Bennett The Brave

Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Dad gave Neal and his Mom their pick of any of the eight, winterized cabins we had to rent. They chose the one that was set back furthest into the woods, and nearest to our house. It wasn't the largest one of the bunch, but I think it suited them perfectly. Built in an alpine A-frame style, it featured tall windows that afforded a view of the entire property, and the lake could be seen glinting through the trees. The position of the cabin made it the longest walk from the lakefront, but that hardly mattered to kids our age.

The minute Neal's mom got the keys, she started making it her own. She seemed to relish the task, eager to throw off her old life and set herself apart from it. Neal's room was smaller than the one he had in his capacious old West Hartford home, but it came with a built in bunk bed, and a generous closet. His mom got the bedroom in the loft.

Terry, she insisted we all call her by her first name, chose not to go back to her maiden name, for Neal's sake, and took a job working for a local lawyer. This turned out to be a fortuitous choice because when Attorney Jonathan Lark heard her story, he took her case pro bono and launched aggressive divorce proceedings. He also convinced the Connecticut State District Attorney to pursue assault charges, which Ned was ultimately was convicted of, even though he didn't serve any time. As unfair as that was, at least the conviction helped serve as grounds for divorce.

Thanksgiving was always a fairly big thing with my family. Our Lodge was the biggest gathering venue in four towns adjoined by the lake, and many of the winter residents didn't have family willing to venture to the north woods of the Adirondacks for a day's celebration. Over the years, it just became a local tradition to celebrate the holiday in the Lodge among friends and family. Whereas Christmas in the Pines was a nearly two week-long event, Thanksgiving was a more sedate few days. Upwards of twenty or thirty guests would arrive the night before, spend the following day helping to prepare the extravagant feast, and then leave that night or the morning after.

By then, Neal and I had settled into a routine. We rode the bus to school together, shared many of the same classes and were able to play the part of best buds without arousing too much suspicion. Lizzie played it cool and I'm aware of at least two instances where she quelled a nascent rumor about Neal and me. We were looking forward to having Thanksgiving and the day after, off from school, and we spent the afternoons before, helping Dad and Garrett get the Lodge prepared for the incoming guests. There were linens to put out on the beds, food to stock up in the giant walk-in refrigerator, and wood to put in the bin next to the giant fireplace.

Our guest list included five boys, who had all requested to bunk together in one of the bunk rooms. Neal and I set up the room with rubberized mattress covers, for obvious reasons, and then made the bunks up with warm, flannel sheets and thick comforters. We made them all on upper bunks, because young boys always seemed to want to be in those. If one decided they wanted to be on a lower one, it wouldn't be very much trouble to move a mattress, bedclothes and all. Once finished, we both attended to our bunks and then sat down together on mine.

"Bennett?" Neal asked, quietly.

"Yeah?"

"How come you, uh," he faltered, "how come you never asked me what happened?"

"I dunno," I shrugged, "I figured you'd tell me when you were good and ready." Neal looked down at his feet, twisting this hands in his lap. He seemed uncharacteristically anxious.

"Uhm," he started, "so this thing with the school..." Neal dug at the floor with the toe of this shoe. "I was having a little trouble with my math homework, and so I asked Mr. Estes if he could help me out, you know?"