Farethee well Casa McReynolds, h'llo Amy....

It is goodbye to Down Circle. It is faretheewell to Casa McReynolds. It is sayonara to the house where we used to drop water bombs out the window. The house where I used to spy on Patrick’s older sister when she was worshiping the sun face down and topless in the back yard. The house where every where the summer of 1988 I met Patrick’s younger sibling Allan while visiting Shannon Moore on Downs Circle and saw the wooden apparatus passing for wooden rungs to a tree house in his front yard to which his mom, told her eldest male progeny to go out side and tell that stranger to get out of the tree house let he fall down and break his neck and his parents sue us for all we are worth, Patrick, coming, myself asking him if he made this and then telling him that this is really cool.

Normally we have the sleepover every year around Pat’s birthday the last week of February. We rent movies and play Nintendo nonstop. We e each get a five dollar large pizza from little Cesar and role-play for six hours straight. Normally I ride my bike home to do my paper route and come back and them, at six-thirty, we go into the woods and have a water gun fight. Some years if its too cold to go into the woods we adjourn to Patrick’s basement and have a water gun war in the dark until pap McReynolds opens the door and yells down that its seriously time to start thinking about sleep, guys.

 It is the final party. Unlike the week before when I went to the movies with Reane it is nowhere near as cold. I walk over with Tim. I told my dad that I will be outside our house at 4:30 counting papers. Dad has been carping on Patrick ever since he caught him smoking outside our house last February.  Father thinks that Patrick is a bad influence even though he is my closest friend. Tim is taking the reigns for the campaign. We are dropping dice. Alluding to a few weeks back hale is saying that its nice that  Renae isn’t around.Patrick says dude, I’m going to Limestone, the high school with all the white girls, I’m totally be going to stat hitting all that shit.

I hold up my picture of Renae Holiday for Patrick. When he asks dude, you don’t mind if I like borrow this for a few days I bark at him and tell him no and then yes, I do. 

“Shit man, she is hot as fuck. Shit bro. Fuck.”

We are gaming in Tim’s campaign,. It is a farewell to Down’s circle even though Patrick is not planning on moving until sometime in in either December or early January.  Patrick says dude again. As has been the norm every year everyone gives me their money and Hale and myself go with Mr. McReynolds and take the cherry coated ’86 Honda that almost always needs a jump to Little Cesar's, not far from where Patrick 12 speed blew its second flat of the day last summer en route back form the Mall, Little Cesar's has PIZZA PIZAZA five dollars large and its not usual for myself to get two and for  us to order 15 single topping pizzas while gaming upstairs in Patrick’s room.   

 

 

Hale seems excited that Patrick is going to be joining him at Limestone but keeps on adding that its just not all that its cracked up to be. Tim is apathetic and spends more attention chomping into triangular slices of pizza that looks like chasse and cardboard than he does consoling Patrick who is leaving.

“I was really hoping that you’d bring over some chick mans. I mean, if all the girls at Limestone are as hot as Renae.”

I can call her man. I mean. We normally call each other at this time anyway. She knows I’m partying with you. I think she’s just hanging out with some girlfriends watching videos tonight.

Patrick adds, yeah, they’re probably slathering each other with lotion and having pillow fights in their little panties. Tim takes a chomp of his cheese pepperoni and comment that Pat is demented. I pick up the phone. When I dial I notice  that Patrick is going into the bathroom in the part of the  attic that used to be his sister Chris room and smoking a cigarette.

 

“Patrick!!”

Tim says its Patrick’s future cancer let him deal with it.

I dial the number I have memorize on the rotary phone of my heart. Renae picks up on the first ring. I ask how my little mermaid is doing. Hale takes his fore finger and places it in his mouth as if he is gaping to vomit.

"Yeah, I’m over here at Pats. It’s his farewell party. We’re not really doing much. Just sort of hanging out.”

 I tell Renae that I wish I was with her. She says that every night she goes to bed she pictures me kissing her forehead.

“How’s your night going. How’s Laura and Kristie? You crazy girls having fun?”

“Actually it’s just myself and Amy. Laura is sick and Tim and Kristie got into a big fight and then decided to go to a Rivermen game to work it out.”

 I want to ask Renae what is up with you Limestone kids and hockey.

 “Anyway, its just myself and Amy. Were just sort of chilling.” From behind me Patrick is ashing out his smoke in the toilet. He is bobbing several times.  Hale makes a comment that he wishes Von Behren  should just go ahead and call dawn because he always likes her which aggravates Patrick to no end and coerced him to sound like he is in the turrets ward.

 

“Hey, Amy there, put her on. She would totally dig my friend Pat.”

 

  I hand him the phone. Patrick goes into his sisters bathroom and smokes another cigarette.  He is taking several puffs. Tim has his hand over his Pizza like he is guarding it. I tell Patrick not to be long. Patrick puts his hand over the lower hemisphere of the phone to suck it up sailo

I go outside. I hang out with Hale.

“I wish I was going to Limestone with you. Patrick was really all I had at manual. It’s really gonna be hard when he leaves.”

Hale tells me again that its not all that.

“But I mean, my father went there. All my cousins go there. Both you and David best are there and now Patrick. Hell, the woman I’m dating goes there. I just think if I went there I would feel as if I somehow belonged.”

Hale states again that its not at all as it is cracked up to be.

 “Besides, I see your friend Renae all the time in the hallway. She never says hi to me. It’s like I’m not even alive.”

Hale then asks me if I ever hear from my old friend Dawn.

 

                                                        

 

Batman Returns just came out on VHS and we are watching it even though I keenly remember that Dawn Michelle labeled it insipid last summer when it came out. I go upstairs. Patrick is still on the phone. He is laughing uncontrollably. He makes some sort of joke involving and alien and a dildo. When I ask Patrick who he is talking to he looks back and says, Amy.

 

“You’ve been talking to her for fifteen minutes, bro, think I could give my girlfriend a goodnight kiss.

 

Past says no,. He says that it is his party. He says go downstairs and when he is off the phone with Amy he will call me back up and I can say goodnight.

I hammer into the pizza. For some reason none of us feel like role-playing. Mrs. Mcreynolds seems to monopolize the entire night talking with Hale about how he likes Limestone. She mentions Aron Rothman teasing Patrick as well as Mrs. Peabody math class.

 Three hours later Patrick is still on the phone with Amy.

"Patrick just give me the phone so I can say goodnight to Renae."

 Patrick holds up one finger and then begins to laugh.

 

“Its  one o’clock in the morning. Amy says that your girl just crashed for the night.”

I am pissed. I grab the phone from Pat.

"Amy hey, where’s Renae.”

 

“Your princess is asleep. You have to awaken her with a kiss.”

 I hand back the phone to Pat with my hand cupped over the receiver informing Pat that bro, you have guests and you are moving. This is the last time we will have a chance to party at casa Mcreynolds. “ Patrick looks back at me disgruntled and says fine, just fuck things up with me and the woman of my dreams.

 

“Maybe you can get her number and call her back tomorrow. Hale and Tim are bored downstairs.”

 

Pat says fine. He says give him five minutes so he can say goodnight.  

 I clamber downstairs. An hour later Patrick comes down. Tim is Aggrieved. Hale is asleep sounding like a vacuum cleaner with a broken ban.

 

"Dude man, I’m fucking smitten. I think I’m in love.”