Long Islanders

12 - Crossing The Line

As spring arrived on Long Island, green began to appear in the yards of Stanwich and in the nearby woods. The snow melted and the air began to have warmth to it again.

"It's time to do something adventurous," John declared one day after school. "Something we've never ever done before."

"Like what?" Jimmy asked curiously.

John paused for dramatic effect, giving a knowing smile. "We should take the hard rolls."

Jimmy's, Tim's, Nathaniel's, and Andrew's eyes all widened at John's announcement. They instantly knew what he was referring to. Steal the hard rolls? Was John serious?

One look at John's crafty expression said yes, he was being serious.

"The hard rolls?" Tim repeated skeptically.

John nodded. "Yes, Tim, the hard rolls. The deli in town gets deliveries at five o'clock in the morning, dropped outside the deli, of all the bread and rolls he'll need for the day. We get up early on a Saturday, head into town, and take the rolls before the owner comes outside to get them."

All four of the boys exchanged glances as John crossed his arms and waited for them to speak. "Okay," Andrew said slowly. "Sounds fun. I'm in."

"Same," Jimmy added, and Nathaniel nodded.

Tim still seemed to be mulling it over. "Fine," he said at last. "Sure. I'll do it."

John rubbed his hands eagerly. "All right!" he said mischievously. "Friday afternoon, we meet to discuss the plan. Sounds good?"

Everyone nodded. "Sounds good."

Every time Jimmy thought of the hard rolls, he felt a knot of excitement and apprehension form in his stomach. They had never done anything like this before. This was big, bigger than anything they had ever done in the past.

This was stealing.

This was wrong.

Yet, despite himself, Jimmy was looking forward to Saturday.

Friday afternoon, the gang of boys gathered in front of the Rossi's house, eagerness shining on everyone's face, hints of apprehension here and there. John glanced around at all the boys, his lips moving silently as he counted them off in his head.

"All right," he said at last. "Everyone's here. Let's head to the woods so as to talk in private."

Together, the boys trooped up into the woods, Jimmy and John in the lead. They hopped over the Rossi's fence and walked up the path until they had reached their traditional hang out place. A fort stood between two trees and some tree stumps were set out before the fort.

Everyone took seats, either on the stumps or on the ground, still covered with the leaves from last fall. John stood before the fort, waiting until the boys were settled and quiet before speaking. There was a sense of formality and solemnity to this particular meeting that had never accompanied any of their previous schemes before, and they all took notice of the feeling and waited respectfully for John to speak.

"Tomorrow, we will meet on the circle at four in the morning," John began, his tone serious. "We will then walk into town and wait until the rolls are dropped off at the deli. When they are, as soon as the delivery truck leaves, we then snatch them for ourselves."

There was silence as everyone digested the plan. Jimmy glanced around, seeing the excitement with some touches of his own apprehension.

"Are we in agreeance?" John asked.

"Yes!" rose the chorus of voices, and John crossed his arms in satisfaction.

"Then tomorrow, at four. Be there, or you will not be able to participate in taking the hard rolls."

Jimmy was up twenty minutes before four the following morning, his stomach in knots. Hastily but quietly, he dressed, careful not to wake Ron. He tied the laces on his sneakers before slipping out of his bedroom. Heart pounding, he glanced up and down the hallway.

Only silence greeted him. He could hear snores from his parents' bedroom, and the creak of the mattress from Jane's room as she turned in her bed. But no one came out to demand where he was going.

A mumbled voice cut through the silence and Jimmy leapt almost a foot off the ground. He whirled around, expecting to find Ron standing in the doorway looking at him. But Ron was still in bed, asleep.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Jimmy grinned sheepishly and crept down the hallway. He had forgotten, for a split second, that Ron talked in his sleep.

Jimmy took the stairs slowly and then moved softly to the door. Gently, he opened it and slipped outside, closing it behind him slowly in order to avoid as much noise as possible.

Once the door was closed, he sprinted across the lawn and towards the circle, where he could already see the others gathering. The sky was dark, small strips of a lighter color just beginning to touch it. Andrew grinned at him as he approached. "Thought you'd chickened out, Jimmy."

Jimmy frowned. "Of course not."

A couple minutes passed in silence as John surveyed the group. When Nathaniel finally joined them, a minute after four, John waved his hands to get everyone's attention. "Let's go!" he called softly.

Quietly, the boys headed down their road and down the hill towards the collection of shops that the Rossi brothers always referred to as "the stores," despite there only being one grocery store in the area. They crossed the parking lot and slipped into the alleyway next to the deli, clambering over the fence that backed it and crouching down to wait.

The minutes slid by slowly as the sky gradually grew lighter. Jimmy kept checking his watch, growing impatient as five o'clock approached.

The sound of the engine approaching sent adrenaline racing through everyone's veins as the delivery truck came to a stop in front of the bakery.

John held up his hand for silence and stillness as the cab door opened. Footsteps sounded in the quiet as the back door of the truck was slid open. More footsteps. Something was set down before the deli.

The cab door slammed and the truck's engine started up again. As it pulled away from the bakery, John's hand came down and the boys shot to their feet.

Over the fence, through the alleyway to the pavement in front of the bakery. The bags of rolls sat by the door, waiting for the owner to grab them at five thirty when the deli opened.

"Quick!" Andrew hissed, and the boys snatched up one of the bags of rolls and darted back into the alleyway. Tim jumped the fence first, running up to it and leaping as he grabbed the top bar and flung himself over, twisting so as to land on his feet. Andrew and Jimmy heaved the bag of rolls over and as Tim caught them, the rest of the boys climbed the fence, joining their friend and their spoils on the other side.

"Now what?" Jimmy asked.

"We take them around to the back of the grocery store," John directed. "Then, we feast."

The boys ran to the back of the aforementioned store, collapsing onto the pavement once there and opening the bag. The delicious smell of warm rolls filled the air and everyone breathed it in, sighs of pleasure escaping them.

Tim and Andrew passed out the rolls and Jimmy sank his teeth into his as soon as he got his hands on it. The fluffy inside collapsed under the pressure as it melted in his mouth.

"This is so good!" Nathaniel sighed.

Jimmy finished his off and reached for another. He hadn't realized how hungry he had been until his first bite. But the knot of apprehension was still in his stomach, and it remained as the buns were finished off and they rose to leave. No matter how John had phrased it, no matter how many of them had agreed to do it, taking the hard rolls still measured out to stealing, and stealing still was wrong.

"That was good," Andrew remarked.

"Let's never do that again," Tim said seriously.

Jimmy nodded.

He, for one, never took hard rolls from in front of a deli again.

After all, it was stealing.