Daniel and the Boys
“Come on, boys—let’s race the train!” Trace called, stretching his long legs to reach the railroad siding before the others. Daniel was on his heels, with his friend, Pete, puffing at his side, when the long shriek of the train whistle sounded in their ears. In a second it was roaring past and the boys slowed down, their breath puffing out like steam.
“Cheaters,” black-haired José [ho-ZAY] complained. “You guys got a head start.” He plopped down in the frosted grass, and the other boys joined him.
“Nah, foot start,” said small, freckle-faced Neil, with a laugh. “But can’t we play ball now?” He pulled a ball out of his coat pocket and Pete held up the bat he had brought along.
When Trace said he should be first pitcher, Daniel grinned. He felt important to be noticed by Pete’s older cousin, and he liked softball. “I’m sure glad I could come over today,” he told Pete when they started the third round. “This is fun!”
“Hey, guys, next week’s Christmas break!” Pete said, excitedly. “Maybe you all could come over an’—”
“And we can have a campout,” finished Trace.
“Where?” asked José, wrinkling his nose. “Wanna freeze into icicles?”
“Come on, stupid,” Trace said, “my uncle has a big old barn and there are lots of neat hide-outs, so all we’ll need are some sleeping bags and flashlights.”
“I still think I’d freeze.”
“Who cares?” said Neil. “Frozen José—yum, yum!”
“Ah, shut-up!” José snapped, then he looked at Daniel. “Maybe Dan can’t come, since he’s home-schooled. Home-schoolers no go to school, so maybe no sleep-outs either.”
Daniel felt his ears get red. “It sounds fun,” he said, glancing from Trace to Pete. “I’d sure like to, but I’ll have to ask.”
“Yeah, I’ll talk to my dad tonight,” Trace said, slapping the softball into his palm. “I’ll call you guys up if it’s a go.” He tossed the ball up and caught it, then walked back to where he had been pitching. Neil grabbed up the bat and the rest of the boys scattered outfield once again.
The light was fading from the gray sky when Daniel came home, and Rosie met him at the door. “What were you doing all afternoon?” she said impatiently, while he took off his coat and cap.
“Ah, just playing ball with Pete and some other boys.” Daniel headed for his bedroom, planning how he could persuade Mom and Dad to let him go to the sleep-out. Camping in a barn would be super fun. They’d play games in the dark—maybe even flashlight tag, and—
“How could you play ball, Daniel?” It was Rosie again. “Pete’s house doesn’t have a big enough yard.”
“We played in the big field at the end of the road, stupid—” Daniel hadn’t meant to say it, but the word just slipped out. He glanced up to see Mom’s face in the doorway.
“Daniel.” Mom’s voice was very quiet. “You know that isn’t a kind word to use. Why did you say it?”
“I—I didn’t mean to,” Daniel said quickly. “I’m sorry, Rosie; really.”
“That’s okay,” Rosie said, “but can you make a fort with me?” Daniel followed her to the living room, but nothing seemed interesting except the plans for next week. It wasn’t until he began clearing the supper table that the phone rang.
“Hey, Daniel,” Trace’s voice said. “We’ve got it all planned for next Wednesday night. All of you can come to Pete’s house and his dad will take us over—oh, yeah, and remember a sleeping bag and flashlight. We’ll meet at five o’clock, okay?”
“I still have to ask, but I’ll tell you tomorrow.” Daniel hung up the phone and went to find Dad.
“I’ll talk to Mom and think it over,” was all Dad would say.
Daniel walked slowly back to the kitchen. Oh, just say yes, his thoughts pleaded. Why would there be anything wrong with it, anyway?
But Dad seemed to find plenty wrong with the idea. “Daniel, there are several reasons why we can’t agree to let you camp out with the boys,” Dad said the next morning. “It’s far away, for one thing, and Wednesday night is prayer meeting night.”
Daniel frowned and bit his lip as Dad continued, “Then, too, Mom and I don’t want you sticking around those boys too much. Their attitude is rubbing on you, and boys in a crowd like that easily get into a lot of trouble.”
“But, Dad, we just have fun together—we won’t do anything bad.”
“I know you wouldn’t want to,” Dad said kindly, “but someone else might lead you into it, and it’s easy to forget what’s right then.” Dad looked at the kitchen clock. “I have to make a trip to the hardware store before starting work today. Care to come along? I want to do something special with my big Number Nine.”
Daniel shrugged, but Dad’s big grin won him over. Soon they were rattling down the road in the beat-up Ford truck. “Dad?” Daniel asked after a bit. “Was it because of what I said to Rosie last night, about her being stupid?”
“Partly,” Dad said, reaching over to pat Daniel’s knee. “Don’t the boys often say unkind things?” Daniel knew the boys said many bad words, and swore a lot, too. But he had really wanted to go along.
Dad seemed to understand. “I remember feeling just like you when I was a boy. It seemed terrible that I couldn’t go away to summer camp like the other boys did. My parents didn’t want me to be off somewhere without them, but I didn’t feel like I needed watching. Besides, everyone else’s parents didn’t mind so much. I felt left out of the fun.” The truck slowed down to turn, and Daniel looked up at Dad’s strong face. Had he really felt the same way once?
“But, even though it seemed hard, I’m glad they did it. Those same boys later would have got me in a lot of trouble—my good friend began smoking and, later, stealing, because he got into the wrong crowd. I wouldn’t want that to happen to you.” Dad’s eyes glanced over and met Daniel’s. “But I do want you to have fun. Can you trust me?”
Daniel nodded his head slowly. “It just seemed fun, that’s all,” he said with a sigh.
“I know,” Dad agreed, “but if I say that I’m taking you to Dairy Queen to get a shake, will you ask me to stop at the first building in town? No, because you know I’ll take you to the right place. That’s what trust is—believing that I care and will do the best for you. We have to do that with God all the time; trust Him when things don’t look so good.”
“I see,” said Daniel, as they parked. “Can we do something fun together—you and I?”
“Sure thing,” Dad said with a wink. “How about a Dairy Queen shake?”