STAND BY ME: Chapter 6
Chapter 6
MILO AND CHOPPER
Words mean different things to different people. For me, summer always means running down the road to the Florida Market. I hear coins moving in my pocket. The sun is very hot. I see the railway tracks going far into the distance. There are also songs, films, games, and sports. There is grass to cut and teams to follow. Life feels full.
Now I sit here in my office and I try to see that time again. I look at the computer screen and I remember. I can almost feel the thin boy inside me. I can almost hear the sounds from that summer. But the strongest memory is this: Gordon Lachance running down the road with coins in his pocket and sweat running down his back.
I go to the store and ask for a kilo of hamburger. I also get hamburger buns, four bottles of Coke, and a small bottle opener. The owner, George Dusset, stands behind the counter. He is very fat. His stomach is huge and round, pushing hard against his white T-shirt, like a big balloon full of air.
When he leans forward, his belly almost touches the counter. He has a toothpick in his mouth. He moves it slowly from one side to the other.
He watches me the whole time. He does not trust me. He thinks I might steal something. He puts the meat on the scale, to weigh it. He says nothing at first. Then he looks at me. “I know you,” he says. “You’re Denny Lachance’s brother. Aren’t you?” He takes a bottle of soda and drinks it fast. “Yes, sir,” I say. “But Denny, he…”
“Yeah, I know,” he says. “That’s a sad thing, kid.” His voice changes. Softer now. “The Bible says we are close to death even when we live. I lost a brother too. In Korea.” He studies my face. “You look just like Denny. Do people tell you that?” “Yes, sir,” I say quietly. “I remember him,” Dusset says. “He was fast. Very fast. Boy could he run! And he could throw a football! You probably don’t remember. You’re too young.”
He is not looking at me now. He is looking outside, like he sees something far away. I shift my feet. “Mr. Dusset?” “What, kid?” he says, still thinking. “Your thumb is on the scale.” He stops.
“What?” He looks down. His fat thumb presses down hard on the scale. “Oh,” he says. “Yeah. I guess I was thinking about your brother.” He moves his thumb away. The number drops. He adds a little more meat and wraps it. “Okay,” he says. “Let’s see.” He counts slowly. “The meat, the cokes, the bread… Two twenty-nine.”
“Thirteen,” I say. He looks up. Slow. Heavy. “Huh?” “Two thirteen,” I say. “You added the total wrong.” His eyes narrow. “Kid…” “You added it wrong,” I say again. “First you press the scale. Then you charge too much.” I put the money on the counter. “I was going to buy more,” I say. “But not now.” He looks at the money. Then at me. His face changes. Hard now. Angry.
“What are you, kid?” he says quietly. “Some kind of smartass?” “No, sir,” I say. “But you can’t cheat me. What would your mother say if she knew you cheated little kids?” For a second, we just look at each other. Then he grabs the food and throws it into the bag. The bottles hit each other with a loud clink. He pushes the bag at me. “Get out,” he says. “And don’t come back.”
“I won’t,” I say. “And my friends won’t either. And I have fifty of them!” His face turns red. “Your brother wasn’t a smartass like you!” he shouts. I stop at the door. “Fuck you!” I shout back. Then I run.
After I buy the food, I walk quickly back to the dump. I put the bag inside my shirt and climb over the front gate. I walk across the dump toward the place where I left the others. Then I see something I do not like. Milo Pressman’s car is parked near his office. If Milo sees me, I am in big trouble.
Suddenly, the other side of the dump feels very far away. I wish I went around the outside. But now it’s too late. I keep walking. One step, then another. I try to look calm. I try to look like I belong here, with the bag under my shirt. I walk toward the fence near the railway tracks.
I am about twenty meters from the fence when I hear a shout. “Hey, you! Get away from that fence! Get out of here!” I start running. I can see Vern, Teddy, and Chris. They are climbing the fence to escape. “You come back here!” Milo screams. “Come back here, goddammit, or I’ll sic my dog on you!” That makes me run faster. Teddy starts laughing his crazy laugh. “Go, Gordie! Go!” Vern shouts. “Come on, Gordie, run!” Chris yells.
Then Milo screams: “Sic him, Chopper! Go get him, boy!” Now, he said “Sic him, Chopper,” but as I run, the words I hear leaving Milo Pressman’s mouth are, “Chopper! Sic! Balls!” I scream!
I throw the bag of food over the fence. Vern catches it. Behind me, I hear the dog coming. In my mind, it sounds huge and dangerous. I jump and grab the fence. I climb fast. Then I jump down on the other side without looking. I almost land on Teddy. He is laughing so hard that he cannot stand straight.
I turn around and see the famous Chopper for the first time. He is not some enormous creature from hell with red eyes and cruel teeth. He is an ordinary, sandy-colored, middle-sized dog. He is jumping up at the fence and trying to reach us. Teddy walks up and down in front of the fence. “Kiss my ass, Chopper!” he shouts. Teddy turns around and pushes his ass against the fence. Chopper goes crazy and jumps at the fence. But Teddy moves away. All Chopper does is hurt his nose. Chris and Vern are lying on the bank. They are laughing so hard they can’t even move.
Then Milo Pressman comes running. “You boys stop that!” he shouts. “Stop being horrible to my dog!” But Teddy does not stop. “Come on, Chopper! Come and get me!” Teddy shouts again. Chopper runs in a big circle. Then he runs straight at the fence very fast. He crashes hard into it.
The fence shakes. Chopper falls back and lies still for a moment. Then he gets up slowly, confused. He walks away. His tongue is hanging out of his mouth. Milo becomes very angry now. “I know you!” he shouts. “You’re Teddy Duchamp! I'll beat your ass for being cruel to my dog!”
“I’d like to see you try!” Teddy shouts. “Come over here, fat-ass!” “WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?” “FAT-ASS! You and your stupid dog!” Teddy shouts again. Milo becomes even angrier. “You little son of a bitch! You son of a crazy madman!” he says. “I’ll talk to your mother!” Teddy stops jumping around. He looks at Milo strangely. “What did you call me?” he says.
Milo smiles. He knows he has found the right words. “Your dad is crazy,” he says. “Up in the Togus loony asylum. He’s completely mad. He’s crazier than a rat in a pile of shit. It's not a surprise that you're behaving the way you are, with a madman for a father.” Teddy and Milo are nose to nose at the fence now. Vern and Chris stop laughing. They begin to see that the situation is very serious now. Teddy’s face changes. He looks pale and shocked. “Don't you say anything else about my dad. My dad was on the beaches at Normandy, you fat pussy,” he says.
But Milo continues. “Yeah, but where is he now, you ugly little four-eyed lump of puke? He’s up in the Togus asylum, isn't he? “OK, that's it,” says Teddy. ”Now I'm going to kill you.” He starts to climb the fence. ”Come on and try, you dirty little rat.” Milo steps back and stands there, waiting and smiling. “No!” I shout. I grab Teddy and pull him down. We fall to the ground.
“Let me go!” Teddy shouts. “I’m going to kill him!” “No! That’s what he wants!” I say. “He wants you to go over there and beat you up. Then he’ll take you to the police!” Teddy stops and looks at me. “You think you’re clever,” Milo says. “Let him fight his own battles!” “Sure,” I say. “A grown man against a boy.”
Milo points at us. “I know you," Milo says. “Your name's Lachance. And those guys are Chris Chambers and one of those stupid Tessio boys. I'm going to talk to your fathers. I know all of you.” He stands there and waits for us to say sorry or something. Chris approaches the fence and gives him the middle finger.
“Come on, Gordie,” Teddy says. “Let's go before this guy makes me puke.” “I'll get you, you dirty-mouthed little rat. Wait until I get you to the police. You’ll pay for this!” Milo shouts. “We heard what you said about his father,” I tell him. “We’re all witnesses. And you sent your dog to attack me. That’s against the law.” Milo looks unsure now. But before he can answer, I say, “Let’s go.” We walk away.
“I can’t wait to tell the police that you called a war hero a madman,” Chris calls back at Milo. “What did you do in the war, Mr. Pressman?” “That’s none of your business!” Milo shouts. “You hurt my dog! Come back here!” But his voice is weaker now.
When we reach the top of the bank, I look back. Milo stands behind the fence with his dog. His hands hold the wire fence. Suddenly, I feel sorry for him. He looks like a big schoolboy locked inside the school playground, shouting for someone to let him out.
