"PARK AND SPARK"

JAN. 31-In this so-called "modern age" of the hot rod and snazzy car, the problem of teenagers parking seems to be a big one for parents. But a smart girl will realize that if her popularity hinges on "park and spark" it will be short-lived. There's a price to be paid for free and easy necking. Girls know what a horrible nightmare a girl with a bad reputation must live through.

18.

Christina Christina wasn't thrilled about going on a double date with Mason and Miri. But Jack wanted to do this for his brother, so she would do her best to make sure a good time was had by all. It wasn't that she didn't like spending time with Mason and she had nothing against Miri, though she knew her only from Dr. O's office and as Natalie's friend. It was about not wanting to give up her time alone with Jack. She'd missed her chance last night because she'd had to go with her family to an engagement party for her least favorite of the cousins who worked at Three Brothers.

There would be no time to go to Jack's room tonight, something she'd been doing lately. Jack wasn't allowed to have overnight guests, wasn't allowed to entertain women in his room, so he had to sneak her in, which wasn't that hard. Mrs. O'Malley knew her now, and understood she wasn't Jack's sister. But she also knew Christina was a good girl from a good family and that Jack was not going to take advantage of her so she was willing to look the other way if she caught a glimpse of Christina going up the stairs. It wasn't as easy with Christina's mother. If Christina was unable to be home by 11:30 p.m., she had to call and explain why. And it had better be a good excuse, like a snowstorm, something Mama could see for herself. As far as Mama knew, she was going to the movies with a group of friends tonight, which was almost the truth. She didn't add that the movie was playing in Newark or that it was The Thing, which they'd missed when it first came out last spring.

Miri "What's going on?" Rusty asked Miri. "Why are you dressing up?"

"Mom, I told you I'm going on a double date tonight."

"On a Sunday?"

"Yes, because Mason had to work late last night. We're going with Christina and Jack."

"Who are they?"

"Mason's brother, Jack. And Christina from Dr. O's office."

"Christina goes with Mason's brother?"

"Yes, Jack McKittrick." Why couldn't Rusty keep any of this straight?

"How old is Jack?"

"I don't know. Maybe twenty-one or twenty-two."

"I don't want you going out with someone that old!"

"Mom...Christina and Jack are the chaperones. You know Christina from Dr. O's office."

"She seems like a responsible girl," Rusty said, more to herself than to Miri.

"Yes."

"Daisy says good things about her."

"See? And she's going to work for Dr. O full-time next year."

"Where are you going...that is, if I give you permission to go."

"To see The Thing." Here it comes, Miri thought, bracing herself.

"The Thing? I don't want you to see that movie. It's a horror movie. You won't sleep for a week."

She could have said, It can't be anywhere near as scary as the real things I've seen, but she didn't. Rusty had the power to send her to her room and keep her there. Instead, she argued, "Mom, please. It's just a movie. It came out last year. It's science fiction. Everyone at school has seen it, even the teachers." This last part was a stretch.

"I'll bet Christina would choose a different movie."

"Yeah, some love story, probably. You want me to see that kind of movie with Mason?"

"No, I do not!"

Miri decided to change the subject. "And then we'll probably stop for burgers."

"Not at the White Castle. They serve horse meat."

"That's just something Nana said to scare you when you were young."

"No, it's the truth. During the war they used horse meat."

"Well, the war is over." What happened to happy-go-lucky Rusty from last weekend?

"Korea isn't over."

"That doesn't mean they still serve horse meat." An image of Natalie at summer camp, astride a sleek black horse, popped into her head.

"No burgers at the White Castle," Rusty said. "Do you understand?"

"Okay. No burgers at the White Castle."

"How are you getting there?"

"Jack has a truck. He's a very safe driver."

"How do you know?"

"Because he uses it to get to work. He's an electrician. Christina says he's the best."

"Ha-she's no judge if she's in love. You tell him you're my only child."

"He knows."

"How does he know?"

What was this, the Spanish Inquisition? "Okay, I'll tell him."

"And I want you home by ten. It's a school night, after all. And get all your homework done first."

"I'm almost done with my homework."

Something was making Rusty act crazy tonight. Maybe she was getting her period. Maybe she had a spirit living inside her, too, like Natalie. Maybe it was only a matter of time before the dead moved into all their bodies.

Rusty came in for a hug. Surrounded by her familiar Mom scent, Miri thought, There's so much I wish I could tell you, Mom, but I can't.

- THE MOVIE WASN'T as bad or as scary as she'd thought. After, at the White Castle, Miri ordered only fries and a c.o.ke, while the others ate hamburgers. She didn't warn them about eating horse meat. They'd laugh at her, she knew, so she explained that she wasn't that hungry, probably because of the roast chicken Irene had served for Sunday dinner. Jack picked up the check for all of them.

Jack was proud of his '48 Dodge panel truck, keeping it clean and in good shape, his equipment stored in fitted wooden boxes. Miri and Mason sat on a little rug on the floor in the back and necked on the way home, sometimes falling over when the truck took a turn, making them laugh. Once, Christina slid open the little window between the front and back to look in on them. "What's going on? Are you two okay?"

"We're fine," they said at the same time.

"You're sitting up?" Christina asked.

"Like soldiers in a row," Mason said, tightening his fingers around Miri's.

- JACK AND CHRISTINA DROPPED Mason and Miri off at her house. It was too cold to sit outside on the steps so they crept down to the bas.e.m.e.nt, something they'd done a couple of times before. It was dark and dank even though Henry had painted the walls and the floor in a pale blue color and the oil burner kept it warm. A single bulb on a pull string gave them light. Piles of cartons were neatly stacked, along with summer furniture for the porch. They sat together on a beach chair until it collapsed, sending them both to the concrete floor, laughing. After that, they unwound a summer rug and lay down on it. The sisal was itchy but it would have been a lot itchier if they weren't fully dressed. They had to be very quiet. Had to whisper. Miri wasn't sure what would happen if they were discovered. Henry would probably be okay with it, and Irene never came to the bas.e.m.e.nt. But Rusty-she never knew with Rusty.

"Let's play Trust," Mason said.

"How do you play?"

"You've never played Trust?"

"No. I've never even heard of it. Is it a board game?"

He took her hand and smiled. "You tell me something you've never told anyone else. Then I tell you."

"You tell me first," Miri said.

He turned toward her, propping himself up on an elbow. "My mom..." he began.

He'd never told her anything about his parents. He'd never mentioned either one of them except to say the kaleidoscope had been his mother's. She figured they were dead or he wouldn't be living at Janet Memorial Home.

"My mom," he began again, "she took off after my dad slugged her so hard he knocked out her front teeth and broke her nose and cheekbone. She said next time he'd kill her. 'I'll come back for you, Mason,' she promised the night she came to my room holding a small suitcase. 'I'll come back for you and we'll go away together.' I was eleven and I believed her. Instead they found her on the railroad tracks the next day. She either fell or jumped and the train rolled over her. At the time, n.o.body bothered to tell me. Easier if I didn't know, they thought. Jack finally told me. He said it was an accident but I think she jumped."

Miri didn't know what to say.

"Before she left," Mason continued, "she lay down next to me on my bed and said, 'He won't hurt you. He'd never hurt you. You just stay out of his way when he's drinking. Get out of the house. Go with Jack. Go anywhere. Just get out of his way.' I ran the night he came after me with an ax. Picked up Fred and got the h.e.l.l out of there. That's the night Jack took me to Janet."

Miri could not stop the hot tears. She covered her face.

"Hey, come on, don't..." Mason said. "It's okay."

She shook her head. "It's not okay."

"Yeah, it is. Look, I'm here, aren't I?" He kissed away her tears.

Then it was her turn. What could she possibly confide that was anything compared to his story? How simple her life was next to his. How easy. She had just one secret to share with him. "My mom was never married. The guy who got her pregnant with me...his name is Mike Monsky and the day I got my haircut I met him. My mom doesn't know. No one does except my aunt, an aunt I never knew I had."

There, she'd said it. She didn't call him her father-because he didn't even know her, had never taken care of her, had never even seen a baby picture of her. What kind of father would that be? Better than one who chases you with an ax, she thought. But it's still cutting you up inside, isn't it?

Give her something special for Valentine's Day

NIA'S LINGERIE

Featuring the Finest In Sleepwear.

Elegance Is Our Motto.

Broad Street Elizabeth

19.

Christina Christina was at the store, helping her mother and sister get ready for Valentine's Day. They would soon be hosting a special evening for gentlemen only to choose gifts for their wives, even their girlfriends. Nia wasn't crazy about the idea but Athena convinced her to give it a try. "Stop worrying, Mama. The merchandise can only be returned for store credit, so we can't lose. But it won't be returned, because a wife would never insult her husband, who went to all this trouble to please her. Believe me, she'll wear it even if it's something she wouldn't normally be caught dead in."

"Unless she dies of embarra.s.sment," Nia said. "Then she'd be caught dead in it."

"Are you making a joke, Mama?" Athena asked.

"Of course she's making a joke," Christina said. "Isn't that right, Mama?"

Nia just shook her head at her daughters.

Athena was counting on the gentlemen's desire to see their wives in black negligees. The younger ones, especially, but also the ones whose old-world wives wore black every day, though never at bedtime.