Christmas Lights In The Middle of August, chapter 4
A week had passed; it was the first Sunday of July and the day of the Green Day concert that would most likely be missed by both Joey and Dave. It was early morning and all the boys of St. John's were up and getting ready for mass at St. Anne's, a church that was located a couple blocks away from the orphanage. It was only for this reason, to attend mass, that the boys left the orphanage grounds and ventured into the world, chaperoned of course.
Joey was in the bathroom with Dave, they were sharing a mirror and trying to fix their hair and make sure they looked appropriate for church. It was a known fact that Sister Myers, the usual chaperon, would have a fit if one of the boys didn't look completely decent. Sister Myers was a short, plump and vicious nun that believed many rowdy boys in the orphanage deserved a harsh punishment for their actions. But of course they couldn't use physical punishment, it was against the law. Thank God.
The boys came to the main hall, which led to the large oak doors that would open to allow them to pass into the outside world. Before they could leave they had to stand lined up straight and Sister Myers would inspect them to see if they looked like they were dressed for church or for a casual meeting. Church was not a casual meeting; if you weren't wearing a nice dress shirt with a tie along with nice clean suit pants, polished shoes, and combed hair you had to prepare yourself for horrendous screams from Sister Myers. Luckily, this Sunday all the boys dressed appropriately and they filed out into the streets of Oakland.
It was a sunny day, unlike last Sunday, and the expressions on their faces were as bright as the sun. They couldn't help but smile from ear to ear; they were outside the orphanage, a rare place to be for all of them. On their stroll to the church they looked at everything they could possibly see, they looked into the windows of barbershops, bakeries, and Smitty's Candy Store. They watched the people move along the busy sidewalks and stop and greet one another.
They saw people walking their dogs, cats sitting on windowsills, and young girls their age smiling and giggling at them as they walked past. They could smell the scent of a barbeque just beginning and they could hear the birds chirping in the trees. It felt good to be free, for a time at least.
Dave and Joey hung around the back; Sister Myers was leading the boys and she was far in the front of the group of boys. Joey thought of how easy it would be to just slip away right then and there; Dave must have been thinking similar thoughts.
"Hey," Dave whispered while tapping Joey on the shoulder.
Joey looked over at his friend. Dave was motioning for Joey to come closer; Joey leaned over so Dave could talk in his ear.
"Myers always counts us as we file into the church, but if we decided to get away on the way back to the orphanage she wouldn't know until she got back to St. John's," Dave whispered in Joey's ear as they continued walking behind the rest of the boys.
Joey knew Dave was proposing a getaway plan, and he knew it wouldn't work.
"We can't Dave," Joey said back. Dave shot him a disgusted look like he did last Sunday when he said how Joey was always killing his dreams, their dreams.
Joey decided to leave it at that and went back to taking in all the scenes he could before their time in the outside world was up.
*
In church the boys sat in the hard wooden pews and stared straight ahead. If the boys were to turn around or say a word to their friends they would suffer from a week's cleaning of the bathrooms back at the orphanage. And since the bathrooms could get pretty nasty they all sat straight up and stayed silent. They only spoke when the people of the church were supposed to speak. When the time came to exchange the line "peace be with you", Dave and Joey shook hands and then turned to the pew in front of them; there stood the girl that was about to change both their lives forever.
Joey was in the bathroom with Dave, they were sharing a mirror and trying to fix their hair and make sure they looked appropriate for church. It was a known fact that Sister Myers, the usual chaperon, would have a fit if one of the boys didn't look completely decent. Sister Myers was a short, plump and vicious nun that believed many rowdy boys in the orphanage deserved a harsh punishment for their actions. But of course they couldn't use physical punishment, it was against the law. Thank God.
The boys came to the main hall, which led to the large oak doors that would open to allow them to pass into the outside world. Before they could leave they had to stand lined up straight and Sister Myers would inspect them to see if they looked like they were dressed for church or for a casual meeting. Church was not a casual meeting; if you weren't wearing a nice dress shirt with a tie along with nice clean suit pants, polished shoes, and combed hair you had to prepare yourself for horrendous screams from Sister Myers. Luckily, this Sunday all the boys dressed appropriately and they filed out into the streets of Oakland.
It was a sunny day, unlike last Sunday, and the expressions on their faces were as bright as the sun. They couldn't help but smile from ear to ear; they were outside the orphanage, a rare place to be for all of them. On their stroll to the church they looked at everything they could possibly see, they looked into the windows of barbershops, bakeries, and Smitty's Candy Store. They watched the people move along the busy sidewalks and stop and greet one another.
They saw people walking their dogs, cats sitting on windowsills, and young girls their age smiling and giggling at them as they walked past. They could smell the scent of a barbeque just beginning and they could hear the birds chirping in the trees. It felt good to be free, for a time at least.
Dave and Joey hung around the back; Sister Myers was leading the boys and she was far in the front of the group of boys. Joey thought of how easy it would be to just slip away right then and there; Dave must have been thinking similar thoughts.
"Hey," Dave whispered while tapping Joey on the shoulder.
Joey looked over at his friend. Dave was motioning for Joey to come closer; Joey leaned over so Dave could talk in his ear.
"Myers always counts us as we file into the church, but if we decided to get away on the way back to the orphanage she wouldn't know until she got back to St. John's," Dave whispered in Joey's ear as they continued walking behind the rest of the boys.
Joey knew Dave was proposing a getaway plan, and he knew it wouldn't work.
"We can't Dave," Joey said back. Dave shot him a disgusted look like he did last Sunday when he said how Joey was always killing his dreams, their dreams.
Joey decided to leave it at that and went back to taking in all the scenes he could before their time in the outside world was up.
*
In church the boys sat in the hard wooden pews and stared straight ahead. If the boys were to turn around or say a word to their friends they would suffer from a week's cleaning of the bathrooms back at the orphanage. And since the bathrooms could get pretty nasty they all sat straight up and stayed silent. They only spoke when the people of the church were supposed to speak. When the time came to exchange the line "peace be with you", Dave and Joey shook hands and then turned to the pew in front of them; there stood the girl that was about to change both their lives forever.
