Chapter 29

Even though the first football game of the year had already been played, two-a-days were still going on, since it would be another week before school started, the day after Labor Day.

One day when Howie got back from the morning practice, he was not surprised to see Jack’s Cherokee pulled up in the driveway with a small rental trailer hooked onto it. Jack, Alan, Vixen, and Summer were busy hauling things down from his room and putting them in the trailer. A few things were coming from where they’d been stored in the garage as well. “How’s it going?” he asked.

“Not too bad,” Jack told him between loads. “We’re pretty well done here, but we’ve still got to load up at Alan’s house. It’s still going to take a while, but we leave as soon as we get done at his place.”

“Well, drive safely and all of that stuff. I suppose Dad and Mom have already given you a lecture about that.”

“Yeah, that and a lot of other things,” Jack smiled. “It seems strange to be actually doing it, since we’ve been planning for it for so long.”

“I guess that time comes. I’ll probably be doing something like the same thing in a couple years. It still seems like it’s a long way off.”

“Believe me, it goes quickly. I can’t believe how fast it went. I’ll tell you what, Howie, it’s something you need to be thinking about this year. The four of us only got serious about it last summer, and it cut us a little tight for time.”

“Could be,” Howie told him. “But if this season goes as well as I hope it will, a football scholarship could enter into the plans. I still don’t have any idea of what I want study.”

“Don’t worry. You’ll figure something out.”

Howie took his gear bag up to his room, then joined in the hauling. There really wasn’t a lot left; the only load he hauled was one of the last to go down. In minutes, everything was loaded up. “Well, hey,” Jack told him, “you have a good football season. I probably won’t be seeing you play again this year unless you go to the finals in Detroit, but I sure would like to watch you play there.”

“Well, I would too, but that’s still a long way away.”

“There’s a good chance you can do it,” Jack said. “Look, you take care and concentrate on your studies as much as your football. I’m not sure when I’ll be seeing you again. We’re sort of thinking about making a quick trip home for Thanksgiving, but if you’re in the finals we may give it a pass and catch you there.”

“Well, I sure hope you do. That’s what we’re working toward. Best of luck to you, Jack, and have fun down at college.”

“We plan to,” Jack said, noticing his three friends and very-soon-to-be roommates standing around watching. “I suppose we’d better get over to Alan’s and then pound the pavement. Look, we already said our big goodbyes last night so there’s no point in hanging around here and dragging it out.”

“Yeah, really. See you next time, Jack.”

“See you, little brother. Next time.”

Howie stood in the driveway watching as Jack and Vixen got into the Cherokee, and Alan and Summer got into the Escort. Summer pulled off first, then Jack got going. With a quick beep of the horn they were gone, leaving Howie standing there feeling very empty.

He’d known this day was coming for a long time – years, in fact – but until the last few days it had never quite seemed real. All of Howie’s life, Jack had been a feature of his daily life. They may not have gotten along very well at times, but he was always there, and it was one of those things he could depend on. Now, just by turning the corner, he was out of sight, and gone. Howie knew that something big had changed in his life; while Jack might be back sometime for a few days, he was never going to be the ongoing presence in his life he’d been until now. Even next summer – well, it was a long way away, but there had been discussion of him and Vixen looking for some job or internship down near college, and that would keep them away most of the summer if not all of it. While Jack would always continue to be his brother, Howie was finding it hard to believe that he’d ever see much of him again.

Right at the moment Howie didn’t feel like being alone. However, he knew Autumn probably was at home, and feeling much the same way, if not worse. After all, she’d watched two sisters leave home now in much the same way, not just one.

Might as well go over and see her, he thought. At least she’ll know how I’m feeling.

It was only a short trip in the Jeep over to her house, one that he’d gotten very familiar with in the last few months. Sure enough, she was there, along with her mother, and the mood around the house seemed pretty gloomy to him. “Sorry to see her go?” he asked.

“Probably just about as sorry as you are to see Jack go,” Autumn replied. “It’s not easy. I mean, I feel good for them, they’re doing what they want to do and they’re ready for it, but hell, all of a sudden I feel like an only child.”

“I do too,” Howie admitted. “I guess they’re still loading up over at Alan’s. We could say goodbye.”

“No, let’s not. We’ve already said goodbye once, I don’t want to have to do it again.”

“You think it’s not easy for you,” Mrs. Trevetheck said. “It’s not a darn bit easier if you’re a parent. I know I don’t see Spring as much as I’d like to, and now Summer is going to mostly be gone. In one way I’m glad to see life moving on and I’m happy for them, but I can look ahead to two years from now and see that it’s going to be awful quiet around here. I’m not looking forward to that.”

“Yeah,” Howie agreed. “It can’t be any easier for you.”

“I mean, when a time like this comes, I know I’ve done my job, and that makes me feel like I’ve done what I set out to do, but my girls are still my little girls. At least I’ve got a couple years left, and maybe I can make the most of them.”

“Howie, let’s go somewhere,” Autumn said. “I’m afraid if I hang around here I’m just going to feel more depressed. Maybe we can look up Jared and Bree to get our minds off of it. Maybe go out to the pond, although I think it’s a little cool for swimming.”

“Might be,” he agreed. “But if we can chase down Jared and Bree, that might be worth the effort. Let’s go.”

A few minutes later they were out in the Jeep. Autumn had a small barrel bag with her, just in case they decided to go swimming after all, but Howie didn’t think they would. He could tell that he’d seen just about the last of Autumn in her “butt-floss” bikini for a long time to come – maybe next summer, if he was lucky. Maybe one more time, maybe not – he didn’t know. Now that football season had arrived, fall couldn’t be far away. Bikinis were going to very soon be a thing of the past and parkas would be a reality.

They made a quick stop by Jared’s, but Mrs. Wooten told them that he’d already gone out to Bree’s, so they set out to follow him. “Jeez,” he said to Autumn as they drove through town, “school next week, and then it’s not going to be long before I have to get the top on the Jeep.”

“Yeah, summer sure goes quickly.”

When they got out to Bree’s, they found their two friends sitting on the deck. “So how’s it going?” Jared asked.

“Not worth a shit,” Howie said honestly. “We just watched Jack and Summer take off, and it’s got us sort of down.”

“I know how you’re feeling,” Bree agreed. “Believe me, I know it all. I went through the same thing a few weeks ago when Becca headed down to Athens to get to her training and practices. I mean, I know I’m going to be seeing her again, but, well, not much. I feel like I’ve lost a big part of my life. At least I’ve had a little bit of time to get used to it, but I’ve known since last spring it was coming.”

“We’re just going to have to stick together till we get over it,” Autumn offered. “But I’m afraid it’s going to be a long time.”

“At least it was a little more gradual with Becca,” Bree shook her head. “She was gone most of the summer, playing volleyball out at the club, so I hardly saw her. She’s going to be back this weekend, but the only reason is so she and Myleen can play in the championships out there, so I probably won’t see much of her. I guess this is what happens when you grow up.”

“Hey,” Autumn pointed out. “We came out here so we wouldn’t have to think about that stuff. We need to do something. Maybe we should go out to the pond and lie around in the sun. I think it’s too cool for swimming, but at least we’d be going somewhere.”

“That might be all right,” Jared agreed.

“I don’t know if I’m even up for that,” Bree said. “You know, what we need to do is to get our swimsuits on and spend some time in the hot tub. That usually relaxes me.”

“You know, I’ve seen you had the tub,” Jared said, “but I’ve never seen you use it.”

“Mostly it’s just Aunt Jackie and Uncle Mark and their friends, and sometimes Becca,” Bree sighed. “I get in it with them sometimes, but not very often, since they do it in the nude, and I’ve never quite been up for that.”

“Well, Howie and I have swimsuits,” Autumn smiled. “Granted, mine isn’t much of a swimsuit but it’s a little better than doing it in the nude. At least, maybe.”

“Yeah, we could do that,” Bree agreed. “I’m sorry, but I guess I’m still a little too square for nude hot tubbing, but I guess I can manage the next best thing. Uncle Mark and Aunt Jackie aren’t here and won’t be back until later, but I don’t think they’d have any problem with it.”

Fifteen minutes later the four of them were in the hot tub, all of them in their swimsuits, of course. “Hey, this is pretty neat,” Howie said. “I’ve had some games in the past where I’d really have given a lot to be able to soak away some pains and strains in one of these for an hour or two.”

“Well, no reason we can’t,” Bree grinned. She was wearing the tiny bikini she’d appropriated from her sister, and at least was comfortable wearing it around her friends, although there was no way in purple hell she’d be caught on the city beach in it. “Uncle Mark and Aunt Jackie keep it going through the winter, and I’ll tell you what, there’s nothing quite like soaking in it when there’s snow blowing in your face.”

“We could,” Jared said. “It’s not quite like hanging around the Frostee Freeze to celebrate a win. We’re still going to have to spend some time celebrating with the gang, but I’d really rather have some time to wind down with my friends.”

“Works for me,” Howie agreed. “I have to admit that I was thinking on my way out here that I was a little sorry to see bikini time come to an end. Maybe it doesn’t have to at all.”

“Hey,” Autumn snickered, “it’s not quite the same when you guys are wearing board shorts like that. If you’re going to do that, maybe Bree and I ought to break out the one-pieces, just to be fair.”

“You’ve got a point,” Bree snickered. “You guys have seen a lot of us, and we’d like to see more of you. Either come up with something like Speedos or there’s not going to be any more thong bikinis.”

Howie glanced at Jared, who stared back at him. “Well, as far as I’m concerned, it’s a deal. But if you make us wear them at the city beach next summer, you’d better be right beside us in those butt-floss jobs.”

“All right,” Autumn grinned. “You’ve got a deal. Keep that up and maybe Bree and I can get our heads together and come up with something really radical.”

The football season continued with a vengeance a couple of days later, and the team got a few lessons out of the next game, which was against Warsaw, this time before the home crowd. The Warriors had one of the weaker teams around, and the Marlins game against them was really the only blowout they’d had the year before. They hadn’t expected much of a game, and got a little lazy – and got surprised. Warsaw wasn’t a lot stronger than they’d been the year before, but they were ready and gave the Marlins a heck of a scare. The Spearfish Lake squad was behind by a touchdown for most of the first half, and at the halftime Coach Kulwicki gave them a reaming to be remembered, telling them they needed to get their heads out of their asses and into the game, then get down to business.

The Marlins came out for the second half determined to restore order. It wasn’t easy; the flow of the game had been going against them and it was hard to reverse it. Coach Kulwicki kept them doing basic plays, no fancy stuff, with the intent of getting their heads and priorities back in order, but a good run by Jared in the early part of the third quarter tied the game up, and his kick put them ahead by one. Shortly after that, Spearfish Lake recovered a Warsaw fumble; two plays later Jimmy Gogolen scored, this time with another brilliant run. After that, the flow of the game went with them, and the Marlins won 28-12. Everyone knew the game had been a lot closer than the final score.

There wasn’t much of a victory party around town that evening; everyone knew that the Marlins had let overconfidence get to them, and it had bit them in the butt. Howie and Jared knew it as well, and spent until after midnight dissecting just about every play of the game in the hot tub at the Gravengoods, while the girls sat back and tried to not look too bored. The guys did wear the Speedos that Autumn and Bree had made a special trip to Camden to find, but the game cost some of the impact.

School started the following Tuesday. Howie was worried about his trig class, which was with Mrs. Elsasser again, but both Jared and Bree promised to help him with it; the old study group of the year before was re-instituted. It looked to be a long year at school, and the food in the cafeteria was no better than ever. At least it wasn’t any worse!

Jack, Vixen, Alan, and Summer all started their college classes on the same day. Over lunch the next day, Howie and Autumn compared notes, since both their older siblings had called home to report on how things were going. Jack had said that the classes looked tough but interesting, although he wouldn’t have a feel for how things were going until he’d been at them for a while. Autumn reported much the same thing from Summer, and added that the four of them shared a lot of classes, though Alan less than the others. Both said that the older kids were settling into their apartment all right, although neither of them had made clear what the arrangement of roommates had actually turned out to be. Both Howie and Autumn agreed that the lack of information on that issue told them something that their parents must have realized but didn’t want to say much about.

The lessons of the Warsaw game must have taken hold, since the next game at Albany River the next Friday evening was totally different. Since Albany River was only twelve miles up the state road, there was more of a hometown rivalry with them than there was with any other team. The previous year the Marlins had won in their usual luck-filled squeaker; this time was totally different. The Marlins scored on every possession, and the score was 35-0 at the half. That made the second half go quickly; state rules say that when a team gets thirty-five points up on the opponent the clock keeps running – it was called a “mercy kill,” which the Marlins in past years had frequently been the subject of. This year, although Kulwicki brought the reserves in, the final score was 42-0, while Howie, Jared, and most of the first team sat on the bench most of the second half. The backup quarterback, a sophomore, did a fine job, and Howie could see him getting more playing time in the future.

The next game was away again, this time at Frontier. The team had given them a scare the year before – not that they hadn’t had scares in most games, this time it was a lot easier. The home team did get two touchdowns on the board, but the Marlins had two more, and a field goal, the first one Jared had attempted all season.

The following Friday evening the Marlins played Rochester, this time at home after two games on the road. The year before the Rochester Woodmen had been one of the stronger teams in the conference, but they’d graduated a lot of seniors and the upcoming class just wasn’t as strong. In front of a huge home crowd, the Marlins administered another mercy killing, this time 52-6. Howie threw the ball a bit more in this game, if only to keep in practice.

The September schedule was brought to a close by making the long trip to McAlester, a team they’d played only once in recent memory, the loss the previous year, the only Marlin loss of the regular season. The previous year McAlester hadn’t been that strong a team, but the Marlins had made a lot of mistakes, most of them of the stupid variety, so there was some unfinished business to settle. They settled it decisively with a 42-0 mercy killing, with the clock running all of the second half, to help the Marlins get on the road for home early.

Scarcely anyone but the reporter for the Spearfish Lake Record-Herald noted the landmark the McAlester game represented: for the second year in a row, it was the sixth Marlin win of the season, ensuring them a spot in the playoffs, which would begin at the end of October. Even though they were going to be in the playoffs, Kulwicki didn’t want the team to stand on their laurels; when the playoffs began, the team with the better record got the home field advantage, and once playoff time started, every little bit would help.

October started with another road trip, this time a shorter one to Blair. The team had been weak in previous years but was on the road to recovery, and maybe the Marlins were getting a little complacent again, but they finally wound up winning it in the fourth quarter after trailing through much of the game. The final score was 20-18, and it featured the first time all season Jared missed an extra point kick – and he’d made a lot of them. This time, the two he did make were ultimately the margin of victory. Given the tough game, he was very happy about the outcome.

The last two games of the season were at home, first against Kremmling, then against Meeker. Coach Kulwicki pushed the team to keep the pressure on, although every now and then they threw some new plays into the game, just to sharpen up – and maybe to mislead some of the scouts from likely playoff opponents that had to be in the stands. In one of the games, Kulwicki had the offense run a play called “43-Post” four straight times, for good yardage each time, once for a touchdown. He told no one, not even Howie, that unless things got weird he didn’t intend to use it in the playoffs at all, but hoped their opponents would be ready for it. The Marlins held their opponents scoreless in both the games before the home crowd, and one of them was another mercy killing.

That left the Marlins with a 9-0 regular season, a record unaccomplished in nearly a quarter century. What’s more, other than a couple scares, they’d won their games on skill, not luck.

The playoff pairings for the pre-regionals weren’t announced until Sunday. No one was particularly surprised to find they were going to be playing Moffatt Eastern again, the same as last year – the Cougars had gone 8-1, and only lost the one game to a forfeit thanks to playing a player who had proved to be ineligible. However, the better Marlin record meant that Eastern was going to have to travel to Spearfish Lake for the game, and the prospects looked to be tough as always.

However, this time the Marlins got a little bit more than their usual run of luck. The Cougars came to the game wanting to avenge their last-year’s playoff defeat – they’d been talked about as prospects for the state title before they stumbled over the Spearfish Lake squad, and it still burned some people that such a previously lousy team should ruin their season. Worse, they were burned about having to make the trip to Spearfish Lake thanks to the forfeited game, and the Camden Press and other media predicted that the Cougars were going to make sushi out of the Marlins.

But once again, the Cougar scouting wasn’t what it could have been, and they couldn’t believe they weren’t playing last year’s Spearfish Lake team, in spite of the impressive 9-0 record. After all, they’d been 8-1 the previous year and hadn’t been that technically impressive.

The Cougars should have done a little more scouting – or at least, the scouting they did manage to do led them wildly astray. For most of the season Howie hadn’t done a lot of passing, just enough to remind the opponents that he had an arm and knew how to use it. This time he used it a lot, passing a total of nineteen times, seventeen for completions, and three times for touchdowns. To add insult to injury, several times the Marlins set up for the “43-Post” running play they’d used in previous weeks, and the Cougars set up to stop the run, only to have Howie launch an unexpected but deep pass, all for completions.

In the end, it wasn’t even close, although it didn’t become a mercy killing until late in the last quarter, when one of Jared’s rare field goals put the Marlins up by thirty-five points over the Cougars.

To make life sweeter, the point spread over the season meant the Forestville Falcons, the same team that beat them in the playoffs the previous year, had to travel to Spearfish Lake for the regional championship. This time the Marlins beat them handily, so much so that people wondered aloud how the Falcons had managed to make it this far in the playoffs in the first place. This year they were going no farther; they flew back home shy a few tail feathers, their season ended.

Although it had been vastly overshadowed by the football team’s season, the girls’ cross-country team had also enjoyed a great season. Bree had actually won the league championship, although at least by a little bit of a fluke, when a girl faster than she was had pulled a hamstring and had to drop out. Still, it was more than enough to get her qualified for the regionals, and a medal finish there qualified her for the state championship in early November, the weekend of the Forestville game, which was on a Saturday due to the extra driving distance. Bree really didn’t want to miss the game, but this was the state championships, so it wasn’t a tough choice. She felt she should be loyal to Jared, but those feelings were overcome when he told her that he’d be really upset with her if she skipped the state finals to go to the game. That just settled a decision that had already been made.

Unfortunately, Bree was the only runner from Spearfish Lake to qualify for state, and there hadn’t even been anyone else from nearby schools to do so. The heck of it was that the championships were clear down at Michigan International Speedway, almost six hundred miles from Spearfish Lake, really too long of a trip to drive, at least by herself – and she didn’t want to drive that far by herself anyway.

But Mark had come through for her. He was all set to drive down there with her, when Bree suggested they take Rocinante instead. The miracle was that either one of them had thought of the obvious answer.

The weather was a little marginal the day before the state meet, but not too much so to keep them from flying. Bree and Mark flew most of the way under a low overcast, but made it to a nearby airport. Early the next morning, they took off for the track in a rental car. It was exciting to be with all the runners from schools all over the state, if a bit confusing. The meet was a little strange, being held in the infield of the track, with the huge, empty grandstands all around; Bree couldn’t imagine what the place would be like with those stands full, and with stock cars running around the track at speeds around two hundred miles an hour!

Bree was in an early group to run, and she ran well. Not well enough to medal, but she didn’t miss by much, and it was the best finish a Spearfish Lake girl had ever made in the state meet. She just wished Mr. Emerson had been there to see it; he had been responsible for a lot of it, but as far as she knew he was out delivering mail when she raced. She still had one more year, she thought. There was a chance to do even better, if she continued to improve as a runner.

Fortunately, the part they needed to hang around for was done early. As soon as they could, they got back in the rental car, took it back to the airport, and got in Rocinante. By pushing the old Cessna as hard as they dared, and making their only fuel stop a brief one, they made it back to Spearfish Lake just as the shadows were getting close to being too dark on the runway behind the house.

Of course, as soon as they were back she called Mr. Emerson, who was now at home. “That’s a great result, Bree,” he told her. “You’ve been a great inspiration to the team, and especially to the girls coming up. Maybe, with a little bit of luck, you can lead the whole team to state next year.”

“It’d be nice if I could,” she said. “It would have been nice to share some of the excitement. But it was sort of fun to do it this way, too. As far as I know, I’m the only girl who flew herself to the meet.”

“You manage to work that in, don’t you?” he laughed. “Take care, Bree, and keep training.”

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