Free Sugar House (9780991192519) by Jean Scheffler Page A

of
the players rounded third base and slid into home plate just as the
catcher caught the ball coming from the infield. Shouting ensued
and both teams stormed the plate and began to argue that the player
was out or safe. After several tense moments, the player was deemed
safe and the game continued. Joe explained that in professional
leagues there were two umpires that determined the close calls.
    When he finished his lunch, Joe asked his
parents if he could meet Jimmy down by the baseball field.
Agreeing, they told him to meet them at the cafeteria at five
o'clock. Joe hadn't known they were going to eat at the restaurant,
and he felt as though clouds were riding beneath his small shoes as
he ran down the hill toward the game. He found Jimmy already
waiting for him behind the bleachers by the first base line.
    "Hi Jimmy. You want to watch the game?"
    "Nah, these guys aren't very good. Let's go
try to find some arrowheads on the beach." The boys headed through
the trees to cut across the island. The stillness of the grove
encouraged a quiet atmosphere, and the two boys walked in friendly
silence. Suddenly, Jimmy put his hand up, signaling Joe to stop.
With a finger at his lips to let Joe know to be quiet, he moved off
the little path into the brush. A mosquito buzzed in Joe's ear as
he followed him into the small woods. Then, he heard what Jimmy had
heard; the sound of a woman's laugh and a man's mumbled voice
coming from within the copse.
    Jimmy led them closer, keeping out of sight
of the voices. Hiding being a bush, Jimmy waved Joe over. Joe
peered over the shrub and saw a young couple lying on a blanket
between two trees. The young woman stood up and pulled on her long
skirt over her petticoats; the man sat on the blanket buttoning his
shirt. He leaned over and reached for the bottom of the lady's
skirt and tried to pull it down in a teasing manner. "Stop Kurt! I
have to get back before my mother notices I've been gone so long.
Now help me button the back of my dress", the lady admonished,
slapping the man's hand away.
    "All right, all right, Rose. Only if you
promise to meet me here after supper." The man stood to help with
the tiny buttons on the back of her frock.
    Jimmy grabbed Joe's arm and pulled him
quietly back toward the path. When they were far away enough to
speak safely, Jimmy said, "Well, I guess you can tell it's just not
just a family getaway on Boblo Island, huh Joe?"
    Joe wasn't exactly sure what the couple had
been doing before the boys had come across the couple's secret
spot, but he thought he had an idea. Not wanting Jimmy to think he
was immature, he played along. "Yeah, pretty funny. Hope she
notices the leaves in her hair before she goes to meet her ma."
    "That was nothing. I've caught three
different couples this summer. Pretty cheeky, if ya ask me. Their
mothers think they are going off to have a sweet old time—get away
from the city for a day—and then they meet their boyfriends in the
woods and do all kinds of immodest things. This one time I was
walking back from the cafeteria and saw two of them stark naked
rolling around in the grass like two rabbits."
    The two boys walked out of the shade of the
trees onto the breezy beach. "Come on, Joe. Let's go down toward
the back docks. I found an arrowhead there last week." Running over
the sand, they quickly came to a small dock at the back of the
island and started searching the sand for Indian relics. Joe took
his shoes off and set them in the grass so he could wade in the
shallow water.
    "Ouch!" Joe yelled, grabbing his bare foot in
his hand. "Something bit me!"
    "Let me see," said Jimmy coming over to take
a look. "You didn't get bit, Joe! You stepped on an arrowhead in
the sand. See?" he said, picking up the sharp stone and putting it
in Joe's hand. Joe sat down on the grass and looked at the
arrowhead. Carved to a point, it was shiny gray in color with
jagged edges down the sides.
    "That's a really good one, Joe. Your feet
make good