Chapter Sixty-One
John woke early on the first day of school, rushing to the garage to work on his bike before he had to be to school. He pulled the last few parts that needed cleaned from the engine, picking up a wire brush and some oil dissolvent. He turned on a tape of The Who, singing along with the words.
"John?" Amelia asked, rubbing her eyes as she opened the door to the garage. "Why're you up?"
John chuckled, scrubbing a cloth over the parts to shine them up so he could get a better look at them. "I wanted to work on my bike." He smiled, noticing that she was wearing his old red flannel again. "You just wake up?" He asked, looking out the window at the rising sun.
She shook her head, walking over and leaning her head on his good side. "I had a bad dream."
He rubbed her back setting the part down and letting her climb into his lap. "What was it about?" He asked, afraid of the answer.
She looked up at him, pulling on the slowly growing scruff on his chin. "It was about a monster under my bed and he walked into your room and ate you."
John cracked a smile, kissing her head. "Well, don't worry Squirt. I'm not going to be eaten by a monster anytime soon." He showed her one of the scars on his arm, letting her trace the rope of tissue. "Besides, I killed the monster under little girl's beds, remember?"
She touched the cigar burn, still curious about how he'd gotten it. "What's this one from?" She asked, tracing the bumpy skin of the burn.
John looked at the scar, remembering the sizzle of his skin under the hot end of the cigar, the smell of burning flesh and the pain as he'd struggled against his father's grip. "I got that one from an angry dwarf when I got into his forge and started messing with his work." He smiled, trying to change the memory to him being a little kid and annoying one of the dwarves from a J.R.R. Tolkien book.
She looked up at him, the light of the rising sun making her eyes shine with wonder. "Dwarves are real?" She asked.
John chuckled looking at the book in her hand. "Everything's real if you can read it. When you read, you get to be in the book with them, you go on the same adventures and visit the same worlds and lands."
She smiled, making John chuckle as he kissed her head. "I wanna make my own world!"
John grinned, grabbing a notepad and a pen from the counter that held his tools. "Here, start writing your own story. Maybe someday we can get it published and you'll be famous."
She took the pad from him, starting to scribble down a series of misspelled words and pictures. "I'm gonna name one of my people John." She stated, as he continued to work on his motorcycle. "And he's going to save the princess from the dragon."
John laughed, jumping as he touched the battery wire and shocked himself. "Hasn't that been done a lot?" He asked, unhooking the battery so he didn't shock himself again. "Maybe you could make it so that the princess saves John from the dragon." He looked up at her, poking his head over the seat of the bike. "I mean, that hasn't been done a lot yet."
She nodded, scratching out a few words and writing new ones. "Like your story."
He nodded, pulling at a tear in the leather of the seat. "Exactly." He picked up a needle and thread, sewing the tear closed with skilled fingers.
Clarissa shouted out the backdoor, calling John and Amelia inside for breakfast. "John! Amelia! Breakfast is ready!"
John stood, letting his knees pop from being crouched for so long. "Come on, Squirt, let's go eat." He took her hand, smiling as she skipped toward the house with him. "You're adorable."
She smiled, turning her eyes up to him. "I know."
John laughed, ignoring the pain in his side. "You little smarty-pants." He opened the door for her, letting her rush inside for her breakfast.