Three Sides of the Tracks (6 page)

“I think it’s charming. Most women with your looks are so self-absorbed
they wouldn’t recognize an honest compliment if it bashed them over the head.”

“Oh, you’ve dated a lot of beautiful women?” Caroline said with an impish
grin.

“Of course. You don’t think I’d date ugly women, do you?” Richard grinned
back.

“So,” Caroline began, her confidence having returned, “why did you ask me
out?”

It was Richard’s turn to blush but only slightly.

“Got you back, didn’t I?” Caroline said and giggled.

Richard nodded sheepishly. “I noticed you my first day at school.
Naturally, your good looks caught my eye first, but then the way you were
friendly with everyone. I didn’t see you pass anyone in the hallway without
speaking. You must know everybody in school.”

“I do, some better than others. There aren’t many I don’t know, at least
casually. But there are some who just like to stay by themselves—who’ve
never
had any friends. I wonder about them but haven’t quite known how to approach
them. I mean, year after year just going from one class to another without
talking to anybody and then sitting in the back of the room. It’s always like
that; the ones who don’t socialize always sit in the back. Interesting. But
Benton is so class conscious, I figure it had to do with something along those
lines and maybe they’re embarrassed about something. Know what I mean?”

“Kinda. Doesn’t mean it’s true, but it’s as likely as not.

“Anyway, to get back to the subject, when we bumped into each other, I
already knew I liked you and wanted to ask you out. I just hoped you’d like me.
Then, when Brutus walked up, my heart kinda sank because of your relationship,
but I thought about it all day and decided, what the heck, maybe she’s tired of
him. It won’t hurt to ask. I won’t know unless I do. Plus, I like the way you
shake hands,” he added with a chuckle.

“You’re a real cut up, aren’t you?”

Richard’s eyebrows knitted. “Cut up. What’s that?”

“Oh, teasing all the time.”

Caroline saw a slightly hurt expression pass briefly in Richard’s eyes,
and, before he could reply, Caroline jumped back in.

“I could just have easily said ‘charmer’; that’s really what I meant:
that you’re fun to be with. I forget you haven’t been here long and don’t know
southern slang. I’ll have to be more careful.”
Still feeling guilty, Caroline reached across the table and grasped Richard’s
hand. “Let’s go to the dance. You ready?”

The confident look returned to Richard’s face. Actually more so. It
seemed a hurdle had been crossed, and the two felt closer.

***

Cars filled the parking lot when they arrived. Richard parked on the curb
and hoped he wouldn’t get a ticket.

“Oh, the police don’t bother about that when there’s a big event. So long
as you’re not blocking anyone’s driveway or those kinds of things,” Caroline
assured him.

 The two stopped at the entrance, and Richard paid the twenty dollars for
both of them. All the money went to the band, imported from Atlanta.

“Are you too full to dance? Want to wait a little while?” Richard asked.

“No, I didn’t eat as much as you, and it’s been a couple hours now. In
fact, I’m getting hungry again,” Caroline said with a giggle and poked
Richard’s stomach.

Richard goosed her in the side and took her hand. “C’mon then, let’s
dance.”

Caroline flashed him a big smile.

They danced half a dozen dances then headed for the refreshment table.
Cokes and sugar cookies in hand, they found seats along the wall with the other
sweaty dancers. Caroline waved at several people but didn’t feel like making
introductions just yet.

She and Richard were deep in conversation and didn’t notice the couples
around them stand up rather quickly and walk off.

A gang of boys, young men really, approached Richard and Caroline and
formed a semicircle around them. All were big, husky football players, friends
of Thurston.

“What you doing here with Thurston’s girl, new boy?” the biggest, Big Tony,
asked. He was a lineman and weighed three hundred pounds. It was a close call
as to whether he had more teeth than not.

Caroline’s smile vanished and the irritated expression on her face should
have warned Big Tony that things had changed. “Get out of here, Tony. Thurston and
I aren’t dating anymore. It’s no business of yours anyway.”

Johnny, the smaller of the bunch but still 210 pounds of stocky muscle,
slapped the cup of Coca-Cola out of Richard’s hand, luckily in the opposite
direction of Caroline, but still splashing a good amount on Richard’s pants.
“You fixin’ to get your butt whipped, boy. Thurston warned you ‘bout messin’ with
his woman.”

Caroline jumped from the chair and pushed Johnny away, or tried to. He
didn’t budge.

Richard grasped Caroline’s arm. “Come on, Caroline, I’d better get you
out of here.”

Thurston appeared and pushed his buddies aside. “You ain’t going nowhere,
pretty boy. Not with my girl.” He slapped Richard’s hand off Caroline’s arm, grabbed
her wrist and pulled her to within inches of his face. “I told you plain you’re
my woman, Caroline. I came here tonight expecting us to be together and find
you holding hands with this turd.”
His head swiveled to Richard. “I warned you the other day, buddy. Now, I’m
going to make you wish you’d listened.”

Another four or five guys, all football players, joined the group
surrounding Richard. “Get his stuck-up ass, Thurston. Walking around school
like he’s hot shit.”

Before Thurston could say anything, Johnny jumped on Richard, got him in
a headlock and bent him sideways to cut off his wind.

Richard stomped Johnny’s ankle. There was a cracking sound, and Johnny
fell to the floor. His head banged off the hard wood.

“You punk,” Thurston shouted and threw a hard right hand at Richard’s jaw
that sounded like a balloon popping when it hit. Richard turned a half circle,
knees wobbly.

Caroline grabbed Thurston’s arm, but he snatched it away and slapped her
with the back of his hand. She crashed and flailed through the row of chairs
and banged her head against the wall. Stunned but conscious, she tried to stand
but tangled in the chairs again and tumbled to the ground. Teresa Weaver helped
her up and guided them both around the melee, Caroline too dazed to know where
she was.

Richard steadied himself enough to throw a punch at Thurston, but the
300-hundred pound Big Tony grabbed his arm just as he swung.

Thurston’s next blow hit Richard square in the face. Blood shot from a
broken nose and split lip, and Richard’s knees sagged.

Big Tony held him up while Thurston punched Richard again. The cheekbone
cracked so loud everyone heard it.

Suddenly the expression on Big Tony’s face changed. “Look out,” he
shouted.

Thurston felt a brief flash of pain before he hit the floor unconscious.

Big Tony took it next; a blow to his stomach left him retching the liquor
he’d been drinking all night.

Another one, Butch, ducked as the lead singer’s microphone stand sailed
just over his head.

“You don’t know what you gettin’ into, Danny boy,” Butch said, just
before Danny threw the stand down and hit him six staccato punches.

Jimmie Decker, Michael Dunn, Tommy Whitehead, and a half-dozen other boys
jumped on the other football players, and the melee became a riot.

Thurston was out cold, so Danny straddled Big Tony and rained blows on
his head before he could get his wind back.

“Stop it, Danny, stop. I quit,” Tony wheezed between broken teeth. “You
win. You win.”

“What? I can’t hear you,” Danny stood up and stomped Tony’s ample gut.
Tony rolled slowly to one side struggling to get a breath.

Danny looked around for someone else to hit, but the rest of the football
players were lying in various states of disarray, bloodied and scattered around
the floor while Danny’s friends taunted them.

“We’ll get y’all for this,” one of them said.

“Yeah, you’re real bad asses,” Dunn said. “Dozen of you punks jumping on
one guy. We’ll let y’all wear your helmets next time ‘cause it’ll be worse if
you want more.”

No other responses came from the football players. Those who managed to
stand were wobbly. The rest still lay on the floor or sat up wiping blood off
their faces with their shirttails.

Danny found Thurston, stooped down, and grabbed a handful of hair. He
shook Thurston’s head till his eyes flickered open. “Buddy boy, if you ever mess
with Caroline again, you’ll be playing football with a permanent limp.” He banged
Thurston’s head down on the hardwood floor, pulled it up, and slammed it back down.
Thurston’s eyes went blank again. 

Caroline held a cloth to Richard’s face as he lay propped against the
wall, both cheeks swollen, nose caked with blood, and lips split open. Blood
matted his hair.

Richard looked up in gratitude.

Danny grinned. “Well, I guess you showed them.”

Richard tried to laugh, but started coughing, and little flecks of blood
covered his hand as he held it to his mouth.

“Sorry, dude, but looks like you’ll have to go to the hospital,” Dunn
said, taking a look at the damage to Richard’s face.

“No, I’ll be okay.”

“No, you won’t,” Caroline said. “I think your cheek’s broken, and you’ll
have to see a doctor about that.”

Richard started to argue, but Caroline gave him a stern look, and he
relented.

A group of adults stood to one side, shocked by the sudden and ferocious
violence and without a clue of how to handle it other than to call the police.

“Well, we’d better go now, or we’ll be here forever,” Danny said as the
sound of sirens floated through the building. “Give me your keys, Richard.”

Richard had trouble moving his arms, but he finally snaked the keys from
his pocket and handed them to Danny.

Danny and Michael Dunn guided Richard to his car because one of his eyes had
swollen almost shut.

Caroline opened the door and pushed the front seat forward as Richard
lowered himself onto the backseat.

Danny tossed his keys to Teresa. “Follow us to the hospital, babe.”

“I’ll follow you too,” Michael Dunn said.

About two blocks from the dance, Danny passed the police cars coming the
other way.

“Better duck, Richard. I’m a witness. I saw you hit Thurston with your
face,” Danny said, a hint of a smile on his face.

Caroline slapped him on the shoulder. “You’re not funny. He’s hurt pretty
bad, Danny.”

“Okay. Okay.”

Danny pulled the Mustang up to the emergency room entrance and hopped
out. He motioned to the security guard that he needed help and saw the man wave
to the nurses.

Caroline was helping Richard from the back seat when three nurses came
out and pushed her aside. One leaned in and took Richard by the arm. “Can you
get out by yourself, hon? You hurt anywhere else besides your face?”

“Hell, yes,” Richard said. “I’m hurt everywhere except the bottom of my
feet.” He tried to smile at the nurse, but she wasn’t having it.

“Smart aleck. Another smart aleck. Everybody’s got to be a smart aleck.
Okay, Mr. Smart Aleck, just for that, I ought to make you walk inside.”

Richard took a step toward the door, but the nurse grabbed him.

“Get your butt on that gurney. I ain’t playin’ with you.”

“What’s wrong with him, car wreck?” she asked Danny.

“Yeah, you might—” Danny said then saw the look Caroline was giving him.

“Bunch of guys beat him up,” Caroline said.

A doctor joined the group as orderlies strapped Richard to the gurney.
“Take him to x-ray,” the doctor said.

“Has he been drinking?” the doctor asked the group.

“No. No drinking. No drugs. He just got jumped on by a bunch of bullies,
and I think his jaw might be broken because it made an awful sound when one of
them hit him,” Caroline said.

Bright lights from a car with its lights on high beam illuminated the
group even more.

“What the hell’s going on around here? Caroline, are you all right?”
Jessie’s voice boomed out.

Caroline could tell he was drunk from where she was standing. Knew it by
the tone of his voice and the fact that their groundkeeper, Franklin, was
driving. Jessie occasionally showed good judgment by having Franklin drive when
he’d had too much to drink. She should have known the pansy chaperones at the
dance would call him.

She hurried toward Jessie’s car hoping to head him off. “Yes, Daddy, I’m
fine. My date got beat up, and we brought him here; that’s all. I’m not hurt.”

Jessie looked her over. “What the hell’s all that blood doing on you
then? Your face don’t look right either. Somebody hit you? If they did, it’ll
be the last person they hit.”

Jessie put his hand on Caroline’s jaw and turned her face to get a better
angle. “Uh huh, that’s what I thought. Who hit you, young lady?”

“I don’t even know, Daddy. Everything happened so fast. Anyway, I’m not
hurt. I told you. Just go back home. Everything’s fine.”

“I decide when everything is fine. And when I go home, you’re coming with
me. You don’t tell—”

“
YOU
,” Jessie screamed as he caught sight of Danny. He stood stock
still for a second, then, incoherent, he ran back to his car.

“Get his pistol, Franklin,” Caroline yelled at the driver. “Quick.”

Franklin did move quickly. Something in Caroline’s voice told him he’d
better. He reached over the console and locked the passenger side, then opened
the glove box and grabbed Jessie’s .38 caliber pistol. He pretended to throw it
far across the street into the bushes alongside the road, but he really dropped
it on top of his shoe and slid it under the car.

“Get your ass over there and get my gun, Franklin, or your ass is fired.
You hear me?” Jessie bellowed.

“Not the way you are now, Mr. Jessie. You ain’t yourself. I ain’t lettin’
you go to jail, fired or no fired.”