stay there alone with the girls, so I say I'll go. I tell Nick to watch
Cat, and the girl who is petting him says, "Don't worry, I won't let him
run away."

It's a good thing she's there, because by the time I get back with the
cokes, which no one offers to pay me back for, Nick and the other two
girls are halfway down the beach. Mary--that's her name--says, "I never saw
a cat at the beach before, but he seems to like it. Where'd you get him?"

"He's a stray. I got him from an old lady who's sort of a nut about cats.
Come on, I'll see if I can get him to chase waves for you. He was doing it
earlier."

We are running along in the waves when the other kids come back. The big
blonde kicks up water at me and yells, "Race you!"

So I chase, and just as I'm going to catch up, she stops short so I crash
into her and we both fall down. This seems to be what she had in mind, but
I bet the other kids are watching and I feel silly. I roll away and get up
and go back to Cat.

While we drink cokes the blonde and the redhead say they want to go to the
movies.

"What's on?" Nick asks.

"There's a Sinatra thing at the neighborhood," the blonde tells him, and
he looks interested.

"I can't," I say. "I've got Cat. Besides, it's too late. Mom'd think I'd
fallen into the subway."

"I told you that cat was a mistake," says Nick.

"Put him in the basket and call your mother and tell her your watch
stopped," says the redhead. She comes over and trickles sand down my neck.
"Come on, it'd be fun. We don't have to sit in the kids' section. We all
look sixteen."

"Nah, I can't." I get up and shake the sand out.

Nick looks disgusted, but he doesn't want to stay alone. He says to the
blonde, "Write me down your phone number, and we'll do it another day when
this nut hasn't got his cat along."

She writes down the phone number, and the redhead pouts because I'm not
asking for hers. The girls get ready to leave, and Mary pats Cat good-bye
and waves to me. She says, "Bring him again. He's nice."

We get on the subway and Cat meows crossly at being shut in his basket.
Nick pokes the basket with his toes.

"Shut up, nuisance," he says.

4

[Illustration: Dave and Nick fighting on the ground.]

FIGHT

I actually get a letter back from Tom Ransom. It says: "Thanks