United States Army has obviously lowered their standards,” he says to the group. They all laugh. Most of them are going to college; none of their parents want them anywhere near the army, even if the chance of active duty is remote. They don’t want heroes, just happiness.
“But we know all about Thomas Bennett, don’t we? This is the guy who once put deodorant on the outside of his shirt for the sixth-grade choir concert, because he didn’t know how it worked.” Laughter. They want to send me off right. And every word that Wayne speaks gets them going more, which I appreciate. But I also wish he’d justraise his beer already and stop. Of course he keeps going. “The kid who used to wear camouflage to all the junior high dances, which now that I think about it is pretty genius. Respect, Bennett.”
Wayne walks over to me, wrapping a thick arm around my shoulders. “Raise your beers to Thomas, y’all. May he go and kill a bunch of terrorists!”
As people stand and tilt their beers back in my honor, Mallory leans close and says, “Eloquent and subtle as always.”
The firelight slaps against the walls of the quarry, distorting our shadows until we’re all taller than the trees—giants in the darkness. It’s how I always expected to feel on this night: big enough to take on anything.
Somebody turns on a car stereo and opens the doors. A few people start dancing as the music fills the night. Mallory leans over to me, and at first I think she’s going to ask me to dance. My whole body goes tight.
“Despite everything, I’m glad this is happening.”
“Me, too,” I say.
She nods and stares into the fire, taking short sips from her beer. Eventually she puts it down and sits on one of the empty logs. I sit down next to her as we watch everybodydance and laugh around the fire. We’re still sitting that way when Daniel walks up, wanting to chat me up. He hoped to sign up for the marines but won’t turn eighteen for another two months, and his parents wouldn’t sign the papers. Then he got into Appalachian State, and last I heard he was going to major in business.
I have to stand to hear him, and Mallory drifts off to another group. As Daniel complains about his parents, I watch Mallory smile at whatever Wayne is saying to her.
“So I bet you’re excited,” he says, sucking the last drops of beer from his bottle before throwing it over the edge of the quarry. “Do you think you’ll go overseas?”
“I don’t know, man. I’ll probably end up in Kansas.”
“Fucking Kansas,” Daniel says.
I keep the conversation going with as few words as possible until Mallory comes up next to me and knocks me with her hip.
“Hey, mind if I steal this guy for a minute?”
“Oh, yeah. Sure. Hey, where’s Will?”
But we’re already turning around and walking away from the fire. She leads me past another group, all of them too interested in their conversation to notice us as we squeeze around them. I follow her up a narrow path,through the thick woods. Soon I can’t see the fire below us. Mallory continues to climb until we break through the trees to a small collection of boulders. She sits down and pats the rock next to her.
“Will and I come up here,” she says, once I’m sitting down.
“Oh, I don’t want to know about that.”
She shakes her head. “To talk, stupid. Look.” Below us, in the valley, lights pulse on and off like they’re on timers. She points to the brightest cluster and says, “That’s downtown, and over there is your house. You can see the whole town up here.”
The lights seem to move below us, a map of colors that make the city look prettier than it has ever been. The way I always remember Christmas when I was a kid.
“I thought you’d like to see where we grew up before you leave,” Mallory says.
“It’s very . . . peaceful.”
She thinks I’m kidding and hits me in the arm. But I’m not. The sky is more open here—even more than where Wayne and the rest
“But we know all about Thomas Bennett, don’t we? This is the guy who once put deodorant on the outside of his shirt for the sixth-grade choir concert, because he didn’t know how it worked.” Laughter. They want to send me off right. And every word that Wayne speaks gets them going more, which I appreciate. But I also wish he’d justraise his beer already and stop. Of course he keeps going. “The kid who used to wear camouflage to all the junior high dances, which now that I think about it is pretty genius. Respect, Bennett.”
Wayne walks over to me, wrapping a thick arm around my shoulders. “Raise your beers to Thomas, y’all. May he go and kill a bunch of terrorists!”
As people stand and tilt their beers back in my honor, Mallory leans close and says, “Eloquent and subtle as always.”
The firelight slaps against the walls of the quarry, distorting our shadows until we’re all taller than the trees—giants in the darkness. It’s how I always expected to feel on this night: big enough to take on anything.
Somebody turns on a car stereo and opens the doors. A few people start dancing as the music fills the night. Mallory leans over to me, and at first I think she’s going to ask me to dance. My whole body goes tight.
“Despite everything, I’m glad this is happening.”
“Me, too,” I say.
She nods and stares into the fire, taking short sips from her beer. Eventually she puts it down and sits on one of the empty logs. I sit down next to her as we watch everybodydance and laugh around the fire. We’re still sitting that way when Daniel walks up, wanting to chat me up. He hoped to sign up for the marines but won’t turn eighteen for another two months, and his parents wouldn’t sign the papers. Then he got into Appalachian State, and last I heard he was going to major in business.
I have to stand to hear him, and Mallory drifts off to another group. As Daniel complains about his parents, I watch Mallory smile at whatever Wayne is saying to her.
“So I bet you’re excited,” he says, sucking the last drops of beer from his bottle before throwing it over the edge of the quarry. “Do you think you’ll go overseas?”
“I don’t know, man. I’ll probably end up in Kansas.”
“Fucking Kansas,” Daniel says.
I keep the conversation going with as few words as possible until Mallory comes up next to me and knocks me with her hip.
“Hey, mind if I steal this guy for a minute?”
“Oh, yeah. Sure. Hey, where’s Will?”
But we’re already turning around and walking away from the fire. She leads me past another group, all of them too interested in their conversation to notice us as we squeeze around them. I follow her up a narrow path,through the thick woods. Soon I can’t see the fire below us. Mallory continues to climb until we break through the trees to a small collection of boulders. She sits down and pats the rock next to her.
“Will and I come up here,” she says, once I’m sitting down.
“Oh, I don’t want to know about that.”
She shakes her head. “To talk, stupid. Look.” Below us, in the valley, lights pulse on and off like they’re on timers. She points to the brightest cluster and says, “That’s downtown, and over there is your house. You can see the whole town up here.”
The lights seem to move below us, a map of colors that make the city look prettier than it has ever been. The way I always remember Christmas when I was a kid.
“I thought you’d like to see where we grew up before you leave,” Mallory says.
“It’s very . . . peaceful.”
She thinks I’m kidding and hits me in the arm. But I’m not. The sky is more open here—even more than where Wayne and the rest
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