Chapter 2: Ladybugs and Butterflies

Jesse was sitting on his work stool hunched over Maia’s bare foot that she had propped on his knee. His micro airbrush was gripped in his left hand, and he gently held her toe as he painted it. His face was a mask of concentration, so he was oblivious to the complete adoration on the face of his new girlfriend as she watched him work.

His stepmom’s voice rang out from the back door. “Jesse! Phone!” she called out, “it’s Xavier!”

He muttered as he sat up from his work. “Can you have Teetee bring it to me, please?” he yelled back.

Seconds later a grumpy Tina stomped into the shop and pushed the phone at him. “Here!”

“Put it on speaker,” he said as she stared at the tiny little ladybugs and butterflies he was drawing in Maia’s toes.

“Hey!” she pouted, “how come you don’t paint my nails like that?”

He sighed and sat up straight. “Because you’re a brat and I don’t like you,” he snorted back as he snatched the phone from her grip. He stood up and turned away as Maia began showing off all of her completed nails.

“Hey Xav, what’s up?”

“Hey mijo,” his ‘cousin’ replied, “you running a nail salon now?” His thick accent was full of humor.

“No! I’m just doing a favor ... for my...” he glanced back at Maia who was head-to-head with TM gushing over his work, “ ... uh girlfriend.” He grimaced as soon as the word came out.

“Say wha...,” he heard loudly in his ear, “you gotta girlfriend cuz?” There was laughter in the background.

“Yeah ... sorta,” he stammered embarrassed.

“Seriously mijo ... how much do you pay her?”

He ground his teeth angrily as a cacophony of laughs rang in his ear. “I’m going now...,” he growled.

“No! Jesse! Wait ... sorry mano,” Xavier was trying to sound contrite and failing, “I wanted to let you know we gotta real gem that your uncle just brought in.”

Jesse was all ears immediately, “What is it?”

“Some stupid pendejo rolled his 1970 Bronco hard top,” his cuz explained, “the hard top, windshield, and hood are all toast, man, but I think the frame and body are still good. Can you come down today and check it out?”

Jesse was holding his breath in excitement. “Hell yes!” he exclaimed, “gimme an hour or so. K?”

“You got it mijo. And bring yer girlfriend! We gotta see this.” Another burst of laughter and the line went dead.

Jesse didn’t even hear it as he turned back to Maia. She and TM were staring at him expectantly. “After this, I need to run over to my uncle’s wrecking yard to look at an old Bronco. If it can be salvaged and rebuilt, I will have an awesome ride!” He explained as he sat down and began working on her toes again.

“Sound’s kind of fun,” Maia replied, “can I come?”

He felt his face start to warm as he imagined the heckling he would get. “Um ... yeah. Sure.”

“I want to go too!” TM demanded, “I’ll go tell Mom what we’re doing.”

“No, you’re not,” he retorted, “there’s no room for you.”

“Yes, there is,” she shot back. “I can ride in the sidecar.”

“That’s Fug’s spot.” He didn’t even look up from his work, and he started on her other foot. “Besides I don’t have a helmet for you.” He grinned up at Maia as he shut her down.

“Then I’ll let Mom know we are taking the car,” Tina stated as she ran back to the house. The back door slammed closed before he could argue further.

Maia giggled. “She is adorable!”

“Yeah,” he grumbled. “She’s got a mouth on her too.”

“I wonder where she got that from?”

They sat three across in the Buick’s front seat with Tina in the middle, trying to dodge the slobber raining down upon her from Fug’s enormous face as he hovered over her, panting happily.

“Ewww!” she whined, wiping drool off her shoulder. “Roll the back windows down! Then he can flap his gums at traffic.”

“Too much smog,” Jesse smirked as he drove down the highway. Maia pressed her lips together, struggling to keep a straight face.

“Well, can’t you go any faster?”

“You wanted to come along, T-Rex,” he chided. She punched him in the arm.

“Shut up!” she yelled, “I’m not a stupid lizard!”

Maia lost it and emitted a musical giggle.

Tina glared at her. “What are you laughing at, hippy midget?”

Maia’s eyes sparkled as she smiled back. “I’m not a midget,” she replied gayly poking the younger girl, “you’re just freakishly tall.”

“Why don’t you ever wear shoes?” The 11-year-old blurted back.

“Because I like to feel the earth beneath me,” she replied simply. “It gives me strength.”

“That’s weird.”

“Why do you wear shoes?” The tiny bells hanging from her ears chimed with tiny notes.

“Well...” TM had to think for a minute, “to keep my feet from getting dirty, I guess.”

“But they still get dirty, don’t they?” She looked up and beamed at Fug as he leaned over and nudged her head for a pet. “Isn’t that right Mr. Fuggles?” she crooned. She reached up and scratched his neck. “So, what is the story with this handsome fellow?”

Jesse looked over and smiled. “He was born at the wrecking yard, to an old girl named Sydney,” he explained, “she was a weird mix of Sheppard and Hound, with a great Dane body, but the nicest pup you ever met.” He continued staring out at the road before them. “She just showed up one day about 4 years ago and made herself a nest underneath this old Chevy Malibu. Uncle Frank and Juan started bringing her food and treats and laid out some blankets for her.” The exit ramp for the junkyard appeared and he turned onto it. “She used to follow me all over the place. Turned out she was pregnant.”

“How many puppies did she have?” Maia asked as they turned onto a dirt road, kicking up dust.

“9 or 10 I think,” he said after a pause. “One didn’t make it. Fug here was the runt if you can believe that.”

They arrived at the gated entrance to the wrecking yard and drove through. They passed several rows of piled-up junked cars and trucks before entering a cleared area that contained the double-wide office and several enormous steel buildings that covered tow trucks, tractors, and huge jawed machines that carried the wrecks around the yard. Jesse drove past the office and pulled up to an open garage, in which he spotted the Bronco. He parked the Buick and they all climbed out. Fug burst out the back door as soon as it opened and strode eagerly over to the office, his club-sized tail swinging back and forth excitedly. The office door opened, and three men exited to greet the pup.

Jesse only had eyes for the crumpled Ford in front of him and he began slowly circling it, inspecting everything with a discerning eye. The internal roll bar was bent in the direction of the roll. The windshield and its frame were completely missing, and he noticed that all the broken glass had been cleaned up. The interior was oddly clean too he noted as he ran his finger across the dash and smelled the telling odor of Simple Green. Someone wiped it down recently. The front and rear seats were intact and appeared spotless. The front end was undamaged, but the hood was crumpled along with all the side panels and the hard top. Both passenger-side tires were flat and peeled from their rims.

His uncle, Juan, and Xavier walked up just as he crawled under it. There was a large puddle of oil and coolant on the concrete pad beneath it.

“What do you think son?” his uncle asked letting his niece climb up his coveralls into his arms. All three men stared appreciatively at Maia who was squatting down by his feet.

“It’s awesome Uncle Frank!” he replied excitedly as he crawled further underneath it. The transmission appeared undamaged. He checked the rear axle and crawled his way back out, getting to his feet. “What’s that status on it?”

His uncle shrugged. “Total write-off.”

Jesse shook his head in disbelief. “How?” he asked, “it’s actually in great shape. I don’t see anything wrong with the frame,” he pointed. “These panels are easy to replace — I am sure we already have 2 or more rollbars around here. And I know there’s a hard top out over there.” He waved to the south end of the yard. Leaning back over the passenger’s door he pointed again. “Everything here is stock. Even the shifter.” He looked back at them questioningly. “Why would the guy just write it off like that?”

There was an awkward silence.

“Um ... mijo,” Xav said bemused, “he’s dead man.”

More awkward silence.

“Oh,” Jesse stammered uncomfortably.

“Ewww,” TM groused in her uncle’s arms, “are there guts in it?”

“Jeez Teetee!” Jesse snorted while Juan shook his head.

“No, Niña,” the elder replied. He looked at Jesse knowingly. “We cleaned it out before we called you.”

Jesse nodded his appreciation just as he felt a subtle elbow in his ribs. He looked down at Maia’s expectant expression. She rolled her eyes towards the three men.

“Oh...” It dawned on him suddenly. “Uh ... this is Maia,” he stammered over his introduction, “she’s my ... um ... girlfriend.” He felt her arm snake around his back as she hugged his side, smiling brightly at everyone.

“Pleased to meet you,” Frank smiled, reaching to shake her hand.

“Mucho gusto,” Juan repeated the gesture.

Xavier just stood there dumbfounded with his mouth hanging open.

Jesse smirked at him. “S’matter Xav, — cat got your tongue?”

Frank and Juan laughed, and Xavier just shook his head and regarded Jesse with a look of disbelief. “Are you serious, Mijo?” he demanded looking from him to Maia and back again, “how?”

Jesse ignored him and turned to his uncle. “Okay, Uncle Frank. What’s it gonna cost me?”

None of them saw Maia wink back at Xavier as she held her hands apart like she was describing a big catch. His jaw dropped again in shock.

Frank shrugged, “We can apply for a salvage certificate and then file for the vehicle ID certificate. That’ll cost about $300,” he considered, “the rebuilt title is another $100,” he looked around, “anything you can use around here is free to you. We may have to rebuild the motor though.”

Jesse turned back and tried to open the hood. It was smashed in, but he pried it up enough to look under it. “Looks like a 302 short block,” he said, “I know that 76 Bronco in the back has a 302.”

Frank nodded. “Alright then. You pay the filing fees; we will make receipts for everything we replace and it’s yours.”

Jesse’s heart leaped as his face split into an ear-to-ear grin. He turned back to the Bronco and rubbed his hands together, deciding where to begin.

“Hold up there Jesse,” Frank said, “we need to take a bunch of pictures first to show the before and after to the DMV,” he explained, “why don’t you come back tomorrow, and you can start ripping her apart.”

With a sigh, he swallowed his disappointment and nodded.

Maia clapped her hands excitedly. “Yay! We will be back tomorrow,” she called as they returned to the Buick.

“Just make sure you wear some shoes, young lady,” he called back, “this ain’t no place to be running around barefoot.”