(Author Note: This is the sixth story in a series. The characters and situations were introduced in the episode:
Camp Torowa Falls 1964 - 01: A Fair To Remember
Read that episode first!) Then read episodes 2 thru 5 before reading this one.
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Fortunately for everybody involved, Mom was satisfied with the job done washing the muddy clothes from Monday. If she had bared either boy's bottom on Tuesday evening, she would have known immediately that he had been well and recently spanked, and a lot of embarrassing and difficult-to-answer questions would have been asked.

Becky duly reported that the boys had behaved quite well throughout the day. Mom was surprised, though pleased, to hear that. The boys were listless at dinner, but fortunately the adults seemed to attribute it to their being stuck inside grounded on such a beautiful day. After dinner, Jerry and Corey were once again ordered back to their room for the evening. They managed to smile a little when they were informed that if they kept their noses clean for the rest of the night the grounding would end and they would be free to pursue their normal summer activities again starting Wednesday.

The boys spent the evening reading and listening to music. Jerry rather quickly got tired of hearing Elvis all the time, but he shared Corey's affection for Peter, Paul & Mary, as well as the Tijuana Brass.

Corey had been thinking that they were just about out of the woods, when he heard someone coming up the stairs to the loft. He glanced at the alarm clock on his dresser - just after 8:30. Dad's head appeared at the top of the steps, and he looked at the two boys, who as usual were only wearing briefs in the warm loft. "Excuse me, fellas," he said, looking serious, but not angry. "Jerry, could you please put on some clothes and come down to the office? Mrs. Lane and I would like to speak with you privately."

"Of course, Mr. Lane," said Jerry. He immediately moved to grab his cutoff jeans and stepped into them. Then he grabbed the first t-shirt he saw and put it on.

Dad looked over at Corey while Jerry was dressing, apparently noted the look of concern on his son's face and said, "Don't worry, son. Jerry isn't in trouble, and neither are you. We just need to talk to Jerry about something."

"Okay, Dad," said Corey. He sighed in relief as his father disappeared back down the stairs. Jerry looked at Corey and shrugged absently as he tucked in his shirt and zipped up his fly. Then he headed downstairs.

Despite his father's reassurance, Corey became nervous as he waited, particularly after five... ten... and then fifteen minutes went by and Jerry still hadn't returned. He wondered if Jerry had a call from home or something? He hoped there wasn't some family emergency back in Elmira that would require Jerry to leave immediately.

Corey lay down on his bed and tried to go back to reading his comic book. After a few minutes he gave it up as hopeless and put it aside - he just couldn't concentrate. As he lay there figeting he realized that in some ways this was worse that watching Jerry get lectured and spanked, and knowing his own turn was next. At least in that case he would already know what he had been found guilty of (whether he had done it, or not), and approximately how bad things could get.

In this case he knew nothing about what was going on, only that something definite, and officially, was going on. His parents sure hadn't asked Jerry down to their office to discuss the weather. "We just want to talk to Jerry about 'something'." What something? Official, unknown 'somethings' can be pretty scary, especially when you're 13-years-old and already grounded.

By the time thirty long minutes had passed, Corey was starting to feel a definite nervous need to pee. The bathroom was just one easy flight of stairs away, of course. The problem was, he'd have to pass the office door to get there. If his parents heard him out there, and got it in their heads that Corey was trying to spy on a private meeting...

Corey remembered the time when he was 9-years-old and was caught loitering outside the office door while Becky was getting a good "talking to" inside. His Mom took the hairbrush to his bare bottom so long and hard - with Becky watching and gloating - that he thought the skin had been spanked right off his backside.

Corey crossed his legs and waited impatiently.

Finally, at nearly 9:20, Corey heard someone coming up the stairs. It was Jerry, and as soon as his face appeared, Corey's stomach did a backflip. His friend had tears in his eyes - he had definitely been crying.

Even worse, Jerry resisted all of Corey's frantic efforts to get any information out of him. The only things Jerry would tell him were:
1) His parents didn't need to speak to Corey.
2) Corey wasn't in trouble, neither was Jerry.
3) Jerry had received some bad news.
4) Jerry just needed to be left alone tonight.
5) Jerry would discuss it with Corey tomorrow.
6) Goodnight.

Despite being ordered to stay in his room, Corey had to find out something before going to bed. So after throwing on some clothes and using the second floor bathroom, Corey nervously knocked on his parents office door. He was invited in, but only for a couple of minutes. The only things Mom and Dad would tell him were:
1) They didn't need to speak to Corey.
2) Corey wasn't in trouble, neither was Jerry.
3) Jerry had received some news he didn't like.
4) Corey should leave Jerry alone tonight.
5) Corey should wait until Jerry was ready to discuss it.
6) Corey really should learn to mind his own business.
7) Goodnight.

When Corey got back to his room, Jerry had disappeared under his bed clothes. Although he was still burning with curiosity about what news Jerry had received that "he didn't like" badly enough that it made him cry, Corey decided to take his parents advice for a change and leave his friend alone.

The weather was fine at breakfast Wednesday morning. But the radio weather report said that thunderstorms were likely in the afternoon. Maybe they'd get lucky and it would be nice all day. Jerry still wasn't in the mood to talk that morning, so Corey remained in the dark about the events of the previous evening.

Corey asked his parents for permission to go over to Tony's Hobby Shop, and to take a walk along Hockendaqua Creek. Corey wanted to scout possible campsites near the creek - they wanted to make use of Jerry's tent sometime the following week.

Corey had expected these permissions to be granted routinely, but was dismayed when informed that plans already had been made for his day. He and Jerry would be accompanying Mom on a shopping expedition. He was even more dismayed to learn that they'd be shopping for clothes. Corey hated clothing shopping. He tried to talk his way out of it, but nothing doing - he was doomed to a day of seesawing between extreme boredom and complete embarrassment.

Corey looked over at Jerry, who looked even less happy about the situation than he did. Hmmm. Much as Corey would relish having Jerry's company, why should his friend have to suffer through this if it wasn't necessary? So Corey - quite nobly, he thought - suggested that perhaps Jerry could spend the day with Walt and/or Doug, to save his friend the boredom of accompanying Mom and himself on the shopping trip.

Corey was completely flabbergasted when informed that Jerry had to go on the trip, because Jerry was getting a new wardrobe as well! Corey spent the next few seconds looking back and forth in disbelief between Jerry and Mom. His mother wore an amused expression on her face, and Jerry couldn't seem to meet Corey's eyes. What the hell?

Dad said goodbye to everyone at that point and headed off for work. Hey wait a minute! "Mom?" said Corey. "How can we go shopping today? Dad is using the car."

"Mr. Webber is stuck in the office all day today," said Mom. "He is letting me borrow his car for a few hours." And that was that. Corey was really confused about this situation. Mom had already taken him clothes shopping back in the spring, and they usually didn't shop for any missing camp wardrobe items until the week before leaving for camp, so Corey "wouldn't outgrow the clothes before he had a chance to wear them."

And why was Jerry getting a new wardrobe? Lord knows he surely needed one, but why now? Why didn't his aunt and uncle take him shopping before they dropped him off at the fair? And why was Jerry looking so pissed off? Jerry had been buttering Mom and Dad up since he arrived, but not this morning. Oh, he wasn't rude to them, but he was very curt when he thanked Mom for breakfast that morning. She and Dad pretended not to notice. What the hell had happened in that meeting last night? Corey would purely love to have been a fly on the wall for that one!

Less than an hour later Corey and Jerry were following Mom down the street. Mom was humming softly to herself - her favorite hymn, "How Great Thou Art" - as the two boys walked sullenly behind her. To the casual observer, it might have looked like the boys had recently been dosed with castor oil - judging by the look of disgust on their faces - and were being led somewhere for even more serious disciplinary action.

The 700 block of Monroe Avenue was mixed use - the homes were similar to the ones in the 900 block, single and duplex two-story houses with basements. But several of the homes in the 700 block were either partially or completely used for commercial purposes. Filetti's was there, of course - the pizzeria occupied the first floor of an entire duplex house, with Gabe Filetti and his family living in an apartment on the second floor.

Similarly, the Weil family lived in an apartment above their store, Weil's Market, which was quite literally the corner grocery store - at 7th and Monroe. Corey ran down to Weil's to pick up things for his family all the time, but the Weil children were all younger - eight and under, so he didn't really know any of them, except to say "Hi".

One business that occupied an entire two-story house was the firm of Kleintop & Webber, Certified Public Accountants. This was the office where Corey's mother worked as an associate. During income tax season she worked five days a week. The rest of the year she worked two or three days a week, as needed.

Corey disliked visiting Kleintop & Webber. It wasn't that he found accounting mind-numbingly boring - although he did. It was mostly the way visiting children were treated by the people there. The accountants, other than his Mom, really had no time for children. But Corey could handle that. The real problem was Mrs. Kelly, the receptionist, a matronly woman who reminded Corey of Hazel, the maid on the television comedy show of the same name.

For some reason Mrs. Kelly treated all children like they were about six years old. This was fine when Corey first met Mrs. Kelly - and he really was six years old. But it had become more and more annoying as the years went by and Corey got older, but Mrs. Kelly kept treating him exactly the same way.

Corey asked Mom if he and Jerry could wait outside while she got the keys to Mr. Webber's car. But Mom insisted that the boys come inside, since she wanted to introduce Jerry to her coworkers, and then they could thank Mr. Webber properly for lending them his car. Jerry and Corey looked at each other in disbelief. Corey couldn't say anything, of course. But he felt that Mr. Webber was lending the car to his Mom, so why couldn't she just thank him?

Corey had prayed that Mrs. Kelly wouldn't be in the office that day, but no such luck. She practically leapt from her desk when they entered the office and fussed over the two boys like they were toddlers. The only good thing that happened, if you can call it that, was that Mrs. Kelly pinched Corey's cheek and hugged him first. That way at least Jerry had a few seconds to cope with the ridiculousness of the situation before he was similarly assaulted by the overly affectionate woman.

As Mrs. Kelly moved on to greet Mom - a lot more professionally, it should be noted - Corey and Jerry looked at each other and shrugged. Corey found the whole thing eerily reminiscent of the way Sue Klusarits had pinched his cheek and babied him just yesterday. The really creepy part was that Sue had been joking, and Mrs. Kelly wasn't.

Jerry was duly introduced to the rest of the staff who were in the office that day. Most of them showed little interest in Jerry who, Corey had to admit, was quite polite about the whole thing. Maybe Jerry was finally loosening up a bit.

Eventually Mom had the car keys and they all climbed into Mr. Webber's black Buick LeSabre 4-door sedan. It looked to Corey like the 1962 model. First they drove uptown, and Mom got some money out of the bank for the day's shopping spree. Then they shopped at Miller's and Coleman's department stores in Northampton. Finally they piled all their packages in the trunk of the car and drove down to Hess's department store in Allentown.

By the time they got home and started unloading the car, Corey felt as though they had visited every boy's clothing department in the state. He also felt that every middle-aged lady store clerk in the area had fussed over Jerry and himself, telling them how handsome they looked in the clothes they were trying on, and other completely canned and insincere compliments. Corey used to fall for that crap, but eventually he realized that the old bags were just trying to get his Mom to buy more clothes for him.

The most humiliating moment came in Hess's when Mom needed to know what size underwear they needed. She refused to take their word for it, and actually reached down the back of their shorts to turn out the waistband of their briefs so she could read the labels - with a middle-aged sales lady standing right there waiting for the information. Corey just stood there and stewed, of course. That kind of thing was exactly why he despised shopping for clothes with his Mom. But a few seconds later he nearly panicked when Mom reached down the back of Jerry's shorts and it looked for a split second like Jerry was gonna pop her a good one. Fortunately his friend kept his anger in check, and probably saved both their lives.

The highlight of the day - largely because it was the only remotely pleasant thing that happened - was when Mom took them for a late lunch at the Brass Rail in Allentown before heading home. Jerry had started to peruse the menu, but Corey said, "Don't even bother, buddy. You need to order a cheesesteak."

"I'm not all that fond of cheesesteaks, Corey," said Jerry.

"Trust me, my friend," said Corey. "You'll love these cheesesteaks!"

Jerry was looking dubious. Then Mom said, "Corey's correct, Jerry. If you'll ever like any cheesesteak, you'll like these. They are the best in town."

So Jerry ordered a cheesesteak, and admitted to being pleasantly surprised. But that wasn't the best thing that happened at the Brass Rail. After they finished eating, and were waiting for the check - the Brass Rail was busy all day long, not just at lunch time - Corey could tell that his Mom was looking at them funny and pondering something. Finally Corey couldn't take it anymore and said, "What, Mom?"

Mom chuckled slightly and grinned an embarrassed grin. She said, "I was just thinking how proud I am of you boys."

"Proud?" said Corey.

"Us?" said Jerry.

"Yes," said Mom, "both of you. I know how much you boys hate shopping for clothes, and with that in mind you were very patient with me - and the sales clerks - today."

Corey and Jerry looked at each other in shock, and then looked back at Mom. Corey was starting to wonder if his mother had been replaced with an imposter.

Mom said, "I know it seems like we adults only ever criticize you and punish you, and we do those things - and they're for your own good."

Now this sounded more like the mother Corey knew.

Mom said, "But sometimes we need to remember to tell you guys when you do something right. So thank you for being such good boys today, and I am proud of you both."

Corey wasn't so sure about that good 'boys' crack - they were teenagers, after all. But what the hell, Mom was proud of them! "Thanks, Mom!" said Corey.

"Thank you, Mrs. Lane!" said Jerry, smiling for the first time that day.

After the clothes were unloaded Mom left with the car to return it to Mr. Webber. She issued orders before leaving - the boys were to carry all the packages up to their room. Jerry should put on some clothes that fit him. Then the boys could go on their scouting trip along the creek if they wanted. But they should be home by 6 o'clock sharp for dinner, and had better not be covered in mud when they get home.

It didn't take Corey too long to unpack his new clothes. Mom had bought him a couple of pairs of bermuda shorts, one pair in blue and one pair in grey. She had said she was tired of seeing him in nothing but khaki shorts. Corey also had two new swim suits - the old ones had actually been a bit tight on him. There were more t-shirts, socks and underwear, not to mention a US Naval Academy sweatshirt that Corey had actually asked for.

Jerry had basically received an entire new wardrobe. This included khaki camp shorts, bermuda shorts, jeans, belts, swimsuits, t-shirts, sweatshirts, sneakers, socks, underwear, and a bathrobe. As Jerry sat on his bed cutting tags off of his new clothes, he looked over at Corey and said, "Do you know how lucky you are?"

Corey looked behind himself, like the Three Stooges do whenever somebody addresses them as 'gentlemen'. "Me?"

"Yeah, you!" said Jerry. He seemed almost angry.

"Look, Jerry," said Corey, trying to be as gentle as possible. "I'm sorry that my Dad made it out of Korea alive and your Dad didn't. I wish I could have known your father. I know he was a great man who could have taught me a lot, too."

"Th..thanks," said Jerry. He was still upset, but was clearly taking pains to calm himself. "But that's not what I'm talking about."

"Then what?" said Corey, totally confused.

"Your family is so rich!" said Jerry, getting close to tears again.

"Huh?" said Corey, who felt like he had missed something somewhere. How could anybody think his family was rich? "Where did you get a crazy idea like that from?"

"From this palace you live in, for starters," said Jerry.

"Palace?" said Corey. "Right! This three bedroom, one and a half bath palace that shares a common wall with Duke Lichtenwalner's duplex palace. Have you bumped your head recently - other than when we collided the other day?"

"I'm serious!" said Jerry.

"So am I!" said Corey.

"Okay, smartass," said Jerry. "What about all that antique English furniture in your parents' bedroom and office?"

"Ah..." said Corey. Crap! He should have told Jerry about the reproductions during the tour.

"See!" said Jerry, "You can't explain that, can you?"

"Actually I can," said Corey. "I'm just embarrassed because I didn't tell you the truth before."

"What truth?" said Jerry.

"The truth that those are not real antiques my parents have," said Corey, blushing slightly.

"It's not real furniture?" said Jerry, confused.

"Well, yeah," said Corey, "It's real furniture, but those aren't antiques. They're called reproductions - modern furniture built to look like real antique furniture."

"But it still has to cost a lot," said Jerry.

"Not really," said Corey. "My Dad's cousin Ronny is in the furniture business down in Philadelphia. He gets those reproductions for my Dad for wholesale cost - if not below that."

"Does your Dad ever pay full price for anything?" said Jerry.

"Not if he can help it," said Corey, grinning.

Jerry chuckled, and said, "You know, my Uncle Owen is the same way."

Corey chuckled, and said, "Buys all his fire engines with the employee discount, right?"

"Yeah," said Jerry, laughing and finally loosening up a bit.

Jerry eventually told the story of the Tueday night meeting. Corey's parents had pressed Jerry on the state of his wardrobe. Eventually he had been forced to admit that his family was having serious financial problems. Aunt Betty had lost her job the previous December when the clothing factory where she worked went out of business.

Aunt Betty hadn't been able to find another job yet, and the family could barely make ends meet on Uncle Owen's paycheck alone. They hadn't bought new clothes for anyone in their family since last year. At that point Corey's parents had decided that, since they were responsible for Jerry for the next month, they would buy him new clothes. He argued, but was eventually forced to agree, or be sent home immediately.

Corey privately suspected that Mom was worried about Jerry - or at least certain specific parts of Jerry - bursting through his too-small clothes when Becky was around. If Mom only knew what Becky had seen and done to them yesterday, she'd have a conniption fit!

Jerry and Corey had discussed the whole "playing house" incident the previous night. They decided that as long as Becky and her friends kept up their end of the bargain, they'd let the matter drop. But if Becky ever tried anything like that again, they'd pound her into oblivion, and damn the consequences!

Jerry stripped completely and put on an entire outfit of brand new clothes. He looked pretty dapper in his new duds, Corey had to admit. Corey settled for a new pair of bermuda shorts and a new t-shirt. Since they were heading for a muddy area when exploring the creek, they both wore old sneakers.

Corey and Jerry left the house just after 3 o'clock and walked north on Monroe Avenue until it "ended" at 11th Street. The reason was readily apparent as they stood there - the Northampton and Bath Railroad switching yard was in the way. In fact Monroe Avenue began again further north, up around 14th Street, Corey knew.

The boys angled northwest, crossing the switching yard and approaching Hockendaqua Creek. The creek was about 20 feet wide and didn't look terribly deep. Corey assured Jerry that the creek was better for swimming further upstream. Plus they could see Laubach Avenue running parallel to the far side of the creek past some trees - there was much better privacy for skinny dipping further upstream.

So the boys walked north along the creek. After about 300 yards the creek entered a wooded area and they had to carefully pick their way along the bank. After another 100 yards the creek started curving rather sharply to the right, away from Laubach Avenue, which continued north towards the pool and community center.

When the creek straightened out again it was basically heading east. The creek bed also widened considerably at that point, to nearly 40 feet wide, and the water also seemed quite a bit deeper and slower. Corey told Jerry that this was the considered the best swimming spot in this part of the creek. Jerry agreed with Corey that they should wait until they were actually camping in the area before trying that. In any event, neither boy felt like taking the risk of anything happening to their brand new clothes.

The boys explored the near side of that deep pool carefully, and found a pretty good potential campsite another 40 yards upstream. It was a wide, flat clearing about 10 yards into the woods, away from the stream. Jerry pointed out that you could get several tents, as well as a camp fire in that clearing. Corey informed him that might be possible. A few of Corey's friends were working on getting access to pup tents. With a little luck they might be able to set up their own army camp with three or four tents and six or eight guys. Jerry liked that idea.

On the way back out the boys marked the trail from the creek to that clearing so they could find it again easily. Then they made their way back home. The clearing looked like it would be perfect, especially since it was only about a half mile from Corey's house. When they got back to the switching yard, they had to wait for a long train of cement cars moving through slowly. Corey checked his watch and it was only 5:15, so they still had plenty of time to get home for dinner.

When they finally crossed the switching yard and got back on the sidewalks, they were pleased to determine that neither of them had picked up any noticable mud, except on their shoes. As they turned the corner from 10th Street onto Plum Alley - the alley behind the Lane home - certain unique sounds could be heard coming from down the alley.

Somebody was getting a lickin' in one of the garages! Corey knew these sounds well. These detached alley garages were poorly insulated for both heat and sound retention. Which meant that when a boy was punished in one of them, everybody in the area could hear it fairly clearly. He had heard his friends and neighbors howling and pleading on many occasions as their angry fathers punished them in this time honored tradition. More to the point, Corey himself had entertained the neighborhood more times that he liked to think about with his own screams and pleas as his father thrashed him with a birch switch in their garage.

The boys dashed down the alley until they arrived outside the garage from which the sounds were coming. Corey recognized both the garage and the desperate voice that was pleading for mercy. Simon Laury was getting another dose of his father's strap.

Corey could have guessed this. Simon getting the strap was a frequent occurrence, since Simon was a really bad kid. Not evil bad in the way that a Steve Wetzel or an Adolph Hitler was bad. No, 11-year-old Simon just never stopped to think about anything he did. Anything at all. If something seemed like fun that particular second, Simon did it without a second thought, and "it" quite often got him in trouble.

This kind of completely spontaneous behavior could be considered charming in a 3 or 4-year-old. But as Simon had gotten older, his parents became more and more fed up with Simon's nonsense. Now Simon wasn't stupid or mentally handicapped. In fact from what Corey had heard Simon got pretty good grades, at least when he thought studying was fun.

As Jerry and Corey listened intently, the Craacck! of tanned leather cowhide striking tender boy hide was repeated over and over, accompanied by the howls and pleas of of the owner of the boy hide being tanned. Simon was in fine voice today - of course he got lots of practice.

About the only thing Simon had to be happy about at that moment was that his father was one of those who closed the door to the garage when he disciplined his son there. Corey had always been thankful that his own father belonged to the same group. At least for Simon and Corey, they enjoyed visual privacy, if not audio privacy, as they suffered for their misdeeds.

Sam Murray, a 15-year-old who lived one block north on Monroe Avenue, was one of the unlucky ones. Sam's father not only opened the side door to the garage when Sam was getting strapped, he would open the garage doors as well. That way anyone who was out in the alley could watch the show as well as hear it. Corey wasn't really sure if Sam was "getting it" anymore these days, but Corey had seen Sam strapped in his garage on no fewer than three occasions over the past few years. With all the doors open the sound carried up to a block, causing all the kids within earshot (including Corey) to come pelting down the alley to catch the end of the show. Sam sometimes drew a crowd of six or more kids by the time his whipping was over.

Speaking of which, the rhythmic beat of cowhide on boyhide had finally stopped in the Laury garage. Simon could still be heard crying as his father lectured him on his behavior. Apparently Simon had thought that sassing his Mom today would be fun, after having been warned yesterday that he was on his last chance.

Just as Jerry and Corey turned to leave, the side door of the Laury garage opened and Simon stepped out, rubbing the seat of his shorts with one hand as he closed the door again with the other. Simon was turned away from the alley and didn't see the two older boys standing there. Which is probably why he quickly dropped his shorts and briefs, revealing a bright red rump that was blotched with purple. Simon looked down and around - trying to see the damage as he rubbed. It was only after a few seconds of this that Simon looked up and noticed Jerry and Corey standing in the alley watching him.

"Hi, Simon," said Corey, waving slightly and trying to sound sympathetic.

Simon hissed as he realized the show he was giving them, yanked up his shorts, which caused him to wince and groan, and quickly limped in the direction of his house, all without saying a word.

As the two friends resumed their trip down the alley, they spotted Dad's car turning into the alley from the 9th Street end. They ran up the alley, meeting Dad at the Lane's garage, where they opened the garage doors so he could drive right in.

Dad greeted the boys as he got out of the car, and he complimented Jerry on his new clothes. Jerry thanked Dad sincerely for buying them for him.

Corey was happy to note at dinner that Jerry was smiling again. His old friend seemed almost back to his usual self. And all was right with the world.