The Boys Are Back in Town Read Online Free PDF Page A

THE AFTERNOON just wandering around town. He knew that some of his friends were showing up early at Liam's for dinner, but he felt a kind of inner quiet that made him shy away. Instead he went into Annie's Book Stop and lost himself in the musty racks of used paperbacks, just glancing through titles. Eventually he found a Len Deighton book about World War II, and that was his sole purchase. He read the first three chapters sitting in The Sampan eating wonton soup and General Tsao's Chicken, careful not to get any food on his V-necked navy sweater or the crisp new blue jeans he wore.
    After dinner he left his car in the lot of the strip mall and went across the street to the Brooks Pharmacy. Once upon a time it had been an Osco, and before that a CVS. At the age of nine, with his mother over in the cosmetics section, he had stood in the candy aisle, glancing nervously back and forth to see if anyone was watching him as he debated stuffing a Snickers bar into his pocket. His conscience had won the debate, but even though he had not stolen anything, he had still felt guilty about it afterward.
    Now he bought a pack of Altoids to rid his mouth of the dreaded Chinese-food-breath and chewed three of them instantly, then followed them with two more.
    When he returned to his car, ready to head over to Liam's, he found that it was still only six-thirty. Though he had not wanted to be early, there was no way he was going to just sit in his car or invent something else to do in order to avoid it. He had enjoyed the afternoon on his own, but he found himself anticipating the evening quite a bit.
    Will started up the engine and the radio blared to life in the midst of the Barenaked Ladies tune “The Old Apartment.” A smile spread across Will's face as he sang along:
    “
This is where we used to live. . . .
”
    When he reached Liam's, the parking lot was already nearly full. The place had always been popular, and it was Friday night. There was a room upstairs, which he guessed was where his classmates would be gathered, but the main dining room and bar on the first floor would be packed as well.
    While he had been wandering through the stacks at Annie's the afternoon had cleared. There were still clouds in the early- evening sky, but they made a mural of shades of blue and none of them were threatening. There would be no more rain tonight. He climbed out of the car and started across the lot. The air was crisp and cold and he zipped his jacket up to his neck as he approached the restaurant.
    Just looking at Liam's Irish Tavern, a rambling old mid-nineteenth-century building with dark green paint and shamrocks on the sign, made him smile. It was good to know that some things never changed.
    “Hey, Will!”
    Just outside the door he turned to see a quartet of new arrivals moving through the parked cars toward the restaurant. Leading the pack was Joe Rosenthal, who had called out to him. Joe had been their class president all four years and Will had worked with him on the school paper. The two shared the same build, not tall but broad-shouldered. Will had remained fit, but Joe had a potbelly now and his hair was already thinning. There was a pair of women with him, both of whom Will recognized. One was Kelly Meserve, but to his horror he could not remember the other woman's name at all. He doubted if they had ever exchanged words in high school, but he still ought to be able to remember her name. Their class had not been that big.
    Tammy? Terri? Something like that. Hell, nobody's going to remember everyone.
    The last of the four was Tim Friel, who had been captain of the football team junior and senior year, but was such a quiet, humble guy that nobody could hold it against him. Tim had dated his share of cheerleaders, but he had never fit the stereotype of the football captain made popular by countless idiotic teen movies. The Eastborough Cougars had certainly had their share of dim-witted, cruel-natured assholes on the football team;