Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb Together (3)
Nathan transferred back to Chicago the following year. Dick stayed in Michigan.
Nathan wanted to go to Europe. Dad wasn’t too keen on the idea. Eighteen months was a long time, Dad said. He saw Dick on weekends. But not all weekends. He graduated in March, a year early, and Phi Beta Kappa, merely because Mother had wanted him to. Still, one couldn’t help but be a little proud.
He'd beaten Dickie.
The Leopold family took a trip to Hawaii. Nathan was impressed with the surfers. He sampled lots of strange foods, including bamboo shoots and dog meat.
He decided to do Post graduate work at the University of Chicago. Dad wasn’t going to budge on the Europe trip.
But Dick had graduated from Michigan in June. And he was back.
Dickie’s friends found him changed. He wasn’t so keen on hanging around with the old crowd. He didn't go out with the girls he'd grown up with. He always seemed to be with Nathan Leopold, now. They were always together. Nathan seemed to tell Dick what to do.
Together they would sneak out of their homes late at night. Together they would wreak secret havoc all over Chicago.
They were college graduates. But they were still boys. Nathan had nights where he had to stay in. He was scolded for being late for dinner. Dickie’s mother had never stopped thinking of him as just a baby.
Their families knew nothing of their secret adventures. The routine was to come home at nine or ten, maybe eleven. Say goodnight to the family. Make as if they were going to bed. Make considerable noise. Gurgle loudly in the bathroom. Wait for the folks to fall asleep. Sneak out at around 1 A.M. Meet up somewhere. Have an adventure. Slip back in before dawn.
Sometimes they'd be out til three or four in the morning, with classes the next day.
What Adventure.
Sometimes Nathan would drive around and Dick would throw bricks through store or car windows. Dick smashed the window of a Walgreens once. And once he threw a brick through the windshield of a car. Apparently, a man and woman were making out in the back and the guy jumped up and shot at them!
They covered up the tail lights when they went out on adventure.
Sometimes they set things on fire, things like buildings.
Sometimes they made prank phone calls. Other times they made false fire alarms.
Dick loved their adventures. He was crazy about them.
They made Nathan nervous. But he went along with them because Dick liked them. That’s just how it was. He didn’t feel bad about the things they did. He just didn’t want to get caught.
It made Dick happy. And that was enough.
Sometimes Dick would get pretty bummed. He’d get all quiet. He talked about death.
Late at night, out in secret, it was their world. They owned the streets of Chicago at 3AM. They drove around the Loop. They were invisible and anonymous. And nobody, nobody knew where they were or what they were doing. Their friends didn’t have a clue.
In the day time, at school or after, at dances or on double dates, at parties, people laughed. They drank their illicit alcohol. But they didn’t have a single idea.
Together, alone. At night. "What if our friends knew what we really were?"
It was great fun.
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