Chapter Eight - Part One

 

CHAPTER EIGHT

Oregon City, OR
July 14, 2007

 

On a Saturday following the end of the school year, Matthew had a mid-summer party at his house.  Rosita rented two large tents, one for food and the other for music and dancing.  Parents were invited to the party along with their sons and daughters, so Rosita didn’t have to worry about keeping an eye on all of the kids.  There were enough adults to keep their eyes on all of the goings-on.  Matthew figured that about 60 of his friends had shown up, so along with the parents, he thought they had around 150 guests.

Rosita couldn’t have done all of the cooking for this large a crowd, so she’d hired a local caterer to use her recipes in providing the food.  Her Chilean style food was a hit, and empanadas and tamales were served as long as they lasted.  Large plates of corn-on-the-cob disappeared fairly early.  By sundown, the only thing left were small amounts of refried beans and cornbread.  Thankfully there was plenty of water, juice and pop to keep the crowd hydrated.

As the sun went down, the decorative jalapeno lights came on and added to the kitschy but fun atmosphere of the party.  Even Nick appeared to be having fun.  Matthew had talked him into deejaying for the party.  He seemed to be having a good time playing music for the dancing teens.  Nick, meantime, noticed that Matthew didn’t sit out a single dance.  The younger brother seemed to be friends with all of the students – both girls and boys – as well as their parents.

Matthew made sure, though, that everyone knew who was responsible for the music.  He introduced Nick to the crowd, and personally introduced him to some of the girls who were wondering who the “cool” deejay was.  Matthew was happy that his brother was getting some positive attention.  He sometimes felt sorry for Nick because of his hermit-like existence at their home.  He knew that Nick would think that his friends were just silly little girls, but still thought it would provide a much-needed pat on the back to his older brother.

Tiffany Stuart was one of the girls who asked to be introduced to Nick.  She was Matthew’s best friend.  They’d grown up together on the outskirts of Oregon City.  Both belonged to the Catholic Church and had taken part in catechism, first communion and confirmation together. They’d been in the same class in the Oregon City School District since kindergarten.  He liked the way she played sports with the boys but never lost her girlishness.  Secretly, he’d had a crush on her since they were in third grade, and hoped he’d marry her someday.  He knew that was a pretty silly thought for a fourteen year old male, so he just kept it in the back of his mind.

Matthew thought that Tiffany was one of the smartest and prettiest girls in his class.  Tonight, she was glowing.  She usually had dark hair with pink streaks in it, worn in braids.  Tonight, though, her hair was free flowing and the pink had been replaced with a single gold streak. 

Matthew wanted to show Tiffany the cabinet that he’d built for Nick.  It was Tiffany who’d explained to him how important geometry would be if he wanted to become an accomplished carpenter.  He was certain that she’d be proud of how well he’d learned the geometric principles they’d studied together.

Before Matthew could show Tiffany the cabinet, though, one of his other friends took him aside to ask about the basement in the house.  Some of the kids wanted to go see the “haunted” pool.  Matt was stunned.  He couldn’t believe that anyone would have the nerve to ask something like that.  An argument ensued between Matthew and the spokesman for the ghoulish group. 

Rosita stepped in, asking him, “What’s going on Mattie?  What’s all the yelling about?”

Matthew didn’t want to make his friend look bad, so he simply answered, “It’s OK, Mom.  Joe didn’t understand about the pool in the basement.  He didn’t know that’s where Dad died.  When he said something to me about it, it took me by surprise and I got mad.”

Then he turned to his friend, Joe, and said “Sorry guy.  I guess I’m still kind of touchy about that stupid pool.  I wish it wasn’t even there.”

“Yeah, I’m sorry too, Matt,” replied Joe.  “I forgot about what happened there.  I heard that some of the older guys used to be afraid to go down there because they thought there was a ghost and I just thought it would be cool to find out if there really was one.”

“Maybe we can have a Halloween party down there when that time comes around,” suggested Matthew, hoping to forget about their basement for a while longer.

“It’s getting late anyway,” said Rosita.  “This is probably a good time for us to start wrapping up the party.  Mattie, it looks like Nick is done with the music for the night.  Why don’t you use the microphone to thank everyone for coming, and then let’s get this place cleaned up.”

Matthew did as his mother suggested.  The crowd of young people started to disperse as parents moved to take their young charges home.  There were many cheerful thankyous and goodbyes going on as people took their leave. 

Before Matthew ever had the chance to show Tiffany the cabinet he’d built, though, she’d disappeared along with his other friends.  Her parents hadn’t made it to the party, so Matthew figured that she’d gotten a ride home with whoever brought her to the party.  Oh well.  There’d be other chances for her to see his project.

It took Rosita and Matthew about two hours to clear everything up after the crowd was gone.  Not surprisingly, Nick had disappeared, so wasn’t there to help.  Matthew didn’t hold it against him, though.  At least Nick had helped with the music.   He would be sure to tell his brother how much he’d appreciated it when he saw him at breakfast the next morning.

 

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