never know."

"Oh, shit."

"He had a motive for both murders."

"Why would he want to kill Nick's sister?"

"He hated Nick."

"Then he oughta kill Nick."

"Well, it'd be pretty hard to kill Nick."

"Oh, shit."

"Whaddayou think, Cuz?"

"I think you might have something there," I said, trying to sound serious, but not doing a very good job.

"Fuck both you guys," Kenny said.

We sat there a little longer and then decided to cruise the circuit a little to see what was going on around the rest of the block. It was possible, after all, to spend the night at the Merry-Go-Round, which was what we called it, and never go past Dino's. We might be missing something, and Shauna hadn't been around again. So we pulled out and took off down Main Street and another car slid into our spot.

We drove through the McDonald's at the other end of the block and then went down the street behind Dino's and the down the alley where Nick had parked. He was gone, now, and some more of the Caretakers were parked there. Cockroach was there, looking mean, as he drank from a bottle concealed inside his leather vest.

We made another circuit and saw Shauna this time, parked with Mary Lou in the lot of the closed hardware store next to McDonald's. They were talking to some other girls in a red and white '57 Ford Skyliner convertible hardtop.

"Look, there's Shauna!" I said to Kenny.

"Yeah, wanna say hi?" he asked, leering.

"I dunno," I said, suddenly shy. Here I was, hoping to find her and now I'm scared to pull in and talk to her.

"Let's whip in," Ricky said. "That's Wilma Freshour she's talkin' to."

"You know Wilma?" Kenny asked.

"Sorta."

"OK, let's go," Kenny said, jerking the wheel and easing to a stop next to Mary Lou's red Chevy.

"Hi, girls," he said, cutting the engine, leaving the radio going.

"Our Day Will Come" came on.

Mary Lou looked over at us through her glasses like we were from outer space or something, but Shauna waved and whispered something in her ear and she smiled a little. Ricky jumped out of the car and ran over to talk to Wilma and I said hi to Shauna and asked her how she was doing. Man, was she beautiful. She had on a red top with a red scarf around her neck and her eyes looked incredibly blue, even in the shadowy light. She said she was doing fine and asked me if I had heard anything about the drag race at Longnecker.

"Yeah," Kenny horned in. "It was bitchin. Nick..."

"Hey, Kenny, c'mere," Ricky hollered at him. "Someone wants to meetcha."

"S'cuse me," he said and got out and went over to Wilma's car.

"Who's that with Wilma?" I asked.

"Penny Whitehurst," Shauna said. "She was in my English class last year."

"Oh." Now what? Oh, yeah, the race. "Yeah, we went over to watch the race. It was Nick Palladino and Neal Nance. Nance broke a U-joint or something and crashed into one of the Caretakers' bikes and went into the river, but Nick pulled him out just in time as his car was going over the edge." Was I talking too fast?

"Omigosh," Shauna said. "How awful. I saw Nick at the Top Deck Friday."

"Yeah, he was there."

"Wasn't he going with that girl who was killed the other night?"

"Yeah. Reba Davis."

"She was in my French class last year. I didn't really know her, but she seemed real nice."

"Yeah."

"Do they know who did it?"

"They arrested her step-father."

"Oh, gosh! Her step-father?"

"Yeah. He'd been in jail before."

"Really?"

"Yeah. My Grandparents live next door to them."

"Oh, did you know Reba?"

"A little. She was a real nice girl."

"Poor Nick. I feel so sorry for him."

"Yeah, me, too. He's had it pretty rough."

"You mean his sister," Mary Lou said, running a brush through her long straight hair. "Yes, he's had a bad time."

"His sister?" Shauna asked.

"His sister was murdered last week," Mary Lou said.

"Oh, gosh! His sister, too? Did you know her?"

"No," I said.

"Who killed her?"

"They don't know."

"Hey, we're goin, for a ride," Ricky hollered at me. "Be back inna minute."

He and Kenny left in Wilma's car.

"Say, I had a good time at the Top Deck the other night. First time I'd been there," I said, changing the subject. "Good band. And good popcorn."

"Ha, ha. You had enough of it."

"I just wanted to talk to you."

She smiled shyly.

"You like working there?" I asked.

"Yes, it's fun. I get to see all the bands. Brian Hyland was there last month. He's dreamy."

"Are you working this weekend?"

"Yes."

"I'll try to get out to see you."

So we talked some more small talk for awhile; she asked me about Chicago and my Grandparents and what I was going to do when I graduated and how I liked Calhoun and did we have a Merry-Go-Round where I lived. It was getting real easy to talk to her, and I didn't even notice when the old rusty pickup truck pulled up next to us.

"Shauna, what are you doin'?" a gruff voice said. I turned and saw a curly-haired guy with a broad unshaven face glaring at me from the cab of a Dodge truck.

"Nothing, Roger," she said. "I'm just out with Mary Lou."

"Who's this guy?" he asked, pointing at me with a greasy finger.

"Just a friend."

"A friend? How good a friend?" Roger said menacingly, getting out of the truck. Oh, shit, I thought. Now what? This guy was about five years older than me and fifty pounds heavier.

"My gosh, Roger, we're just talking," Shauna said, frowning.

"I don't think Rod would like this," he said.

Rod? Rod? Oh, yeah, Rod Mathews, the guy she's supposed to be engaged to or something. Ricky had told me about him, stationed in Bumfuck, Egypt or some damn where.

"And I don't think it's any of your business," Shauna said.

"I'll make it my business, Little Miss Priss. Somebody needs to keep an eye on you while Rod's gone."

"Nobody needs to keep an eye on me." She was getting mad. "Least of all you."

"I'm Rod's best buddy."

"I don't care. I'm not doing anything wrong. You can just go on your way."

"Not 'til I teach this guy a lesson." He meant me, I guess. "Listen squirt," he said, turning to me, "this girl is engaged to Rod Mathews, and the best thing you can do is leave her alone."

"Well, we were gonna run away to Kentucky at midnight, but since you put it that way, I'll let you take her back to your cave," I cracked.

"Arghh!" he bellowed. "You little smart-ass!"

Well, if I'd been trying to piss him off, it worked.

"How 'bout next week, Shauna. Monday night - Kentucky! OK, darling?"

Roger made a grab for me and I scooted to the other side of the car and got out the door. He came running after me. Goddamn, he was a big, ugly sonofabitch, and I could smell beer on his breath. He looked slow, and that was my only chance, I figured, as I put up my fists and got ready to do some fancy dancing.

He swung at me and I dodged the huge fist. He swung again with the other fist and I got out of the way of that, too. Then he changed his tactics and rushed at me like a football player making a tackle. He crunched me up against the truck and drew back to hit me, but by then Shauna had gotten out of the car and she ran over and grabbed him around the neck. He shoved her away and I was able to land a punch on his jaw. I'm not sure if he noticed it or not. Shauna jumped back on him, yelling and pounding him on the head. And I had thought she was so demure and lady-like.

By now there was a group of people around us, cheering us on. Mary Lou watched, aghast, with eyes popping, not knowing what to do. Roger had me trapped against the truck and was grabbing for me when suddenly hands grabbed me and pulled me away. Other hands grabbed Roger and shoved him up against his truck. It was Bodiford, the cop, and his deputy.

"Here, you kids!" Bodiford bawled. "Break it up!"

I was pretty glad to be rescued, and I let Bodiford's deputy drag me away from the melee. Roger wasn't quite ready to go to a neutral corner, though, and Bodiford finally had to knock him over the head with his night stick. Then Roger took a swing at him and Bodiford bopped him on the head a couple more times. Roger fell to his knees and Bodiford put the cuffs on him and with the help of his deputy wrestled him into the back of the police car, amid cheers from the kids that ringed us. We had drawn quite a crowd.

Bodiford gave me hell and threatened to run me in, too, but I was polite to him and he let me go when everybody told him that Roger had started all the shit. We all waved good-bye when he drove off with Roger, who was trying to kick out the back window of the police car.

"Are you all right?" Shauna asked, putting a hand on my arm.

"Yeah. Hey, you looked like a wrestler for a minute, there."

"Oh, I've got three older brothers, and they used to beat me up all the time."

"What's with that guy, anyway?"

"He doesn't think I should be down here."

"No kidding!"

"He has a terrible temper."

"Oh, really?" Like I hadn't noticed.

"He's Rod's best friend, and he thinks he's supposed to take care of me while Rod's gone."

"I don't think he trusts you."

"Oooh, he makes me so angry," she frowned. "I'm sorry you had to get involved in all this."

"Oh, that's OK." She looked so beautiful with her face flushed and her hair in her eyes. I didn't mind a little waltz with a crazy guy twice my size.

"Gee, I'm a mess," she said, looking at her reflection in the car window and patting her hair. I fought back a wild desire to put my arms around her and tell her how great I thought she looked. Like, there was no way she could look any other way.

Ricky and Kenny came back just in time to see Bodiford break up the fight, and they made a big deal out of it, cheering Shauna and me. Said we'd make a good tag team.

Mary Lou said it was time they were going, and we said why so early, and she said it wasn't early anymore, it was late, and we said let's go get just one Coke and they said they couldn't. Shauna touched my arm and apologized again for what happened. I was on the verge of asking her for her phone number, but the words wouldn't come, and I said I'd try to see her Friday at the Top Deck.

"So who the hell is this Roger guy?" I asked when we were all in Kenny's car again driving around the block. I was combing my hair and straightening my shirt.

"Roger Furr," Ricky said. He was riding in the back seat now, giving me the shotgun spot in honor of my heroics. "Lives in Dogpatch. He's about half goofy. Just barely graduated from junior high."

"He acted like he was nuts. Tried to kill Bodiford."

"He doesn't like Bodiford much," Kenny said, banging on the dash to get the radio working again. Elvis crackled through, singing "Devil In Disguise."

"How come?"

"Roger had a girl friend once -" Ricky said.

"Yeah, only once," Kenny snickered.

"Girl named Martha something, lived in Dogpatch." Ricky continued. "Roger used to go over to her house at night, when her Dad was working, and they used to lay out on the back porch and cuddle or screw, or whatever. Anyway, Martha turns out to be Bodiford's cousin and she also turns out to be only fifteen. So one night when they were out there with their pants down Bodiford sneaks around the side of the house and catches them.

"Yeah, ha, ha," Kenny said. "And Bodiford beats him half to death with his night stick and hauls him off to jail for statutory rape."

"But he got out of it," Ricky said. "Couldn't prove anything actually happened."

"How long ago was this?"

"Year, year and a half."

"So Roger's had it in for Bodiford ever since," Ricky said.

"And vice versa," Kenny said.

"What happened to Martha?"

"She turned up pregnant last winter and quit school. Said it was her brother's."

"What'd Bodiford have to say about that?"

"I dunno. It was all in the family."

"Jeez, what a mess." I'd learned all about inbreeding in school last year. "Hey, you guys, where'dja go with those two girls?"

"Wilma and Penny," Ricky said.

"Yeah, where'dja go?"

"They gave us a couple of blow jobs," Kenny said, giggling, and ran a comb through his hair as we sat at a red light.

"Yeah," Ricky said, "we were gonna bring you one, but you know how it is."

"Thanks!" Blow jobs, my ass.

It was almost midnight, now, and things were slowing down. Dino's was about empty, and there were just two cars in the lot across the alley. One was empty and the other one held a guy and a girl making out. All the Caretakers were gone. We waved at some girls in a Studebaker Lark, but they ignored us and turned off. On their was home, probably. Which was where I needed to go, too. G & G would raise hell if I stayed out too late. So we made one more circuit and then headed back to Calhoun.

Bloomburg was only a little bigger than Calhoun, but it had a lot more stuff, like Dino's, the Top Deck, the Chevy dealership where Nick worked, and stores and things. And a Harley-Davidson dealership. It was on the edge of town, by the railroad tracks, on the way home. An orange cement block building with a gravel parking lot and a chain-link fence enclosing a bunch of old bikes in the back. The new Harleys were inside, and we would always slow down to stare at them through the plate glass window when we drove by. The Caretakers hung out there, and there were a bunch of their bikes parked there now, Dover's at the front.

"Looks like somethin' goin' on," Kenny said, slowing down.

"They're in there deciding the fate of Neal Nance," Ricky said in an ominous Boris Karloff voice.

There was a light in the back room, and we could see people moving back and forth behind the curtains. We had almost come to a stop in the road; there was no other traffic.

"Hey, look," Kenny said, pointing. "Nick's car."

There it was, parked in the shadows near the back of the building. We all wondered what the hell he was doing this late at night at the Caretaker's hangout.

Next

Chevy Summer