Home for the Holidays (6 page)

“That's skeevy,” Frankie said, looking disgusted. “What if you don't know the people?”

Nicky's dad shrugged.

“So that's why they gotta throw in the free breakfast,” Frankie said. “B and B my eye. It should be called B.Y.O.B.—bring your own bathroom.”

The owners were an elderly couple named Mary and Marvin Monroe. “We're looking forward to meeting your friends,” Mary said. “I hope they'll be comfortable here.”

“How many bathrooms you got?” Frankie said.

“Why, six,” Mary said.

“And how many bedrooms?”

“Fourteen,” Mary said.

“Oh boy,” Frankie said.

“Nicholas, you and Tommy go check out the beach while we settle up here,” Nicky's father said.

The boys stood on the dunes. The ocean was white-capped and rough.

Tommy said, “This sure ain't Coney Island, or Brighton Beach. This is like—the
beach.
Look at those waves.”

“I'll race you to the water,” Nicky said. “Don't get wet! Go!”

Chilled by the windy beach, the boys were just thawing out when they got back to the house for lunch.

Nicky said, “Mom, can we go for a swim after lunch?”

“Of course,” she said. “But turn on the hot tub now, so it'll be ready after you eat.”

Tommy looked at Nicky, and at Nicky's mom, and then laughed.

“Yeah, right,” he said. “A swim! Some joke.”

“Seriously,” Nicky said. “Come on. You can help me turn the hot tub on. Get your jacket.”

“You make sure Tommy doesn't get his bandage wet,” Nicky's mother said. “The doctor said three days.”

Nicky led Tommy out the back door, across the back deck and along a snowy path leading down a sloping lawn. At the bottom, covered with a heavy plastic shell, was a swimming pool with a rock-lined hot tub beside it. Nicky went into the pool house and pressed a button. The plastic shell began to draw back, revealing the steaming blue swimming pool. Nicky punched another button. The hot tub began to bubble.

“My mom keeps the pool warm 'cause she swims laps,” Nicky said. “The Jacuzzi will be hot by the time we finish lunch.”

Tommy stared at the water. “Swimming in the snow,” he said. “Unbelievable.”

After lunch, the two boys soaked in the hot tub and splashed in the pool. Tommy dared Nicky to jump out of the pool and make an angel in the snow. Nicky dared Tommy to do it first. They both ran screaming back to the hot tub and sank in to their chins.

Suddenly, there was a pretty blond girl standing by the pool, wrapped in a heavy parka and wearing a chilly smile.

She and Tommy stared at each other.

“Hi, Amy,” Nicky said. “Wanna swim?”

“Oh
please
—no,” Amy said. “I just came to see who
could possibly be making so much noise. It sounded hideous.”

“Sorry about that,” Nicky said. “It was me. This is my friend Tommy, from Brooklyn.”

“Howya doin'?” Tommy said.

“Oh dear,” Amy said. “Is he the one who taught you how to be a groompa?”

“Goom-ba,”
Nicky said. “Can I bring him to your party tonight?”

“Of course,” Amy said. “Wear something … dry.”

“Thanks for the tip,” Nicky said.

“Bye-aye,” Amy said, and turned away.

When she was gone, Tommy said, “So what's with the prom queen?”

“She's okay,” Nicky said. “She was just trying to impress you.”

“Well, it worked,” Tommy said. “What a big stuck-up baby.”

The first of the gang from Brooklyn arrived late that afternoon. Clarence went down to the train station in the Navigator and returned with Charlie Cement; Jimmy the Iceman and his girlfriend, Janice; and Sallie the Butcher, along with his new wife, Carol, and his daughter, Donna. Nicky and Tommy, locked in a
BlackPlanet Two
battle to the death, heard them arrive and went downstairs. “Hey, Donna!” Tommy said. “Howya doin'?” “Hi, Tommy,” Donna said. “Hello, Nicky.”

“Hi.”

“You should see the place Nicky's dad rented for you guys,” Tommy said. “It's right on the beach. It looks like a wedding cake. Fourteen bedrooms!”

“Is that how many you have here?” Donna asked, gazing around.

“No,” Nicky said, feeling shy. “Not that many.”

“Are you sure? This is the biggest house I've ever seen in my life.”

“Not really,” Nicky said. “Most of my friends' houses are way bigger than this.”

“Some friends,” Donna said. “It must be hard for you to make do with less than they have.”

“Cut it out, you two,” Tommy said. “I wish you were staying here. There's a pool! We went swimming this afternoon.”

“Get out of here,” Donna said.

“Swear,” Tommy said. “It's heated!”

At dinner, Nicky said, “Mom, do you think Donna could stay here, instead of down in Newton? That way, she could come to Amy's party.”

“Hmmm,” his mother said. “She could sleep in the guest bedroom. Carol? What do you and Sal think about that?”

“Is she safe here with these hoodlum boys of yours?” Sal said. “I heard that Nicky Deuce is a regular Romeo.”

Nicky blushed until his face was on fire.

His mother smiled. “I'm pretty sure she'll be okay,” she said. “I'll keep an eye on her.”

∗ ∗ ∗

A wooden fence and a tiny stream, frozen in the snow and crossed by a short wooden footbridge, separated Nicky's house from Amy's. The three friends, bundled up and feeling good, set out across Nicky's backyard. Beyond the swimming pool at the bottom of the yard, Amy's house glimmered through the trees like a tower of light as they went through the gate into her backyard.

“It looks enchanted,” Donna said. “How come you don't lock the gate?”

“Like anyone would come in and steal anything?” Tommy asked. “Everyone who lives around here already owns everything they need.”

“You can joke,” Nicky said. “But last year there was a string of burglaries. All the families got these electronic alarms. My dad said the real thief was the guy selling the security systems.”

“Maybe he was the guy breaking into the houses, too,” Tommy said. “Good way to drum up business.”

“You're so cynical,” Donna said.

“I am not,” Tommy said. “What's ‘cynical’?”

“It means— Look out,” Nicky said. “Here come the Dobies.”

A pair of sleek black and brown Dobermans dashed toward the three friends, moving fast and growling low. Tommy went pale and stood as still as a statue.

“It's okay,” Nicky said. “They're nice.”

Tommy was paralyzed. The dogs went to him first. He began to shake with fear.

“C'mere, Duke,” Nicky said. “Atta boy. See? They're nice doggies.”

Tommy was sweating. “Get 'em away from me.”

“They're sweet,” Donna said.

“Get 'em away!” Tommy said. “I'm telling you, I can't stand dogs.”

The Dobermans lost interest and trotted off. Nicky said, “I'm sorry. I didn't know you were afraid of dogs.”

“I'm not afraid of them,” Tommy said, wiping his face with his sleeve, his voice shaky with fear. “I just don't like them, is all.”

“Okay,” Nicky said. “I'll keep them away from you.”

They were greeted at Amy's front door by a pair of maids in black dresses and white aprons who took the children's jackets and mittens. The hallway rang with Christmas music.

The house was full of kids, all of whom Nicky knew well. Passing from the foyer, into the library, into the living room, into the den and taking a glass of eggnog and a piece of fruitcake, Nicky introduced Donna and Tommy to everyone they saw. They met his friends Jordan and Noah, who were sitting in the den playing a Game-Cube. They bumped into Chad, who was getting a glass of punch.

“This is Chad,” Nicky said. “Chad, this is my friend Tommy, from Brooklyn.”

“Oh, yeah? Howya doon?” Chad said, and put up his fists. “You wanna piece of me?”

Tommy stepped back. “I beg your pardon?”

“I said, do you want a piece of me?”

“Chad—what are you doing?” Nicky said.

Chad put his hands down and said, “I don't know. I was just doing a Brooklyn thing, you know. Like in the movies.”

“O-kay,” Nicky said. “We're going to get some punch.”

Moving away, Tommy said, “What's that kid's problem?”

“Who knows?” Nicky said. “He's watching too much TV.”

A crowd of girls was gathered by the punch bowl. Nicky introduced Tommy to his classmates Caroline, Christian, Kyra, Kendra, Keisha and Dakota.

“Okay, that's funny,” Tommy said as they walked away. “In my neighborhood, it would be ‘I'd like you to meet Pete. I'd like you to meet Mary.’ That's it. No fancy names. Maybe one guy named Anthony, and one girl named Angela. What's with Kyra or Keisha, anyway? They sound like Japanese cars. ‘Introducing the new Kendra—from Toyota!’”

“Louder, Tommy,” Nicky said. “I don't think Kendra heard you. There's Amy.”

She wasn't wearing her parka anymore but had changed into a pair of sleek black slacks and a gray cashmere sweater. She was the most elegant person Tommy had ever seen.

“Nicholas—and Tommy, right?” she said, and then smiled at Donna. “I'm Amy. Are you another of Nicholas' friends from Brooklyn?”

“This is Donna,” Nicky said. “We met at summer
school. She and her family came up for my dad's New Year's party. They're staying in that spooky old bed-and-breakfast in Newton.”

“Not really!” Amy said. “That place is haunted. I refused to go there when I was little. My aunt owned it and used it as her summer home.”

“Your aunt lived in Newton?” Nicky asked.

“My aunt
was
a Newton,” Amy said. “What did you do to your chin?”

Tommy's hand went to his bandage. He had forgotten. He said, “This? I had a snow, uh, accident. A snowboarding accident. In a snowmobile.”

“What a bore,” Amy said. “And don't you think my party is boring, too? Maybe if we got rid of this appalling music. Mother! Excuse me.”

“What a bore!” Tommy mimicked. “Who is she—the Queen of England?”

“She's the Queen of Carrington,” Nicky said. “But she's right about the music, anyway.”

Then the music changed. The speakers went
thump thump thump.
Someone said, “Ah-ooo,” and the young people began to dance, carefully.

Most of the kids were shy. They moved their feet and hands a little and mostly stood in place, swinging their elbows and pretending they were dancing.

Not Tommy. He moved, and he grooved. He rocked and rolled. Nicky had never seen anything like it, except on VH1. Tommy could
dance.

Tommy started out dancing with Donna while Nicky
sort of danced near them. Then another girl came over and said, “Yeah!” and started dancing with Tommy. Then she said, “Cassandra! Come here!” After two songs, there were five or six girls all dancing together, with Tommy in the middle, while a handful of other dancers stood back and watched.

“Ladies! Please!” Tommy said after five or six songs, and pushed his way over to Nicky. “I need a Coke or something. I'm dyin' here.”

“Wow!” Nicky said to him. “You can really dance!” Tommy shrugged. “I do okay. But what's with the rest of you guys? Nobody else around here likes to dance?” “Not like that,” Nicky said. “They're all too shy.” “Too shy to dance? That's like being too shy to play baseball.”

“Whatev,” Nicky said. “Let's go find Donna.” Tommy grabbed a plate of cinnamon rolls as they went past the refreshment table. They found Donna dancing politely with Chad.

“Donna's a good dancer, huh?” Nicky said. “She deserves a better partner than that.”

“The little tough guy! You want me to get rid of him?” “No, he's okay,” Nicky said. “But I was thinking. Maybe you could teach me later—”

“Hey, look!” a big voice said. “It's Frosty the Snowman.” Tommy turned around fast. Nicky didn't have to. He knew the voice belonged to Dirk Van Allen. Nicky turned slowly.

“Hey, Frosty!” Dirk said. “You hurt your chin?”

“That was a dirty trick, Dirk,” Nicky said. “That was cheating.”

“All's fair in war and battle,” Dirk said. “Or don't you know your Shakespeare? Hey, Amy. I was just saying hello to your guests. Do you let
anybody
come to your party?”

“I guess so,” Amy said. “You're here, for example.”

“Oh, funny,” Dirk said. “I was talking about Pizza Boy.”

Tommy stepped forward and pushed Dirk hard in the chest. The bully rocked back on his heels and then sat down on the floor. As he struggled to his feet, his face beet red with rage, Tommy pushed him to the floor again.

“Stay down,” he said. “Or I'll beat you down.”

Dirk hesitated, looking around for help.

“Not so tough without your boys, huh?” Tommy said. “Well, I'm here with
my
guys. You watch your mouth or I'll throw you out of here. Got it?”

Dirk got to his feet slowly, without answering. He brushed off his pants, breathing hard, his face burning. He said, “You'll be sorry for this.”

“Sure thing,” Tommy said. “And merry Christmas to you, too.”

Dirk left, slamming the big front door behind him so hard, the windows shook. Someone turned up the music. Amy drifted over to where Tommy, Nicky and Donna stood with their eggnogs.

“That was nice,” Amy said.

“Dirk started it,” Nicky said. “And Tommy didn't know that Dirk was your, uh, you know, boyfriend, or whatever.”

“My
boyfriend?”
Amy said. “What are you talking about?”

“Well, that's what he says,” Nicky said.

“He's hallucinating,” Amy said. “I'm glad he's gone.”

“Yeah?” Tommy grinned. “You liked how I took care of that?”

“I thought it was revolting,” Amy said. “And I'd like you to leave. Now. Buh-bye.”

Outside, bundling up in their jackets and mittens, the three friends walked across Amy's yard and into Nicky's, through the gate and across the frozen stream.

“I don't think they do things like that up here, Tommy,” Donna said.

“Things like what?”

“Things like fighting.”

“Well, excuse me,” Tommy said. “The guy was bothering us. I pushed him down. He stopped bothering us. What's the problem?”

“You got us thrown out,” Donna said.

“Yeah,” Tommy agreed, then turned to Nicky. “No good?”

“I don't know,” Nicky said. “You let Dirk know who was boss.”

“Maybe so,” Donna said. “But I don't think you impressed Amy much.”