Chapter 2 – The Elevator

The next day I slept until noon. You'd think that when I finally crashed from a night as long as I have, and did have, that I'd sleep until at least three in the afternoon. But the little demon that resides in my head won't allow it. So, after only a few hours sleep, I made my way, as inconspicuously as I could, to the Bike Shop. Every time the door would chime, telling me that someone had come in, I assumed it would be her, having finally succumbed to the curiosity that was surrounding the accident.

But it was never her. Although I did see her once, walking towards Clementine's with a basket in her arms. I normally wouldn't have seen her because the shop is closer to the beach than Clementine's, but I was changing an advertisement bike for one that was not selling as well, hoping that the advertisement would boost the sales. I had just polished it, the seat and the green body. It was a smaller model than usually offered in the shop, with fatter tires too, but it was perfect.

For some reason, I had never noticed before.

The day passed, as did another night. Not bad, Clyde made another blueberry pie, one of the classics. I didn't see anyone as I was practicing, preparing myself for the shows that were coming up. I don't know what had prodded me in entering in the first place.

But, I did so I was going to work my ass off until I perfected the art. And then, I could step away from the sport properly, maybe I'll even make it without breaking my collarbone, a common enough injury among the more serious bikers.

I sighed as I walked towards the Last Chance Café, about to get the best onion rings I've ever tasted. I was going to take some to Clyde's, get an early start on the night. Usually he doesn't condone any type of fast food, at least since he started cooking, but even he cannot resist a good Onion ring.

I glanced into the bank as I walked past it and noticed Heidi with Leah, Maggie, and Esther. They were chattering about something, waving their hands and rumpling their faces. I remember listening to Jake, late at night, talking about Maggie. How smart she was, how beautiful, how pink. But Jake was never a one-woman type of guy. I could see it, Abe could see it, and even mom could see it. The only person who didn't was Maggie. The poor, poor girl. But Jake would never wise up and end it before he got caught.

I shook my head and continued walking. My brother's problems were not my own, I had bigger things to worry about.

I was about to turn into the Last Chance when I saw her, sitting on a bench. Her eyes were closed, her hand holding her head, as the baby, Thisbe, was crying next to her. I don't know what compelled me to walk to her. I should've turned and ordered my food and got the hell out. But I couldn't. Not when her face was so pained, I thought I was the only one in this town who knew what that really felt like.

But I supposed what she was experiencing was something banal, like a headache or boredom. Maybe she fought with her boyfriend, maybe she expected something more from Jake than what he was willing to give.

No matter what the reason was, I found myself standing beside the stroller, watching as her little red face screamed bloody hell at the world. I envied that, being able to scream whenever you became overwhelmed. I wanted to soothe her but didn't know how appropriate that was.

"She just started screaming," She told me. She seemed frantic, like she was at fault for a baby crying. But hearing my mother soothe enough concerned mothers I knew that babies needed to cry sometimes. Sure, it wasn't ideal, but you couldn't placate them until all they did was cry. But she seemed like she needed a moment of peace.

This wasn't the moment to allow the baby to cry for hours. Autumn continued talking, telling all about the baby's crying habits. Clearly, all she needed was quiet. And there was really only one solution.

"Well," I said, weighing my options although I knew I was going to share this trick with her, "there's always the elevator."

"The elevator?"

I glanced at her briefly, thinking that I could either tell her about it or show her. And really, why are words always such a necessity with woman? So, bending down I unhitched Thisbe from her stroller and lifted her up in my arms. I firmly held her between my hands, gentle yet firm, in case she wiggled. I've held plenty of babies in my days, handed off when my mother just-could-not-wait-a-moment-longer-to-pee. "This," I said, turning towards her, "is the elevator." And then I bent my legs and eased back up. Again and again. Once, it had taken about twenty minutes for an extremely rowdy baby to calm down, but it was virtually fool proof.

Sure enough, after about the fourth time down, she stopped crying. With my peripherals I could see Autumn's shocked expression.

Suddenly, Heidi's voice was behind me, screaming my name. Oh god, please no. If ever I had met a more energetic woman, I'd be surprised. "Eli!" She cried, coming up behind me, "I thought that was you."

I flushed, embarrassed that she had caught me here. I tried to stay away from her because, frankly, she frightened me. Before she had the baby, she was always very touchy. She wanted to discuss her feelings and their feelings the moment she spotted you. She was virtually my kryptonite. She was nonplused about everything.

"Hey," I greeted, stopping the elevator prematurely, so I wasn't surprised when Thisbe burst into tears. A few dips later and she would have been as docile as a lamb, and trust me, I know about these things.

"Oh, dear," Heidi said, reaching out to grab the baby from me. I imagined that it wouldn't do much, but you should never underestimate the motherly touch. "Where's your father?" She asked, directing her gaze towards Autumn.

"He got a table. We were about to sit down when she started to freak out." She was watching the baby, not making eye contact with Heidi, at least not longer than she could help.

"She's probably hungry. What a day! You would not believe –" At this point I tuned her out and watched the girl out the corner of my eye. She glanced at me but didn't notice that I was watching her. She flushed and watched the baby. She seemed to be as uncomfortable as I was when Heidi, and most girls really, began sharing so much. There's nothing wrong with sharing, but there should be a limit.

When she had stopped for a breath, I turned to her. "I better get back to the shop." She seemed surprised to hear me. In truth, I haven't been saying much lately. I thought, for a moment, of my onion rings. I suppose I wouldn't have an early start at Clyde's today. "Congratulations, by the way." I began to step backwards, but Heidi continued talking.

"Oh, Eli, you're so sweet, thank you," She enthused. "And I'm so glad you met Auden!" Auden? What kind of name was that? And why did it sound familiar? "She's new here, hardly knows a soul, and I was hoping she'd find someone to introduce her around," She continued. The girl, Auden, flushed. I still couldn't place the name but I knew I was going to place the name eventually, so I wasn't entirely worried. I backed up a bit more and nodded at them both and then turned, walking back towards the shop.

Inside the back of the shop, Adam was furiously writing on a sheet of paper, Adam's Workspace – Touch and Die! I rolled my eyes and glanced over and saw Wallace sulking in the corner, working quietly. I rolled my eyes as I sat down behind the desk, shifting through the piles of papers. I brushed a few empty soda bottles away and opened up a small package of chocolate cupcakes, snacking on them.

As the sun set, Wallace, Adam, and Jake left, leaving me alone. I sighed and closed my eyes, leaning in my chair. I wondered if Clyde made chocolate pie again, the last time it was really good. I glanced at my watch, midnight, and started doing the paper work that needed to be done. I left around one and made my way to the Gas/Gro. I got some soda and a few snacks, just the usual, and left. I skipped Clyde's tonight, I didn't think I could face him tonight, at least not after my Heidi encounter.

So I went back to my place, thinking of the ways I could pass the time until noon, I glanced at my watch, only three more hours to burn. Sometimes, I'm surprised how much time I can spend on a bike without even really realizing that the time was passing. Abe understood that. No one else did.


Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and your support as I write this. I'm sorry it's so short and it took so long to update. Someone had 'stolen' my copy of the book and I just retrieved it. I shall continue throughout the book and hope that you continue to read and review, because it makes me super happy. Much love to you all!!