Chapter 133

Megan and I drove my car back to my parents place and parked it behind the garage. We were walking toward the front house when I saw the light was on in my room. Mom had told me that Amy was going to use the room to study, so I stopped and tapped on the door.

I said, “It’s Pete and Megan, can we come in?” when Amy answered.

“Oh my gosh, that’s great, c’mon in.”

She was sitting at the table in front of some books and papers. She stood up when we stepped in, and I noticed that she was holding her cell phone. She wiggled her fingers at us, then she said into the phone, “You’re not gonna believe this, but my brother and the girl I was telling you about just walked in.”

She held the phone away and said to Megan, “It’s Kevin, the guy I met in New York. He’s back home now and I’ve been telling him about you.”

She went back to the phone and said, “Yup, she’s right here.”

There was a pause then, “Yes she is; she’s very pretty!”

Another pause, “No, Pete and her are just friends.”

Another pause then she said, “Can you step closer to the light, Megan?”

Megan looked at me and I shrugged, so she went over and stood next to the light on the table.

Amy pointed her phone at Megan and pushed some buttons, then she held it to her ear and said, “I just sent her picture to your phone. Take a look.”

She waited for a few seconds then she said, “See what I mean? I told you that she was a knockout.”

Pause... “Yes she is, and she’s really nice.”

Pause ... she smiled at Megan and continued, “I don’t know if she will or not. Why don’t you ask her,” and she held the phone to Megan.

Megan started waving her hands and shaking her head.

Amy covered the phone and said, “Talk to him. He’s a nice guy, he’s really cute and wants to meet you.”

Megan looked at me and she shrugged when I nodded, then she put her finger to her ear. It looked like she did something to her hearing aid before taking the phone.”

Amy winked at me and asked, “Shall we give her some privacy?”

“Sure, we’re going to ride the bike home, so come with me while I say hello to Mom and Dad, then I want to get the helmets and my bike jacket.”

“Mom and Dad are next door at the Elkins’, and Erin is at Kelly’s house.”

“How is Kelly doing, I haven’t seen her in a while?”

“We don’t see much of her either; I think that she has a boyfriend.”

“Uhh, speaking of boyfriends, what about Erin, Is she seeing someone?”

“Are you kidding, do you have any idea how busy she is?

“She’s almost sixteen and she’s gorgeous. Aren’t guys hitting on her all the time?”

“No, actually. She’s so pretty that it scares most guys away. A guy from school will call once in a while, but she lets everything go to her answering machine and she rarely calls them back.”

“Why not?”

“She’s just not interested in boys right now. She’s serious about acting, and it takes all of her time.”

“What about at the studio? There are some good looking guys there and a few of them are real sharks.”

“You don’t know your sister. I know that she’s only fifteen, but she’s very sharp. Nobody is going to put anything over on her. Besides, Mrs. Devon watches out for her when she’s at work.”

“So I don’t have anything to worry about?”

“Ha! You should have seen her in New York. She looked twenty-five all dressed up, and every guy who saw her was panting. She handled it like a pro. She was friendly but not inviting, and all it took was a raised eyebrow to get them to back off. It was amazing to watch, I bet that they are still talking about her.”

“Both of you were big hits from what Mom said.”

“I guess that we must have been; I got the best looking guy in town to take me dancing one evening, and to dinner and a play the next night.”

“And you just handed him to Megan. What’s up with that?”

“I think that they’d go well together. Nell told me that Megan has been through some rough times with her family. Well, Kevin has had some problems too. He was in New York to visit a family friend who’s an orthopedist at Mount Sinai hospital. His stepmother ran him over with her car.”

“WHAT! What happened?”

“He didn’t go into particulars, so I didn’t ask, but she’s apparently crazy.”

“Is he okay now?”

“He says that he is, but it happened over a month ago and he still moves kind of slow.”

“I thought you said that you went dancing.”

“We did and he did okay, but I’m kind of spoiled after dancing with you.”

“Thanks. How come you and he didn’t hit it off?”

“We got along okay, but he wanted more and I don’t need a boyfriend right now.”

“Oh, I saw how handsome he is and I-I just wondered.”

“Well, quit wondering. Watching out for you and Erin, and keeping up with my studies is going to be all that I can handle.”

“Since when do you have to watch over me?”

“Mom and Dad are both going to be gone a lot for the next year or so, and someone has to look out for you guys.”

“I can see where Erin might need some help, but why me?”

“Because you need me!”

“I do, eh?”

“Yes, you do. I keep you grounded. You can talk about things with me that you can’t with other people.”

“I see, so that’s why I need you?”

“That’s part of it, but there’s more. You’ve had problems with some girls and a few have left you hanging. You’ve been able to shrug it off so far, but you might fall hard one day and you’ll need me to put you back together if she left.”

“You think that I might fall for someone?”

“You might. I know that bitch in Germany has plans for you, and she’ll be hard to resist.”

“What do you mean ‘that bitch’? I thought that she was your best friend?”

“She is except when it comes to you.”

I stared at her for a few seconds, then I asked, “What exactly am I to you?”

She raised an eyebrow, “You’re my brother and my friend.”

“Is that all?”

“What would you like to be?”

“I-I’m not sure.”

“I know you’re not.”

“Well, what would you like me to be?”

She sighed, “Something that you can’t be right now.”

“What does that mean?”

She stared at me for a long minute, then she asked, “Do you love me?”

“Yes, of course I do.”

“I love you too. Let’s leave it at that right now, and we’ll talk about this another time. I want to change the subject. I hear that your friend, Brandy, is going to Cantil to pick up Della tomorrow.”

“Yes, I’m going with her.”

“Is bringing Della back with her a good idea?”

“I think it is. Della is determined to get away for a while, and Brandy will take care of her.”

“That seems odd. Didn’t they just meet?”

“Yes, but they seem to have some kind of connection. They immediately hit it off and I think that they’ll be okay.”

“Brandy is the girl who danced on the bed that time in Vegas, isn’t she?”

“Yes, but she’s changed since then. I’d like you to get to know her. I think you’d like her.”

“Is she really the one who owns those dress shops?”

“Yes, she is. Hey, it’s getting late. C’mon, give me a hand getting the bike stuff ready.”

Someone had put some boxes in front of the bike and it took us a while to clear things out of the way so that we could push it outside. It had been a while since I rode it, so I checked the tire pressures. The pressures were okay, the battery was low, but it caught just before the power ran out, so I left it on fast idle while we gathered up the helmets and my riding jacket, then we went back to my room. Megan was still on the phone, so I held my hand up and pointed toward the sound of the bike. She nodded then hung up a minute later, and said to Amy, “He seems nice.”

Amy replied, “He is nice. Did you give him your number?”

“Uh huh, and he gave me his. He, uhh, wants me to go out with him.”

“That’s great, what did you say?”

“I said that I’d let him know.”

“Well, you should. He’s really good looking and he’s a nice guy.”

Megan looked disturbed and she asked, “Why would he want to go out with me if he’s that good-looking and he’s been out with you?”

Amy made a face and said, “Because you’re a beautiful girl!”

Megan looked down and said, “I don’t feel like it when I’m next to you.”

“Don’t be silly, Megan. Remember that he asked you out after he saw your picture. When did he want to go out?”

“This weekend, but I told him that we had that dinner party on Saturday, so he asked about Friday.”

“Well, do you want to go?”

She looked down for a second, then she said, “Yes, but I don’t know him.”

Amy looked at me, “Are you busy Friday night?”

“I don’t think so, why?”

“Why don’t you double date?”

“Nell leaves in the morning and she doesn’t get back until late Friday.”

Megan looked so disappointed that I said, “Wait a minute.” I pulled my cell out and called Nell. I said, “Megan has a chance to go out with a friend of Amy’s Friday night, but she doesn’t know him and she’s a little uneasy about it,” when she answered. “She wants to make it a double date, what time does your plane get in?”

“It lands at eleven which means that I won’t get home much before midnight. Is he a good guy?”

“Amy says that he is.”

“This could be important to Megan; can you ask someone else?”

“You wouldn’t mind?”

“No, I trust you.”

I turned to Amy and asked, “Can you be my date Friday night?”

She shook her head, “That’s not a good idea, Pete.”

I still had the phone to my ear and Nell said, “I heard what she said, why don’t you ask Cindy?”

“Okay, I will. We’ll be home in a little while, I’ll call her then.”

“No, call her now. It’s early and you don’t want to let things like this go until the last minute.”

I was going to say, “Yes, Mother,” but I didn’t want to do it in front of the girls, so I just hung up and called Cindy.

I said, “Hey, it’s me, what are you doing Friday night?” when she answered.

“Digger picked up his glasses today and Myrna got us tickets to a Dodger game to celebrate. Why, what’s up?”

Shocked, I asked, “Digger can see well enough to watch a ball game?”

“He sure can. He can’t read the scoreboard or make out the players names yet, but Dodger stadium is well-lit and he really wants to see a game.”

“That’s fantastic news! I know you said that he was getting better, but I didn’t know that things were going that well.”

“I actually didn’t either. They were keeping it as a surprise. Digger came out to the car to meet me and he did it without his cane when I got home today. So what’s going on?”

“Megan has a date with someone new this Friday, and she wants to double. Nell is going to be out of town, so I wanted to know if you could be my date.”

“Does Nell know about it?”

“It was her idea.”

“What’s with her? Is she trying to get us together?”

“I don’t know. I know that she likes you, so I wouldn’t put it past her.”

She chuckled, “Do you want to hear something funny? Digger wanted me to call you and ask you to come with us, but Myrna said that she wanted it to be just the three of us. I’m pretty sure that she’s trying to get Digger to ask her to marry him and I think that she wants to show him how well the three of us will get along.”

“Will he?”

“He hasn’t talked to me about it, and neither has she, but he might.”

“How do you feel about it?”

“I hope he does. I really like her and I know that he’s crazy about her. The only thing that I don’t know is how the twins would feel about it.”

The rumble of the bike remembered that it was running outside, so I said, “I gotta go, but I want to talk to you some more about this.”

Amy asked, “What was that about?” when I hung up.

“Cindy thinks that Digger might ask Myrna to marry him. Has she said anything to you or Mom?”

“She hasn’t said anything to me. I’ll have to ask Mom if she’s talked to her about it.”

Megan looked anxious and broke in with, “What did she say about Friday night, Pete?”

“She’s busy. Let’s get home and I’ll make some phone calls.”

We went outside and Amy helped Megan with the helmet, then helped her get on behind me after I got on the bike.

Amy told her to hang on to me and she put Megan’s arms around my waist. She was either excited or scared because she was hugging me like her life depended on it when we pulled away.

There are several ways to get from Northridge to Malibu. You can take freeways, but they’re usually crowded and it’s not a direct route. The best ways are the several canyon roads that lead through the mountain ranges that ring the valley. My favorite is Topanga Canyon Boulevard. It’s called a boulevard, but it’s actually a two lane road that winds its way through the hills and ends up at Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) a couple of miles from Malibu. I’d been through there with the family a few times, but always in a car. There are lots of gentle, and a few not so gentle curves, and I always thought that they’d be great on a motorcycle. That’s the road I chose tonight and I was glad that I did.

I watched the beam of the headlight paint the shrubs and trees that line the road as we swept through the curves. The experience was magical, but there were so many curves and switchbacks that I was a little concerned about Megan, so I turned my head to ask her if she was okay but I realized she probably couldn’t hear me over the wind, so I just smiled.

She must have understood why, because she smiled back, hugged me tighter, and mouthed, “Amazing!”

We were about halfway through the canyon when Megan cried, “There’s a place up ahead on the right, Pete. Can we stop, I need a bathroom?”

I noticed a sign pointing to something the last time I was through here, but there were a lot of trees around and nothing was visible from the road.

I turned right at the sign and pulled into a parking lot. Megan pulled off her helmet when we climbed off the bike and said, “I’m sorry; I should have used the restroom at your place, but I won’t be long.”

I said, “It’s okay, take your time. What is this place?”

“It’s a restaurant called ‘The Canyon Inn’. The food is great here. Nell and I come here a lot. Look around, it’s kind of interesting. I’ll be right back.”

The parking lot was not well-lit, so I decided to set the steering lock on the bike. I looked around when I finished. The lot seemed crowded for a weeknight and I noticed that it was filled with newer, high-end cars.

The restroom was in a separate building next to the parking lot and a small gift shop was attached to it. I went inside to wait for her.

It WAS interesting. There was the normal collection of figurines, greeting cards, and refrigerator magnets. They all seemed to be handmade and some were quite expensive. One wall had a sign that said ‘All local artists’, and dozens of water colors, paintings, and sketches were around it. They were all nicely framed and for sale.

I was looking at some of the pencil sketches and one of them had a note stuck to it. It was smaller than the others and this one seemed to be a copy where the others were originals. I looked at the note and it said ‘Full size originals by this artist are in the bar’. I looked closer. It was a rather poor copy. It looked like someone had taken a digital picture and printed it on an old-fashioned thermal printer.

It was a drawing of a girl sitting in front of a window. She was wearing a peasant blouse and a long skirt. Her head was turned and she was looking at the artist over her shoulder. It caused the blouse to hang a little loose. You couldn’t see anything except the swell of her breasts, but you could tell that she wasn’t wearing a bra and it looked kind of sexy. I yhen looked at the face. The picture was so small that it was hard to make out her features, but she somehow looked familiar.

A voice behind me suddenly said, “It’s a beautiful piece. You should go into the bar and see the full-size original.”

It was an older woman. She was wearing the same kind of blouse and skirt as in the picture, and had a name tag that read, ‘Emma’.

I asked, “Who’s the artist who drew this?”

She answered, “Megan Walker, she’s one of our favorites, it’s...”

A voice interrupted her with, “Hi, Emma, thank you,” and Megan came into the room.

The woman stepped away and I asked Megan, “Did you draw this?”

“Uh huh.”

“Is it that woman?”

“No, all the women who work here dress like that. Would you like to see the original?”

“Sure.”

“C’mon, I’ll show you around.”

I followed her down a short path to the main structure. The place was bigger than it looked from the street. Several small buildings had been joined together making an ‘L’ shape, and there were trees, lush plants, and flowers everywhere. The trees and some of the bigger shrubs had twinkle lights wrapped around and through them, and everything looked fantastic, but a real surprise was a running stream that ran along one leg of the building.

I was looking around when Megan said, “Listen.”

All I heard were the sounds of the stream and some voices from the restaurant at first, but there would be an odd sounding noise every minute or so. I looked at Megan, and she smiled and said, “Bullfrogs!”

She took me through a vine-covered arch into a room with tables where people were seated having drinks. The room was next to the stream and one wall was windows with a view of the water. A bar was along the back. The walls in the rest of the room were covered with works of art. Paintings, water colors, and sketches were hung next to shelves holding statues, ceramics, and some other things. I saw that everything had a card with a price on or next to it.