14: Pop!

POP! That was the sound Kevin's car made as he hit the pothole in front of Curt's house. It was also the sound of his cassette deck in the car, to queue up his favorite Vitamin Z song: Circus Ring. Curt jumped in, and they stopped by the local grocery store in Saranac called Adgates to pick up a few things for the party. Shopping with Curt was curiously appealing to Kevin. He watched as Curt decided on a bag of chips, pulling one from the back of the shelf that wasn’t facing out, which required him to remove several bags to get to it.

“What?” Curt asked, puzzled.

“The ones in the back aren’t as likely to have as much breakage,” he explained.

“Okay, that’s fine,” Kevin replied with a smile. “I’ve got to find the POP!”

Kevin loved to stretch out the word “pop,” which meant soda in Michigan. In Atlanta, they referred to everything as “Coke,” even Pepsi. When Kevin said “pop,” it sounded like “PAAAAHHHHP!”

“Why are you so hot just shopping for groceries?” Kevin asked, a playful grin on his face.

“What?” Curt responded in shock.

Kevin just gave him a look and said, “Just shut up and kiss me.” Curt complied.

As they entered the car, Curt asked, “What was that all about?”

“Something about you makes even the most mundane tasks feel incredibly exciting. Watching you shop in a grocery store? Who would have guessed that would rev me up?”

Curt let out a nervous snort, loving it when Kevin said weird things like this. He followed it with a big smile, looking forward and back at Kevin, who was starting the car and backing out of the parking space. Curt loved watching him back out because he always turned toward him to see out the back, and his hand would instinctively go to the headrest, just like in the west field when they first kissed. This time, Curt leaned over and kissed Kevin on the cheek. Kevin winked back at him.

Halloween fell on a Thursday in 1985, so Nan hosted everyone at her house the Saturday prior. Her parents and younger brother were out of town, and she had a big house on some land along the Grand River on Blue Water Highway, just outside the village. Kevin and Curt drove in through the long driveway. As they approached the motor court in front of the house, they noticed a few scattered paper bags with tea lights that grew in number. A bonfire crackled along the waterfront, and low wooden chairs surrounded a smaller fire pit.

Curt was dressed as Ducky from *Pretty in Pink*. Kevin recognized most of the people outside, parked, and playfully offered his elbow to Curt, his hands full of root beer, a sack of goodies he had brought, and a bag of potato chips hanging from his teeth. “I can carry some of that,” Curt said with a laugh. Kevin shook the bag of potato chips from his teeth and pretended to growl to ask him to take it. Chuckling, Curt grabbed the bag.

“Thanks, babe!” said Kevin, which generated Curt's big smile.

They walked inside to an enormous kitchen, typical for the area. As the months turned colder, it was common to gather in kitchens, so Nan had set up a big table with ten chairs and a sofa. Nan always threw big parties, as she had the nicest house in town, thanks to her father being the town attorney. Dressed as Cyndi Lauper, Nan greeted them. “Get settled and meet us by the water,” she said.

As the night went on, several more kids showed up, including Rachel Smathers, who was dressed all in purple, one of Curt’s friends; her boyfriend Red, dressed in red; and a few of Curt’s closest friends, whom he hadn’t gotten to know very well yet and mainly were peripheral. Curt didn’t invite his teammates because they didn’t seem to mesh well with the more established families of the county. Kevin joined Curt, who was chatting with Rachel and Red.

“Hi,” Kevin said to Rachel and her date, and she turned to Curt, sweetly saying, “Hey.” Rachel and Curt were what they called 'fun-flirty.'

Curt returned a “Hey” to Kevin. Rachel smiled with approval and side-hugged her date. Red probably assumed there was some inside joke or something, and he didn’t respond.

“Make yourself at home. You’re at Nan’s house, so you’ll find everything you need in the kitchen,” Curt said to his friend.

Rachel and Red went inside.

“Great. I need to find the bathroom anyway.”

Kevin asked as he was about to walk away.

“Hey, what is it? Kevin asked about your costume.”

Rachel responded, “The Color Purple, duh!” and laughed.

Still looking in Rachel’s direction, Kevin said to Curt,

“That’s cool. Is she a movie?”

“Yup,” said Curt. “I don’t want to know what Red is.”

“Nope,” said Kevin. “Nope.”

“I'm so glad Rachel came,” said Kevin.

“Yeah,” said Curt. “I wish I had more friends to invite, but I like your group. They’re much more open-minded and comfortable to be around than some of my friends.”

Sarah was there with Nelson Larowski this time. They hugged, and she introduced Nelson to Kevin and Curt. The following year, he was about to begin classes at Michigan State as a freshman, making it likely that Sarah would follow him there as well. Sarah was dressed as Gertie, while Nelson dressed as Elliot from the 1982 movie E.T. Reby was dressed as Madonna from Desperately Seeking Susan. David was around there somewhere.

As they approached the fire pit, Kevin joked, “Hey, we missed a great opportunity to be the cast of *St. Elmo’s Fire*.”

“Oh, right,” said Sarah. “Which character would that make you?”

Joyce appeared out of nowhere, dressed as Ally Sheedy from *The Breakfast Club*, and said, “He’d be the peanut butter and jelly sandwich Wendy ate.”

“AAAAAAYYYEE!” the group exclaimed.

Joyce looked at Curt and said, “Wendy also made the point that it was the BEST PB&J she ever had.” Turning back to the group, she added, “And that’s how you make things awkward.” She laughed, and Curt responded, “This is what faking embarrassment looks like.”

Kevin gave Curt an impressed look and mouthed, “Niiiice!” as he pulled Curt closer, wrapping his arm around Curt’s waist and grinning. They did a high five.

It was nice to see Joyce again. She had been busy with her new mysterious boyfriend, whom she wasn’t ready to introduce to the group yet.

Joyce said, “Ugh, Kevin… Why are you not in costume?”

“Allison Reynolds, you don't recognize me?” Kevin replied. “I’m John Bender. We had detention together on Saturday. Eat…my…shorts!”

Joyce stuck her index finger and pinky finger up, pointing them back and forth before turning them to Kevin to ensure she had her eyes on him.

“I figured coming as Kevin Bacon from *Footloose* was a little too obvious,” Kevin explained.

“Well, you did manage to get ‘She Bop’ and ‘I Need a New Drug’ banned from being played in public in the village,” said Reby.

“Was that my fault?” Kevin asked, “Also, maybe this is just my everyday look. I dunno.”

David walked through the group mysteriously dressed in a strange, furry, rodent-like costume. It felt like no one had seen him until then.

“David, have you been here the whole time?” asked Reby. “You look like a weasel.”

“Yup,” he said, slowly walking away.

“Also, what are you drinking? Is it orange juice?”

David raised his glass and said, “This? No, it’s POP! ... goes the weasel!”

The whole group, in unison, declared defeat over David’s rare win.

Kevin noticed Curt zoning out a bit and decided to take a moment for themselves. They walked around the side of the house facing the Grand River, moved the bench, and sat facing the bonfire.

“Are you okay?” Kevin said. “I noticed that you sometimes seem overwhelmed.”

“My parents say it is a side effect of perfectionism,” Curt answered. “Your friends are all so smart and creative; sometimes I just feel like a dumb kid.”

“From my perspective, my friends are your friends now, and they all like you as much as I do,” said Kevin cautiously. “Hopefully, they don’t want to make out with you, but …all facts are revealed in time.” Kevin sighed and smirked. Curt smiled and glanced up at Kevin.

“I like you, Curt,” said Kevin.

“I like you, too,” said Curt. “I’m glad you moved to Saranac.”

“Me too,” Kevin responded softly.

Curt put his head on Kevin’s shoulder. Kevin dropped his head down to meet Curt’s as they looked out at their friends, who re-enacted the library dance scene from “The Breakfast Club.” As their friends danced around the bonfire-lit wall, Kevin and Curt laughed. The comforting sounds of the Grand River behind them, along with the music and the crackling bonfire, somehow confirmed everything they felt about what was developing.

“Oh, hi, weasel,” said Kevin.

“POP!” Said David, quietly walking by. “POP!”