‡ Promise 34: Brand New Truck ‡

-As told by Lily-

scream, my legs going numb, my chest bursting. In my driveway, a brand new black pickup was parked, and my dad smiles with the keys. "Oh, my god!" I shriek, running around it to view everything, "It's perfect! I can't believe it!" "Yep." nods my father, a little proud, "I got a good deal on this model, so had a new stereo installed in there, with the extra money." I dived into my father's arms, nearly knocking him over.
"You're the best dad ever!" I shout, hugging his neck. "Yeah," he chokes, trying to pry me away, "I know." I hop down and began giggling like mad. "You're going to spoil her." sighs my mother, watching from the porch, a hint of disagreement in her voice, "She hasn't gotten her license yet." "Well," shrugs my dad, "I've talked with her instructor and she tells me that Lily is doing very well. She'll have her license soon, so don't worry. And, Lily-" "I know, I know," I wave, opening the door of my brand new truck, "I won't drive it until I get my license." "And-" continues dad, but I fill in the blanks.
"I won't drink and drive," I sigh, "Or allow anyone else to drink in my car either. I won't speed, I'll be careful. And I won't stay out late. And no boys in the car, except for Tommy and maybe Mr. Rolmir." Both parents raise their eyebrows in response of the mention of Keith. "I'm kidding." I laugh, although I really wasn't, "Like a famous writer would go joy-riding with me." They both looked relieved, buying the lie, and I quickly change the subject. "Look," I said, pulling out my cell, "Despite what you guys think, I'm very responsible, I know the rules." "Well," nods my dad, "We trust you. But, I just had to go over the rules again, just to make sure."
"Whatever." I sigh, dialing a number, "Thanks, dad. But I gotta call Tommy and Jody now." "So sad." teases my mom, "You buy her a car and now she wants you to go away." "Teenagers." shrugs dad, going over to embrace my mom. "Ugh," I frown, waving them away, "Take that inside. The neighbors might see." Mom sticks her tongue out at me, as dad kisses her on the neck. There was a click on the other end of my phone, after a while of ringing, as Tommy answers his phone. "Hello?" he asks, groggy.
"Hey," I smile, turning my back towards my lingering parents, "I've got some news!" "Uh..." he moans, shuffling in the background, "It's ten in the morning and it's Saturday! Couldn't it had waited until later?" "Wow." I frown, "You're not a morning person." "Not on the weekends!" he growls and then sighs, "I'm sorry. Tell me the news." "I've got my truck!" I squeal, hopping up and down. "Really?" he asks, a little interested, "Right now?" "Yeah," I nod, as if he could see, "My dad just bought it for me and it's sitting in my driveway! I can't drive it yet, but you have a license..."
"Oh," he says, waking up a bit, "I see. You want to go for a test drive. I can help you out, sure." "I gotta call Jody," I said, hopping into the truck for the first time, "She can tag along too." "No," says Tommy, "She has a shift at the bookstore, this morning." "Are you sure?" I ask, disappointed. "Yep." he sighs, "Every Saturday morning. But, we could stop by the place with the truck, on her lunch break." "Cool." I nod, formulating this plan, "So, you'll stop by and we can drive around for a while. And then stop by the bookstore. And then you can drive me back home."
"'Back home'?" he teases, "Lame! I was thinking that you and I could drive to Mexico together." "Yeah, sure." I said, rolling my eyes, "Let's just leave everything behind and start a new life." "I'll be Rolando." he continues, "And you'll be Lucila. We'll make sweet love, under the sun, and live happily ever after." "Not happily." I teased, "It will end in divorce, because you'll be dreaming of Jody, the whole time." "So," he says, quickly changing the subject, "Just give me an hour and I'll be there to see the truck." "Okay," I said, laughing to myself of the sudden change, "Later then, Rolando."
I stepped from the truck, glancing towards Keith's home. There's no sign of movement or life coming from it. I wonder if he's asleep or busy working on his next novel. Either way, I'll have to tell him about my new truck some other time. I head inside to get a thicker jacket and to wait for Tommy. Today is especially cold.
An hour later Tommy shows up, his jaw nearly hitting the pavement, as he circles my new truck. "Hey," I nod, trying to act nonchalant, "Great truck, huh?" "Sweet ride!" he laughs and then whistles, shoving his hands into his pockets, "My first truck was a piece of crap. But this is... nice." "Yeah," I sigh, focusing on the bare sides, "It's almost perfect, except there's no purple flames down the sides. But, whatever." "Kyle's!" snaps Tommy, a smug look on his face. "What?" I frown, a little confused.
"There's this guy I know," he explains, his eyes filled with excitement, "His name is Kyle. And he has a shop, just on the edge of town. He does that kind of stuff, you know, artwork. I bet he'd give a fair price for purple flames." "Cool." I said, now interested, "How far away is he?" "Not far." waves Tommy, "Just a couple of hours. I can drive the truck there, if you want." "Yeah."I shake my head, "Is he open on the weekends?" "Are you kidding?" scoffs Tommy, grabbing the keys from me, "He never closes. He's Kyle!" That didn't sound too right, but once again I ignored my brain's warning and was whisked to the edge of town.
Just as I suspected, Kyle's garage was a haven for passing bikers and rough characters. Many of the men, that lurked outside of this place, looked as if they were ripped from the show America's Most Wanted. A guy with a long white beard and wearing a leather jacket, with the words "Borne To Kill" on it's back, flicks his tongue at me. I rushed inside behind Tommy, clutching onto him, and feeling a little freaked out. It was funny. People usually was creeped out by me, when they walked by, not the other way around.
"Yo!" calls Tommy, getting the attention of three very rough and angry looking men, "Is Kyle around?" Oh, crap... Was this just another place where Tommy believes that everyone is his friend? This is a bad mistake! We're both going to die! "Hey, Little T?" smiles one of rough looking men, "Is that you? Haven't seen you in a while, dude." "Yeah," he shrugs, blushing a little, "I got rid of my old clunker and got myself a better truck." "I see." waves the guy, "Yeah, Kyle's here. Hey, Rocker!"
"Yeah, what?" growls a huge muscled guy, who was working on a car nearby. He's obviously annoyed about being interrupted, but notices Tommy. "Get Kyle," says the first guy, "Tell him Little T's here." "Yeah." nods Rocker, "'Sup, T?" "Hey, Rock." nods Tommy. All of this seems too surreal to me. "Um," I frown, trying to process the whole thing, "'Little T'?" "Yeah," shrugs Tommy, turning to face me, "It's my nickname." "Okay." I laugh, having a hard time imagining dorky Tommy with a street-tag and hanging out with these gang-like men. It was just too weird.
Before I could think about it more, a chubby man with huge rosy cheeks, heads towards us. He looks like Santa Claus, if the hero of Christmas had join a Harley gang, wearing lots of leather and spikes. "Hey, Kyle!" shouts Tommy and both of them hug briefly. "How's your mother?" asks Kyle, with a huge cheery smile. "She's fine." nods Tommy, "She just got a promotion at the diner." "I heard." says Kyle, obviously proud, "She's manager there now. Good for her." Kyle then notices me and nudges Tommy, "That's your girlfriend?" "What?!" yelps Tommy. "No!" I nearly shriek.
"Why does everyone keep saying that?" growls Tommy, rubbing his eyes in frustration. "We're strictly friends." I explain to Kyle, "Nothing more." "I see." he sighs, a little disappointed, "Well, I guess that's good too. Tommy could use a few more friends. Real friends." "Huh?" says Tommy, a little confused. But both Kyle and I knew what was implied. "I agree." I sigh, looking around the shop. "What can I help you with, Little T?" asks Kyle, getting straight to the point now. "Oh," says Tommy, pointing towards me, "Lily just got a brand new black truck. But she wants purple flames down it's sides. Think you can give her a good deal?"
"Let's see the truck." shrugs Kyle, not really giving an answer, "Where is it?" "In the front lot." nods Tommy, leading his friend towards the door, "It's a sweet ride, brand new, but she wants a little artwork on it." We walk outside and many of the lingering men start to walk away, obviously a little afraid of Kyle and not wanting to cause trouble. "Damn drunks." Kyle grumbles, as we head towards my truck, "They get tired of the dank hole across the street and try to hang onto my property." It was then that I noticed that the bar Faldan took me, some nights ago, is across the street from us. It felt weird being so close to that place again.
"Yeah, this is nice." grins Kyle, looking over the truck, "This is nice. Are you sure you want to mess with it?" "Yeah," I said, pulling my eyes away from the bar, "I want purple flames down it's sides, just a couple of feet wide. Are you able to do that?" "Of course." he said, a little insulted, "Flames are the easiest to do. I can have it done in just a few hours." "How much will it cost?" I ask, my eyes wondering back over to the bar, as someone stumbles onto the street. "Since you're a friend of my nephew's," says Kyle, "I'll do the work myself and for twenty dollars." "Nephew?" I ask, my neck snapping my face towards them.
"Yeah," smiles Tommy, "Kyle's my uncle." "Oh." I sang, as this explained a little about Tommy's 'in' with the rough crowd. "Just drive the truck in." sniffs Kyle, "I get the stuff all set up." "Okay." nods Tommy, then turns to me, "Just sit inside the waiting area, Lily. I'll drive the truck in and then come join you." I walk back into the building, quickly finding out that the "waiting area" is just a line of chairs in a small closet room of the garage. I watched through a window as Tommy drove my truck inside and then headed my way. "Kyle's the best artist here." says Tommy, taking a seat beside me, "So, those flames are going to be nice."
A few hours later, I realized how true Tommy's promise was. The flames almost looked real, like the fires of hell, except for it's purple color giving it away. "Cool." I breath, circling the truck. "It should last for years." nods Kyle, "But if it fades, just bring it back. I'll redo it for the same price." "Thanks!" I shout, wanting to hop into this guy's arms, but betting against it. "Now, let's show Jody." says Tommy, grabbing the keys, "But we've already missed her lunch break. By the time we get back, she should be just leaving the store." We hop into the truck, waving goodbye to Kyle, and head then pull off towards town.
"Oh my." says a very stunned Jody, as we stand outside of her mother's bookstore. It was early evening and already my mother had left a message on my voice mail, wondering when I was going to be home. "It's..." struggles Jody, trying to be polite, but obviously hating the flames, "It's... interesting." "It's awesome!" cheers Tommy, proud of his uncle's work, "Kyle is a genius!" "Oh," asks Jody, a little surprised, "Mr. Kyle did this?" "Yep!" grins Tommy, rocking on his heels a little. "Oh, how is he?" asks Jody, changing the subject, "I haven't seen him in so long!" "He's good." nods Tommy, "Still the same." "Good." smiles Jody.
"I hate to break up this little conversation," I shrug, a little annoyed, "But I have to get home, fast. My mother is freaking out. It's not even dark yet." "Yeah," nods Tommy, looking towards the truck, "I better get you home, then. Want to tag along, Jody?" "Oh, no." she says, sudden fear in her eyes, "I've got laundry to do, at home. Catch up with you guys, at school?" "Sure." I said, a little guilt hitting me. The whole Keith thing still freaks her out and I didn't help by telling her truth about Fray and the others. Tommy and I got into the truck and drove to our last stop.
"Well," says Tommy, sadly giving back my keys, "She handles good." "'She'?" I frown and then pat my truck, "It's a He! His name is Bruce." "Alrighty then." Tommy rolls his eyes. "Hey," I nod, "Thanks for everything today. It's been fun." "Yeah." he says, a little grin, "Though we didn't run away to Mexico." "Maybe next time." I shrug and Tommy laughs. "See you at school." he nods, heading towards his own truck. I watch as he pulls off, knowing that Tommy will be okay, with everything about Keith and the others. Now, I'll have to calm Jody's fears, somehow.
As I turn to head inside, I notice a strange man standing in front of Keith's door. He has long blueish-gray hair, though his face looks no older than thirty-seven years. He is dressed very nicely, with a conservative vibe about him, but silently odd. I notice that Keith's car is no longer in the driveway, meaning that he wasn't home, so I guess this guy was waiting for Keith to answer a knock on the door. "Sir?" I call to him, "I don't think Mr. Rolmir is home." "Is that so?" asks the man, a little disappointed, "I see. Well, maybe I'll come back some other time."
"I'll tell him that you were here," I offer, as I headed up my front steps, "Mr...?" "A friend." he simply says, "An very old friend." The strange man leaves Rolmir's porch and walks silently down the street.