Welcome to Parkview

Editor: Dan Ezra Golden

Copy Editor: Denise Barker

Artwork: Sean Carmichael

Chapter Sketches: Jason Bonner

Closing Photo: Ray Dollard

Published by Scout Media

Copyright 2014

ISBN: 9780991309153

Written: September 1991 – July 2010

(Lynn, MA / Peabody, MA / Kingsland, GA)

Second Edition Edited & Revised: May 2013 – November 2014

(Yokosuka, Japan)

For more information on my music and books: www.BrianPaone.com

Contents

A Bar Called Sneakers

Face the Crowd

A Toothpick Outline

Tiger

And

The Tree Brings Spring

In a Store's Throw

Caretakers

The Inveigler

A Flick of the Wrist

Play the Violins

This Teapot Tempest

A Letter to Parkview

Angels Come Clean

Where Rockefellers Walk with Sticks

Welcome To Parkview reads the rusted sign along the outskirts of town. The tarnishing letters seem inviting, yet foreboding and mysterious. Is passing through such a wise idea?

The final destination may be more dangerous than the trip itself—an unapologetic journey through a town that thrives on sex, violence, and the macabre. A place built on deceit and temptation. A spot forever cursed with soulless transients, unforgiving lovers, and merciless vampires who hide in the shadows beyond.

The facade is peeled back just enough for you to see past its surface. There’s but a glimpse of the darkness that put Parkview on the map. Then you realize that nothing here is a coincidence. In Parkview, it may be best to keep buried secrets quiet.

In Parkview, even truth can be a deception.

Kenny happened to see a bar called Sneakers from the passenger seat where he sat in his father’s BMW as they passed by. The local establishment was already busy with their usual afternoon crowd. His dad reached forward, turned up the volume on the radio, and sang along loudly to one of his favorite Neil Diamond songs, about some sort of chair. Kenny never understood his dad’s music.

The Loc family lived in a quaint house on Victorian Street in Parkview, Massachusetts. Parkview was a town in the North Shore section of the state that got its name from the historic park on the west side. Main Park was a canyon of sorts that sat lower than the town itself. The downtown area of Parkview on the Massachusetts waterfront was a cookie-cutter copy of other New England–style towns that encompassed the North Shore with skinny streets, old architecture, and tranquil atmospheres.

Kenny, would you mind taking a look through the mail?

Kenny picked up the pile of envelopes that his dad had retrieved from their mailbox right before they got into the car. He read out loud where each one came from. Eastern Bank. Visa. The fireman’s union. Junk mail. Junk mail. Navy recruiter.

He stopped and nervously fingered the next envelope that he held in his hand. The envelope was for him. He was immediately reluctant to open it. It was the very first correspondence from Jamie since she had moved to Vermont, without so much as giving him a proper good-bye. Jamie had been his first real girlfriend, his first kiss.

Kenny didn’t know why receiving Jamie’s letter caused him so much anxiety. After all, he already had a new girlfriend that he had met at a party. She was everything he had ever wanted. She was perfect.

Kenny sighed. He closed his eyes and swiftly ripped open the envelope. He didn’t want to risk changing his mind. He could see her handwriting. The paper even smelled like her.

How are you? I’m really sorry about what I put you through. I hope we can still be friends. Or at least pen pals. How’s the band? Have you heard anything from the record label you mailed the demo to? If I ever see a Reinforcements album in the stores, I’ll buy it. You can bet on that! I know how hard you guys worked on those songs. I can’t remember any of their titles. I always hope the best for you. I’ll write to you soon.

Love always, Jamie

Kenny folded the letter and put it in his coat pocket. He crumpled up the envelope into a ball and shoved it into a cup holder in the center console. There was a large mailing envelope from Soundscape Records addressed to The Reinforcements at the bottom of the pile.

Kenny had started The Reinforcements with some of his friends from Parkview High. They were a six-piece rock band: Billy Fitzgerald was on bass, Shawn Clark on rhythm guitar, Glen Drake on lead guitar, Jay Weatherbee on drums, his best friend Matt on keyboards, and Kenny was on vocals. They had been practicing every weekend in Billy’s garage. They had even self-recorded a five-song demo featuring Something to Prove, The Jesus Principle, This Place, For Sure, and an instrumental that Shawn had written called Not Found. The four songs that Kenny had written lyrics to were all about his relationship with Jamie. They were about the angst he had gone through when she moved away without telling him.

The envelope from Soundscape Records was no coincidence. The Reinforcements had looked through Billy’s music collection one Saturday afternoon and had picked a few similar-sounding bands that were all signed to the same label. Kenny had mailed a press kit that included the five-song demo to Soundscape Records. The owner of the label, Scott Whitgood, had subsequently called Kenny, wanting to set up a meeting with The Reinforcements. The entire band met with him. During that meeting Scott had verbally offered a contract.

Kenny ripped open the large envelope, and a copy of the contract slid into his lap. The legal document meticulously spelled out everything Kenny and his band had gone over with Scott. All six band members were to sign on spaces found on the final page. A yellow Sticky Note was stuck to the final page in Scott’s handwriting. Please contact me when this is signed. I look forward to recording the album. Kenny skimmed the contract again. The band would be locked into a two-album, three-year deal with the label. The five-song album they had already written would count as their first.

It was the last week of Kenny’s sophomore year in high school. It was going to be an interesting summer.

Jen arrived at Kenny’s house that night to watch a much-discussed movie, and to eat dinner with him and his father. Since they had met, Kenny had raved so much to her about his favorite foreign film, Cinema Paradiso, that it was almost to the point of badgering.

Halfway into it, she couldn’t pay attention to the movie because the Sicilian language made her thoughts segue back to Kenny’s immigrant mother. Kenny? If you feel up to it, I’d like to know about your mother.

He paused the movie and sighed. "Her name was Sonja. I used to think she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. When she got really excited or mad at me, she would pronounce my name Kiney."

What happened to her?

He folded his hands in his lap. She was murdered. That whole day was the worst day of my life. My mother walked in on Candice and her boyfriend Greg in Candice’s room. They were smoking pot.

Candice is your sister, right?

Right. She’s a senior at Boston College. She lives in Allston. My mother just freaked the fuck out. The room stunk of pot, even though the window was open and the fan was on. She and Candice had a huge fight. My mother wanted Greg out of the house. That whole moment is burned into my memory. Finally my mom and I left the house, and she was still pissed. That was the last time Candice ever saw her. When we got into the car, my mother cursed, which she never does. When she looked at me, she was so embarrassed.

He paused and took a moment to collect the courage to continue. "A man approached us when we were waiting for the train at Wonderland Station to take us into Boston. He tried to snatch her purse from her shoulder. She stupidly fought him off. It must have been more of a reflex than anything else, but he stuck her with a blade. Blood just erupted from her stomach. The man dropped the knife and took off with her purse.

Someone must have called 9-1-1. The station was swamped with ambulances and police cars within minutes. Gerry Dixton, a policeman, was the first one on the scene. My dad was called. I went to the hospital in the passenger seat of a cruiser with Officer Dixton. We followed the ambulance, and my dad arrived shortly after we did. She died on the way there.

Did they ever catch the guy who did it? Jen asked.

Yeah. Officer Dixton and his partner, Officer Tampico did. His name was Fred Baker. He was on the lamb.

I don’t know what that means.

Kenny laughed. He realized he was using terms that he had only learned himself because of his unfortunate ordeal. It’s a term used for someone who has an outstanding arrest warrant and is hiding somewhere. Fred had a warrant for robbing a bank. Luckily Officer Dixton arrested him.

Wow. That alone could be a movie! Jen commented.

Or the beginning of a novel, he replied.

Is Fred still in jail? she asked.

As far as I know, he is. Candice, my dad, and I went to every single day of that trial.

What a crazy story, she said. She shook her head. I’m so sorry you had to go through all of that.

Kenny didn’t say anything else. It had become all too painful to continue dredging up those old memories.

Things moved pretty fast for The Reinforcements over the next two months. The band had found a lawyer from Marblehead to look over the contract. Once he was satisfied with everything, the initial plan for The Reinforcements’ debut album, titled After the Shock, was finally official. It would be recorded over the course of five consecutive twelve-hour days. Soundscape Records had even lined up a photo shoot, and a meeting with a graphic designer was scheduled. They decided on the front cover being nothing more than a picture of their instruments by themselves without any musicians.

Scott Whitgood turned out to be a large man who had a rather impressive collection of Rush T-shirts. He also had a strict rule of not allowing any spectators or visitors in the studio during the first three days of recording. He was a big advocate for minimizing distractions. Especially when a band was recording on his label’s dime. However, on the fourth day only, he allowed parents, relatives, and friends of the band to watch some of the recording process. It was more for public relations than for the band’s morale.

The fourth day was coincidentally Kenny’s day to record vocals. He entered the isolation booth and put on some headphones. He closed his eyes and thought about Jen. The engineer’s voice cracked through the headphones. He said that he needed Kenny to sing along to any song so that the sound man could get a good vocal level first. Kenny picked This Place.

After an appropriate vocal level was attained, Kenny’s voice stayed strong and powerful. He recorded a handful of overdubs to punctuate certain lines of lyrics or a chorus. The longer he stayed in the booth, the more confident he became with his voice and the stronger he sang.

Around three in the afternoon Kenny was finally finished with all of his vocal tracks. By this time, almost all of the band members’ parents had left, but Jen had stayed. The engineer wanted to take a break, so Kenny joined Jen.

How did it sound? Kenny asked Jen.

Amazing. It already sounds like it could be on the radio!

I really hope it’s as good as how I’m hearing it in my head.

We’ve got an hour to kill before you have to go back to work, she said coyly.

Yeah. The guys are going to Providence Place Mall for some food.

We’re completely alone? she asked.

Unless you want to go get some food with everyone.

Is that recording guy also leaving?

He said he had to run home for something.

Can you show me the room where you were singing?

Sure, he obliged.

Kenny brought Jen through the soundproof door that separated the control room from the main tracking room. He opened the door to the isolation booth where he had been all morning. His empty bottle of water, lyric stand, and microphone with a spit-guard still cluttered the small booth. This is it. I stood right here the whole time.

She closed the door and kissed him. I want you to fuck me, right here, she commanded. Jen leaned forward and placed both hands on the wall.

Kenny entered her for the first time. He was swept away in a river of their emotions. She led him out of any pureness that he still might have had left.

The Reinforcements wanted to celebrate the completion of After the Shock on the final night of mastering. So Billy’s mother had dropped all of them off at the town’s best Chinese food restaurant, the Fortune Cookie. Jen was already waiting outside. She had put in a table order as soon as her own mother had dropped her off.

Officer Dixton also had arrived with his wife, Belinda, shortly after the band had sat down and ordered their food.

See that man there? Kenny said to Jen. That’s Officer Gerry Dixton.

Shouldn’t you go talk to him? Jen replied.

Even better. I’ll introduce you, he said, taking Jen’s hand as they strutted over to the Dixton’s table.

Well, well. Look who we have here, Gerry greeted.

How are you, sir? Kenny politely asked.

Very well. Is this your girlfriend?

The one and only. Jen, this is Officer Dixton. Sir, Jen Brighton.

I’ve heard a lot about you, Jen said.

Whatever Kenny is telling you about me, it’s all lies.

Jen chuckled.

How’s Officer Tampico?

Good, Officer Dixton replied. He’s working the Hands Across the Border program tonight. He’s partnered with Officer Saia from Peabody.

It was good to see you, sir, Kenny said. Tell Officer Tampico I said hello.

I will, he promised.

It was nice to meet you, Jen said.

Likewise, Belinda Dixton replied.

Jen led Kenny to their table and asked, What are you doing tomorrow night? I want to take a stab at cooking you dinner.

Really? Are you sure I won’t regret it?

Only two people have had their stomachs pumped.

I believe it.

Hey! she said. She punched him playfully in the arm.

Just kidding, Kenny replied.

Can you be there at four o’clock?

Yeah. I’ll ask my dad to drive me.

I love you, she whispered in his ear.

That was the first time either of them had said those three words. It was also the first time any girl had ever told him that. Even Jamie never did, during all those months that they had been together. He had always been frightened that he would become too vulnerable if he spoke those words.

He took a deep breath and replied, I love you too.

As soon as Kenny’s dad picked him up at school the next day, they went to a department store inside Redman’s Place Mall. Kenny was finally able to pick up his lightweight red-and-black-checkered cotton jacket. Kenny thought about Jen often during the day, and this errand with his dad to Neptune’s Cellar for his jacket was no different. However, he quickly realized that he didn’t have any condoms with him. He definitely didn’t want to gamble and leave it to chance that Jen had some.

Kenny told his dad that he needed to run into Cohen’s Pharmacy on the way to Jen’s house, to bring some soda for dinner. Kenny got out of the car and hoped that his father wouldn’t decide come in behind him.

As soon as he had paid for his condoms, on his way out, Kenny realized that he hadn’t bought any soda yet. He thought about how suspicious that would look. He turned to one of the refrigerators, grabbed a two liter of Coke, and paid for that as well. He put the condoms in the breast pocket of his lumberjack coat.

They didn’t arrive to Jen’s until four thirty.

Well, bud. You’re unfashionably late, his dad joked. Call me when you want to come home.

Kenny got out of the car and walked to the front door. He realized that Jen’s parents were home. Maybe he hadn’t needed to stop at Cohen’s Pharmacy after all.

Jen’s mother answered the door. Hi, Kenny. Come on in.

Thank you, he responded.

Kenny took off his jacket and hung it up on a coat rack next to the front door. Jen was in the kitchen, tending to a pot of sauce and another of boiling water. Jen’s father was seated at the kitchen table.

Hello, Mr. Brighton, Kenny greeted cautiously. The man made him nervous. Kenny was convinced that Jen’s father owned a gun.

Are you ready to go? Mrs. Brighton asked her husband.

Head ’em up, move ’em out! Mr. Brighton said as he stood and went into their bedroom.

Kenny leaned forward and kissed Jen gently.

She stirred the sauce and carefully studied its contents. She picked up a box of ziti and forcefully dumped it into the pot of boiling water.

You sure you aren’t gonna kill me?

Ha! Funny. Let me see your new jacket.

Kenny traveled to the coat rack, reached for it, and halted. There was a red and black coat draped over the back of the living room couch. I can’t believe this!

What? she replied.

Your father has the same coat. See, he said, returning to the kitchen.

Oh, wow. She laughed. I can’t believe it. She wrapped her arms around his waist and mockingly yelled, Timber!

He laughed, and they kissed. Jen returned to the pots on the stove. Kenny hung his coat once more on the coat rack.

We’re leaving, Jen’s mother announced. I don’t want Kenny here any later than ten o’clock, she added sternly.

Jen nodded in acknowledgment, and then said to Kenny, This is done.

They loaded up their plates with pasta and marinara sauce.

I set up a table downstairs. Follow me.

They descended into the family room downstairs as her parents left the house and locked the door behind them. A card table was placed in the middle of the room with a tablecloth on it. There were two chairs, one each on adjacent sides so they could sit near one another. Two candles stood in the center.

It’s beautiful, Kenny said.

You really mean it? I’ve never set up a candlelight dinner before.

Yeah. It’s really great, he said sincerely. He looked straight into her brown eyes and brushed her curly hair behind her ears. I love you.

They ate, and talked about The Reinforcements and school. Eventually, they also talked about Shawn’s increasingly bizarre obsession over Nicole.

Shawn wrote me a pretty lengthy and detailed letter, Jen said. He poured out his frustrations. He asked for my advice. I should let you read the letter. It borders on neurotic. I don’t think he’s doing very well.

I’d like to read it. He’s come to band practice a few times recently in a really bad mood. When we asked him about it, he just waves us off. He said that it’s just stupid shit. I also, um . . .

You also, what? Kenny, Shawn reached out to me. If I’m to help him the best I can, I need to know what you think.

I’m convinced that he comes to band practice high.

Are we talking, like, pot-high or what?

"Not just pot. I think he was even high when we were in the studio for After the Shock. He just loses his mind for no reason. You should see his eyes."

No one said anything to him? Not even someone from the studio?

It was probably Scott who supplied it, Kenny exclaimed. Welcome to rock and roll, I guess.

That’s a shitty attitude, she said. Shawn’s supposed to be your friend. It’s in your best interest to help him. It may not be pretty at first, but I believe that the end result will be best for your friendship, as well as the future of The Reinforcements. I think there may be something very serious going on with him. I’ll do my part as well. I’ll find some free time next week to meet with him and talk about the letter.

He just needs to ditch that bitch Nicole.

Maybe. But do you think that’s what he wants to hear? You need to read the letter. He’s head-over-heels obsessed with her. The way that he beats himself up over some of the stuff that they’re going through is unhealthy. He punishes himself constantly.

Jen decided to stop talking about Shawn. There were a few lengthy moments of uncomfortable silence.

"Let’s watch Beauty and the Beast, she suggested. You can sit through my favorite movie. But first, I need you to fuck me again."

I brought condoms, Kenny said.

Forget them. We didn’t use them at the studio.

Kenny realized that she was right.

Sometime later that evening, Jen’s parents pulled into the driveway. Mr. and Mrs. Brighton got out of the car and walked toward the house.

What are they doing home? Jen asked. She looked out the window and paused the movie. They weren’t supposed to be home this early.

The front door opened. Mr. Brighton screamed, Jennifer!

She looked at Kenny. She was terrified.

Get up here, young lady, her father’s voiced boomed.

Coming!

When she reached the top of the stairs, he commanded, Sit down.

Kenny heard a chair scrape across the kitchen floor.

Kenny! Come up here! her father yelled.

He climbed the stairs. His head spun. Fear gripped his stomach. When he reached the top stair, he saw Mr. Brighton. Kenny walked into the kitchen and took a seat next to Jen.

Mr. Brighton stared at him. I tried to think of a million reasons for this, other than the obvious, but I can’t, Mr. Brighton said as he reached into his jacket pocket. How the fuck do you explain these?

He threw the box of condoms across the table. It skidded in front of Kenny and stopped two inches from the edge of the table.

Kenny stood up. He was shaking. Mr. Brighton, I just want to tell you—

Get out. I need to talk to my daughter.

Kenny sat on Jen’s front steps and was lost in his own frustration. He turned his anxiety and fear into a song for The Reinforcements’ next album. Kenny decided to name the song Is This for Real?

Kenny’s dad brought him home shortly after Mr. Loc had been informed of the situation.

Initially Mr. Brighton was going to forbid Jen from seeing Kenny any further. Jen had pleaded, and somehow he had relaxed this restriction.

Mr. Loc had vouched for his son too. They were good kids, he had said.

Mr. Brighton would only permit Kenny and Jen to continue seeing each other under adult supervision. Jen’s dad was going to do his best to make it as difficult as possible.

When Kenny got to his room, he wanted to write down the lyrics to Is This for Real? before he’d forget them. As he pulled open his desk drawer, he saw Jamie’s letter. Even though it was folded, he could still see the strokes of her handwriting in his mind. He thought he could still smell her on the paper.

Kenny reached for the letter and accidentally knocked over the phone on his desk. He wondered why Jamie hadn’t just called him. Why had she mailed a letter instead? Was she too much of a coward? Did she think a piece of paper would make her feel safer? His anger and contempt for her rose.

He slumped in his chair and picked up the phone. He thought about how much society depends on telephones. Phones always made it difficult to mask intentions and motives.

And so Kenny wrote yet another song, Electronic Expression.

Shawn gripped the bed sheets and sat up. The sunlight was blocked out by the room’s blinds. Shawn looked at his alarm clock, which read 2:50 p.m. He wiped the sweat off his forehead. The fluttering in his heart stopped. He looked at his phone next to the clock and decided to make the call that he had been dreading.

Shawn hung up with Nicole after only a few minutes. He nervously stepped back. He turned to his desk, picked up a brown bag, and looked inside. Acid. He reached under his bed for his father’s handgun. Man, it was heavy. Shawn put it on the desk, then he lay down on his bed and thought about those bad trips. The forest. The bird. The hover cars from the year 2095. The flower.

The room was soft with sorrow, while icy fingers gripped at his insides. He listened to the serene music coming from a different room. Shawn really believed that even a good trip couldn’t save him now. Even though the walls stayed where they were, they still closed in on him. His ears rang. Shawn gripped his mattress and slammed his head against his headboard. Pain shot through his skull.

The air was heavy and rich with temptation. Shawn stumbled off his bed, grabbed the gun, and propelled himself through the doorway. He tripped into the hallway, raced down the stairs, and ran into the street, at a full sprint.

He neared his final destination. Misery loves company, he thought. As he held on wildly onto her chain-link fence, he belted out, Nicole!

Shawn! What the hell are you doing? Nicole yelled through an open window.

He placed his index finger around the gun’s trigger. The sun had gone behind a cloud, which made it much darker around him. He placed the gun to his forehead.

Nicole let out a blinding scream.

Shawn closed his eyes. He drew a cold breath, despite the hot air. The sidewalk was soon covered in bubbling crimson as