***We continue now with Kayla and Joshua. 0_-
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"Where are we going, Josh?" Jillian asked as they drove down the road. She sat in the back seat so that she could be near Daisy who was behind her wire mesh again.
"Well, we're going to get something to eat, and I need to make a stop first. I usually just poke along because I'm cheap, and I like to save gas, but I don't know which car the girls will be taking. Rosie drives slow, and Kayla is probably a speed demon" he said as they slowed coming into town.
They pulled up at the florist shop, and Josh cracked the windows down a few inches each for Daisy as they got out. Inside, he picked up two potted arrangements and a small potted flower for Jillian. They were back on the road in five minutes.
Having been successful in his getaway, Josh headed for a drive-through and treated them to a dinner that he was certain that Jillian had seldom had before. She was very pleased.
"Thanks Josh, this is great!" she exclaimed. "I always wanted to try this."
Josh looked at her, "You've never been to one of these restaurants before?"
"You mean where you stay in your car and get the food from a window?" Jillian asked.
He nodded and she shook her head, "I see the commercials on TV, but Kayla always says that we have to save our money and they cost too much. How come you just didn't cook dinner for us?"
He winked at her as they ate, "Well Jilly, first off, I'm just a lazy guy. Second, and probably more important, I can cook for myself, I just don't know if you would survive my cooking, 'cause I like you and all, and thirdly, just for fun."
Afterward, they just drove around talking for a while. Jillian was thrilled. When they got back, Josh sat on the porch steps as Jilly ran around with Daisy. When she came back to him needing a breather, she found him smiling.
"Come on," he grinned, "There's something that you need to see before it gets too dark."
When he'd pushed the tool chest out of the way and turned on the shed lights, he opened the doors and Jilly stared with her mouth open.
Josh thought that just that one second was worth all of the careful wrenching that he'd done over the past few days and the pain in the ass that it had been to keep this little secret from everyone -- most especially from Jillian.
In the dim incandescent lighting that shone in from behind them, she stood staring at an old motorcycle -- another one. She spun in place, her hair flying in an arc around her head as she looked to make sure that the first one was still there before she looked in front of her again.
It was old and tired -- and dusty as anything, but it was there, all the same.
"How come it has three wheels?" she asked, looking at the sidecar.
"So it doesn't fall over if you forget to put the stand down before you get off?" he asked, "That really embarrassing when it happens, and it can hurt a little when you find yourself under the bike like that." Jillian giggled.
"This one's got a sidecar," he smiled, "I think they made it for when you need to give a little girl a ride and you don't want to have to be afraid that she'll fall off or burn her leg on the exhaust. It's still a little dusty, but it does run and I was wondering if you'd like a ride this evening."
She gave him another of those moments where he fell in love with her again right there, just for the way that she looked at that instant. "Oh Josh," she sighed in a quiet little voice, "Can we? Please?"
"Sure," he smiled, "I just have to put in the seat that I re-stuffed and fixed up after I almost broke my neck trying to vacuum and sweep all of the mouse poop out of it. I kept coming back to check, and the old tires are still holding air. We can't go out on the roads, since it's not licensed yet, but I thought that maybe we could tootle around a little.
So I think that you ought to go grab your bike helmet Jilly, and while you're gone, I'll try to get it going."
He'd been looking at the bike at that moment, and hearing nothing from her, he looked over and saw that he was already alone, so he pushed it out into the main part of the shed and from there out into the late long rays of the early evening light.
Josh was a little amazed that it started on the second kick, since it hadn't been anywhere near this enthusiastic to be roused from its long slumber back in the shed earlier. Jilly came flying back as she got her helmet strapped on and he cautioned her about the way that she had to be prepared for a little jostling. He lifted her to get her in and she beamed at him as he got on.
The old Harley's engine clattered louder as Josh fed it some gas, and drove off. They drove around the yard a little as Daisy ran around them barking in her deep voice. After a few laps down the drive and back, Josh apologized to Daisy as he put her tether on, promising not to be gone long. She watched unhappily as Josh drove up the slope and around the bend with Jillian waving to her happily as she sat in the sidecar.
Josh was careful to keep it slow as they bounced along a little until they were near some standing boulders where he slowed to a stop, but left the engine idling for a minute before he shut it off, hoping that it would start again later. He scanned the ground for snakes before he lifted Jillian out.
"Hey, come over here, I want to show you something cool. Did Kayla ever talk about her uncle Sam? I think you came to his funeral last year" said Josh.
Jillian nodded. "I never met him, but Kayla told me that she loved him a lot."
"Well this was his favorite spot in the whole world. He found it when he was a boy, and always loved to come here. Just sit right here, and face this way. Here, come sit next to me. Now close your eyes, and listen to the wind."
"Is that the wind? It sounds like it's almost talking." Jillian said.
"I know. I think it has something to do with those rocks bouncing the sound back at us" Josh said. After a minute more, he suggested that they'd better be getting back soon, so they saddled up and puttered back. After negotiating the incline down to the yard, they got in a few more laps before Josh pulled up in front of the house and shut it off again.
