dog days of summer//pope heyward

seven

I pull out a FedEx envelope from the hole. For Bird is written in black marker on the front. I pass it through the crack to John B.

"That's not gold," Pope states.

I start to make my way out of the tomb.

"Holy shit. This is from my dad," John B tells us.

JJ lights a cigarette. He notices headlights coming our way. "Code red. Code red. Square groupers! Square groupers!"

"Go," Kie says.

"It's the guys who robbed your house," JJ warns.

"Light!" I say.

We hide behind tombs trying to stay out of sight.

Pope starts to fiddle with JJ's light. "Turn your light off, man!"

"John B? Your light!" Kie tells him.

"I see something!" a man shouts.

"Do you think it's them?" I ask.

"Homie's got a gun," JJ warns us.

"Screw this." I take off running and everyone follows after me. We climb over the cemetery gate.

"Hurry up!" JJ shouts.

"Go!" I shout. I can hear the golf cart coming towards us.

"Guys! Guys! Guys, I'm stuck," Pope tells us. His pants are stuck to the gate.

"Pope, come on!" JJ shouts.

"All right, guys..." John B says.

I run back towards Pope. "I got you."

JJ holds up the gun. "No. Pope, don't move, okay?"

"You're gonna rip me," Pope protests. "Wait. You're gonna rip me!"

"You're fine. Come on!" I continue to tug on Pope.

"Pope, come on!" Kie yells at him.

I get Pope off the fence but his pants get ripped off in the process.

"Nice! Come on, dude. It's a little Tootsie Roll," JJ taunts.

I laugh. "Come on!" We all run to the van. "Get in! Stupid!"

Everyone is barely in the van when John B takes off.

We head back to John B's place. JJ is in the kitchen making a sandwich.

"That bread had mold on it three days ago," John B tells him.

"I'll just pull off the bad parts," JJ states. "Plus, mold is good for you. It's just a natural organism."

Kie calls out to him, "JJ!"

He comes running into the room with a sandwich and beer in hand. "Yup, yup, yup! Hot damn! Let's do it." JJ bites into the sandwich and then spits it out.

John B rips open the envelope. He unfolds a map with markings on it. "Holy shit."

Pope points to a spot. "Oh. X marks the spot."

John B moves his finger over the map. "Longitude, latitude. Wait, there's somethin' else in there."

"What's that?" JJ asks.

"It's a tape recorder, dumbass," I state.

John B plays the tape. "Dear Bird."

"Who's Bird?" JJ asks.

"That's what my dad called me," John B explains.

The tape goes on, "I hate to say, "I told you so, but I told you so. And you doubted your old man. I suspect at this moment, you're filled with guilt and self-loathing over our last fight, but don't kill yourself just yet, kid. I didn't expect to find the Merchant either." There are clattering sounds in the background. "You were probably right to call me out. Wasn't exactly Father of the Decade." He sighs. "What can I say, kid? I could smell the barn. And hopefully, we're listenin' to this in our brand new sugar-shack down in Costa Rica, livin' off passive investments and pulling on permits." He sighs again. "If not, and you find this for less than optimal reasons, well, that's what the map is for. There she is, the wreck of the Merchant. If somethin' happens to me, finish what I started. Go for the gold, kid. I love you, Bird, even if I didn't always act like it." There is a vehicle in the background. "I'll see you on the other side." There is static on the tape and then it ends.

John B gets up from the table and walks away. He leans against the doorframe and I can hear him crying.

"Holy shit, he did it! Big John... He found the Merchant..." JJ starts.

I cut him off, "Can you... can you please?"

"Sorry," JJ says.

I can hear John B sobbing. Kie walks over to comfort him. I can't imagine how John B feels. My dad may be gone on long hauls but I always know he's coming back. John B just lost his last hope for his father coming back alive.

Once John B calms down we sit out back on the dock. Thunder rumbles in the distance. Kie strums on the guitar.

"How much was it again?" JJ asks.

"Four hundred mil," John B states.

JJ sighs. "All right, let's talk the split. Now, before we say 'evenly,' may I remind you that I am the only one that can properly defend us from those groupers who were after us." JJ waves the gun. "Protection? Not cheap, okay?"

"You haven't trained. You've done zero training," Pope points out.

"YouTube, bro! That's at least a five percent bump right there," JJ argues.

"You haven't..." Pope starts.

"Any objections?" JJ shakes his head. "Didn't think so."

Kie and I raise our hands.

"Yeah," Pope says.

"I don't hear any, so..." JJ trails off.

"What are you gonna do with your share, Pope?" Kie asks.

"Pay for college in advance. And also, textbooks. Those are expensive," Pope tells us.

"What about you, Kie?" JJ asks.

"Yeah, what does a socialist do when she's rich?" I question.

Kie chuckles. "Just wanna make a double album. About OBX, the Pogues." Pope chuckles. "You know, the way Catch a Fire is about Kingston. Record it at Marley Studio, Peter Tosh producing."

"Peter Tosh is dead," Pope reminds her.

"Peter Tosh is dead. I know that Pope. Spirit of Peter Tosh will never die," Kie states.

Pope looks at me. "What about you Nix?"

I think for a moment. "I'm gonna get a big ass house on Figure Eight."

"And go full Kook," JJ states. "We can be neighbors."

"You two are gonna go full Kook?" Pope questions.

JJ nods. "Yup. Gonna get a marble statue of myself."

"Oh, I'm gonna get a koi pond. Put a bunch of those fish..." I start.

"I'm never visiting," Kie tells me.

"What are you gonna do, JB?" Pope asks.

"To going full Kook," John B says.

We all raise our drinks. "To going full Kook!"

We sit on the boat going through the inlet.

JJ whistles. "You guys see that? That's the Malibu 24-MXZ, the world's finest wakesetter. Number one in luxury, quality, and performance. 200K, easy."

"We picked the wrong parents," I state.

"I hate to break it to you guys, but that's Topper and his girlfriend," Kiara tells us. The boat goes by and sure enough it is. "You don't have to act like you don't see us, bitch."