The Honda bounced in the way that breeds car nausea. The windows were rolled down to let in the fresh country air and a sampling of dust that already gently coated the flanks of the Honda. Jack diligently steadied his hands to draw line by line pausing in between the big rocks on the grooved dirt road. The blue fifty-cent-7-11-pen draw deep lines into the back of the passenger seat. The upholstery was a light gray smooth shorthaired fabric. The blue lines pressed indentations and looked like a tattoo.
Jack chronicled his life: The worn out rocker with the coke bottle black glasses that had promised Jack's friend 10 minutes on stage, the long blond hair down the back of the swim team girl that he adored, and the knee length slacks that were popular with the kids these days.
Jack's mother in the front passenger seat chipped happily: "We passed the last check point on our route. It's so good to be out of Chicago." She wore her JC Penny sweats and colorful blouse proudly despite the worn colors and saggy cut after only a handful of washes.
Jack's father nodded with approval: "Son, you may be 18 years old. However, grand pap's will make you a man." Father's hand reached back to squeeze Jack's knee with rough manly friendliness. Jack shook of the hand with whole body disgust. Jack's father looked a lot like Burt Reynolds – a black mustache and oily feeling about him. He wore standard blue jeans and a white short sleeve shirt that made him look like a stamped out standard.
A herd of horses ran along their car in cheery exuberance. The sunlight glistened on their healthy coats. Their manes and tails were flying in the air. They had white spots on their hooves. Their heads were held high and shook with happiness. The remote Montana backcountry had no fences. Endless thick green and deep grass stretched out in the plane. The foothills provided a border in the distance. The horses turned their galloping to the side to disappear deep into the wild grassland. The wind shook the tall bendable grass helms in large waves.
The hours drew on. Everyone was silent. Jack was completely engorged in developing his mural on the back seat. Father had given up disciplining him. Father was happily alert at the wheel. He loved dodging the big round rocks. When the tire grooves grew too deep, he gladly slithered the car offset onto the grassy center. Mother proudly held the trip description in her hand. The thumb marked the current position. Her eyes scanned for government markers: "5WNZ69, make a left!" The car softly slid sideways in the turn. Father and mother had found a happy medium, where father could be a little bit of a backcountry alcohol runner. And, she shut up her shrieks in exchange for his moderation.
After hours of open grassland, the car entered a grove of trees – dead end. At the end was a rough old cabin. The timber wood had been bleached bright from age. The front porch was low. A big fat old woman sat on the bench in front of it. She wore a large white dress with peasant-style-drawn flowers on it. Her gray hair was neatly tugged into a bun. When she stood up to see the approach car, her ample breasts heaved from the strain of standing up. The big, black slippers shuffled a few steps forward. Her big farmer hands wrung together in sincere anticipation. This was grams.
The Honda slowed down. The big dust plumb trailing it caught up and layered itself on the passengers' skin. The dust felt rough and dry. Slowly pulling up to grams the car stopped. The passengers climbed out with stiff limbs. Gramps appeared in the door way with his walking cane. The cane was a beautiful lacquered black stick. He was scrawny with intend eyes.
Mother spoke flustered polite nothings to grams. Father got Jack's bag out of the trunk and dropped it onto the porch away from the dusty dirt. Jack stood there like a rebellious lamb in silence. His punk skateboarding shoes looked out of place among the old fashioned folks. His styled and gelled black hair had long collected dust to look worn out. His hip t-shirt would not be understood by anybody here.
"It is so good to see you grams and gramps. We are so happy that you will take Jack, because he has fallen in with the wrong crowd in Chicago. He needs to be rehabilitated by country living. I wish that we could stay. However, we have to drive back to make it on time to our Monday morning shift," said mother. With another kiss on grams cheek, mother and father drove off waving out of the car window.
"You have become a beautiful young man, Jack," said grams. Her smile lighted up with old fashioned love.
"You have gotten old and fat," replied Jack.
Grams smile got stuck and helpless exasperation painted on her mum face. Gramps raised his cane and shouted: "Young man, you are not coming under my roof. Have fun sleeping with the coyotes."
"I wouldn't have any of this Nazi concentration camp anyway. This is bullshit," replied Jack with a red head.
"Oh, Jack, you don't know what you are saying. Your parents only mean the best for you by brining you to live with us," tried to help grams.
"They never asked me what I wanted. We were going to have our first gig as a band this weekend. We worked so hard to make it there," cried Jack.
"That's not music. That's noise," bellowed gramps.
"Have some food! Your empty stomach must be putting that yarn into your head. You will love it hear. We have beautiful nature all around the ranch house," invited grams.
"That filthy man is not putting a single step into my house," demanded gramps with flying spit.
"Gramps, this is your grand son. Don't be such a mean old man," said grams, while hugging Jack from the side and pushing his face against her humongous boob that was the size of his head. The old man conceded the two entering, yet broiled a deeply angry face with tense muscles all over his body.
The inside of the cabin was one large room. The sink and stove were on one end. A variety of towels, jars and pots filled the counters. Tables and chairs from thick unfinished wood stood in the middle. Single person beds were along the wall on the other side. Only four square windows let sun enter into the room. The exposed wooden beams hung heavy in the air.