“That Alice is all right,” Bobby said.

“She’s okay.”

“I’d sure like to get me some of that, hey, Rog?”

Roger leered.

“Cut that out,” Esther said. “We shouldn’t even be here, so don’t cause any trouble.”

Arnie had walked over to Tommy and Alice while they had been talking. Arnie said something and motioned in their direction. Cooper turned toward them and scowled.

“I don’t like that prick,” Billy said.

“Me neither,” said Bobby.

“You want to have some fun?”

“Hey, I told you I didn’t want no trouble,” Roger said uneasily. “Besides, we’re outnumbered.”

“I didn’t say anything about trouble, Roger,” Billy said, grinning. “I said ‘fun.’”

“Billy, I know you. Look, Esther, I don’t feel right being here. I’m going home.”

Esther looked at Roger and at Billy and Bobby. Roger was her boyfriend, but he was acting like a coward.

“Let’s stay, Roger. Please.”

“I told you no. Now come on.”

“You never want to have fun. I want to stay.”

“Well I don’t.”

Roger started for the door. Esther went after him. They were talking in angry undertones as they went out the door. Five minutes later Esther came back in. She was crying. “Oh, shit,” Bobby thought. Now they were stuck with Esther for the evening. Roger and Esther were always having fights. They usually ended with Roger slapping her around and Esther crying.

“That bastard left me,” Esther whimpered.

“Don’t worry. We’ll get you home,” Bobby said. He was watching Cooper carefully. Cooper had gone over to a couple of the bigger boys in the room and they were talking in the corner.

“I think I’ll get some punch,” Billy said.

Bobby followed his brother over to the refreshment table. His brother filled a glass of punch and munched some potato chips. The people at the table ignored them. There were a few comments made in guarded tones.

Bobby noticed Cooper approaching. He was having second thoughts about what they were doing. He had been in a fighting mood all day, but now that it looked like they were going to get into it, he didn’t like the odds.

“Hi, Alice,” Billy said.

“Hello, Billy,” Alice answered stiffly.

“Nice party.”

Alice forced a smile and walked off. Tommy Cooper talked to her in low tones. There were four guys behind him. Bobby knew two of them from school. He did not know the other two. They looked tough.

Alice looked upset. Bobby heard her say something about “no trouble” and he saw Tommy and the others push past her and head in their direction.

“Alice said she didn’t invite you, Coolidge.”

Billy was refilling his punch glass and he purposely kept his back to Cooper.

“I guess she didn’t. We just heard that there was a party and decided to drop by.”

“Well, why don’t you just drop out.”

Billy turned. He was smiling. Bobby had seen that smile before and he moved his body sideways so as to make himself tough to hit.

“Why don’t you just fuck off?”

Cooper looked uncertain of his next move. The noise in the room had stopped.

“Now look here…” Cooper started to say. One of the two boys that Bobby did not know had moved beside Tommy. He was Billy and Bobby’s size, about six two, and he looked lean and muscular. His hair was crew cut and he resembled Cooper. The other stranger was taller than the Coolidges, but he was fat and looked out of shape.

“Let’s cut the talk,” the boy who looked like Tommy said. “I’ve heard enough from this little fart. Now you two get out or I’ll kick your ass out.”

“You better listen, Billy. This is my brother. He’s on leave from the service.”

Billy’s boot caught Tommy’s brother in the groin. As he folded, Bobby hit him in the temple with a right. The boys standing with Tommy were too shocked to move. Billy had counted on this and he smashed the punch glass into Tommy Cooper’s face and hit him in the stomach.

The fat boy was the first to react. He was deceptively fast and he put his bulk behind a right that exploded against Billy’s head, knocking him backward across the refreshment table. Bobby hit the fat man, but the punch had no effect and two other boys had him down before he could move. They were not hitting him. They were just holding him.

“He’s got a knife,” someone screamed. Bobby could not see much from the floor. The fat boy moved into his line of vision and he heard his brother yell,

“Come on, motherfucker, and I’ll cut you wide open.”

“Stop this,” Alice Fay was yelling.

“Let my brother go and we’ll leave this shithole.”

“Let him up,” Alice said and the two boys that were holding Bobby rolled off.

Billy was standing with his back to the table with the knife in his hand. The fat boy had a broken Coke bottle.

“Let’s get out of here,” Bobby said. The crowd moved away from the door and they edged out. Esther was already on the porch. She looked terrified.

People were filing onto the porch as they moved toward their car. Esther climbed in back and Billy drove off. Billy’s face was tight. Bobby could see a pulse throbbing in Billy’s temple.

“The bastards,” Billy said in a taut, clipped voice. “Just once I want to be treated like a human being by those cocksucking sons of bitches.”

“You were looking for it…” Esther started.

Billy jammed on the brakes and whirled in his seat. He held a rigid finger in front of Esther’s startled eyes.

“Just shut your mouth or I’ll ram a fist down it. You’d love to be one of those goody goodies, wouldn’t you? Well, they’re nothing but a bunch of leeches, living off of daddy’s money. Not one of them is worth the shit off of my asshole. And someday…”

His voice trailed off into the darkness. The illuminated hands of the dashboard clock read ten twenty-five.

Elaine Murray checked her hair and lipstick one final time and left the ladies’ room of the Paramount Theater. She had been grateful for the excuse to leave Richie for a few moments. She needed the time to catch her breath. She felt as if she was floating and giddy.

Elaine could hardly remember the movie. All she could remember was Richie’s strong arms around her and the passion of his kisses. They had gone to the last row of the balcony and the movie had barely started when she felt him slide his arm behind her shoulders.

The movie was Midnight Lace with Doris Day and Rex Harrison. It was a thriller and it took place in London. It got tense and she moved as close to Richie as she could. Then he had been kissing her and she had kissed back, letting him slip his hand inside her sweater.

Their tongues had touched and she could feel his fingers caressing her nipples through her bra. She had lost control.

It was near the end of the movie when he had whispered that he loved her. She had almost cried. Then the lights had come on. She told him that she wanted to freshen up. Inside the ladies’ room, she sat in a stall until she was relaxed enough to go out again.

Richie was waiting in the lobby. He felt happy and unsure of what to say now that he had said what was in his heart. Elaine took his hand and they walked out of the theater. The sidewalks were crowded with Friday-night strollers and the streets were jammed with souped-up cars that raced their engines and honked at each other. Downtown Portsmouth was the place to be seen on Friday and Saturday nights.

Richie and Elaine walked slowly despite the chill in the air. A group of boys were standing beside Richie’s car. Elaine recognized Matt Shaw and Rudy Pegovich. They said hello and talked for a bit. Elaine wished they would leave. Soon Richie said so long and opened her door. She felt proud to sit in Richie’s car. It was the talk of the school. She didn’t know much about cars, but she knew that the engine was powerful and that other cars could not beat it. He had dragged with her in the car several times and she had always been thrilled by the car’s speed and Richie’s daring.