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It was a little over a week til my birthday party and I was hoping to have the guys over for the first time since the pool went in. It had barely been used, and this would be the perfect christening. Everyone knew that pools weren’t really used by adults anyway, they were for kids. It was high time they realized that and let us get some use out of them.
I’d spent the past couple of nights at Kit’s house, spending all day wandering the woods and all night playing video games. That day was hot and dry. I could see the ponds pulling away from their edges as they evaporated away. The clay on the banks cracked and curled up towards the sun as the earth was stripped of all its moisture. All the plants seemed to droop in the heat and even the grass was turning brown. We pedaled our bikes as fast as we could, skipping over the pavement that was too hot to touch with our bare feet.
We’d spent the earlier part of the day inside, but the house had grown so hot it drove us out. Kit’s father never had any air conditioning installed like we did. It wouldn’t have done much good anyway as most of the peeling wood-framed windows no longer held a seal. So we abandoned the house and took to the streets, pounding our way down the pavement. We kept to the shoulders, staying under the shade of the trees that grew along the roadside. The ride wasn’t long, but we were sweating profusely when we finally reached the train tracks.
Tossing our bikes carelessly to the bottom of the bone-dry ditch, we set off down the tracks. Each of us kept to his own side, trying to balance on the rails as we walked. Kit immediately fell and scraped his knee, something he was in a habit of doing on a regular basis. I walked over and held out my hand to help him up.
“You gotta watch where you’re walking Kit,” I laughed as I pulled him up.
“I didn’t do it on purpose!” he scowled, bending down to examine the bloody patch of skin.
“Good thing you’re too little to fall very far.”
“Ha-ha. Very funny,” Kit mocked, placing a hand on his hip just like he always did. “C’mon, we’re almost there.”
Kit trotted off again, this time in the center of the tracks and at a quicker pace. I knew we’d see the bridge soon. It wasn’t too far from where the railway met the main road. We’d been out there many times before, but rarely without the other guys. Chris was stuck at home, probably in trouble again for something he didn’t do, or maybe it was something he did do this time. I was never really sure when it came to him. Kevin, however, was probably studying. He’d gotten an A- in class recently and his parents had lost their minds. He’d probably be stuck in that house for the next week reading his textbooks over and over.
Kit called out and ran ahead, drawing my attention to the bridge now in sight. It was an ancient wooden truss bridge that looked like it was made of tarred telephone poles. The trees grew up close to it at the edge of the river, casting the tracks in shade. The river wasn’t very wide there, but it was deep and the bridge was the best place to get a good jump. Underneath the bridge the trusses crisscrossed, making an easy climb out of the water for a shorter jump. Going from the top of the bridge was my favorite way though.
Kit reached the bridge before I did, quickly slipping down the bank to the shaded sand below. I hustled to catch up with him. On that small sandy riverbank was a large, fallen tree that had come down the river the year before during a flood. By some miracle it had missed the bridge entirely and landed on the shore. It’s branches were mostly intact and skeletal, creating a somewhat protected area inside its canopy. Inside were an odd collection of stones that formed a small ring, filled with the charred remains of a campfire.The four of us had spent many nights on this river, sitting on the branches and hollering into the night while roasting marshmallows on sticks.
I walked over to see Kit kicking off his shoes. I followed suit as we peeled off our shirts and socks, already having our trunks on. I tossed the clothing haphazardly over the branches that stuck out at chest level. I looked at Kit for a brief moment, grinned, and took off toward the embankment. He took the bait and raced after me. I made it to the top first and cheered as I made my way out onto the bridge. The gaps between the ties were wide, but manageable. We both crept our way across the bridge carefully until we were in the middle of the river. I stepped across the iron track and onto the end of a tie that stuck out over the water. The tar was hot in the sun and sticking to my feet uncomfortably.
“Are you ready?” I called out to Kit as he came up beside me.
He gingerly stepped onto the tie next to mine, staring down at the water that lay twenty feet below.
“On the count of three! One! Two! Thr-”
“Not yet!” Kit cried out, crossing his arms over his chest. “I’m not ready yet...”
“You’re always afraid to do this,” I laughed, getting ready to jump.
“Wait,” Kit said, holding out a hand, fear evident behind those green eyes. “I’ll go if you go.”
Without a thought, I took his hand in mine, smiling as I squeezed it.
“We’ll go together.”
And we jumped.