Chapter 6

Like I said. We were day and night. He was glamorizing grease and air pumps, and I was visualizing cool, shimmering pools and an overload of gourmet meals. I laughed.

“What?”

“Oh, I was just thinking the grass really is greener over the fence.” I mirrored his head shake. At his raised eyebrow, I added, “You think my job is fun, and I think your job sounds like a dream. Different grass, different green.”

He laughed. “Okay, seen like that, you’re right. Still, working on bikes all day must be a little fun.”

I shrugged. “Sure, it’s a pretty fucking easy way to make a buck, or I wouldn’t do it. But fun? Not as fun as riding them on the twisting mountain roads. Do you own a bike?”

He nodded. “An old Kawasaki I bought when I was twenty-one.” He chuckled and got a faraway look in his eyes. “Spent my entire paycheck on it and had to go crawling home to my folks for food and to borrow rent money. You ever have to do that?”