“Are you going to stay naked the rest of the day?” I joked with Meek while closing the front curtain and wiping away my tears at the same time.
“You’re one to talk!” Meek joked back while trying to hide from me that he too had been crying, “You should get that thing in a GoodNite before it starts leaking again.”
I guess I was getting comfortable being naked around Meek because without really giving it any thought, I threw my hands over my head and twisted my hips left and right, making my boyhood swing back and forth.
Meek laughed but then tried to sound stern as he spoke in an authoritative adult voice, “NOW STOP THAT!”
I laughed and my cheeks burned with embarrassment.
While I was pulling on a GoodNite, Meek went to the mirror again and began to pose. I even caught him imitating me when he thought I wasn’t looking by making his own penis swing back and forth.
“Bet Pepper wouldn’t even recognize me.” he thought aloud.
“I bet my Mom and Grandparents wouldn’t know me if I was standing right in front of them!” I added, “Bleached and bronzed! I could get used to looking this good!”
Then, Meek began to fumble with the envelope while asking, “Want to get dressed and head down to get registered?”
I still hadn’t thought anything of the envelope just yet as I began to step into a GoodNite, “Sounds good to me; and we can look at renting boards. Maybe even get some practice in.”
Meek dropped the envelope on the bed nearest the door and then the two of us covered each other in suntan lotion. After I exchanged my GoodNite for one of the swim diapers, I hopped into a pair of the new board shorts.
As we were about to leave Meek scooped up the envelope and said, “Destiny told me not to open this until she was gone.”
He then ripped off the end of the envelope and pulled out a stack of twenty-dollar bills.
Meek counted it aloud, “Two-sixty, two-eighty, three-hundred, three-twenty, three-forty, three…”
He then cussed which Meek almost never does, “Holy shit Alvin! There is three hundred and sixty dollars here.”
“Whoa!” I exclaimed.
“When I get back home, if I am able, I plan on mailing her back all the money she spent on us.” Meek stated resolutely.
“How? We don’t know where she lives.” I pointed out.
“Yeah, huh! I memorized the address from the drivers’ license.” He said with a sly grin.
Outside, walking the streets of Chula Vista I felt like I was back where I belonged. We made our way through town, no one even giving us a second glance. We blended in perfectly.
Then came the ultimate test, I saw someone walking toward us that I recognized. At first, I couldn’t believe my eyes, it was Jenny, my best friend when I lived out here. She looked exactly as I remembered her and for some reason that made my heart flutter with joy. A part of me wanted to run up to her and reveal myself to her, but then again I knew that if she didn’t recognize me, no one would.
“Hey!” I said, as Meek and I passed her.
“Like, don’t hey me surfer trash!” she said and kept right on going.
“You know her or something?” Meek whispered.
I giggled amusedly to myself, “Yeah, but she didn’t even recognize me.”
“Jenny,” I called out and she turned back around.
“How do you know my name?” She asked suspiciously.
“I know a lot more about you than just your name.” I suggested and began to recite fact after fact about her.
“Alright you little freak, like, who the hell are you? You some kind of Ali Baba hocus pocus mind raper?”
Then I saw it in her eyes, the recognition… the light bulb if you will.
“No way!” She narrowed her eyes as if trying to focus laser beams upon me, “Alvin? Alvin Holloway?” she asked; not sure, she believed her own eyes.
I held open my arms as though presenting myself to her like a gift, “The one and only!”
“ALVIN!” She shouted, ran at me, and nearly cracked my ribs as she hugged the stuffing out of me.
“Alvin, I missed you so much!” she squealed.
“Jenny! Can’t breathe!” I managed to moan and she finally put me back down.
I held my sides as I took a deep breath, smiled through the pain, and said, “Jenny, this here is my friend…”
“Minkus, I know! You guys are all over the news!” She said and then looked around to make sure no one heard her.
“Call me Meek please.” Meek said.
Jenny shared everything they had been saying about us, about how the police are looking for us, about how so many people are cheering for us to make it to California.
“No one knows where you guys are right now. Some think you are dead, but I knew you weren’t.” She said and hugged me again.
“Don’t suppose you know if anyone else has been looking for us?” Meek asked.
“Yeah both of your parents are here.” She said first to Meek and then said to me, “And your grandfather and mother are here too. They were interviewed on the news and everything!”
“Mom is here?” I asked because frankly I didn’t believe it. Mom was far too fragile to come all the way out here.
“Yeah, she looked really worried too.” Jenny told me.
I turned to Meek and moaned, “Ah man! Why did she have to come out here?”
“Oh and guess who I saw yesterday?” She asked and before I could guess she said, “Remember that old guy that ran The Surf Shack?”
“GARY’S HERE?” I almost screamed.
“Yeah, did you know he got married?” She asked.
“Yeah, talked to him not to long ago.” I shot back quickly.
“Whatever you do, don’t let him see you.” Jenny said.
“Why?” I asked.
“He’s totally and completely pissed at you! He was interviewed too and he told the news lady that if he sees you that he’d going to beat your ass before God and everyone!”
Meek was giving me a mixed expression of fear and confusion.
“If it were anyone other than Gary, I wouldn’t be the least bit scared;” I told them boy, “but I happen to know full well he’ll do it and not care who’s around when he does.”
Meek then changed the subject. He thumbed over his shoulder toward the distant beach as he said, “We’re going to register under fake names. Think we can get away with it?”
“Oh totally! You guys don’t look anything like the pictures they have been showing of you two on the news.” Jenny told him.
“How’d you get so dark so fast?” She asked Meek while stroking his bicep with a single finger.
“Furniture polish!” she asked and I couldn’t help but to laugh with a laugh.
Her eyes went wide with surprise.
“Nah, some sort of skin bronzer from a drug store.” I Meek said.
I saw something in Jenny’s eyes as she looked at Meek and knew I needed to say something before she got any ideas. “Jenny, he’s gay.”
“Ah bummer!” she complained while shifting her weight to one leg, “Why are all the really cute guys always hungry for cock?”
Meeks eyes were wide with shock.
“Well, if you ever switch teams, let me be first up to bat.” She said and I knew then that she was teasing Meek.
“Alvin’s looking for a girlfriend!” Meek added quickly.
I swear I thought Jenny was going to blow chunks right then and there. “Th-that’s just sick!”
“Hey!” I objected.
She continued as if I hadn’t made a sound, “Kissing Alvin would be like kissing…”
“H-E-Y!!!” I objected more fervently.
“MY BROTHER!” she said strongly toward me.
“OK, that’s better.” I said.
Changing the subject back to our folks, I told Meek, “I dunno; I think I should go see my mom. Make sure she is alright and explain everything.”
“I can do that for you?” Jenny offered with a bit more excitement that I would have thought her capable of. “I won’t say a word about seeing you guys either.”
“You won’t mind?” Meek asked.
I was apprehensive with that idea and said so. “I don’t know. Mom’s been pretty out of it since Dad die…”
Instantly I became aware that I’d just said ‘Dad’ instead of ‘John’ and had to stop speaking or I would have begun bawling.
Again, Meek missed the facts of the moment as he pleaded with me. “Alvin we’ve come this far! Let’s not give up.”
Jenny didn’t miss that I’d choked up as she placed a reassuring hand on my left shoulder, “I’m real sorry about your Dad. I liked him most of the time.”
She didn’t really like him. Actually, she hated him; but it was nice of her to say it.
“Let me see how your mom is. Maybe she is just here to watch you win.” Jenny suggested.
Everything inside of me was telling me to run to my mother and take care of her, but I gave into Meek and Jenny.
Completely out of character for us both, Jenny and I hugged again and I thanked her before she left.