Chapter 1: Spring Cleaning
Charley sat down at the kitchen table, with the intention of paying off various bills that were due. Vinnie was lying down across the couch watching a football game and chugging down another root beer...his fourth in thirty minutes to be exact. Modo was sitting on a stool in the garage polishing his bike...for the last hour. And Throttle...well...let's just say Charley was admiring his backside was he cooked lunch on her stove, under her constant supervision.
Throttle was the only one out of the three fur-balls that she trusted with her new stove. Vinnie and Modo blew up her other stove while trying to cook hot dogs and onion rings. More along the lines of a shooting match because the stove was not heating up fast enough to satisfy their empty bellies so they decided to add their own fire to the stove. Big mistake on both their parts.
By the time Throttle and Charley got back from running errands, half the kitchen was destroyed and smelled about as bad as Limburger did on a good day. They ended up staying at the scoreboard while Modo and Vinnie cleaned up their mess.
It took both those boys about a month to work off the damages and to pay for the contractors that Charley originally paid for to repair her demolished kitchen.
During that time, Throttle proved himself to be a passable cook, even though he still asked a couple of questions when it came to a new recipe in the cookbook that Charley had purchased that day in order to experiment with some new dinner ideas.
Even though Charley and Throttle were not dating, they had fallen into a routine since they were both single and very close friends. Charley felt as though Vinnie had some major growing up to do before he could even find himself in a committed relationship. Throttle and Carbine had grown apart over the years and the war had taken a toll on the both of them. So, they opted to lead separate lives and move on.
Since then, Throttle assisted Charley in the garage and helped her run errands in town. There were times when he stayed at the scoreboard and there were other times that he would spend the night on her couch, either watching a movie until he fell asleep or by reading a book that Charley would borrow from the library.
Some mornings, after he spent the night, Charley would wake up to the smell of pancakes or eggs or toast and bacon. They were pretty simple tasks that Throttle would do without any assistance.
Today being Saturday, business was rather slow. So Charley closed up shop and decided to get some long overdue work done. But, they all agreed to do so after lunch. In fact, she had a list of chores that were broken down between the four of them:
Vinnie – clean and organize the living room (this includes dusting the furniture and cleaning between the seat cushions)
Modo – clean and organize the shop (including making sure all the tools are wiped down and put away neatly)
Throttle – Clean and organize the kitchen (you know what needs to be done)
Modo and Vinnie – Thoroughly clean and sterilize the bathrooms (including the toilet)
Throttle and Charley – Clean and straighten up the upstairs
Overall, she didn't think the list was going to be that complicated for the guys to do today. They all knew in the back of their minds that this spring cleaning was long overdue. But, there was always something else that came up that prevented them from being able to accomplish these tasks...Limburger. For the last week, he had been very quiet and that had them a little suspicious. But, they also decided that they were not about to look a gift horse in the mouth and considered it a blessing.
As Charley finished filling out the last of the checks and placing them into the bill envelopes, Throttle was finishing up on lunch and putting the food on their plates. Today, he made bacon burgers and home fries.
"Wow, I aught to buy you an apron" Charley commented when she saw some grease on his vest as he proceeded to wipe it off.
"Thanks but it might ruin my macho image" Throttle chuckled as he finished wiping himself off.
"I doubt anything could ruin your macho image" she said and as soon as the words came out of her mouth, Charley blushed. She hadn't meant to state the obvious but, she did. But, she didn't want him to know that she had feelings for him. Charley felt as though it was too soon for the both of them and she was not ready for him to know how she felt about him.
"Huh?" Throttle questioned, thinking that Charley was commenting on his appearance in a way that was more than just a friendship. He had to be honest with himself, Charley had been on his mind a lot lately but he was not about to cross that line. It was too soon.
"Nothing" Charley said as she lowered her eyes back to the table and finished sealing the envelopes.
Throttle let it go but he made a mental note to himself to ask Charley again later on.
As he turned around to put the plates onto to kitchen table, his attention turned to Charley and her envelopes. She had picked up the wrong ones but couldn't be bothered to return them for the self-sticking ones. So, she resigned herself with the task of having to lick all the envelopes. His thoughts drifted to the tip of her pink tongue moistening each envelope and then using her fingers to seal them. He just wished it had not been so soon since they each became single and he might have been tempted to make a comment about how intensely provocative her her actions were at that moment.
Throttle shook his head and carried out the task that he was trying to get accomplished but his dirty mind kept holding him back. Finally, gritting his teeth and dropping his eyes to the table, he was finally able to carry out the task at hand.
"Hey bros!!!! Lunch!" Throttle called and not thirty seconds later, Modo and Vinnie were racing through the shop and into the kitchen, each one of them trying to beat the other one to the table.
"Hey guys, how many times do I have to remind you not to run in the house. You're liable to break something" Charley used her mother tone of voice as she reprimanded the two of them. She could sometimes swear that the two of them were going to starve to death even they didn't beat the other one to the table.
"Hey babe, we're just trying to stay in shape" Vinnie stated as he sat down and began to shovel the burger into his mouth as fast as he could.
"Sorry Charley ma'am. Just very hungry" Modo apologized as he ate his burger with obvious enjoyment.
"Charley" Throttle said as he handed her a plate and sat down on the other side of the table, between Modo and Vinnie. So far, neither of them suspected a thing between the two of them and he didn't want to start having them think that he might hold some feelings for their mechanic friend.
He knew that Charley had broken up with Vinnie about two months ago because she knew he wasn't ready for a relationship.
Throttle and Carbine broke up about the same time. They still spoke to one another but not in a romantic way. It was funny because they both felt the same way about where their relationship was heading and knew that they would be better off not being together like that. Neither one of them were hurt by the loss of the other one.
"Thanks" Charley said as she watched Throttle sit down on the other side.
She enjoyed the time that they spent together but never made a move to indicate that she wanted their friendship to go further than that. She was content having him around and she felt that maybe he might be feeling the same way to but was feeling as though that it might be to soon for either of them to pursue a new relationship, especially with each other.
"You're welcome" Throttle said as he focused his attention on his food so he would not have his judgment clouded by the auburn haired female sitting across from him.
As Vinnie and Modo chattered away, one trying to outdo the other, Throttle and Charley would take occasional glances at each other and smile before returning their attention back to their lunch.
"Ah man! We've got bathroom duty" Vinnie whined when he saw the list.
"Yep, that you do" Charley chuckled softly.
"Now you can't expect this studly looking mouse to clean the toilet" Vinnie said as he gave Charley his most pathetic look.
"You use it don't you?" it was meant to be a rhetorical statement.
"Yeah, but..." Vinnie could not think of anything to say.
"Not butts, you two are on bathroom duty" Charley stated as she stood up and put her plate in the sink.
"That stinks" Vinnie complained.
"Yes, it does" Charley chuckled as she pinched her nose before leaving the kitchen and heading upstairs to work on her bedroom. She heard the guys moping about their chores before finally clearing the table and starting their assigned tasks.
She sighed heavily before staring at the massive task in front of her. Her bedroom looked as though a bomb had been dropped in it. Her dirty clothes were scattered all over the floor. Her dresser draws were hanging half way out. Her closet had bunches of empty hangers in it. There were layers of dust all over everything, including her special chest that sat in the floor of the closet.
Her father had made that chest for her just after she was born and her mother had placed many special things in it for her when she got older. They both told her that she could only open it when the right man came along and asked for her hand in marriage. Charley had yet to find that special guy so the chest remained closed. She had a general idea of hat was in it because her mother had referred to it as her hope chest.
Charley had her doubts on being able to find the right man to marry her. She was to strong willed for just about any man out their and what man would be willing to compete with her three best friends who just happen to be aliens from another plant. Yep, she could see that going over like a fart in church on both sides. Her getting married was not going to happen anytime soon.
"Oh, I will be inspecting after you guys are done" Charley called down the stairs as she started to pick up her dirty clothes and throw them down the stairs, nearly hitting Modo.
"Oops, sorry about that big fella" Charley humbly apologized as she continued to try and put her room back together.
"Hey, I was wondering where you ran off to!" Charley stated as she found her radio alarm clock and placed it back on her nightstand. She decided to put some tunes on to hopefully make her cleaning duty less annoying. She scanned through the radio stations before she finally found a song that she hadn't heard a long while. It was an old Bonnie Raitt song;
People are talkin, talking 'bout people
I hear them whisper, you won't believe it
They think we're lovers kept under covers
I just ignore it, but they keep saying
We laugh just a little too loud
We stand just a little too close
We stare just a little too long
Maybe they're seeing, something we don't, Darlin'
Let's give them something to talk about
Let's give them something to talk about
Let's give them something to talk about
How about love?
I feel so foolish, I never noticed
You'd act so nervous, could you be falling for me?
It took a rumor to make me wonder
Now I'm convinced I'm going under
Thinking 'bout you every day
Dreaming 'bout you every night
Hoping that you feel the same way
Now that we know it, let's really show it, Darlin'
Let's give them something to talk about
A little mystery to figure out
Let's give them something to talk about
How about love, love, love, love?
Let's give them something to talk about
Let's give them something to talk about
Let's give them something to talk about
How about love, love, love, love?
Charley found herself singing to the lyrics as she continued to throw more of her dirty clothes down the stairs. As she started to strip her bed, Throttle climbed up the ladder and saw Charley bent over the bed, tearing the blankets off and singing.
"Need some help sweetheart" Throttle cleared his throat as he watched the way her jeans moved against her bottom while she was bent over.
"I accept any offerings, especially ones that involve cleaning" Charley stated with a chuckle as she stood up and handed Throttle her sheets and blanket. He took the hint from her growing pile at the bottom that he just needed to toss it down. It had been a while since he had been up into her bedroom and it was the first time he had noticed that there was a chest in her closet, but then again, she always kept her closet door closed.
"What's up with that chest?" Throttle questioned.
"That chest? My father made it for more the year I was born and my mom filled it with all sorts of things. I don't know exactly what's in it nor do I want to know at this point in time" Charley calmly stated as she slid under her bed and started pulling boxes out.
"For as long as the guys and I have known you, you have never once spoken of your mother and father" Throttle said as he saw Charley drag out five boxes full of stuff.
"You never asked" she laughed as she started to open up one of the boxes.
"Would you mind telling me about them?" Throttle questioned.
"Not really. There's not much to tell" Charley sat Indian-style as she pulled out an old photo album and then opened it.
Throttle wasn't to sure if Charley was going to talk about her folks but he was very curious as to why they were not involved in her life. She never once received a phone call or a letter from them. There weren't any pictures in her room of them or anywhere in the garage. He felt that it was a little on the odd side.
Throttle looked over at Charley when he heard her start to sniffle. He could see her blinking back the tears that were threatening to fall from her turquoise eyes.
"Charley?" he asked as he sat down in front of her and placed a hand on the side of her face. He could see and feel the torment that was going through her mind and body. Charley was trying to be strong and not let her emotions overwhelm her.
"My father and mother...they're...dead" Charley choked out.
Well, what does everyone think about this chapter so far? If anyone can think of some changes that I need to make please let me know. It has been a while since I have done a bike mice from mars fiction.