Tread Softly

'Hiya, hiya,' Benny said, winking one eye in time with the words. He raised a closed hand to his mouth as if holding a microphone. 'And a good good morning to you and thanks for tuning in. Have we got a show for you!'

'Can it, Bonzo,' Julie said. She gave Karen a quick, tight-lipped smile and turned her face toward the window.

Karen sat down. She pulled her door shut. The heater blew against her legs. She sighed and settled back, enjoying the warmth as Scott backed out of the driveway.

'All right if I drive?' Nick asked.

His father shoved the station wagon's tailgate into place. 'Can you keep it under sixty?' 'If you don't care when we get there.'

'Well, our ETA's two-thirty. I think we can make it without breaking any speed records. You start getting tired, though, let me know.'

'Right.'

They climbed into the car. Nick started the engine.

His father twisted around. 'Any last-minute pit stops?'

'Gross,' Heather said from the backseat.

'Vile,' said Rose.

'I think we're all set,' Mom told him.

'Sunglasses? Hats? Tampax?'

'Dad!' the twins blurted in unison.

'Arnold!'

'High altitudes,' he said, keeping a straight face. 'Bleeding occurs.'

''Nosebleeds,' Rose said.

Heather giggled.

'Whatever,' Dad said. 'Can't be too careful. 'Be Prepared,' right, Nick?'

'I've got mine.'

His father burst out laughing, and slapped his knee.

'I hope you fellows get it out of your systems before we meet the O'Tooles.'

'Scott's no prude.' He glanced at Nick. 'San Diego Freeway. Runs right into 99 just the other side of the Grapevine.'

Nick pulled away from the curb.

'Everybody buckled up?'

Near the corner, Nick flipped on the turn signal though no other cars were in sight. With his father beside him, he planned to drive by the book. He slowed almost to a stop before making the turn.

'What's his girlfriend's name?' Mom asked.

'Sharon? Karen. Karen something. He ran into her at a Sav-On.'

'A checkout girl?'

'No, no, she was in line with him. I think he said she's a teacher.'

'Oh, yuck,' Rose said.

'What does she look like?'

'A real bow-wow. Floppy ears, hair on her face, a wet nose. Nice tail, though.'

'What do you know about her?' Mom asked.

'Not much. You know Scott. Keeps his cards close to the vest.'

'I hope she plays bridge. June was so fantastic.'

'Don't start on her.'

'Well, she was.'

'I don't think we want to discuss that person in front of the girls.'

'I don't know why you're so angry. She didn't run out on you.'

'My best friend. Same difference. Now I think it would be wise to drop the subject. You have a green arrow,' he told Nick.

Nick made the left-hand turn and headed down the freeway on-ramp, embarrassed that he'd let his mind drift away from the driving. In the past, he'd heard a few references to the O'Tooles' break-up, but never anything so close to an argument. He was intrigued. It was none of his business though. Driving was his business, and he'd better pay attention or his father would take over.

Nick liked to drive. He wished they were taking the Mustang instead of this clunker, but it would've been a tight squeeze with all of them plus five backpacks. Besides, Dad wouldn't want to leave it sitting out in the middle of nowhere for a week. Last year, up at Yosemite, someone had broken a window of the station wagon and had a party inside. They'd come back to find beer cans and a pair of torn, pink panties on the floor.

The break-in had frightened Nick, and he felt uneasy thinking about it now. It was bad enough that some creeps had fooled around in the car, but what if you ran into them on an isolated trail? What if they stumbled onto your camp?

Nothing like that had ever happened to them, but it could. Nick was glad that the O'Tooles were coming along this year. Like Dad, Scott O'Toole was a big man. If any trouble came up, they'd be able to handle it.

With a feeling of relief, he checked the side mirror, signaled, and slipped into the right-hand lane. He sped up the overpass. Before it curved over the Santa Monica Freeway, he eased off the accelerator. He picked up speed again on the way down, signaled a left, and drifted across three deserted lanes of the San Diego Freeway.

His father leaned across the seat to check the speedometer. The needle hovered between 55 and 60 miles per hour. With a nod of approval, he settled back. 'You get tired, let me know.'

Benny leaned forward. 'Hey, Karen?' he said to the back of her head. She turned in her seat and looked around at him. Her face, so near to his, made him feel funny — excited and warm and a little embarrassed. He stared at her, forgetting what he'd planned to say.

He'd never seen her from so close. Her eyes were clear blue like the water of the swimming pool. He noticed, for the first time, the light golden hair barely visible above her upper lip. His cousin, Tanya, with dark hair, had more of a mustache there. Hers looked a little gross, but this on Karen looked so soft and fuzzy that he wished he could touch it. Maybe there wasn't even enough to feel, not over her mouth anyway, but it looked a little heavier on her smooth, tanned cheeks.

'Do you know how to get down off an elephant?' he asked.

'No, how?'

'You don't. You get down off a duck.'

Karen smiled and shook her head slightly.

Then she turned away. He could no longer see her face. Sitting back, he stared at her. The rim of an ear showed through her hair. He wished she would look around again, but first he would have to think of another joke.

He'd only seen Karen once before today. Usually, his father drove off to meet her. But last Saturday, she came over for barbecued ribs. She'd worn white shorts and a loose shirt of shiny red with green and white flowers, and she'd looked beautiful. When Dad introduced him, she shook his hand and said, 'Very nice to meet you, Benny.'

She had a pale scar curved like a horseshoe on her forearm. He'd wanted to ask her about it, but didn't have the guts.

That day was overcast, so nobody went into the pool and he didn't get to see her in a swimsuit. She sat across the table from him at dinner. It wasn't dark yet, but his father had lit candles. The light from the flames made her hair shine like gold. He thought she was very nice. Julie acted creepy, though. After dinner, Tanya took him and Julie to a movie. By the time they got home, Karen was gone. Dad said she would be coming along on the camping trip, and Julie went crazy. 'What do we need her along for? I don't even like her! I don't want to go if she's going.' Dad, looking unhappy, asked why she didn't like Karen. 'Oh, never mind!' she snapped.

'I think she's nice,' Benny had said.

'So do I,' Dad told him.

Sometimes, Julie could be a real jerk.