The Thursday Night Club (3 page)

It was a raw autumn morning, a hard driving rain causing the air to feel ten degrees cooler than it actually was; it was early enough that the gas-lit lamps along the buckled sidewalk were still buzzing with a dying glow.

With his sweatshirt hood pulled down over his head and brow, Jesse checked his watch and cringed.
Damn, I’m gonna be late
, he thought. As he hurried along to his first class, he realized that the heavy pack slung across his shoulder wasn’t helping his progress. As he approached a crosswalk, he waited for the light to change—and checked his watch again. Just as soon as the light turned yellow for oncoming traffic, Jesse took a step off the curb and—trying to time the light turning red—started sprinting for the sidewalk across the wet, glistening street.

A silver Lexus, speeding up to beat the red light, raced toward the crosswalk. Jesse looked left to see the sharp teeth of the car’s front grill just inches from him.
Oh, God
, he thought and as he held his breath, the car’s tires let out an eerie shriek—just before taking a hard, mind numbing bite out of his side.

As Jesse went down, the world quickly faded to black—and disappeared.

After squealing sideways, the car jerked to a sudden stop. An older male driver—his bloated face bleached white and showing signs of shock—jumped out of the late model Lexus and hurried to assess the damage. The young man he’d struck was lying motionless in a growing pool of blood. As several curious co-eds gathered around the gruesome scene, the driver began to panic. “Someone call an ambulance!” he yelled and looked back at the young man’s bloody body. “Oh, what have I done?” The driver checked Jesse’s pulse. “Oh God, no!” he screamed.

As the crowd grew thicker—with some of them becoming visibly upset—a siren wailed sorrowfully in the distance.

Across campus, Kevin was walking to class when his cell phone rang. “Not again, Randy,” he said under his breath. He looked at the phone’s display and nodded. “Not Randy,” he confirmed and answered the call. “What’s up, bro?”

Kevin listened intently for a moment. His face became distressed, until a grin appeared. “No way, bro, I’m not buying it! Jesse just lost one of our stupid contests and now he’s trying to even the score.”

As Kevin continued to listen, the grin was completely wiped from his face. He hung up and made a quick call. “Izzy, did you hear anything about Jesse getting hit by a car this morning?”

He listened and then shook his head. “No, me neither, but some dude from my Psych class told me that he just got messed up pretty bad over near the park on Elm. Grab Ava and meet me over there. I’ll put a call into Randy.” He listened again and nodded. “I know, but even if it is a hoax, I say we play along.”

At the accident scene, an even larger crowd had gathered as Kevin, Randy, Izzy and Ava tried to make their way through. There were police lights—even from town—flashing. A sheet-covered stretcher was being loaded into the rear of an ambulance.

Kevin looked back at his friends and gasped. “I don’t think this is a prank!”

The gang fought harder to make their way through the thick crowd. Just as the four friends got close, the ambulance doors closed and a siren howled away from the scene. With panic etched into each of their faces, they approached a police officer who was trying to keep the crowd away from the spot of the accident.

“What happened here?” Randy screamed toward him.

The police officer motioned with his palm that they remain on the sidewalk.

“Okay, okay,” Randy yelled, “but tell us what happened!”

“Some kid tried to beat the light and paid for it,” he said nonchalantly.

Randy looked back at his friends and then down at the street—near the area that the police officer was protecting. There was a giant red bloodstain. “Oh no…”

White-faced, Kevin grabbed a co-ed standing nearby. “Who was it?” he asked.

“Some guy named Jesse,” she said. “I didn’t know him.”

Randy overheard this and screamed back to the police officer, “Do you think he’ll be all right?”

The cop shook his head. “He was already gone by the time we got here.”

“Gone?” Izzy screamed. “What?”

The police officer put his portable radio to his ear and listened. He shook his head again. “They just pronounced him dead,” he reported sadly.

Ava collapsed to the sidewalk. “Please God, no! Not Jesse!” she shrieked.

Izzy and the others immediately began to mourn.

An hour later, Izzy, Ava and Kevin sat in shock on the girls’ front porch. Randy slowly approached the stairs, shaking his head. His face showed every sign that he’d recently been crying.

“What—” Ava began to ask.

“—they told me that he died instantly and that…” Randy interrupted, but began crying so hard that he couldn’t finish. Izzy hurried to him with a hug. “…and that he didn’t feel any pain,” he finished between sobs.

“Thank God for that,” Kevin said, trying to be strong. “Where did they take him…” Kevin also stopped. Everyone already knew the answer.

Randy looked up from Izzy’s shoulder. “The chaplain’s trying to get in touch with his parents.” He shook his head. “That’s all I know.”

“What about the driver who hit him?” Ava asked angrily.

“Yeah, he must be in custody, right?” Kevin said.

“I was wondering the same thing,” Randy admitted, “so I asked.” He shook his head again. “He’s not.”

Izzy was outraged. “He’s
not
?”

Like a broken man, Randy half-shrugged. “They said it was an accident, with no alcohol or drugs involved, so he was
free to go
.”

“Free to go?” Ava repeated, more furious. “Well, good for him!”

“So what about Jesse?” Izzy whimpered. “Is he
free to go
too?” Izzy stopped, setting off a whole new round of sobbing amongst the friends.

Once they’d composed themselves, Kevin wiped his eyes and said, “You know if it was one of us behind the wheel, we’d be sitting in jail right now, charged with vehicular homicide.”

“Yeah,” Izzy said, “because they’d think we were texting or horsing around or on our way to some housing project to buy drugs.”

Ava shook her enraged head. “Jesse’s dead and he’s free to go.”

All four friends allowed the weight of Ava’s final statement to sink in and a new round of terrible grieving began.

Jesse’s funeral took place on Wednesday morning. In the cemetery, the chaplain had just finished his sermon and mourners began passing by Jesse’s casket for one final good-bye.

Izzy, Ava, Kevin and Randy—each devastated—mouthed a few silent words to their deceased friend and kept right on walking until they reached a tree off in the distance.

As they sadly huddled together under the giant oak, their college professor, Professor McKee, surprised the friends by approaching them to offer her heartfelt condolences.

“Oh great,” Ava said under her breath. “Look who’s here.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Professor McKee said once she reached them. “I know Jesse was a dear friend to all of you.” She nodded. “He was a very special person.” The heavyset woman had a mop of frizzy hair and a pair of reading glasses that sat on the bridge of a slender nose.

“He sure was,” Randy agreed.

“What a waste,” Izzy added angrily.

“Excuse me?” the female professor asked compassionately.

“It’s a
useless
waste of life,” Ava added furiously.

“Jesse’s life,” Kevin explained, “a life that we all know would have done some incredible things…was wasted.” He took a deep breath. “All because of some stupid, random accident.”

Professor McKee smiled. “You may not want to hear this right now, guys, but I don’t believe there are any random acts in the universe, and nothing is done in vain—nor is anything
useless
.” She searched each of their eyes. “Sometimes, you have to be patient to see how things turn out and, with any luck, reveal the
greater
purpose.” She smiled gently again but—with a stern, rigid expression permanently carved into her brow—she appeared as disappointed and judgmental as ever.

This comment was immediately met with scornful glances and a few negative grunts.

“Be patient for what?” Ava asked bravely. She shook her head. “To die, so we can be with Jesse again?”

“Not at all,” the woman said. “The worst thing you could ever do with your life is to wait for it to end.”

“Unfortunately, Jesse didn’t have that choice,” Randy said. “His life was ended for him…” He wiped his eyes. “…long before it ever really began.”

“I agree,” the teacher said, “but you guys are still here…” She searched their eyes again. “…and you each have a choice, don’t you?”

They nodded in unison.

“From where I stand, I honestly can’t imagine some
great
purpose in this,” Kevin admitted.

“But your perspective may change,” McKee said, her tone soft. “It always does.”

As more skeptical glances were exchanged between the four friends, Randy shocked them even further. “So you really believe that Jesse’s life—and death—have some great purpose that we can’t see?” he asked.

She nodded. “I really do. Unfortunately, people within our society believe that the person who dies with the most toys wins. For most, it’s all about amassing material objects, wealth. For others, it’s about compiling a list of accomplishments and accolades.” She looked back toward Jesse’s casket. “But have you ever been to a funeral and overheard someone praise the deceased for anything they owned?”

As their jaws dropped open, the friends listened in awe as the professor echoed Jesse’s recent words—almost verbatim.

Professor McKee changed her voice to drive her point home. “Oh, what wonderful houses and cars he had!” She shook her head. “No, people are truly remembered by what they do while on this planet and, more importantly, how they help others. It’s not about what you have or take, it’s about what you give…and eventually leave behind.” She smiled. “Imagine if we all measured wealth that way.”

For the first time, the professor’s words were not met with negativity. The four friends remained silent, pondering the wonderful déjà vu experience.

“What a different and glorious world this would be,” Professor McKee added.

They each nodded.

“The good book says to place our treasures in heaven because that’s where our hearts will be,” she continued, looking toward Jesse’s casket again. “It’s not only a matter of faith, but the proof in your deeds.” She looked back at them. “No great mystery here, guys. And I think Jesse figured it out early.” She nodded. “Giving more than you take… now that’s how you build a life worth living.”

The friends looked at each other in awe.

With a wink, Professor McKee walked away, leaving them to internalize her lesson.

The four friends still met for the
Thursday Night Club
on Izzy and Ava’s front porch. Rather than play cards, they shared bittersweet memories of Jesse.

“Who enters a best prank contest and raises money for charity?” Kevin asked, snickering. “I mean, who does that?”

“He was so amazing, wasn’t he?” Izzy said. “I remember our freshman year when he helped me study for a World History test I was freaking out about. I didn’t think it was a big deal until I found out he had to stay up all night to cram for his own exam that he had in the morning.

Randy shook his head. “Unreal!” he said. “Do you guys remember when Jesse couldn’t make our potluck dinners last year?”

They each nodded.

“Well, I found out later he was down at the soup kitchen, volunteering.” He shook his head. “When I called him on it, he asked me not to tell anyone…said that the only one who needed to know was God.”

“Jesse’s stories are endless,” Kevin added.

“And so was his caring for other people,” Ava said.

“This may sound crazy,” Izzy said, “but I feel like he’s still with us…sitting right here, right now.”

They all agreed with solemn nods.

“Can you imagine how much good he would have done in this world had he lived a full life?” Ava suggested.

They each quietly pondered this for a few minutes. Suddenly, Izzy became excited. “What if, in Jesse’s memory, we have another contest…” she said, thinking aloud, “…only this time, whoever pulls off the greatest or kindest deed, wins the pot?”

Each of them considered this for a brief moment and smiled.

Grinning, Ava grabbed the empty jar and dropped the first quarter into it. The others reached into their pockets and did the same. Randy came up empty and turned to Kevin. “I need to borrow a quarter, bro,” he said quietly.

Kevin handed it to him and Randy dropped in the last coin.

“The rules?” Kevin asked.

“It must be anonymous,” Izzy said, “just like Jesse would have wanted. Only the four of us…” She stopped to think briefly before continuing, “…and Professor McKee can know about what we’ve done.”

They each smiled in agreement.

“And we have until midnight on Christmas—” Randy said.

“—in memory of Jesse’s favorite holiday,” Ava interrupted.

“Perfect,” Izzy muttered.

Again, they each agreed.

“The kind act cannot cost money,” Ava added.

“Our own money, you mean?” Kevin interrupted. “We should be allowed to get others to donate, right?”

Ava nodded. They each followed suit.

“Okay then,” Izzy said, “let’s go honor Jesse.”

“…and win a whole dollar,” Randy joked.

“…and maybe four lives worth living,” Ava concluded.

The following day, the four friends met Professor McKee on the quad and let her in on their plan.

With a proud smile, she nodded. “I honestly can’t think of a better way to honor the memory of a friend,” she said. “And if you ask me, Jesse’s still giving, isn’t he?”

Each set of eyes filled with tears.

Although the four friends expected to begin their inspired quests with a bang, the chaos of daily college life consumed them. Potluck dinners of English muffin pizzas and Ramen noodles were devoured while cramming for exams and running off to part-time jobs on campus to offset expenses. Even still, there were some good deeds performed.

Ava started writing letters, recruiting people to prepare Christmas cards to soldiers overseas, while Randy opted to sit back and not rush into anything. Izzy began volunteering at the local elementary school, reading to children—where she learned about the high rate of illiteracy and the severe lack of books in the community.

As the winds picked up, leaves of fire engine red and pumpkin orange lost their luster and floated to the ground, creating a temporary rainbow blanket—before decomposing and becoming one with the earth again. Kevin got a jump on winter by passing out hand warmers and socks to the homeless. Those who panhandled on the corner wearing gold jewelry, though, received nothing.

As the weather grew colder and the four co-eds settled into their busy routines, the need to lend a helping hand in Jesse’s name became a priority.

Oak and maple skeletons—stripped completely bare of their colorful clothing—lined the desolate street. It was just getting dark when Kevin turned up his collar against a sudden chill and took a seat beside one of his homeless friends.

“Here you go, Gus,” Kevin said, handing the grinning man a clean pair of socks and a blanket.

“Thank you,” Gus replied, his tone humble.

“My pleasure,” Kevin said, “but I could also use your help.”

“Name it,” Gus said.

“I think I’ve finally met
the one
,” Kevin said, “but she’s confusing the hell out of me. Every time I think I know how to act, I’m wrong. Every time I think I’ve reacted correctly, I’m wrong. I mean…just the other night I noticed she had a tone that made her sound unsure of me. I wouldn’t ask if it didn’t mean so much to me.”

“Ahhh,” Gus sighed and as he searched his memory, his tired eyes sparkled. “Women can be a rough trip, but there’s no better ride on earth.”

Kevin matched the man’s sigh in agreement.

Gus thought about it for an extended moment and shook his head. “Women are creatures of the heart, Kevin. They don’t want to be understood…just loved.” He grinned. “But what a wasted life, my boy, to never know their ways.”

“I hear that,” Kevin whispered and searched his friend’s face. “Sounds like you’ve had some experience with this subject?”

Gus’s eyes flickered again. “I didn’t always live on the streets, Kevin,” he said. “There was a time…”

“Good for you,” Kevin whispered.

Gus nodded and, although he clearly gave the matter some serious thought, he was at a loss for words. “Kevin, as we sit here, it’s become clear to me that I know as much about women as any other guy.” He shrugged. “Which is very little.” He put his hand on Kevin’s shoulder. “So it looks like the rest becomes your research project. Trust me, son, if this girl is
the one
, your assignment will last a lifetime.”

“Thanks, Gus.”

He squeezed Kevin’s shoulder. “Hey, when and
if
you do find some answers, let me know. I’ve always been just as curious.” He winked.

Kevin laughed. As he stood, he reached into his pocket and retrieved a gift card to a local fast food restaurant. “Dinner’s on me, my friend,” he said before walking off into the shadows of the night.

In the morning, Izzy sat in the local hospital’s waiting room, filling in the last few details on a donor’s application. After checking it over, she submitted it. Within minutes, her mouth was swabbed and she was added to the
Be The Match Registry
for bone marrow donors.

“If you match a patient,” Rhonda, the smiling nurse, explained, “we’ll contact you to see if you’re still willing to donate. If you agree to proceed, we’ll ask you about your health to be sure it’s safe for you to donate bone marrow. Then we’ll schedule more testing to see if you’re the best match for the patient. Throughout this process, you’re likely to be one of several people being tested. The chance of being selected is about one in twelve.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Izzy said.

Rhonda nodded. “You may be contacted at different stages of the patient’s matching process. When you’re ranked high on a list as a possible match for a patient, a doctor may request additional testing to help narrow the list of potential donors.” She smiled.

“I understand,” Izzy said.

“At that point,” Rhonda added, “we’ll answer all of your questions…which everyone has. It can sometimes take up to two months for the patient’s doctor to get the testing results and select a donor. The patient’s condition also affects the timing. And we’d keep you posted on the doctor’s decision.” Rhonda placed Izzy’s sample into a kit.

“Great!” Izzy said.

“Any questions?”

Izzy pointed to the swab kit. “Is that it for today?” she asked.

Rhonda nodded. “If we need more, we’ll be in touch.” She smiled and rolled her eyes for effect. “Trust me.”

With a final nod, Izzy left.

Four blocks over at the Rolling Hills Retirement Home, Ava was interviewing for a volunteer’s position with Mrs. Deborah Sullivan, the retirement home’s director. “I’d like to volunteer some time at your home and help,” Ava told the woman.

“Well, we can never have too much of that,” Mrs. Sullivan said with a smile.

“Where could you use me the most?” Ava asked. “Washing dishes? Running errands?”

“Actually, spending time with our residents is what we most need.”

“Spending time?” Ava repeated. “Doing what?”

Mrs. Sullivan looked into her eyes. “Talking, watching TV, playing cards…” she shrugged, “…hopefully laughing.”

“And that would make the most difference?” Ava asked.

“Oh, more than you could ever imagine, Ava,” Mrs. Sullivan explained. “Many of these people have been forgotten, cast aside by more important priorities in their families’ lives. Many are near the end of their lives and…well, they’re alone. I can’t imagine anything sadder than that.”

“Me either,” Ava said.

“Yes, it’s terrible. Our society has forgotten the value in their wisdom and everything they’ve done to make our lives better than what they lived.”

“Then count me in,” Ava said excitedly. “I’d love to spend some of my time with them.”

“You won’t regret it. I promise,” the older woman said. “And don’t be surprised if you end up getting more out of it than you put in.”

“I’m not looking for anything in return,” Ava said.

“I realize that, but it’s inevitable. You’ll see.” She smiled. “So can you come back later in the week to meet our cast of characters?”

“Absolutely,” Ava said, “I can be here on Friday at three o’clock, right after my last class.”

On a sidewalk near the college, Kevin was tacking up flyers that read,
Riding for Higher Education
.

“What’s that all about?” some passerby asked.

Kevin revealed a pledge sheet. “I’m soliciting donations for a fundraiser I’m running. I’m gonna ride from Boston to the tip of Cape Cod to raise enough money to start a scholarship.”

“Wish I’d thought of that when I went to college,” the stranger joked.

Kevin chuckled. “Actually, it’s not for me. I’m graduating this year. No, the money will be going to some high school kid who would never have a shot at college otherwise.”

“That’s awesome,” the passerby said. Waving off the pledge sheet, he dug into his pocket, pulled out a twenty-dollar bill and handed it to Kevin. “Well, here’s my donation. Good luck.”

As Kevin watched the man walk away, he smiled.
Not a bad start
, he thought and finished nailing up his flyer.

Randy sat alone in the cafeteria, holding a thick Italian sub and gazing out the window.
I wonder whether Kevin, Ava and Izzy have already gotten started,
he thought. He shrugged to himself and took a bite of his overstuffed sandwich.
Ahh, it doesn’t matter. I’ve got time
, he thought.
Plenty of time
. He tore another chunk out of his sandwich and returned his attention to the window—where he could stare off into nothingness.

The four friends gathered for their weekly get-together on the front porch.

It was a quiet night with some small talk. Finally, Izzy asked what they were all wondering. “Well, is anyone going to update the group on their progress?”

Each one of them shook his or her head.

Ava laughed. “Are you, Iz?” she asked.

Izzy grinned. “Heck, no!”

Kevin looked at Randy. “You probably haven’t even started yet, right?” he teased.

“Sure, I have,” Randy said, “I’ve made up my mind to make a positive difference.” He smirked.

“Okay, but have you made any effort to—”

“—to chase something down?” Randy interrupted. “No! I have a strong sense that my good deeds will pick me…and I’ll know them exactly when I see them.”

“In other words,” Ava said, “you’re
lazy
.”

They all laughed and began playing cards.