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.It took me two days to get my hands clean.I had some explaining to do when I got home and my clothes were ruined.That scared me more than falling out of the tree.”Tyler laughed.“I sure liked watching you climb.You were like a squirrel hopping up those branches.You could outclimb all the guys.”“With my hands tied,” I said.“But I’ve outgrown climbing trees.”In case you hadn’t noticed.We walked silently down the path through the trees and across the sand until we reached my rock overlooking the water.This morning the lake was velvety blue and still as glass.Tyler leaned back and stretched his legs while he drank his orange juice.He sighed like he was happy to be sitting on my rock, and I pretended for a few seconds that I was the reason.“I’m helping Gideon with a story he’s working on for a magazine and wonder if I could get your opinion on summers at the lake,” I said.“Gideon, that old man who delivers the mail?”“He’s actually a journalist.He has a column in a Toronto paper.”“Really? I thought he was a retired guy from Toronto who just enjoys living like a hermit.”“Yeah well, looks can be deceiving.So, will you do it? Answer a few questions for my article?”Tyler lowered the bottle.“Okay, I guess.Sure, ask away.”“Great.”I opened my notebook to a clean page and uncapped my pen.“So what do you remember about summers at the lake when you were young?”Tyler looked out over the lake and squinted into the sun.“I remember I could hardly wait to leave Peterborough to come here when school got out.There always seemed to be lots of kids around and no end of things to do — swimming, touring around in the rowboat, camping under the stars, bonfires.It was a free time.No worries except remembering to show up home for supper.There was a certain girl I used to like to hang out with.” He turned sideways and grinned at me.“Seems I still do.”I ducked my head so he wouldn’t see my face change colour.I’d forgotten how much he liked to tease me.“How has it changed, coming up to the lake?”This time, Tyler was quiet for a long time.When he started talking, his voice had lost its lightness.“It’s like all the fun has gone out of being here.I don’t know when it changed, but it did.I’d rather be in Toronto or Ottawa or anywhere else where there’s something going on.It’s like I’m just putting in time.Waiting for my life to begin and doing everything possible not to end up working a nine to five job like my dad.”“Would you really rather be in the city?”“Sometimes.Maybe not.” Tyler focused his eyes on the horizon.“I thought about signing up for Nam over the winter.I wanted to get out there and see the world and do something different.Get away for a while.”My heart jumped.“It’s not our war.It’s the Americans’ war.”“They take Canadian recruits.We’re still part of it whether we want to be or not.Anyhow, I decided I couldn’t stand killing anyone, so that ended that daydream.”“Being shot at wouldn’t be much fun either.”“I ask myself why I should lead this safe life while people are being killed.” Tyler’s voice had dropped.“We can’t be responsible for the terrible things going on in the world,” I said.“You aren’t the one who decided to send troops into Vietnam.”“But I’m watching from the sidelines.Who said that evil is sitting back doing nothing while people are dying?”“Edmund Burke in the 1700s.He said that all it takes for evil to triumph is good men to do nothing.”Tyler shot me an admiring look.“How do you know this stuff?”“History class.It’s a pretty famous quote.”“Yeah, but how many people remember who said it? Anyhow, that’s what we’re doing, in my opinion.”“But how could you want to fight in a war after what happened to those women and children in My Lai? How many was it the Americans slaughtered? Five hundred? They herded them up like animals and shot them.Look at the Kent State massacre last year.The Ohio National Guard fired on students.They killed four of them and wounded nine more just because they were protesting going into Cambodia.They weren’t much older than you or me.How can they rationalize doing that? It’s wrong what Nixon’s doing.What their government is making their soldiers do.The Americans aren’t blameless.” I was out of breath.“Yeah, but sometimes you have to take a stand even if it doesn’t all go perfectly.”“I don’t know if we do in Vietnam,” I said.“How can we know what’s really behind a country going to war when politicians will say anything to get what they want?”“You’ve got me there.I just think there’s more reason to go to Vietnam than not.I guess we can agree to disagree.” Tyler looked at his watch.“Hey, gotta go.My ride will be here soon.” He stood and looked down at me.“You coming to the beach party tonight? You can ask me more questions, then, for your lake article if you want.We seem to have a lot to talk about.” He grinned.“I’m not sure.William will be visiting for the weekend.” The sudden change in topic left me wanting to hear more of Tyler’s opinions about Vietnam.Tyler was smarter than he let on most of the time.We used to discuss things going on in the world before he found Jane Ratherford and turned cool.“Bring him too.I haven’t seen your brother all year.”“Maybe.”“See you then.”I watched Tyler walk across the beach before I returned to my notebook.He hadn’t told me much that I could use in my article, but a new idea was beginning to take shape.This could be a coming of age story — the childhood security of Cedar Lake and the war raging across the ocean.I knew Canada wasn’t officially in the war, but we were too closely connected to the States to believe that it wasn’t our war too.Gideon had said that enough times to make me a believer.This could be the angle that would transform my story into something brilliant.I jotted down notes for well over an hour.When I finally put away my pen, I was ready to interview more people.I thought again about Tyler and wondered if it meant anything that he hadn’t asked about Elizabeth.I ran that idea around in my mind like a warm beach stone, trying to read something into his omission, but in the end, I couldn’t convince myself that what he’d failed to ask meant anything at all.I waited another hour before going to Candy Parsens’.I’d picked her as my token newcomer at the lake, figuring she’d give my article an exotic flavour.If I was lucky, she’d name more of her famous friends.I pedalled my bike up their driveway and surveyed their property.The grass hadn’t been mowed in a while and the shrubs that used to be trimmed obsessively by Mr.Davidson were starting to grow in haphazard shapes.Bags of garbage were stacked near the back door and empty wine bottles spilled out of one.Flies circled just above and wasps buzzed from the pile.The visitor’s car was still in the driveway behind Johnny’s flower power van.I got halfway up the driveway before I stopped and thought about leaving and coming back another time.I didn’t want to walk in on Candy and Johnny and those two men staying with them.Another few seconds and I would have been gone, but just like at Tyler’s, the back door opened before I’d taken a step away from the house.Candy must have seen me through the kitchen window.She started running toward me
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