Page 68 of Dizzy

DIZZY

When I was a kid, I knew I wanted a Shovelhead for my first bike. My first ride was a chopper, a rebuild that Big George guided me through. A beautiful ride. I laid her down in an early ice storm when I came back from my first deployment, and she wasn’t salvageable. My next bike was a Shovelhead, too.

But when Parker came along and I needed a truck, I didn’t know what I wanted beyond American-made.

Dad and I went up to Baldwin, on the state line, where there’s a strip of dealerships and no sales tax. We started at the first place we came to. We’d narrowed it down to three different models beforehand.

The minute I sat behind the wheel of my truck, I knew it was the one. Dad insisted we test-drive it and take the other models for a spin. To be sure. But I was sure. I went along with it. Dad was good company. Funny as shit. But we could’ve called it a day and gone fishing. I was sold the minute I slid into the driver’s seat.

The closest feeling I can compare it to is when I held Parker for the first time. And Carson. They were mine.

So is this girl curled up beside me, snoring softly, nestled under my arm. I know that ain’t the way it’s supposed to be. Shit, there are whole magazines for folks who need all the specs and reviews before they even go to test-drive a vehicle. But I know. Fay-Lee belongs to me.

It’s gonna hurt like a bitch when she decides she wants to leave.

I kiss her on the forehead and ease out of bed. I need to check on the boys, get them ready for bed. If I let ‘em, they’ll stay up all night.

Parker can come back up to his room. Fay-Lee is stayin’ in my bed. No sense in him bunking downstairs for another night.

I grab another beer and some chips on my way to the lower level. I’m starving. What I really want is meat. I thought I had some deer jerky left, but I search the shelves and can’t find it. Carson must’ve finished it off. Oh, well. It was good. Can’t blame him.

I find the boys watching the end of this movie from the 80s that they’ve seen a hundred times. It’s about a cat and a dog, and they get lost or something. Maybe there’s a hurricane. I sat through it enough, but I never paid much attention.

“What happened to the action flick?”

“We seen it before.”

“You’ve seen this before.”

“Yeah.” Carson scooches to make room for me. I plop down between them, kick a few toys off the coffee table so I can prop up my feet. This room is a fucking disaster. I’m gonna have to take away dirt bikes again until they clean it up.

I pop the chips, and both boys’ hands dive in.

“After this, it’s bedtime.”

“Okay, Dad.” Carson’s eyes are drooping. He’s the one who’ll pass out wherever. Parker’s like me. A light sleeper.

We watch in silence. By the time the credits roll, Carson is conked out with his head on my lap. Parker is wide-awake, his face set in a scowl. He’s still pissed. That boy carries a grudge just like his mama.

“You gonna tell me what crawled up your ass?”

He shrugs. He wants me to try a little harder before he’ll give up the goods. So much like his mama.

“You can sleep in your bed tonight.”

He’s surprised. “Fay-Lee gonna sleep down here?”

“She’s sleeping in my bed.”

“She your girlfriend now?” This news has distracted him from his pouting. The gears in his brain are turning.

“Somethin’ like that.”

He’s quiet a minute. He’s really thinkin’. “Does this mean she’ll be here a while?”

“I hope so, but she’s her own woman. She might have plans she wants to get back to.” I rub my chest.

“If she’s here a while, would she get a job?”

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