In the last part Chloe and Grace planned to renew the Bible club. T.J. and Anthony met and plotted to blow up a theater full of people. James and B connected.

“Hello, Markus? B. Yeah. You? Hey are you free tomorrow afternoon?”

Markus’ mother was the daughter of one of the local car dealership owners. She’d gone to college in Capitol City and returned after her freshman year with a mixed-race child. None of her friends had ever asked her story. She’d never spoken of it, whether Markus was a child borne of a relationship, or anything short of that. Markus, to anyone’s knowledge, never considered himself anything but one of the guys, just like everyone else.

“I know… you’re getting up a game of roundball and I’m the first person you thought of. The DNA thing,” Markus said, applying what he considered to be self-deprecating humor over the phone, meaning nothing serious about it.

“Actually, you’re eighteenth on my list. Everybody else was busy,” B storied, playing back.

He was available. He worked nights and didn’t go in until four. B explained her first date situation. “I don’t need protection. It isn’t like that. I don’t know…”

“You want to see his character,” Markus offered.

“Yeah, maybe that’s it.”

“Yeah, I’m cool with that. I mean, I won’t go an’ foul him or stuff like that, but, well, we’ll see if he has the love.”

B laughed. “The other thing is that if we get the chance to witness to him…”

“You don’t want to be all touchy and stuff,” Markus interrupted. “Not on no first date. You don’t wanna get him distracted.” He laughed.

+++

 “No wonder you got a scholarship,” James said to B, breathing hard, exposing a flat stomach as he wiped his sweating face with the front of his shirt.

The three had met at the church gymnasium. Arriving early, B deliberately dismissed the notion of waiting inside and greeting him in the same posture as on May 15th, choosing instead to wait in the outdoor heat. Going inside together, it wasn’t long until they’d joined a game and worked up a sweat.

“I can’t keep up with her,” Markus said, sitting on the other side of the bleacher seat, James between them.

“The scholarship’s in volleyball,” B said, hardly perspiring.

“I should’ve played half court.”

“Like me,” Markus injected. “I quit tryin’ to impress B the first time out.”

“The secret’s in gliding, not trying to pound the court,” B offered.

“Floating would be more like what I saw,” James replied, finishing off the last half of a water bottle in one pull. “My therapist suggested that,” James said, his eyes darting sideways in an effort to catch B’s reaction.

“You have a therapist?” B asked.

Markus held back every inclination to comment on girlfriends causing the need for therapy.

“She says to float with the flow.” James made a phuuh sound, shaking his head.

“I know a counselor that recommends active resistance,” B replied. “More like chasing evil thoughts away than sitting back and hoping they’ll go away on their own.” She sipped at her bottle of water.

At just that time a procession of other kids came by to greet and speak with the three, leaving only seconds between for conversation. Markus declined another game, excusing himself to get ready for work.

“The Gandhi approach, huh?” James said, taking advantage of a gap in well-wishers.

“No, that’s passive resistance. I’d say more like the French Resistance.” B exaggerated the last syllable, attempted to sound French. “More aggressive, but careful not to hurt people, busting out the actual evil instead.”

James stared at her in amazement.

“They’re starting up another game,” B said. “You up for it?”

“If they’ll let me play sixth man,” James said apologetically.

They didn’t, encouraging him to play forward, complementing B. B laughed hysterically at James’ over-the-top play-acting of floating as he ran down court in a skiing motion, his arms extended downward with his hands splayed like tiny wings.

Parting in the parking lot, B having declined an offer to go for refreshments, they agreed to meet the next evening at a local steak house, no movie or anything else, just a long dinner. James was good with the plan that they would be joined by another couple.

+++

“Jimmy and I were going to go frog-gigging,” John said. “But I want to. Only thing is … I’m a little short right now, and I know Jimmy’s broke.”

“No problem,” B said. “That’s a problem I can handle. The full ride, remember? I’m just working for extra spending money. I’ll slip you a twenty. James’ll be buying mine anyway. It’ll be fun.”

“Well, okay. And we can still go froggin’,” John replied.

“Winner-winner…”

“Chicken dinner,” John returned before B could get it in.

+++

“The Navy?” James exclaimed. “What a great idea!”

“Yeah, I thought so too. It was tough deciding between the Navy or the Air Force, but I figured that in the Air Force, odds would be against me being able to get in the air very much, but in the Navy, I could definitely count on boating.” Jimmy smiled like a school boy.

The group: B, John, and James all laughed with Jimmy.

“My mom’s taking off on another of her adventures, and well, I decided that if it’s travelin’, it might as well be on my terms.”

“Sort of,” John added with a wink.

“More like the Navy’s terms,” B said.

“I like it,” James said. “Electronics, propulsion engines, pumps, communications…”

“Swabbin’ the deck,” Jimmy filled in to communal laughter.

The waitress arriving to take their orders triggered a change in conversation. James felt attention drawn to himself, as if okay mister, open up.

“Well, B probably told you all that I’m in psychiatric treatment, being fitted as we speak for the Cuckoo’s Nest.” James’ eyes skitted from one to the other.

“No,” they all said or signaled.

“I should have,” Jimmy said solemnly. “After last May. John introduced me to a different counselor instead.”

“The same one that B uses?” James asked.

The three all smiled.

“Last May?” James asked Jimmy, staring at him.

Jimmy stared back. His eyes slowly altered to hard scrutiny. Everyone else studied the room’s decorations.

James broke first. His eyes glistened, then leaked. Before the first tear reached the table top, he begged excuse. Stumbling from his seat, he nearly ran to the entry.

“Guess you’d better box ours up,” John said, hurrying after James. “Enjoy. I’ll call.”

+++

John caught up with James, at first not finding him, afraid James might have taken off on foot. James rose from picking up his dropped keys where John spotted him, yelling for him to wait. Without waiting to be asked, John got into the passenger side of James’ pick-up truck.

“May fifteenth,” James said, wiping his face with his sleeve.

“Jimmy, too,” John said. “We think there were several of you with plans for the same day.”

“Oh, Jesus. Oh God.” James was not praying, merely expressing as profane an utterance as he knew as he choked back guttural sobs.

“Exactly,” John replied.

“Huh?” James asked. “Oh,” he said, realizing. He suddenly choked back another outburst. “I thought I was done crying.”

“Probably not by a long shot,” John said. “Imagine the tears had you guys succeeded.”

James shook his head, followed by his whole-body wracking. John wondered, without much caring, what the truck looked like to walkers-by.

“James, you can be forgiven,” John said.

Bent over the steering wheel, James let loose, his hands and arms covering his head and face.

John spoke calmly and evenly, trusting James to comprehend. “There is a God, James. And there is a Jesus. God sent his son, Jesus, from heaven to earth to suffer every temptation we have. God allowed Jesus to suffer and die for our sins so that we can be forgiven. He did that for you, James. Whether you hurt anybody or not, it doesn’t matter. Jesus loves you. He died for you. He wants you to love him back. And James …” John paused a half a moment. “Jesus don’t break up with people.”

“What, what do I have to do?” James stammered.

“You’ve already done it. You believe what I said is true?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sorry?”

James forcefully exhaled an ‘Are you kidding’! Phuuh!

“Do you accept his forgiveness?”

“Yes,” James said in amazement. “I do.”

“You hungry?” John asked. “Our steaks are waiting for us.”

James followed John back inside. The conversation was about frog-gigging, basketball, and bowling, which James had never done, but he and B were planning to go after their meal.