Chapter 15: Congested Roadway - Beware of distractions

Once I was all strapped in again, I fired up the engine and eased out onto the loop. This time it felt different, it felt right, as if the old machine knew that this was the place it belonged. Even on the first slow lap the steering was easier, corners slipped by naturally and the lean of the whole unit felt perfect. I sped up slightly on the second lap, searching for the car’s natural speed in second gear. I was hunting for that elusive point in any machine’s acceleration curve where everything seems to work effortlessly. I still didn’t seem to find it, so on the third lap I eased the accelerator down a bit more.

Then suddenly, the engine simply died. I shoved home the clutch pedal and tried the starter, but to no avail. The monster was dead.

By the time that I’d drifted to a stop, Tom was hot footing it toward me, his face twisted into a deep frown. Before he’d run all the way across the oval, I was out of the car and working to get the hood open. We’d hardly gotten the hood up and our noses poked into the engine department when Wil drove up in Tom’s car with everyone else along. Suddenly we had six bodies vying for a view of the innards of that bloody beast and guessing what could have happened.

“Probably shook something loose before and it just fell off when you got going faster,” George said, trying to sound like he was as good a mechanic as Tom. “Did it backfire or anything, Chris?”

“Nope, no coughs, snorts, or backfires. No strange noises of any kind. It just died,” I snapped.

“George, get behind the wheel and try the starter. Make damn sure it’s out of gear,” Tom ordered, popping open the trunk of his car and grabbing a couple of wrenches out of his toolbox. “And don’t hit the gas pedal, I’ll handle that from up here. I just want to be sure we’ve still got both gas and spark.”

With Tom, Wil and me working together under the hood, we found the problem in minutes. The fuel filter was completely plugged with gunk. There had probably been a lot of debris in the bottom of the old fuel tank and the thumping and banging as I drove across the rough ground had shaken it all free, then put it into suspension in the gas. With all that crap floating around in the tank, as soon as I’d shoved down on the gas pedal to speed up, it had put an increased draw on the fuel line. That had plugged the fuel filter with a solid mass of dirt, rust and other junk in a second.

“Shit!” Tom grouched in exasperation. “That means we need to pull the fuel tank and get it steam cleaned.”

“Hey, better to find it now than when we get out on the track,” George tried to sooth his temper.

“Well at least the tank is in the trunk and not underneath like a regular car’s tank,” I sighed. “What I want to know is how do you get rust and crap inside a custom made, stainless steel tank.”

“Whoever was filling it had rocks in their head, that’s how,” Tom growled. “The guy that had this car before must have had dorks for his pit crew. They must have used crappy gas that was contaminated and never filtered it, either that or someone sabotaged their gas supply. This is the sort of shit that drives a mechanic nuts. Not only do we need to steam out the tank and blow out the fuel lines, but now I should pull the fuel pump and carburettor as well. The whole system has to be checked and cleaned or this could happen again.”

That ended our trial for the day. It also made Tom and me extremely suspicious of all of the maintenance that had gone into the car previously. We towed the car back to the shed and whipped the gas tank out, draining it into an open topped bucket. We could see the gunge suspended in the gas and Tom swore like a trooper.

“Who’s going to town next?” I asked.

“Corinna and I have to go home tomorrow afternoon,” Carissa volunteered. “Why?”

“Well, someone will have to take the gas tank to town. I think Frank Dolens would be willing to have his guys steam out the tank for us, then we’d at least know it was clean.”

“We could do that,” she agreed instantly. “I have to come here to pick up Corinna anyway. I could throw it in the back of the Jeep then and drop it off at Uncle Frank’s on the way home.”

“Umm, I may not be going home with you tomorrow,” Corinna broke in. “Wil and I think he should give me a ride back to town later. We want to talk to Mom and Dad, but only after his folks get home, that way we’d get a chance to talk to them as well.”

Carissa just stared at her for several seconds as if Corinna had suddenly grown a second head. Then she grabbed Corinna by the arm and they walked off a few yards to talk. I could see Will looking at them and I jabbed him lightly.

“I think they want privacy, at least Carissa does,” I spoke as quietly as I could.

“Yes, but this concerns me too,” he frowned.

“I know and it concerns me, but in their case it’s different,” I managed a weak smile. “Both you and I always have to remember that they’re twins, so for years, they’ve been as close as it’s possible for two people to be. As long as I’ve known them, they were like two sides of one coin. Now they’re drawing apart because they aren’t sharing all the same experiences. We need to give them some room at times, just to make their lives easier.”

His frown deepened and I thought he was going to argue, then he sighed. “I suppose if they want to talk to either one of us, they only have to call.”

“Yep,” I nodded.

So, while the twins discussed whatever was bothering Carissa, the guys carried on working around the stock car. Tom asked a lot of questions about my impressions of the car and I tried my best to fill him in on what I’d noticed.

One of the things Tom asked about was the seat. He wasn’t happy that the seat was adjustable and I really wasn’t too thrilled with that either. I didn’t want to have something let go while I was driving, then have the seat slide out from under me. I climbed into the car again and we fiddled for a few moments until I was truly happy with where the seat was positioned. Tom nodded, telling me that he’d make sure it was solid at that point, then he asked about the special plate he’d put on the cutch pedal. I had to admit that I really disliked it. It sat at the wrong angle for my foot and was awkward to use. Over and above that it was too big and got in the way of my other foot when I used the brake pedal. I told him not to waste much time on it, instead I thought he should just put the normal pedal back in place, after all I wasn’t going to be in the cast forever.

About that time, the twins wandered back toward us and Carissa dropped the hint that she’d like to leave. That surprised me in one way, yet after a second’s thought I decided that it was probably something I should have expected. I realised that she was adjusting to the idea that she and Corinna were no longer living perfectly parallel lives. I thought she probably needed some time to wrap her head around the idea that the two of them might no longer agree on everything.

Only few minutes later we drove off, but I ended up tossing the gas tank from the stock car in the back of the Jeep. She was silent as we drove, so I kept quiet as well. When we came to the road that ran off toward Grampa Bender’s, I expected her to turn, but instead she carried on driving back toward town.

“Hey, what’s up?” I asked in surprise.

“Well, Corinna and I talked,” she sighed softly. “She and Wil are really close and she loves living on the farm. She wants to stay there with him for a while, so she’s going to ask your folks if it’s okay with them and then tell Mom and Dad what she wants to do.”

“I see, but that doesn’t explain why we’re driving back to town.”

She looked at me and smiled wryly. “Actually it does, if you think about it.”

“It does?”

“Unh huh,” she chortled. “I think I like being with you about as much as she likes being with Wil. Besides, I have another reason to stick around with you. Since you’re hand and foot are still in casts you need a helper.”

I stared at her in surprise, up until then I’d been under the impression that she liked me, but I hadn’t realised how much. I’d been able to see that Corinna and Wil were head over heels in love with each other, but I hadn’t realised that Carissa might feel the same way about me. Suddenly I woke to the possibility that Carissa was emotionally involved with me despite her protestations that our relationship might be temporary. The only problem was that I wasn’t sure I felt the same way about her. I knew that I liked her a lot, but I wasn’t sure if my feelings would ever become any deeper than that.

“Umm, just what are you saying?” I finally managed to mumble.

She frowned, then quickly pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. After that she paused for a second and took a deep breath before she turned toward me.

“That’s a question I can’t answer right now, because I’m still puzzling it out myself. Corinna just floored me. For the first time in my whole life I don’t understand her completely. I can understand part of what she said, but some of it leaves me completely out in the cold. It’s as if she’s become a stranger in some way.”

“I had realized that much,” I nodded. “In a way I can understand that too, because until now the two of you lived almost duplicate lives. Now you each have different things happening in your lives, so you’re developing opinions that differ as well.”

“That’s not really what I mean. I can understand that part of what’s going on and I welcome it in a way. This is totally different though,” she frowned again and shook her head, then paused.

After a second she sighed. “I can’t explain it, other than to say that we used to always be able to almost discuss things without speaking out loud, just by looking at each other. Now that’s disappearing. It’s as if both of us have developed another language in our heads. I can still feel her there, especially when we’re close together, but I can’t reach out and ... well, sort of, think along with her like I used to do.”

Another deep sigh gusted from her mouth.

“I just can’t put it in words because I think it’s a twin thing,” she growled in exasperation.

I could only nod and reach out a hand to touch her. That seemed to be what she needed because her frown eased into a calm gaze as she looked me in the eyes.

“That’s why I need to be with you, even more than Corinna needs Wil,” she gestured at my hand with a nod of her head. “It’s unbelievable, but right now you seem to know what I need, even if it’s just touching my hand.”

“I’m just doing what seems right,” I shrugged my shoulders. “I have no idea what it would be like to have someone so close that I knew what they were thinking. I was reaching out to touch you just to let you know you had a friend.”

“That’s the damn point,” she snapped vehemently. “It’s as if you have a way of reaching out when I need someone. I need that right now. So, that’s why we’re going to town.”

“Umm, I’m sorry, but you’ve lost me again.”

“Okay, I’ll explain. First we’re getting rid of that smelly gas tank by taking it to Uncle Frank. Then, if he’s around, I’m going to ask him if I can keep the Jeep for while, because we can certainly use it up at the ranch. After that we’re going to go to my house and I’m going to grab some more of my clothes and things. While we’re there, I’m going leave a note for my folks, explaining that I need to be away for a while and that I’ll be with you. After that, we’re going back to Grampa Bender’s. Once we’ve made sure the place is still all there and had something to eat, I’d like to sit and talk for a while, but for now I need to think about things.”

With that she restarted the Jeep and pulled back onto the road. Although I tried to initiate a conversation again to settle my thoughts about our emotional entanglement, she ignored me. In fact, she never spoke until we were pulling into Frank Dolens’ car lot and saw that he was in his office.

“Good, he’s here,” she said loudly as she climbed out of the Jeep. “Could you wait here for a minute or two? I want to talk to him by myself first.”

“Oh. Sure,” I shrugged my shoulders, but my curiosity about her need to talk to him alone kicked into high gear.

I watched from my seat in the Jeep as she went inside, then I could see her walk into his office. Her hands were gesturing wildly at first and I could see him wave her to a seat, then grin as he glanced out the window toward me and waved a hand. All I could do was wonder what was going on for several moments as they talked. Finally they came back outside and walked over to the Jeep.

“Hello, Mr. Dolens,” I greeted him and started to get out of the Jeep.

“It’s Frank, darn it, and you might as well stay sitting there,” he grinned at me. “I’ve got a proposition I want you to think about, but it may take a minute to explain and you might as well stay sitting down.”

“Another one?” I grinned, thinking of our previous car deals.

“Yes,” he laughed. “Carissa has been telling me about some of the problems you’ve been faced with during the last while. She’s come up with an idea that might relieve some of the pressure you’re under.”

“Am I under pressure?” I looked at Carissa and raised an eyebrow.

She nodded and smiled.

“She seems to think you are,” he snorted. “Now, since she likes you and I like her, we’ve come up with a way that might ease things a bit.”

“I’m listening, but you know the deal, I may have to talk to my family and my friends before I can give you an answer,” I grinned at him.

“That’s understood,” he nodded. “By the way, how do you like the Jeep?”

“Huh?” I wondered why he was changing the subject, but shrugged my shoulders and answered anyway. “Right now it’s great. Since Carissa’s been using it to visit me up at the ranch it’s come in handy a time or two for getting around. But, why are you asking?”

“Well, Carissa seems to feel that I’ve saddled you with a white elephant when I gave you that stock car. From the sounds of things that she told me happened today, I’d have to agree with her. So, I’d like to propose a deal,” he smiled. “I’d like to take back ownership of the stock car in trade for the Jeep, but there are a few provisions along with that. I’ll supply the parts and transport for the stock car, but you and your buddies are responsible for rebuilding it and driving it in the races at Pine Lake. Of course, I get to paint the car and put my advertisements on it. As well, I get to have your two buddies come in and help out around here for a few hours each week. You get to repay me for my investment by driving it in the races.”

“But, you already told me you’d give us tires and haul the car to the races. What’s different about this deal?”

“Well, to start with this deal includes other parts as well. For instance I’d like to suggest we pull the engine out of the car and rebuild it. Then we need to go over that car from end to end and make sure it’s in top shape. As I said, if I own the car I’ll pay for all the parts, but you and your friends will still supply most of the labour. Since I’d want to make sure that everything was perfect, my mechanic would work with your crew most of the time. That way I’d be sure it was done right, but the in order to do that, the work needs to be done here in the shop.”

“You mean you’d haul the car back here and the guys would have to come in here to work on it?” but when he nodded, I shook my head slightly. “I’d have to talk that over with them and their parents first. After all, they’re still needed around the farm.”

“I took that into account,” he nodded. “Carissa has the Jeep for the week and you can drive it as much as you want to try it out. That should make getting around on old Toby’s ranch a lot easier for you. Meanwhile you can discuss the deal with Tom and George during the week, then get back to me by next weekend.”

“It sounds like completely lopsided deal to me,” I shook my head. “I mean we all get a lot out of it and you get diddley squat that you didn’t have before.”

“Oh no,” he laughed softly. “I get some good advertisement and I get a pair of young men working for me in the garage for a few hours each week, guys that I’m growing to have great faith in by the way. On top of that I get the best damn driver around to drive the car, but at the same time I’ll be making my favourite niece happy.”

“Well, I’ll think about it and I’ll talk to the guys,” I said in a noncommital tone, then pointed to the back of the Jeep.”Now we were wondering if we could get the gas tank from the stock car steamed out?”

“No problem, just back the Jeep up to one of the big doors and I’ll get one of the boys to do that for you as soon as they’re free.”

Ten minutes later we were driving away, but to my surprise we didn’t drive directly toward the Coulter house. Instead Carissa drove out of town and pulled onto the street that lead to the fairgrounds. She pulled to a stop on the top of the little hill that overlooked the area and pointed to one side, toward the horse racing track.

“Do you see that fence?” she asked, pointing to the fence that separated the fair ground from the track.

“Yeah,” I nodded.

“Well, our family used to own the track and when we turned it over to the town, we agreed to look after it. But, we made a deal that we could use the track any time the town didn’t have something scheduled. That’s because Daddy and Uncle Frank used to own race horses.”

“Yeah,” I frowned, then it dawned on me that she was thinking about the stock car and I had to grin. “So you’re saying that if we go along with Frank’s deal, we could try the car out there?”

“That’s right,” she nodded.

“Sorry, but it’s not wide enough and it’s just like the track we laid out in the field, it’s too flat.”

“I don’t understand.”

I sighed deeply. “Okay, the stock car doesn’t go through a corner the way an ordinary car does. Have you ever driven a car in snow?”

“Well, of course I have,” she looked at me strangely as if I was dumb. “I’ve had my license for almost two years and I’ve driven in the winter.”

“Okay, then you know how a car can suddenly go into a slide on a corner with the rear end swinging wide?”

“Yeah, so?”

“Well, a stock car running on a dirt track does that on every corner. In fact as a driver, you intentionally throw the car into a power slide on every corner. That’s why race car tracks are banked, so you can use a power slide to go faster and still stay on the track,” I gestured at the track below us. “That’s a horse racing track, it’s flat and if I raced that stock car around it with the rear end throwing dirt outward, I’d screw it up something terrible. Of course if I caught a tire on the turf edge as it came to the outside of the track I might roll the car, probably right through the fence.”

“Oh. Here I thought it was a great idea.”

“Sorry, Carissa. It was a good idea in a way, but it could be extremely dangerous.”

“Well, you guys were making a flat track on the farm, I thought this would be the same thing.”

“The track we were laying out was a lot wider, the corners were longer and there was no turf ridge on the outside edge to catch a sliding tire,” I shook my head. “Thanks for trying though.”

“Now I know why Uncle frank looked at me strangely when I suggested it to him,” she laughed weakly. “Let’s go by my house and then head back to the hills, huh?”

I certainly wasn’t about to argue with that idea. I felt the need to be somewhere that I could think about everything because I had more different factors going on in my life than I really knew how to handle at the moment. I wanted to try to get them all straight in my head. Grampa Bender’s place was perfect for that because it was always so peaceful. I was sure that the sooner we got back there, the better I’d feel.

While Carissa had been quiet for a long period on the way into town, now she was bright and bubbly, waving at people we saw as we drove by, calling out to friends and talking a blue streak. It was as if she’d become a completely different person and that took me by surprise. The only time I had seen her in a similar mood was when she and Corinna had been bubbling over about Beth’s horses. When we came to her house, she whipped into the driveway and almost dove out of the Jeep, then ran up the front steps to unlock the door.

“Come on in,” she called to me as I took my time following her.

“What’s the rush?” I asked as I finally caught up to her.

“I don’t know. I just want to get going,” she grinned and dashed ahead of me as we went inside.

The Coulter house was a split level bungalow and she ran up the stairs, then turned at the top and waited impatiently for me to follow her.

“Come on, hurry up,” she giggled. “I want to grab some of my things and get back to the ranch, but first I want to do something special with you while I’ve got you here.”

“Okay, I’m here. Now what’s so darn important?” I asked as I got to the top step and reached for her hand.

“This way,” she grasped my hand tightly in hers, dragging me along the short hallway. “The last time you were up here we didn’t finish what we started, this time we can.”

She led me through a door and into her parents’ bedroom, then swung an arm around in a wide circle.

“Remember this room? This time there’s no one to bug us and take our pictures. We’re not drunk out of our skulls so we know what we’re doing, but I’m not about to let you run off on me again either,” Carissa’s grin was huge and her eyes were dancing. “So what do you say, Cowboy? Do you want to make up for the fun time you missed a few weeks ago?”

All I could do was to stare at her and slowly shake my head. That brought a frown to her face as she stared back at me in surprise.

“But why?”

“Well, I don’t know for sure,” I managed to find my tongue. “It just doesn’t feel right in some way, but I’m not positive why. Maybe it’s because my being a nice guy is what brought us together. On top of that, I’m not sure, but the idea of shagging you on your parent’s bed seems rather disrespectful to them.”

“Would you do it in my bed?”

“Probably, but not right now,” I sighed and sat on the edge of her parents’ bed, pulling her onto my lap.

“Is something wrong?” she asked, obviously surprised. “Did I do something you don’t like?”

“No, not really. It’s a combination of things,” I shrugged my shoulders. “I’m feeling that pressure thing again. It’s almost the same sort of pressure I was under before we started finals, you know, when I exploded at Wil. Only this time it seems more important somehow. I really don’t understand it myself, so I don’t think I can explain what I’m feeling.”

“Okay, what do you want to do?”

“Well, you said you wanted to pick up some things and write a note to your folks, then I thought we were heading for the ranch? I’d like that ‘cause I’d like to do some thinking and talk things out.”

“Is that what you want? You still want me to be there with you?”

“Well, yeah. I do like you with me, but I want to talk about it while you’re there with me,” I looked at her in astonishment. “You didn’t think I was rejecting you, did you?”

“I guess maybe I did,” she sighed so softly I could hardly hear her even with her head resting on my shoulder. “I thought maybe you were upset with me over the idea I had.”

“Oh you nut,” I responded by hugging her tight. “If I’m ever upset with you, I’ll be sure to let you know about it and I’ll explain why I’m upset too.”

“Promise?” she lifted her head and looked me in the eye.