Summer 1983
“We’re moving to California!” announced Devin, as soon as Brady’s family arrived. They were at Trey’s house for a Fourth of July party.
“Awesome!” exclaimed Brady. “When?”
“Later this summer. My dad found out last night that he got the counseling job at Hillside High.”
“So you’re moving to Hillside?” asked Brady, sounding a little less enthusiastic.
“Yeah, isn’t that great?” asked Trey, whose family lived in Hillside.
“I guess so,” said Brady. “Why don’t you move to Northland instead?” Northland was where Brady’s family lived.
“What does it matter? They’re right next to each other,” observed Devin.
“Cause then you guys will get to go to junior high together and I’ll be all by myself,” explained Brady.
“Don’t worry, we’ll invite you to all the Hillside victory parties every time we beat Northland,” teased Trey.
“I’m going to Prospector Junior,” Brady informed them as the three boys plopped down onto beanbags in Trey’s bedroom.
“Look what I got!” Devin declared. He opened the paper bag full of firecrackers and held it out so that his cousins to see.
“Where’d you get those?” asked Trey as he and Brady gathered around the bag to see.
“My friends and I bought a whole bunch for really cheap last summer,” Devin beamed.
“Aren’t those illegal?” Brady asked nervously.
“How can they be illegal?” asked Devin indignantly. “We set them off every year.”
“They banned them here because of the fire danger,” said Trey glumly.
“That’s stupid!” Devin declared. “In Utah we used to shoot them off all the time!”
“Well, welcome to California,” Trey stated.
“This is so dumb,” he complained, crumpling the bag shut again and plopping down on Trey’s bed. “So what are we supposed to do?”
“We can still do the firecrackers,” Trey said conspiratorially, lowering his voice after checking to see that his door was shut tight. “We just have to make sure no one finds out.”
“Why don’t we just go play games with the rest of kids,” suggested Brady, tugging at the bill of his Dodger cap.
“They’re playing Duck, Duck, Goose,” declared Devin derisively. “Come on, let’s go have some fun!”
“I don’t know,” hedged Brady.
“What’s the big deal?” asked Trey. “It’s not like they’re going to arrest us or anything. In fact, I think it’s only illegal to sell fireworks here.”
“Besides, banning fireworks on the Fourth of July is un-American!” declared Devin. He had spent his hard earned money to buy the firecrackers – legally – and he didn’t want them to just go to waste.
Brady didn’t answer. He just chewed his lip and furrowed his brow.
“Come on, let’s just go ourselves,” urged Devin, turning to Trey. “I guess he’s too chicken.”
“I’m not chicken!” said Brady defiantly.
“Let’s hurry then!” encouraged Trey. He cracked open the door and peeked into the hall. “The coast is clear,” he whispered back with a grin.
Devin stuffed the bag under his shirt, and folded his arms over it. It still bulged out, so he made sure he tagged along in Trey’s shadow as they casually walked past their family members and out the back door.
As soon as they were outside, Trey headed for the back wall. “Come on!” he urged.
“Where are we going?” asked Brady.
“To the fields,” said Trey. Trey’s family lived in the foothills of the San Bernadino Mountains; and even though new housing tracts were going up all over southern California, the large orange grove behind his house was still untouched. Beyond that open fields and hills spread all the way to the base of the mountains. The three boys had spent many summer afternoons over the years hiking in the grove and fields and knew them well.
“Wouldn’t it be safer to set them off in the street?” asked Brady, hesitating again.
“Nope. If we get caught, my dad’ll kill me,” explained Trey, hopping over the wall. “This way, if anyone asks where we were, we can honestly say we went for a walk.”
“Good idea,” agreed Devin, pulling himself up and over. He cast a glance back at the house to make sure no one was watching before dropping down on the other side.
“But what about the fire hazard?” asked Brady, following his cousins over the wall.
“Good grief, you worry as much as your mother,” snapped Devin in a condescending tone. He wanted Brady to come with them, but not if he was going to make them feel guilty the whole time. Luckily the comment had the desired effect. Brady immediately snapped his mouth shut, and didn’t say anything more as they walked through the orange trees.
When they got clear of the grove, Trey led them to a flat, mostly dirt area, and the three boys quickly cleared away the tall weeds in a six-foot radius. Then Devin opened the bag and pulled out a small rocket.
Taking one last look around to make sure they were alone, Devin lit the wick and hurried back to where his cousins waited. The rocket shot up, flaring brightly, before gravity pulled it back to Earth. It was awesome!
“Cool!” shouted Brady enthusiastically, allowing Devin to breath easier.
“Do you want to light the next one?” offered Devin.
“Nah, I’ll just watch,” answered Brady. He still looked uncomfortable about the whole thing, so just Devin and Trey took turns lighting them off.
After the rockets were gone, they tried out the Roman candles. Even though they were in the middle of nowhere, Devin caught himself looking over his shoulder from time to time to make sure no one was around. Although he tried to convince himself that the fireworks ban was unfair, Devin still felt guilty. But not guilty enough to stop.
Next up were the flowers. They were still some of Devin’s favorites. He loved how they danced around the ground, changing colors from yellow to pink to green to yellow again, before flaming out.
All too soon, though, the fireworks were almost gone.
“Last one, do you want it?” asked Devin, offering the small firecracker to Brady. If Brady would just join in on the fun, maybe he wouldn’t feel so guilty.
Brady looked at it for a second before making up his mind. He finally took it and lit the wick. Then he hurriedly dropped it to the ground.
At first it just lay there with a long, yellow flame shooting out. Brady kicked it with his foot, and it started hopping around like a boy with his pants on fire. Unfortunately, it skipped toward the edge of the clearing and into the dry brush. The three boys rushed to retrieve it, but it was too late. The brush had already caught fire!
“Oh no!” yelled Devin, as the small flames quickly spread from one dry weed to the next. He reached down to grab the offending firework. It had stopped dancing, but was still flaming. Unfortunately his brain must have stopped functioning, because he forgot how hot it would be. A second later, he was rudely reminded.
“Yeeooow!” Reflexively, he dropped the still flaming firework into the brush again and stuck his scorched fingers in his mouth for relief. Trey began kicking dirt on the spreading flames, so Devin joined in; but Brady turned and ran towards the house.
“Wait! Where are you going?” called Devin. They needed to put out the fire before anyone found out.
“To get help!” Brady yelled over his shoulder.
“No wait! Help us put it out!” Devin shouted. “Come back!” But Brady kept running.
Frantically, Devin got back to work. The fire still wasn’t very big, but no matter what they did, it continued to spread. “What are we going to do?” he yelled, scooping up handfuls of dirt and tossing it on the fire. The problem they faced now was that the flames were moving further away from the dirt supply.
“I don’t know!” answered Trey. “It just keeps growing!”
Just as they were getting ready to abandon their efforts, Shane burst out from the orange groves. Two pool towels were slung over his shoulders, flapping behind him like a double cape, as Shane swooped in to save the day.
Shane was at their side in seconds, and tossed one of the wet towels to Trey. Then he began beating the flames near Devin with the other. Devin continued to toss dirt, and was heartened to see that their efforts were now making progress. Within a minute, the flames were nearly extinguished.
As they stamped out the last of the flames, Devin began wondering if they could possibly keep the whole incident under wraps. Maybe Brady had only told Shane, and they could convince him not to say anything.
Those hopes were dashed when he heard his dad yell, “Devin Gilbert Allred! What on earth happened out here?”
Devin turned to see his father and uncles rushing towards them – and they didn’t look too happy. Devin gulped. They were busted!
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