Chapter 2: Sleepless Night
At about 2:00 in the morning, Speed decided to give up once again on being able to get to sleep. He had been surfing through infomercials for three hours hoping that it may bore him to sleep but even that had no luck. Speed hoped that Trixie was right in her guess that going on this little vacation and escaping the stress and pressures of his everyday life would help him finally get a good night's sleep because he wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. Then he looked down at Trixie sleeping next to him and smiled.
"I wish that I could sleep like that. This not being able to sleep is really taking its toll. I can't take much more of this. I hope that getting away from everything will help me get some rest." Speed said quietly to himself.
Then Speed tried to think of something to occupy his time. He was tired of watching television and he wanted to do something but he had to be quiet because everyone else was sleeping so that didn't leave him with many options. Finally he decided to go out to the garage and tinker with the Mach 5, hoping that may help him to at least relax a little.
As Speed opened the side door to the garage, he reached around the corner for the light switch and turned on the light. He smiled as light filled the room and illuminated the Mach 5 in a soft glow. Then Speed raised the hood of the Mach 5 and started to check some of the components and seemed to forget about the world as he lost himself in his work.
* * * * *
After tossing and turning for over three hours, at 2:30 Sparky opened his eyes and sat up. He was so concerned about Lindsey and how worried and upset she seemed lately that he couldn't get to sleep. No matter how hard he tried, whenever he closed his eyes he saw the pain in Lindsey's eyes that she had tried to hide from him as she was staring out the window. So after sitting in the dark for a moment, Sparky got out of bed and went downstairs. He was going to go and sit outside for a while but as he slipped out the back door he noticed the light on in the garage so he decided to go investigate. He quietly opened the door and saw Speed under the hood of the Mach 5, tinkering with some things and making adjustments.
"Hey, Speed." Sparky said quietly, causing Speed to look up from what he was doing.
"Hi. What are you doing out here in the middle of the night, Sparky?" Speed asked.
"Well, I think I could ask you the same thing."
"I couldn't sleep again. I've been having problems sleeping for the past week. How about you? What are you doing up?"
"I couldn't get to sleep either. I have things on my mind. I'm a little worried about Lindsey."
"Why are you worried about her? What's going on? Talk to me, Spark." Speed asked, becoming a little concerned.
"Well, Lindsey's had a lot on her mind lately. Whenever it comes back to her I can see the pain in her eyes even though she tries to hide it. It seems worse on clear nights like tonight. She had another episode on the way back from the restaurant. But when I ask her about it, I don't know, it just seems like she puts up a brick wall and she won't let me in."
"What is it exactly that's coming back to her?"
"That's the thing. I don't know exactly. I'm pretty sure that it's something from her past but that's all I know. Like I said, whenever I try to get her to talk to me about it, she just shuts down. I don't have any idea what to do to help her. It's just so frustrating, Speed." Sparky said, his voice sounding stressed.
"Ugh. That's a really tough situation, Spark. Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we take a drive in the Mach 5 and we can talk more about it." Speed suggested.
"Yeah. That's a good idea. That way we'll be free to talk without worrying about the girls coming out and hearing what we're talking about." Sparky smiled as they got into the Mach 5 and drove into town.
As they were cruising through town in the middle of the night, Speed and Sparky were taking advantage of the opportunity to talk in complete privacy. It was obvious that Sparky was in serious need of some advice and Speed really hoped that he would be able to help.
"So what do you think I should do about this, Speed? How can I try to help Lindsey through whatever she's facing when she won't tell me what it is. I just love her so much and it frustrates me to have to stand by and watch her suffer and not know what I can do to help her. Or is there anything that I can do?" Sparky asked quietly.
"Well, Sparky. I haven't been in a situation like this one before so this is a little tricky for me. I guess the only advice that I can give you is to just be there for her and let her feel your love for her. The main thing, which I'm sure you already know, is to not pressure her to talk to you about her pain. If you do that then she'll just shut down even more and make that wall even higher and you'll never get through to her. I know this probably isn't what you wanted to hear, Spark, but the best thing for you to do is be patient with her right now and let her do what she needs to do to heal her pain and she'll talk to you when she feels she's ready. She knows you love her and if I know her like I seem to, she won't keep you out of the loop forever." Speed said.
"Thanks a lot for the advice, Speed. Even though you've never been in my shoes it sure sounds like you have. To tell you the truth, I think I knew what you were going to say but I really needed to hear it. I think maybe I just overreacted to the whole situation."
"No. You didn't overreact at all. If Trixie were in Lindsey's place, I'd probably be frustrated and going out of my mind, too." Speed reassured him.
"Hey, even though I'm enjoying all of this male bonding time and stuff, I think we need to get back to your house before our beautiful women realize we left."
"Yeah. That is a good idea. We don't want to worry the girls. Let's head back." Speed agreed as they headed back to the house.
* * * * *
Back at the house, Trixie was in the kitchen pouring herself some orange juice and wondering what in the world had become of Speed when she heard Lindsey coming into the kitchen as well. Upon hearing this, Trixie turned around and smiled.
"Good morning, Lindsey."
"Morning." Lindsey smiled. "Hey, Trixie. Have you seen Sparky this morning?"
"No. I assumed that he was still sleeping." Trixie said, confused.
"He was gone when I woke up. I wonder where he could be."
"Hmm. That's weird. Speed was gone this morning, too. I think that Speed and Sparky are probably together wherever they are." Trixie reasoned as they heard the sound of a car engine outside. "Actually, I hear the Mach 5 now. I guess they must have driven somewhere."
Just then Speed and Sparky walked into the kitchen and smiled at their women and kissed them. They hoped that the girls hadn't been worried about them.
"Hiya girls. What's up?" Speed asked cheerfully.
"Hey. Where were you guys? It was strange when we got up this morning and you were both gone." Trixie said.
"Well, I couldn't sleep again so I went out to the garage and started tinkering with the Mach 5. A few minutes later, Sparky showed up out there and said he couldn't sleep either so we just got in the Mach 5 and drove around talking for a while. Sorry if we worried you." Speed explained.
"What's the matter, Sparky? You've never had trouble sleeping before." Lindsey whispered.
"I just had a whole lot on my mind last night. I tried to get to sleep for the longest time but I just ended up tossing and turning so I finally gave up. Talking to Speed really helped with what was troubling me."
"I'm glad."
"I have an idea. Why don't we have some breakfast and then we can get ready for this afternoon. I need to go in to the store and pick up a few last minute things after breakfast. Would you like to come with me, Lindsey?" Trixie said.
"Sure thing. I think that would be fun. There are a couple of things that I might like to try and pick up as well."
Then the four sat around the kitchen table and had a nice breakfast together. As soon as they had finished cleaning up in the kitchen, Trixie and Lindsey left for the store leaving Speed and Sparky to look for a way to amuse themselves. They sat down on the couch and turned on the television.
"Hey, Speed. I just wanted to tell you again that I really appreciate you listening to me earlier and for the good advice. It really helped. Now I know just how to handle the situation. I think I can deal with this thing now that I have a different perspective on it."
"Well, I'm just glad that I was able to give you some advice that actually helped with what was bothering you. I know it's hard to stand by and watch someone you love suffering but sometimes there really isn't that much you can do."
"So what do you think the girls are after at the store? I thought we had everything we needed." Sparky asked.
"I really have no idea. Knowing Trixie she thought of something that she just wanted to take with her. I guess we'll find out when they get back. This is going to be great. I'm really looking forward to getting away from absolutely everything and not having to worry about anything except relaxing and having a good time." Speed said.
"Yeah, I know. It will be pretty nice to just get to relax. I can't remember the last time I just got to take it easy and do absolutely nothing. The way I see it, Spritle was looking out for all of us by inviting us to chaperone this trip."
"I'll agree with that. My little brother may be a handful but I can say one thing for him. He really has a big heart. He is a very loving person and he would do anything for just about anybody."
Then Speed and Sparky found a baseball game on television and watched and used that as a way to keep themselves amused while they waited for the girls to return.
* * * * *
Meanwhile, Trixie and Lindsey had arrived at the store and were doing a little bit of last minute shopping before they left. Trixie picked up some candy and chips and some sodas and she also picked up some aspirin to take with her in case they needed it. Lindsey also picked up a few snacks and a book to read.
"Well, do you think we got everything that we need for this afternoon? It seems like we have a whole lot of stuff." Lindsey asked as she looked at the full shopping basket that Trixie was pushing.
"I hope so. If we've forgotten anything we won't get a chance to come back. We leave at 6:00 and it's already 2:30 now and we have lots of other things that we need to see to before we leave. We're going to have to leave the house at about 5:00 so we'll have time to pick up Spritle and Chim Chim and get to the school in time." Trixie reasoned as they checked out at the register and headed to the car.
* * * * *
About thirty minutes later, Speed and Sparky looked up from the game they were watching when they heard the car pull up outside in the driveway. A few minutes later, Trixie and Lindsey walked in carrying several grocery bags.
"Hey. What did you girls do? Buy out the whole store." Speed joked as he and Sparky got up and crossed the room to help the girls.
"No. We just bought a few things that we might want to have for this evening like snacks and sodas since we aren't going to be stopping off to eat supper tonight. I got some candy and chips and things of that sort that we don't normally eat that much of. We're going on a mini vacation so we can indulge ourselves a little bit." Trixie said.
"Yeah. I got some things for us too. I got different things than Trixie did so we can all share our food. That way we won't be starving by about 9:00 tonight."
"I think that's a pretty good idea." Speed said.
"Yeah. Keeping a bus full of 50 school kids in line isn't going to be an easy job so we'll need to keep our strength up." Sparky laughed as the others began laughing with him.
* * * * *
Two hours later, they had the cars packed up and were ready to head over to Speed's parents' house to pick up Spritle. As they pulled into the driveway, they found Spritle and Chim Chim standing out in the front yard waiting for them.
"Hey, Spritle. You guys ready to go?" Speed called.
"Yeah. Ready and eager, Speedy." Spritle grinned as he and Chim Chim headed to the car and helped Speed place the bags into the trunk. Then they climbed into the back seat and the whole group headed over to the middle school where they would be leaving for the big trip very shortly.
At about 2:00 in the morning, Speed decided to give up once again on being able to get to sleep. He had been surfing through infomercials for three hours hoping that it may bore him to sleep but even that had no luck. Speed hoped that Trixie was right in her guess that going on this little vacation and escaping the stress and pressures of his everyday life would help him finally get a good night's sleep because he wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. Then he looked down at Trixie sleeping next to him and smiled.
"I wish that I could sleep like that. This not being able to sleep is really taking its toll. I can't take much more of this. I hope that getting away from everything will help me get some rest." Speed said quietly to himself.
Then Speed tried to think of something to occupy his time. He was tired of watching television and he wanted to do something but he had to be quiet because everyone else was sleeping so that didn't leave him with many options. Finally he decided to go out to the garage and tinker with the Mach 5, hoping that may help him to at least relax a little.
As Speed opened the side door to the garage, he reached around the corner for the light switch and turned on the light. He smiled as light filled the room and illuminated the Mach 5 in a soft glow. Then Speed raised the hood of the Mach 5 and started to check some of the components and seemed to forget about the world as he lost himself in his work.
* * * * *
After tossing and turning for over three hours, at 2:30 Sparky opened his eyes and sat up. He was so concerned about Lindsey and how worried and upset she seemed lately that he couldn't get to sleep. No matter how hard he tried, whenever he closed his eyes he saw the pain in Lindsey's eyes that she had tried to hide from him as she was staring out the window. So after sitting in the dark for a moment, Sparky got out of bed and went downstairs. He was going to go and sit outside for a while but as he slipped out the back door he noticed the light on in the garage so he decided to go investigate. He quietly opened the door and saw Speed under the hood of the Mach 5, tinkering with some things and making adjustments.
"Hey, Speed." Sparky said quietly, causing Speed to look up from what he was doing.
"Hi. What are you doing out here in the middle of the night, Sparky?" Speed asked.
"Well, I think I could ask you the same thing."
"I couldn't sleep again. I've been having problems sleeping for the past week. How about you? What are you doing up?"
"I couldn't get to sleep either. I have things on my mind. I'm a little worried about Lindsey."
"Why are you worried about her? What's going on? Talk to me, Spark." Speed asked, becoming a little concerned.
"Well, Lindsey's had a lot on her mind lately. Whenever it comes back to her I can see the pain in her eyes even though she tries to hide it. It seems worse on clear nights like tonight. She had another episode on the way back from the restaurant. But when I ask her about it, I don't know, it just seems like she puts up a brick wall and she won't let me in."
"What is it exactly that's coming back to her?"
"That's the thing. I don't know exactly. I'm pretty sure that it's something from her past but that's all I know. Like I said, whenever I try to get her to talk to me about it, she just shuts down. I don't have any idea what to do to help her. It's just so frustrating, Speed." Sparky said, his voice sounding stressed.
"Ugh. That's a really tough situation, Spark. Hey, I have an idea. Why don't we take a drive in the Mach 5 and we can talk more about it." Speed suggested.
"Yeah. That's a good idea. That way we'll be free to talk without worrying about the girls coming out and hearing what we're talking about." Sparky smiled as they got into the Mach 5 and drove into town.
As they were cruising through town in the middle of the night, Speed and Sparky were taking advantage of the opportunity to talk in complete privacy. It was obvious that Sparky was in serious need of some advice and Speed really hoped that he would be able to help.
"So what do you think I should do about this, Speed? How can I try to help Lindsey through whatever she's facing when she won't tell me what it is. I just love her so much and it frustrates me to have to stand by and watch her suffer and not know what I can do to help her. Or is there anything that I can do?" Sparky asked quietly.
"Well, Sparky. I haven't been in a situation like this one before so this is a little tricky for me. I guess the only advice that I can give you is to just be there for her and let her feel your love for her. The main thing, which I'm sure you already know, is to not pressure her to talk to you about her pain. If you do that then she'll just shut down even more and make that wall even higher and you'll never get through to her. I know this probably isn't what you wanted to hear, Spark, but the best thing for you to do is be patient with her right now and let her do what she needs to do to heal her pain and she'll talk to you when she feels she's ready. She knows you love her and if I know her like I seem to, she won't keep you out of the loop forever." Speed said.
"Thanks a lot for the advice, Speed. Even though you've never been in my shoes it sure sounds like you have. To tell you the truth, I think I knew what you were going to say but I really needed to hear it. I think maybe I just overreacted to the whole situation."
"No. You didn't overreact at all. If Trixie were in Lindsey's place, I'd probably be frustrated and going out of my mind, too." Speed reassured him.
"Hey, even though I'm enjoying all of this male bonding time and stuff, I think we need to get back to your house before our beautiful women realize we left."
"Yeah. That is a good idea. We don't want to worry the girls. Let's head back." Speed agreed as they headed back to the house.
* * * * *
Back at the house, Trixie was in the kitchen pouring herself some orange juice and wondering what in the world had become of Speed when she heard Lindsey coming into the kitchen as well. Upon hearing this, Trixie turned around and smiled.
"Good morning, Lindsey."
"Morning." Lindsey smiled. "Hey, Trixie. Have you seen Sparky this morning?"
"No. I assumed that he was still sleeping." Trixie said, confused.
"He was gone when I woke up. I wonder where he could be."
"Hmm. That's weird. Speed was gone this morning, too. I think that Speed and Sparky are probably together wherever they are." Trixie reasoned as they heard the sound of a car engine outside. "Actually, I hear the Mach 5 now. I guess they must have driven somewhere."
Just then Speed and Sparky walked into the kitchen and smiled at their women and kissed them. They hoped that the girls hadn't been worried about them.
"Hiya girls. What's up?" Speed asked cheerfully.
"Hey. Where were you guys? It was strange when we got up this morning and you were both gone." Trixie said.
"Well, I couldn't sleep again so I went out to the garage and started tinkering with the Mach 5. A few minutes later, Sparky showed up out there and said he couldn't sleep either so we just got in the Mach 5 and drove around talking for a while. Sorry if we worried you." Speed explained.
"What's the matter, Sparky? You've never had trouble sleeping before." Lindsey whispered.
"I just had a whole lot on my mind last night. I tried to get to sleep for the longest time but I just ended up tossing and turning so I finally gave up. Talking to Speed really helped with what was troubling me."
"I'm glad."
"I have an idea. Why don't we have some breakfast and then we can get ready for this afternoon. I need to go in to the store and pick up a few last minute things after breakfast. Would you like to come with me, Lindsey?" Trixie said.
"Sure thing. I think that would be fun. There are a couple of things that I might like to try and pick up as well."
Then the four sat around the kitchen table and had a nice breakfast together. As soon as they had finished cleaning up in the kitchen, Trixie and Lindsey left for the store leaving Speed and Sparky to look for a way to amuse themselves. They sat down on the couch and turned on the television.
"Hey, Speed. I just wanted to tell you again that I really appreciate you listening to me earlier and for the good advice. It really helped. Now I know just how to handle the situation. I think I can deal with this thing now that I have a different perspective on it."
"Well, I'm just glad that I was able to give you some advice that actually helped with what was bothering you. I know it's hard to stand by and watch someone you love suffering but sometimes there really isn't that much you can do."
"So what do you think the girls are after at the store? I thought we had everything we needed." Sparky asked.
"I really have no idea. Knowing Trixie she thought of something that she just wanted to take with her. I guess we'll find out when they get back. This is going to be great. I'm really looking forward to getting away from absolutely everything and not having to worry about anything except relaxing and having a good time." Speed said.
"Yeah, I know. It will be pretty nice to just get to relax. I can't remember the last time I just got to take it easy and do absolutely nothing. The way I see it, Spritle was looking out for all of us by inviting us to chaperone this trip."
"I'll agree with that. My little brother may be a handful but I can say one thing for him. He really has a big heart. He is a very loving person and he would do anything for just about anybody."
Then Speed and Sparky found a baseball game on television and watched and used that as a way to keep themselves amused while they waited for the girls to return.
* * * * *
Meanwhile, Trixie and Lindsey had arrived at the store and were doing a little bit of last minute shopping before they left. Trixie picked up some candy and chips and some sodas and she also picked up some aspirin to take with her in case they needed it. Lindsey also picked up a few snacks and a book to read.
"Well, do you think we got everything that we need for this afternoon? It seems like we have a whole lot of stuff." Lindsey asked as she looked at the full shopping basket that Trixie was pushing.
"I hope so. If we've forgotten anything we won't get a chance to come back. We leave at 6:00 and it's already 2:30 now and we have lots of other things that we need to see to before we leave. We're going to have to leave the house at about 5:00 so we'll have time to pick up Spritle and Chim Chim and get to the school in time." Trixie reasoned as they checked out at the register and headed to the car.
* * * * *
About thirty minutes later, Speed and Sparky looked up from the game they were watching when they heard the car pull up outside in the driveway. A few minutes later, Trixie and Lindsey walked in carrying several grocery bags.
"Hey. What did you girls do? Buy out the whole store." Speed joked as he and Sparky got up and crossed the room to help the girls.
"No. We just bought a few things that we might want to have for this evening like snacks and sodas since we aren't going to be stopping off to eat supper tonight. I got some candy and chips and things of that sort that we don't normally eat that much of. We're going on a mini vacation so we can indulge ourselves a little bit." Trixie said.
"Yeah. I got some things for us too. I got different things than Trixie did so we can all share our food. That way we won't be starving by about 9:00 tonight."
"I think that's a pretty good idea." Speed said.
"Yeah. Keeping a bus full of 50 school kids in line isn't going to be an easy job so we'll need to keep our strength up." Sparky laughed as the others began laughing with him.
* * * * *
Two hours later, they had the cars packed up and were ready to head over to Speed's parents' house to pick up Spritle. As they pulled into the driveway, they found Spritle and Chim Chim standing out in the front yard waiting for them.
"Hey, Spritle. You guys ready to go?" Speed called.
"Yeah. Ready and eager, Speedy." Spritle grinned as he and Chim Chim headed to the car and helped Speed place the bags into the trunk. Then they climbed into the back seat and the whole group headed over to the middle school where they would be leaving for the big trip very shortly.