Chapter 34: Major Junction Ahead - Merge Left

When we got down to the farm, Mom and Dad were almost ready to leave. I’m not sure if it was our actions after they saw us, or if they’d talked things over beforehand, but when we got into the car Dad got in front with me and Mom got in the back seat with Sandy. I do know that all the way to the lake, Dad kept me involved in a conversation, so that Mom and Sandy could talk. I actually found the situation to be a bit funny, but even though I wanted to, I didn’t dare grin about it. In fact, I tried to act as if Mom and Dad were doing me a favour.

Once we got to the lake and out of the car, things were a lot easier for me to handle. For one thing, once I’d had a chance to talk to Carissa for a few seconds she could help us with our masquerade. Then too I was inundated by the attention that I received from Corinna and Wil. Somehow they had decided that I was solely responsible for straightening out the mess with the cops. I couldn’t seem to make them see the fact that Carissa who had been the mover and shaker who had stirred things up so changes would happen.

Of course I had to talk to John and Wilma Coulter. After that I spent some time with Frank Dolens and his family, then I spent even more time talking with Sam and Ann McAdam. That was the hard one. Ann McAdam had noticed that I and Sandy weren’t spending much time together and she spent several minutes letting me know what a wonderful young woman Sandy was going to become. I was very grateful to Sam for finally leading her away when some of his relatives showed up. That gave me a chance to finally get to spend time with someone my age.

I moved over to talk to Tom, George and Wil who were over by Car 54. “Hi guys, what’s going on?”

“Not a darn thing,” Tom grinned. “I think the car is ready, but George is going to eat and run on us today.”

“Yeah, so I heard. Thanks for offering to look after the chores for me, George,” I nodded.

“I don’t mind,” he grinned. “Your chores are nothing, besides Beth is all wound up about seeing her horses again. If I can do a few chores and make her happy at the same time, I don’t mind at all.”

I was trying to think of something to say to that when we were inundated by females. Carissa and Corinna appeared first, then Sandy showed up with Jess and Jean as well as a tall blonde that I’d never seen before. It turned out that she was Sandy’s cousin and her name was Jacqueline, but answered to the nickname, Jackie.

She was stunning, the ultimate blonde bombshell and she knew it. To make things more interesting, ten seconds after being introduced to the three of us guys, she was on the make. Unfortunately for her none of us were extremely interested, but to my discomfort she homed in on me.

What bothered me was that Carissa and Sandy thought it was funny. For some reason they held back and let her play, disregarding the helpless looks I threw their way. In fact Carissa winked at me, which threw me completely off balance. Just what was that wink for? Was she implying that I should go along with Jackie’s play and act as if I was interested? Or did it mean that Jackie wasn’t really interested in me and Carissa was letting me know that I was safe? For a short time I really didn’t know what to do.

Meanwhile, Jackie was playing the part of a dumb blonde, pressing close to me, rubbing a very full breast against my arm, batting her eyes and broadcasting the impression that she was available. But, there was something about her actions that read wrong to me, almost as if there was a red flag waving in my view. After the third or fourth dumb question about driving a stock car I realized what was wrong. While her face and her body were broadcasting willingness and even eagerness, her eyes weren’t. There was something in the depth of her eyes that just didn’t ring true to her actions.

At the same time something else was happening. I didn’t notice at first, but after a moment it dawned on me that the two of us were being left near the car as all of my friends moved away. I don’t think Jackie noticed either. I decided that this was a setup of some sort, but at first I didn’t know what to do. However since we were standing fully exposed to anyone who happened to be watching I wasn’t worried. I let Jackie prattle on, answering her dumb questions until no one would be able to hear my voice if I spoke quietly, then I lifted a hand, palm forward. Her voice stopped and she looked slightly shocked.

“Jackie, I don’t know what you’re up to, but I know you’re acting,” I said quietly. “Underneath that dumb blonde act, you’re very intelligent, but scared as hell. Now, I’m not someone you should be afraid of because I try my best not to hurt people. In fact, I try to help them if I can, so just what is going on?”

“What do you mean?” she whispered, pulling back a few inches and frowning slightly.

“I mean what I said,” I shrugged. “For one thing you aren’t as naive as you’ve been acting. In fact, it takes a very intelligent person to come across as someone so untutored in the real world, but even more than that you’re forcing yourself to be close to me and I can sense it. You’re afraid of something and I think it’s either me or men in general, but I want you to know that I won’t hurt you. At least, I won’t hurt you intentionally, but I can’t discount the fact that accidents happen.”

“So just like that, I’m supposed to trust you?” she snapped, dropping her act.

“No, that will take time, but since you came over here with Sandy and Carissa, I imagine they’ve already told you the same thing. I’m not a super critical person and I’m certainly not a person who sets out to hurt others, but since we’ve just met, you’ll have to go on our word for now,” I shrugged my shoulders. “I really can’t prove it in a short time.”

“Hmm,” she mumbled, then tried to smile. “Okay, but you should know that I’ve never met one man in my life that hasn’t hurt me, so trusting you is damn hard.”

“Are you telling me that even the men in your family have hurt you?”

“Hell yes, them most of all and my mother is just as bad.”

“Well, if you don’t like men, why do you dress and act the way you do?” It was my turn to frown questioningly.

She was quiet for a minute, then turned and looked toward Sandy and Carissa before sighing deeply and turning toward me again.

“I dress this way because my folks insist on it and I act like I do to hide the fact that I’m weird,” she stopped speaking and pulled away, her face looking as if she was terrified of saying anything more for fear that I might hurt her.

“I’m going to guess that from what you said, your folks know that you like girls, but think it’s wrong,” I said and watched her face register shock.

“How did you know?” she whispered, almost silently.

“Well, you’re not all that fucking weird,” I snapped. “Didn’t Sandy and Carissa talk to you about their feelings?”

“You mean that they... , “ her voice trailed off into nothing.

“No they aren’t lesbians, but they like both guys and gals. You should be talking to them, not me.”

“Unh, I don’t think so,” Jackie seemed to droop.

“Why not?”

“Because that’s just as weird and the Bible says it’s wrong.”

“Well, I’m not about to argue with you about your beliefs, but to my way of thinking you’re letting your belief in the Bible torture you, and I don’t think that’s right,” I sighed heavily. “I really do think you should talk to Carissa about that, and Sandy too for that matter, after all the two of you are related. Oh by the way, were you raised in the Mormon church like Sandy’s mom was?”

“Yes, but what has that to do with anything?”

“Nothing really, but I thought all Mormon women were taught that obedience to the men in their family was paramount?”

“We are, but I can’t seem to do that either,” she broke into tears.

“Dammit all, please don’t do that,” I sighed.

“What? Why can’t I cry?” she whimpered.

“Because when I see a woman cry, I want to comfort her and fix what’s wrong, but you don’t trust me so I can’t even wipe away your tears for fear of upsetting you.”

She looked at me strangely, then to my surprise she walked off toward Sandy and Carissa. I just shook my head and gave up, then wandered off to try to find Tom and George, deciding that this was turning into one very weird day. Thankfully it wasn’t long before the steaks were ready and we could eat.

Mom called me aside to talk to me after we’d eaten, which didn’t really surprise me.

“We’re going to catch a ride home with George and Beth,” she smiled.

“Oh, I thought you’d stick around to see the races,” I looked at her in surprise.

“Well, to be honest, seeing those cars go so fast and watching you in the midst of them worries me a bit, even if I know in my heart that you’re a very good driver. So, since we have the excuse of being short handed to do the chores, Willard has suggested we go home and let you have your fun. I’ll still worry, but at least I won’t have my heart in my mouth all the time.”

“But, I’m safer in the car on the track than I am when I’m driving on a regular road,” I protested.

“I know that in my head, but it hasn’t sunk into my heart yet,” Mom smiled. “Anyway, I didn’t come over here to argue about that. I had a completely different reason in mind. I wanted to talk to you about Sandy.”

“Oh, what about her?” I thought she’d caught on to our charade.

“I think you’re being too hard on her,” she frowned at me. “She tries to hide it, but talking to her on the ride up here, I’m quite sure she really cares for you.”

That statement took me completely by surprise.

“I think you should consider giving her another chance,” she smiled. “It’s not that I don’t like Carissa, because I do, but I think Sandy is very nice as well. Besides I’m sure you know that I think it’s far too soon to settle down with anyone, so I’m suggesting that you don’t slam the door in Sandy’s face, at least not yet.”

“Are you saying that because of the fact that Carissa...”

“No, not at all,” Mom interrupted, then she grinned mischievously and glanced around as if checking that no one could hear her as her voice dropped to a whisper. “Actually, I find the idea that if he plays his cards right, my son might be spending a night in bed with more than one young woman rather titillating.”

She was blushing then and she lifted her hand in goodbye, then rushed off. All I could do was stare after her. Needless to say, I was completely flabbergasted. So, not knowing what to do or say to anyone right then, I wandered slowly over to the stock car and leaned against the fender. That’s where Frank found me a few minutes later.

“Well, Chris, are you ready to race?”

“Yeah, I think so,” I nodded. “At least on the track I have a good idea of what to expect next.”

“Yes, you’ve had an interesting summer, haven’t you?”

“Oh, Frank, that is putting it mildly,” I snorted. “I’ve been turned every which way, but loose.”

“Well, life is like that,” he grew serious. “However, I came over to tell you that today you have some very heavy competition, drivers who’ve come in from Edmonton and Calgary. I wanted to let you know that win, lose or draw, I’m not worried. Just having you in the race is enough, so just go out there and have fun. Okay?”

“Thanks, I think I will.”

“Alright, Chris, it’s time to get down to the track. Wil and Tom have already gone down to find your spot in the pits, so all you have to do it pull on your gear and go. I’ll talk to you after the races.”

With that, he rested his hand on my shoulder for a second, then walked away. I sighed, then reached in through the window of the car and pulled out my racing gear, deciding that today was the day when I intended to find out just how fast the car could go. By the time I was dressed, I’d succeeded in clearing my head of all thoughts, but those about racing. I drove slowly down the hill from the area where we’d picnicked, then eased up to the track entrance. That’s when I saw the tall, slim figure of Jack, the track marshal, smiling as he waited for me with his clipboard in his hand.

At that moment I was in the strange mood that took over whenever I raced in any way, completely at ease, yet hyped to do my very best. No matter what else happened that day, I was confident that I was going to do well.

As Jack walked over to the car, his face broke into a smile.

“Hey, Chris, good to see you,” he greeted me, shouting over the sound of the passing cars on the track. “There’s some hotshot drivers here today from the big city, but they’re used to running on asphalt, so watch out for them, huh? They’ll be all over the track for a while, and we’re trying to give them a bit of extra time for practice laps.”

“Oh great,” I grinned. “But then I was a new driver last time I was here too.”

“Oh sure,” he grinned. “Aren’t you the guy who has his own practice oval and learned to drive with a hand and one foot in casts?”

“Well, sorta,” I grinned. “Someone’s been talking too much and probably bragging too.”

“Hey, if a new driver can win a race on his first time out, people ask questions. Most of the guys think that you’re the reason these hotshots are here.”

“What? Why do they think that?”

“Well, your sponsor got us a lot of publicity last time you were here and it appears that these guys listen to the news and read the papers. We’re not complaining, mind you. I mean just look at the crowd we’ve got in the stands.”

“Okay,” I sighed. “So, how soon can I get into the infield and over to the pits.”

“Well, if you want to get there in a hurry, I’d suggest you just tuck into an open space and weave through traffic until you can safely head into pit lane. Of course all the cars on the track right now are the city boys, so you’d be taking your life in your hands to do that.”

“I can see that,” I frowned at the cars on the track. “What a mess.”

“Yeah,” He answered, shaking his head at the cars that were circling the track, barely in control.

We both watched the weaving, sliding cars that were trying to master a dirt track and a power slide, but I simply shook my head in disbelief. They all seemed to be braking as they went into the corner instead of accelerating, then if they did manage to start a power slide, they were tentative about using the power of the engine to ‘work’ the slide.

Not only that, but I could see from the way that the cars went into a corner that their springing and tire setup was wrong for running on dirt. Their setup placed far too much pressure on the right front suspension. Since that corner of the car took the brunt of the G-force in a power slide, I was worried that one of them would have a right front wheel fold underneath them during a race. If that happened, there was a good chance that the car would flip and roll. Since all of them seemed to insist on cutting as tight to the inside of a corner as possible, that wrecked car would roll right in front of any driver trying to pass them on the outside. That outer line of the corner was where any of the regular drivers would normally be racing and they wouldn’t stand a chance of avoiding the wreck.

“Jack, I’m not so sure that I’m going to drive in a race with those cars on the track.”

“What? Why?”

“Because someone could get hurt or even killed out there. They don’t know what they’re doing and if nothing else, they’re going to cause accidents. I don’t understand why you’ve even let them on the track.”

“We tried to stop them, but we can’t. We don’t have a rule on the books of our racing association to prevent new drivers from joining. In fact, we encourage new drivers and if they’re members with a valid driver’s license and have a legally set up car, they can race. Look at you; according to the records, you’re a new driver. All you have on the records is one day of racing and one win. Some of those guys on the track right now have been racing for ten years. Their only problem is that all their racing has been on asphalt.”

“Oh, I’m not refusing to drive, but ‘Car 54’ is acting up. I think I can feel engine troubles coming on. Can’t you hear it?”

“Come on, Chris, you wouldn’t do that,” Jack protested.

“Oh, I dunno. If you had a car, would you want to have it wrecked by stupidity?” I asked with a smile. “Hey, there’s a gap in traffic, gotta go.”

With that, I accelerated directly across the track and into the entrance to pit lane, leaving Jack staring after me. I’d gotten within fifty feet of the space in the pits that Tom and Wil had staked out for us to use when the car coughed a few times, then died. I tried the starter, but had no joy, so when Tom got up to my window I threw my hands in the air and looked at him wonderingly.

“What happened? What did it sound like to you?” he demanded.

“You heard it. It just quit,” I snapped, glancing around and seeing that all the people nearby were locals. “Sorry! Maybe it’s a good thing. Maybe ‘54’ has decided she doesn’t want to race these idiot visitors we’ve got here today.”

I heard several sympathetic chuckles and saw a few nods as well as several grins at that.

“Well, we can’t leave you here. Just stay behind the wheel and steer to your pit. We’ll push you by hand,” One of the guys outside said loudly.

It only took a moment or two before they’d pushed the car into our space and Tom had the hood open. However, by the time I managed to clamber out of the driver’s seat and get my helmet off there must have been twenty or thirty guys crowding around him and offering suggestions. I was about to say something, but Wil’s patience was already worn short by the previous problems he’d had that weekend.

“Will you guys BACK OFF!” Wil bellowed. “I know you want to help, but please, if we need help, we’ll ask for it. Now please give us some elbow room so we can work on our problem.”

I had to hide a grin as I watched all the ‘helpers’ suddenly look sheepish and back away. I reached out and caught one young guy’s arm as he scurried past me.

“Hey guy, could you hunt up Clarence Walker for me? I’d like to ask him a question or two, but I’m up to my ears in problems and can’t leave the car,” I asked.

“No problem,” he answered. “I’ll get him for you.”

As soon as he was gone and the ‘nosy parkers’ had cleared back a few feet, I moved to the front of the car and leaned in over the fender so my head was near Tom’s.

“You’ll find it isn’t getting any fuel,” I said quietly. “I intentionally shorted out the wire to the fuel pump and blew the fuse.”

“Oh, I wondered,” he frowned at me. “I take it that you’re not happy about the out-of-town cars?”

“You’ve got it,” I nodded, reaching out and pulling off a spark plug wire as if I knew what I was looking for. “On top of everything else, those cars aren’t safe on this track. You can’t see it so much from here because we’re on the inside of the track, but their suspension is all wrong. Because of the way they hit the corners and the way the cars are set up, too much weight is being transferred to the right front suspension. If they ever get up to racing speed, something is almost certain to snap.”

“Oh hell, with them running such a low line in the corner... , “ he glanced up at the track to watch one of the cars as it went into the corner and what happened to the car.