Chapter 4 - Preparing for Change
The loud noise of a large semi broke the silence of the morning and Charlotte, Macy, and Scott woke from their beds to scramble to their living room window. "Is he serious? A semi-trailer? I'm calling the cops and filing a noise complaint." Macy went to find her cell phone, but Charlotte was staring at her with a blank expression that kept her right where she stood.
Once the semi was parked, Gavin walked around to the other side of the cab to make sure the girls made it out safely. With Faith, he merely grabbed her by her hips and sat her on the ground, as for Bailey, he held her hand as she descended the three metal steps. He then went to the back of the trailer and opened the door. Gavin wished Bailey would've packed in advance, but she wanted to pack as they moved. He was more compliant as he thought about her not wanting to be there anymore than she had to be. It was soon after that the three of them stepped inside.
The first question that fell out of Macy's mouth was, "Bailey, how much shit does he think you have?"
Bailey felt a strong pleasure in Gavin's confidence as he shook Scott's hand. Gavin was in a black tank top so the muscles in his arms were on full display, unknowingly letting Scott know insulting her would not fly in his presence. They then moved into Bailey's room. It was cramped with the three of them in there. "Want to take this dresser first?" Gavin asked.
"Yep," Bailey replied and went to grab the other end of the dresser.
Faith piped up, "I want to help!"
"Thank you so much for offering Faith. There's an empty tote in my closet. You can take all my clothes down and put them in there if you'd like. You don't even have to fold them." Bailey smiled and then turned back to the situation at hand.
Luckily, they were on the first floor, which meant they didn't have to worry about steps. Carefully they picked the dresser up about five inches off the floor and hauled it out of the room. They made it down the hall, through the kitchen, and out into the main corridor before Bailey shouted, "Wait!"
Gavin set the piece of furniture down, "What?"
"I need a break!" She leaned over and placed her hands on her knees, panting. She was in a pair of jean shorts and a pink camisole. Her messy brown bun shimmered with the slight breeze going through the apartment from the open doors.
"Why? We haven't even gone that far. Stop being such a woman, we've got other shit to do today."
They then picked the dresser back up, carried it to the end of the trailer and set it down. "Now what?" she asked.
"Fuck," he slapped a hand on his forehead. "I forgot the ramp in the shop."
Quickly Bailey ran and got Charlotte from the living room and came back with her. "Do you think you could hold that end of the dresser while we lift this end up onto the trailer?"
"Why don't you put that Scott fellow to work?" Gavin suggested.
Bailey looked offended. "Please, Charlotte and I can handle it."
Gavin shrugged his shoulders and then picked up his end of the dresser. Together Bailey and Charlotte hoisted the opposite end. The higher it went, the more weight it put on Gavin, whose face was growing red. Finally, the other end rested on the trailer and the three of them worked together to slide it back. Once the majority of the weight was stable in the trailer, Gavin let go of it. He then used the metal framework as a ladder and pulled himself up into the trailer to scoot the dresser all the way back. After it was pressed against the wall, he fastened it with ropes.
"Wow, it doesn't look like a semi-trailer would be this big," Charlotte commented.
Bailey heard her voice echo, "Gavin, can we come in and see what it's like in there?"
"I don't see why not," he walked towards the end of the trailer and hopped out. His large tan boots met the pavement with a thud. He hoisted Charlotte up by the waist first since she was closest, then he lifted Bailey in. The two of them walked back to the dresser to see what the opening looked like from the opposite end.
"How do they get the rocks out?" Bailey asked, looking around.
Gavin broke into laughter, shaking his head with his hand on his hip. Faith laughed behind him slightly winded from the weight of the tote. Gavin then turned to his little girl and grabbed the tote from her hands with one hand as if it were as light as a feather. With one big shove he slid it almost all the way to the opposite end, where it came to rest at Bailey's feet.
"This isn't a trailer for rocks, it's a box trailer. They haul pretty much anything else but rocks."
Bailey felt stupid as she walked towards the end. She squatted down on her butt and let her legs dangle at the end. "I'm not a truck driver, okay."
Gavin was still smiling, adding insult to injury.
"Bailey come on, even I knew that!" Charlotte said. She then hopped down from the trailer and waited patiently for more work to do. Bailey jumped down and followed behind him with Charlotte.
"How much do you think that trailer weighs?" Bailey asked him.
"Well, an empty trailer and cab together weights about thirty-three thousand pounds." Grant calculated.
"How can the tires withstand that much weight? Wouldn't they pop?" Bailey looked back at them with concern.
"That's why there are eighteen wheels. Do some math and that distributes the weight to about two hundred pounds per tire while empty," Gavin said.
Bailey looked at Faith who was eying her with a smile pinned to her face. She was proud of how smart and strong her daddy was. Packing and carrying things out went rather quickly from then on out. Macy and Scott were of no help at all. In fact, they had gone back to bed.
"Well," Bailey put her hands on her hips. "That's that."
Charlotte was standing outside with her. They watched Gavin hoist his little girl into the cabin of the semi. The three metal steps gleamed in the sun and then he placed a hand on his hip waiting for Bailey. "Good luck to you." Charlotte smiled and gave Bailey a warm hug.
"You too and if you ever want to come and see me, we can have a sleep over like old times." Bailey smiled back at her and then headed to the semi. Gavin helped her in and then waved goodbye to Charlotte. Once Gavin got in the driver's side, he started his semi engine. It was a loud beast of a machine. Black and shiny, the way he always kept his pride and joy. Just before they pulled away, he let Faith pull the cable on the driver's side. The air valves opened and the horn sounded three times. It echoed through the neighborhood, and Bailey knew he had done it especially for Macy and Scott. They could see Charlotte laughing from the front door.
By the time they reached Bailey's parent's house, it was almost noon. "Come inside first, let's have lunch with my parents and then we'll get back to work," Bailey said while Gavin held her hand, helping her descend the steps once more. The three of them then walked towards the house. She knocked on the door and her father answered at once.
Gavin shook Andy's hand and the two men introduced themselves to each other as they walked through the door. Faith held onto his other hand and Bailey's like a chain link, avoiding a hand shake with Andy.
"You must be Faith," his old tired eyes appeared warm and friendly as he looked at the little girl. Faith said nothing back.
"She's quiet around new people," Bailey told her father. "Where's mom?"
"She's in the kitchen, getting silverware." Andy said, "Lunch is on the table."
Bailey led the way as if leading a caravan into the small dining room. "Hey honey," her mother gave her a hug when she saw her. She then set the forks down upon the table and looked at Faith, whose right arm now hung lifelessly at her side while her other hand hung onto Gavin's large resolute hand. Her dark eyes peered up at the woman, compliant and quiet. "It's nice to meet you Faith, Bailey tells me so much about you," she smiled. The girl said nothing and kept a straight face.
"It's nice to meet you too Gavin, I'm Amy." she shook his other hand and then offered them to take a seat.
Andy then came in and took a seat beside Amy. Faith sat and watched as Bailey and Gavin put together a plate for her before they helped themselves. Gavin grabbed her some chips while Bailey put a sandwich on her plate. "Did you offer her some potato salad?" Bailey's mother asked.
"She doesn't like potatoes," Gavin and Bailey replied simultaneously and then glanced at each other.
"Well okay then," Andy laughed.
"How did moving out go?" her mother then questioned with concern pouring herself a cup of water from a clear pitcher. She also poured drinks for Gavin and Faith.
"It went well," Bailey began to smile as she remembered Gavin shaking with Scott his large, calloused hands. "But when you look in the semi-trailer, it sure looks like I don't own very much."
Andy laughed and brought a potato chip to his mouth. "How long is your trailer anyway Gavin?"
"Fifty-three feet," he replied. "I forgot to bring a ramp, so the hardest thing to get out of there is going to be her dresser."
"It happens. As we get older, our minds lose track of more and more things."
Gavin smiled half-heartedly and brought his sandwich to his mouth. It was made with simple white bread and had lettuce, tomato, turkey, cheese, and mustard on it. Once he had appeased his appetite, Faith offered him the last bite of her sandwich too as she always did. "You eat it," he told her. She shook her head from side to side. He then ate it right out of her hand. Faith laughed at this.
With their quiet little lunch adjourned, the three of them went back to work at getting her moved back in. Andy helped Gavin with the dresser last and surprisingly it had only taken them an hour to get her living space together in the guest room again. "Thanks so much for helping her out," Andy told Gavin.
"Sure," he nodded his head and looked at Faith. The little girl peered around Bailey's room with a quiet stare. In the living room Bailey told her parents that she would return later that night and that she was going to help Gavin and Faith house hunt in Illinois.
"You didn't tell us you were moving too! Bailey why didn't you ask us to help you move back in? That's a lot of moving for one person," Andy patted Gavin on the back. "You poor man!"
He shrugged with a smile. "Really, it was no problem."
Before they set out to Champaign, they stopped back at the blue house to switch the semi out for Gavin's grey Ford truck. When they reached the large city, Bailey realized Champaign was much larger than Veedersburg and Attica put together. "My work will be right between Mahomet and Champaign." Gavin told them, "Perhaps we can find an apartment on the outskirts of either town?"
"Can we have sleepovers?" Faith asked.
"Only if Gavin doesn't mind," Bailey replied mindfully. Faith sat between the two and her head turned to the driver's side.
He looked at them from the corner of his eye. His little girl wore a hopeful smile on her light, pale face. Her long black hair came to rest in her lap. At the same time a warming thought came into his mind. Faith really didn't care where they moved as long as Bailey would still be able to visit. It took quite a bit of pressure off him. They drove quietly for a little while in silence until they came to a sub division. "Let's check out these duplexes," he suggested. As they combed with their eyes for rent signs, they enjoyed the warm weather with the windows down.
"Daddy," Faith looked up at him.
"Yeah?" He glanced at her.
"Thank you."
"Sure," he said with the shrug of his broad shoulders and then suddenly he pointed to a red sign. Bailey saved the number in her phone right away.
"Got it," she informed him.
After a while of driving around and setting up appointments, they went further into town and stopped at an Italian restaurant. It had been a while since any of them had eaten out for dinner. They ordered their food at the front and took their seats at a green leather padded booth. Gavin stared down at the breadsticks which had been placed between them by a server. Bailey took one for her and Faith to split. "Gavin," Faith moved the basket his way. He smiled and grabbed one of the five remaining.
"How do you know where to go all the time?" she asked him suddenly.
"I know these roads very well. I've driven my whole life. Your grandpa owns a trucking company, you know." He explained to his little girl.
"Have you ever got lost?" She tilted her head to the side.
"Well, a couple of times, but that's why I have maps in my semi just in case." He scratched the back of his head.
Bailey was smiling while she ate. Faith was very curious about him today. When their food came, Faith asked more questions. "Does grandpa drive too?"
"Of course, he taught me everything I know," he said after he swallowed some spaghetti. He then proceeded to wipe his mouth with a napkin adorned with a large tomato logo on the front.
"How big is the gas tank on a semi?" Faith put a fork of spaghetti in her mouth. Bailey was looking at Faith from the corner of her eye. It was almost as if she had become a little investigator today, interrogating him about all the questions she failed to ask on any other day.
"Well, do you remember when I helped you get into my semi?" She shook her head yes. "You know that big shiny cylinder beneath the metal steps?" She shook her head again. "Well, that is a semi's gas tank. There is another one on the driver's side too." Her eyes grew big.
"How long can you drive if they are both full?"
"It really depends," he shrugged. "Hundreds of miles though, for sure."
Bailey was learning just as much as Faith was. Out of the three of them she had eaten the most and was actually almost finished.
As the evening moved on, they finally returned back to Veedersburg. It was nearly night fall and Bailey ran the little girl's bathwater for her and sat on the lid of toilet to talk to her while she bathed. "So, are you going to sit with Darren again at lunch on Monday?" Bailey asked.
"Maybe, are you going to come again?" she asked.
"I'll be working." Bailey frowned. "But I will definitely come to eat with you again before the end of the school year. Summer is just a week away! You're going to have a new room and new friends, a fresh start!" Bailey was trying to give her great things to look forward to. Faith was slightly excited, yet reluctant at the same time. The little girl then began to undress and she got in the bubble filled tub.
Bailey eyed a noticeable scar across her left collar bone. "What happened there?" She asked.
"Oh, that's from a seat belt," she said. "Gavin accidently hit a rail in his pickup truck. It was a while ago."
"The roads must have been icy huh?" Bailey frowned.
"No," Faith replied and looked as if she was trying to remember what exactly had happened, but couldn't recall.
Bailey looked down at the black tiled floor at her reflection. She couldn't be mad over things that happened in the past. "Well, I'm going to make your bed and then head home," she said getting up.
"I'll see you Monday, right?" Faith asked.
"After school," she then walked to Faith's room. "What's wrong?" Gavin asked as he entered with Faith's
fresh-from-the-dryer blankets. He stood before Bailey as he handed them over.
She continued to look away from him. She couldn't stand the sight of him at the moment. "Nothing, just tired is all…"
"Hey, I really appreciated hanging out with you and Faith today." His hands hung flaccid at his sides once she had taken the blankets from him. He watched her make Faith's bed. She still wore her jean shorts and pink camisole. Her sun kissed skin glistened. Her face was plain, free of makeup, which wasn't very often, and her brown messy bun cascaded curls.
"I'm glad. Faith was awful curious and proud of you today," she suggested as she stood back to look at her work. She then placed a hand on her back, closed her eyes, and tilted her head forward.
"Are you alright?" he asked.
"I think I may have pulled a muscle moving today," she laughed lightly. Her eyes moved back to him. "Thank you for dinner earlier by the way."
"Sure," he told her.
Monday evening after Bailey had picked Faith up from school, they got home and continued packing, while at the same time leaving enough to get by for the week. Packing up the kitchen was quick, considering how barren it was. Bailey wished she would've paced herself though, for once she was done, she found herself looking for anything else to do. She began to scrub the counters and clean like never before. Faith watched TV while Bailey did this, to avoid being around the chemicals. The little girl ended up falling asleep on the couch.
In the three following days that Gavin was gone on a long haul, Bailey had nearly everything done. The only thing that was left was Gavin's room and she certainly was leaving that for him. He came through the front door in the evening with his own duffle bag and set it down at the door. His eyes were heavy and he glanced at her and went straight to bed. She accepted the fact that she would have to swallow her excitement for the time being and present her work to him later after he had his nap.
When midnight came, he sauntered down the stairs, still rather drowsy and stopped half way to lean on the railing. His fingertips touched the wooden railing. "Damn!" he raised his brows. Bailey was standing in the middle of the room looking up at him with a smile on her face. In his jeans and a white tank top he descended the rest of the way down the stairs slowly.
He sat on the couch and then inquired about Faith. His voice had become a whisper.
"She's asleep, why?" Bailey asked.
"I went to talk to the owner, three days ago, about a duplex. He showed it to me and it was really nice. It has two bedrooms, two full bath rooms, a huge yard, a fireplace, and a garage. It's a little smaller than where we live now, but I have a feeling Faith's going to like it because the landlord tells me that our neighbors have three children around her age." Bailey began to smile excitedly. "Guess when we get to move in?"
"When?"
"In four days." Gavin told her.
Bailey threw her arms around his neck. "I'm so happy for you!" Again, he didn't return her embrace. Instead, he simply grinned and waited for her to release him courteously.
"I'm going to miss you guys so much," she said.
"You'll be fine," Gavin, stood up and proceeded into the kitchen. "Both of you are stronger than you realize."
Bailey had no other option but to believe and trust in his words. She followed after him and watched him inspect her handy work. "Woman," he turned to her. "You didn't have to do all of this!" He saw that the kitchen was spotless. The white tiled floors shined. The counters gleamed. There were no dishes in the sink or the washer. They were put neatly away in boxes, packed with newspapers, leaving only paper plates and plastic silverware on the countertop. It smelt clean and when he opened the cabinets, even their contents had been organized and half packed.
That night, Bailey decided not to drive home given how late it was. Instead, she cuddled up beside Faith on her purple twin bed and slept deeply. Waking to the sound of her phone alarm a few hours later, she recalled that she had promised herself she was going to take Faith to school and spend time with her family before work. By the time Faith was dressed for school Bailey had her duffle bag in her hand and began to search wildly for her car keys. When she looked out of the window, she saw Gavin's grey Ford, but her Cherokee was missing. She proceeded up the stairs to his room and grabbed his keys off his night stand. "I guess Gavin decided he was going to take my car instead," she looked confused and slightly worried.
Once they got in the truck, she looked hopeful. "Please start." She stuck the key in the ignition and the loud diesel truck came to life. She tested the gas with the slight pressure of her foot and it roared loudly. She took a deep breath and then put her seat belt on. Faith did the same.
Once Faith was at school, Bailey took a moment to call Gavin in the parking lot. When he didn't answer, she left him a voice message, "Gavin, Faith is at school. I'm taking your truck to work. Faith will have to take the bus home, because of my schedule. Call me back when you get the chance."
Water circled down the drain as Bailey went about taking her shower. Her mother Amy was in the room getting clothes out of the hamper and asked, "What are you doing in that pickup truck?"
"Gavin's borrowing my Cherokee,"
"Oh," her mom said. "Did you let him borrow it?"
Bailey began to rinse the shampoo out of her hair. "Yeah," she lied knowing it wasn't the truth.
"How was babysitting these past few days?" "Great," she replied.
"Does he pay you well?" her mother asked.
"Mom! That's a rude question to ask, don't you think?" She shut the water off and reached for a towel.
"Well, you're over there a lot and if he's paying you right, that's got to be a fortune. You could've saved up enough for college by now. Have you seen the cost of child care these days?" Her mother had her arms wrapped around the pile of clothes while she looked at her daughter as she stepped out of the shower. It reminded her of her youthfulness, her innocence, and her naiveté.
"Mom, Faith reminds me of who I was when you were gone and I wish I could've had someone when I was little too. She has me and most of the things I do for her are simply out of the kindness of my heart."
Her mother shook her head, obviously still dealing with her own mental afflictions and their negative effects on her daughter. "Honey, I understand that, but I'm just worried he is using her to take advantage of you. I assume you've been doing his packing if he is moving soon and he has been away. Is he going to pay you for that too?"
"Yes, I have been, but he never asked me to. Besides, he helped me move," Bailey reminded her.
"I'm just worried about you Bailey. You're so kind hearted."
Bailey shook her head at her mom and then went to her room to get dressed. She had a good sense of character… didn't she? All of her mother's worried, negative thoughts were slightly getting to her. How could Gavin take her vehicle without asking her permission? Was he taking advantage of her? She checked her phone in hopes that he had called her back or texted her back, but still there was no response. She then got dressed for the day and headed to work.
The night was cool and Bailey shivered as she pulled up to the blue house after parking on the side of the road. All of the lights were off and she came to realize the door was locked once she stood on the front porch. She was wearing a black dress, black heals, and looked very distraught. Just as she went back to Gavin's truck, she noticed the lights on in the garage. Swiftly she walked over the sealed driveway to the side door and peered in. She clearly saw her Cherokee parked in the middle and carefully opened the door. The smell of oil and soap filled her nose and Faith jumped out behind the Cherokee and yelled, "Surprise!"
Gavin appeared behind his daughter with a smile on his face. "You washed my car for me?" Bailey placed her hand against the shiny black paint. It had also been waxed.
"That's not all," Gavin told her, reaching for her door with a washcloth like a valet. She got in the driver's side and saw the leather interior gleam. The windows had been washed, along with the cup holders. Her change had been neatly organized in the dispensers, along with her CDs in the center console. Bailey turned the key, which had been left in the ignition, to see her dusted dashboard lights gleam through the clean glass. He had filled up her gas tank as well.
"Thanks, you guys," she smiled.
Gavin looked at his daughter with a grin. Faith then proceeded to hold up her daddy's blackened hands. "He switched your tires around and put oil in it too."
Gavin pulled his hands away from Faith and put them back in his pockets. "She did most of the work though," he told Bailey.
"Did she?" Bailey asked. The little girl blushed pointing at her dirty shirt proudly. She had black brake dust on her face which Gavin had put on her cheeks the way football players did with paint.
"Daddy lifted me up to put blue stuff in your car for your windshield," Faith said.
"Aw, you guys are so sweet," Bailey told them as she thought of how much hard work and time these two had put into servicing her vehicle. Most importantly it was time that they had spent together and Bailey couldn't have been more pleased.
Once they were back inside, Faith simply washed her face and hands, and then let Bailey in the bathroom to change into more comfortable clothing. She came out in a pair of soccer shorts and a t-shirt. Gavin scrubbed his hands as best he could in the kitchen sink while the two young women went about their business, however, not even dish soap could completely clean them. He simply gave up after ten minutes and retreated to his room to change. On his way, he passed Faith and let her know she was beautiful. Although she wore her normal apparel, consisting of a white t-shirt and blue jean shorts, the little girl blushed with a smile, appreciating his compliment.
Bailey was just putting a pan of boiling water on the stove when Gavin came back down into the kitchen and turned it off. She spun around to look at him from the sink. "Why did you do that?"
"Not tonight," he told her. His smile radiated and she saw that he wore a black button up and a red tie with jeans that were nice, clean, and deep blue.