Part XXI

John was a really good baseball player. I believe he had played in the national league world series a few years before this and he sort of shined in our little town. Darin had, and still has, that kind of general athleticism which allows one to be good at just about anything they try and he has the determination to succeed at whatever he lays his hands to, so he was a pretty good ballplayer also. Although I had always done relatively well at football and most recently, wrestling, I am not much of an athlete and did not try out for baseball in the summer of 1981. But I went to their games. One day, at a practice for John's team, I was asked if I wanted to play too and I agreed, though I was not very good. The next game was a few days later and when I showed up, the other team was short a player and the coach just gave me to that team. My first time up, I hit the first pitch for a double, played second base and performed okay. Everyone was a little surprised that I did okay, but I played a lot of video games which increase your hand-eye coordination and would help John practice, so I knew how to do some things by watching him. I was never going to be a real ballplayer, but that year was fun. At the end of the season, Darin and John were both chosen to be on the area all-star team who went up to the state championships in Ft. Collins. I did not make the team and did not go.

After that, and about six weeks after their wedding, my folks decided to go on their honeymoon. I think even this year they went fishing for their anniversary, perhaps in memory of the camping and fishing trip they took for their honeymoon. Darin was 16 and John and I were both 14 (though John was 4 months and one grade older than me). It was the first time that the three of us had been left alone in the house. Darin and I had been left alone a few times, but not for a weekend and not as teens. We immediately started planning the party. The folks left Friday night and would not return until Sunday night, but that first night we could not find anyone to come over. Then Darin called a friend of ours, Colleen. Colleen told us that she was spending the night at our friend Ingrid's house and that they would "camp out" in the back of their house and they would invite another girl named Lisa and we should come over. So we all went over to their unfenced five-acre lot and near the border of their property (close enough to see, not close enough to discern), the girls had erected a tent. This was the most staged make-out ever in the history of teen make-outs. Darin chose which girl he wanted to be with, then John, and I was with whoever was left (nice manners, huh? it didn't even occur to us that the girls might have ideas of their own). At some point, Darin said he needed a conference outside and told us he wanted to "switch" so we did. A little later, one of the girls called for a "switch" also. In the end, we made out with all three of the girls and they did with us. I don't want to give the wrong impression, this was a lot of kissing but really nothing more. No heavy petting and definitely no skin contact, I chalk it all up to experimentation with some friends. There was never any weirdness between any of us and none of us ever tried to hook up with the other girls again, I became good friends with Colleen trough Drama.

At around 4am, we headed home. We felt we had a great adventure and chuckled and joked with one another as we traipsed through a sliver of the Pike National Forest which provided a shortcut home. As we walked up our dirt road to our house, we saw the most unexpected thing, our parents car in the drive. As quietly as teen boys are capable, we unlocked the door and crept inside. Darin whispered, "Maybe they got home late and did not notice we were gone. Lets go to bed and keep quiet about it." From the pitch black of the stairwell, a loud voice said, "We noticed. We will talk in the morning." I figured we were in trouble, but not too bad. I would probably get grounded for a while, but it would be alright. I went in to my bedroom and fell fast asleep.

A few hours later Dad woke me up coming into the bedroom and told me to come upstairs to their room. I saw John going back into his room and Darin sitting there and realized that they let me sleep while hey interrogated the other boys. When we got into thte room, Dad said, "Tell me what happened." And I spilled it, I mean all of it, the party planning, the trip to Ingrid's, the making out....all of it. They said Darin and John did not fess up but told them we had gone camping. Since I had told the truth, I was not going to be punished. To be honest, this crushed me. It set me apart from my brothers, the only friends I had, and made me feel like a rat. I was trying to come clean with what I had done and had ratted them out. I walked down the stairs to find Darin and John looking at a map. At first they rejected me for ratting them out, but eventually Darin said my shoplifting ability would help on the journey. We were running away and planning the trip from Colorado back to San Jose CA. It seemed we were gearing up for another adventure.