Hard Luck & Dently
It's Always Sunni in Kansas
The Epilogue
A Few Days Later. The Storms were over, in more ways than one. The Kansas Skies were a happy clear cloudless in a near blindingly blue with a bright warm sun, and a level of almost regular normalcy was returning to the bruised, battered but still standing Daigh Farm.
After a night someone like Sunni would say was EXCITING, or others like Mr. & Mrs. Daigh and Hard Luck would say was Dangerous, and Hectic, repairs and restoration were well underway. The Police had arrested and carted off Mr. Scrum & his nephews to jail. The Fire Department had put out all the fires scattered around the place and most thankfully the Ambulance EMTs had very little to do. (Hard Luck had been safely hidden away in the Farmhouse.)
A Small Army of Neighbors and nearby area farmers had all but descended up on the farm as well, as what usually happens in a close-knit farming community. A good number even returned to help as much as they could during the day to get the Daigh Farm back up and running again. All the burned-up and wrecked vehicles and machinery had been cleaned up and dragged away.
Repairs and Repainting of fences, pens, sheds, outbuildings, and the barn were also well underway thanks mostly to the little legion of helpers all chipping in and helping as much as possible. The Daigh Family almost couldn't stop themselves from gushing over the helpers with thanks and very heartfelt gratitude. Even Mr. Daigh was seen unsuccessfully hiding a tear or two being discreetly wiped from his stoic face, which He strongly insisted was just dust in his eye.
It was late afternoon, and it was quickly approaching early evening. The Current Batch of Helpful Neighbors was waving goodbye and making their way back to their own farms and homes and their own chores that awaited them. Mr. & Mrs. Daigh stood on the porch gratefully waving goodbye to them as they drove away in cars, trucks, and tractors, until only the Sheriff's patrol cruiser remained, having just pulled up and parked next to the front porch.
The Sheriff waved at the departing groups before turning to the Daighs on the porch. "This place is starting to look like its old self again, you guys are all doing a pretty good job." He remarked happily looking around the area. "Yeah, we can't thank them all enough for all the hard work they've been chipping in with." Mr. Daigh said, wiping one of those pesky flecks of dust from a moist eye.
"We're doing our best though and keeping them fed is a start at least." Mrs. Daish said with a smile while carrying a basket with the remains of a variety of sandwich-making items. "Well, speaking on the topic of Repayment, I was wondering if that Biker Friend of yours was still around, you said he came back again for what reason again?" The Sheriff asked in that pleasant way that only law enforcement officers can, in that way no one really wants to reply anyway.
Mr. & Mrs. Daigh exchanged guilty glimpses at each other. "Oh, yes he uh, did come back, but He's left again…because he…uh…" Mrs. Daigh started explaining before turning to her husband to finish the sentence. "He, er, He forgot his…His...?" Mr. Daigh sputtered looking back to his wife for any kind of support she could offer.
"His Keys!" Mrs. Daigh spouted!
"His Wallet!" Mr. Daigh also spouted at the same time!
Another quick and worried glance went between the elder couple.
"His Wallet!" Mrs. Daigh said agreeing with her husband!
"His Keys!" Mr. Daigh said agreeing with his wife.
The Sheriff lowered his silver aviator sunglasses down the ridge of his nose while giving the Elder Couple a bemused look. "So, he DROVE Off, without his wallet, And His KEYS?" He asked with just a hint of a smile on his face.
"Oh, you know these Biker types, Free Roaming, Free Spirited, tend to be a might forgetful bout that everyday stuff, really good at engines and hotwiring things, probably just thought he had them in his uh, saddle bags or something, heh heh." Mr. Daigh chuckled with Mrs. Daigh nodding her head smiling in agreement.
The Sheriff did an admirable job of not laughing out loud, although he did fail to keep the smile from his face this time. "Oh, yes, I'm Well-Acquainted with That Type." The Daighs did a very good job of not letting out a loud gasp of relief at the Sheriff apparently accepting this very blatant but very obvious White Lie!
"Anyway, it's just Real Lucky that he did come back for his Keys & Wallet, otherwise your family and farm might not be here anymore." The Daighs gave silent thanks and agreed with him. "So, if you ever Do meet him again, be sure to give him this." The Sheriff replied while taking a thick white envelope from a pocket and handing it to Mrs. Daigh.
"That is the Reward for helping in the Recapture of Scrum's nephews and their friends that held up Mom & Pop's Truckstop. They were all Escaped Convicts. "He explained before either of them could ask about the envelope. "Turns out Scrum had helped them escape so that just helps add to that not-so-little reward right there." The Sheriff continued his explanation as the Daighs looked at the envelope with wide-eyed awe.
"Doing a little Detective work the last couple of days, we found out that Scrum's big rush to buy up yours and all the surrounding land, including Mom & Pop's Truck Stop was that he found out thru some rather illicit means that the State was planning on expanding and moving the old country highway that runs thru this area and turn it into a big fancy and modern 4 lane one!" The Sheriff explained.
"Scrums was planning on building a big fancy Super Truck Stop and Service Center, along with hotels and even a gambling casino, plus all the rather less than shall we say Legal Entertainment Opportunities that would go along with such an enterprise." The Daighs looked around their beloved farmstead and imagined the horrible fate the Sweaty Gangster had in store for it.
"Why that no good dirty little…" Mr. Daigh started to comment before for Politeness's Sake, and Mrs. Daigh cut him off. "THANKS Ever So Much Sheriff and if we ever do see that dear boy again, we'll Be Sure to make sure he gets this." She said graciously while putting the envelope into her apron pocket for safekeeping.
"None if you will have to worry about them again for a really long time, they won't be getting out unless it's to help clean up litter from that nice big new highway anyway." The Sheriff joked while making his goodbyes and getting into his patrol car and driving away from the farm. Mrs. Daigh raised her hands to her mouth and put her index fingers in her mouth. Giving Her husband a warning look, he put his fingers in his ears, she let out a Deafening Loud and Long WHISTLE! "TWWWWEEEEEEEEPPP, Coast is Clear!" She shouted out!
Rumbling out of the barn Dently came followed by Molly the Mule prancing along beside him, both honking and bleating making their way up to the farmhouse. The Odd Duo seemed to be in a contest to who could get their first and make the most noise while doing it. "Hush Up You Two Goofs, we don't need the Sheriff coming back to see what all the commotion is." Mr. Daigh jokingly grumped at them.
The front door on the porch swings open and Hard Luck and Sunni walk out to join her grandparents. Walking with a slight limp, the bandaged-upped Martian stood stiffly while squirming uncomfortably. He'd been all but pampered the last couple of days by the Very Appreciative Daigh Family. He wasn't used to such things, but tried to hide it behind complaining his quickly healing wounds were just stiff and itchy when he was just doing his best to brace himself for the guaranteed emotional moment about to happen. He really hated those.
Sunni, wearing a Big Pink (naturally) Backpack, and carrying a (also) pink helmet under one arm, she gave her grandmother a big hug with her free one. "Oh, Honey Child, you look like you're all ready to go!" Mrs. Daigh said sounding like she was losing a fighting struggle to stop herself from crying. Sunni was very much in the same condition.
"Yeah, I, I'm pretty sure I got everything, Oh I'm gonna miss you and Grandpa so much!" Sunni replied just managing to choke back a teary-eyed sob, despite the ever-present smile on her face. Grandpa walked up and joined in the family hug, while Hard Luck got out of the way and hobbled down to stand next to Dently and Molly.
"That is a Feeling that is Very Much Shared Sunbeam!" Grandpa sighed once more wiping at some of that pesky dust in his eye as he hugged his grandchild. Hard Luck leaned against Dently who was starting to whimper as his Camera Eye started to squirt wiper fluid. "Oh, don't you start too!"
All 3 of the Daighs laughed as they stepped apart. "I'm still not sure how I got talked into this." He mockingly mumbled as he lowered the rear passenger seat on Dently. "Oh, it's going to be a Lot of Fun! I've got a Few Weeks before School starts up this fall!" Sunni looked at him with an all most overpowering smile!
"Oh Yeah sure, we can take you back home to California, no prob, it'll be fun they say, sheesh, how'd I get talked into this again?" He half smiled back at her. Over the last couple of days, they'd moved Hard Luck from the barn to a guest room in the house to recuperate more comfortably. This had made it all the easier for Sunni to sit around and try to get him into conversations.
This had led to Sunni talking about her going home soon and how much fun it would be if he and Dently could go with her, and somehow along the way he'd agreed to give her a ride there. His motorcycle buddy was all too Happy to go along with this plan! He got the feeling they'd teamed up against him. They had Conspiracy written all over their faces, or Camera-Eye as the case may be.
"Now you're Sure You've Got Everything?" Grandma asked again with grandparental levels of concern openly expressed on her face. "Now Holly, the Girl is all grown up now, she can look after herself," Grandpa added but it sounded more like he was trying to convince himself of this more than his wife. Grandparents will always be Grandparents.
"I've got everything we could need; this will be fun, we can stop off and I can show Hard Luck and Dently all the Cool Earth Places to visit, it'll be Lots of FUN!" Sunni replied enthusiastically! Hard Luck kept the comments that popped into his head to himself. He grimaced as he tenderly lowered his sore body onto Dently's seat.
"Oh, and you do have those extra first-aid kits in your pack I gave you!?" Mrs. Daigh asked noticing the wince. "Yes Grandma, I got all of them!" Sunni answered back. Hard Luck just bit his lip. Dently engine chuffed in a sound all too much like laughter. It got him a bop upside the back of his camera eye.
"You aint exactly in the position to joke, buddy-o-mine. You've gotten your fair share of being patched up the last couple of days too, might I point out. "Dently rumbled a bit at this rebuke but the fresh weld marks and his pink replacement taillight that Sally the Scooter had happily donated to the repairs. Dently didn't mind. He was starting to like it.
Sunni took her helmet from under her arm, put it on her head and started to strap it on, and climbed onto the rear seat behind Hard Luck. "Honk, Neigh Bray!" Molly came up braying mournfully nuzzling Sunni's side, also very emotional at her friend leaving. "Oh, I'm going to miss you to very much, but I'll be back next summer, I promise I will!" Sunni all but cried leaning over and hugging the emotional animal.
"Now, don't you have something you want to Say to Hard Luck before we leave?" Sunni said giving the pet a stern look, or at least as close as she could get to one. The Mule tried to avoid the look but was unable to resist it. Shuffling very reluctantly, she moved up to Hard Luck and nuzzled at his elbow whimpering a rather weak bray and neigh. It was an apology of sorts but good enough to placate Sunni, who just smiled proudly at the animal.
"Heh, yeah uh, all's forgiven, no hard feelings." Hard Luck weakly smiled tensely patting Molly on the head. "Except for when I sit down that is." He mumbled. Molly snorted having committed the required act and moved back to Sunni again, who hugged her as the Mule and Mouse gave each other a hidden look that She would probably not approve of.
"Now before you two take off, here are some sandwiches and things I packed up for you to start your trip with, you're sure you got everything you need?" Mrs. Daigh asked again handing over a travel bag stuffed to capacity with sandwiches, snacks, and other items. Sunni took the bag, almost dropping it due to it being rather hefty in weight. "Oof, Oh Yes Grandma, we've got everything we could possibly need!" Sunni replied with her normal optimism while stashing the bag into one of Dently's side compartments.
"Oh, that reminds me, here this is for you Hard Luck." Mrs. Daigh reached into her apron and took out the envelope and handed it to Hard Luck. He ripped it open, took out the voucher, and looked at it for a few seconds before turning and showing it to Sunni. "Is that a lot in Earth Money?" The way Sunni's eyes almost popped out of their sockets pretty much said Yes, it is.
"Awesome!" Hard Luck almost yelled out. "I know somebody in Chicago whose stuff I kinda sorta smashed up, and I can more than pay her back with this, bout cheesing time things started going my way!" He stared at the voucher, Martian Money Symbols flashing across his green & yellow eyes, thinking there was enough there for paying back Davidson with enough left over to keep him in Grape Soda & Chocolate Donuts for a really long time!
They all looked up as a loud rumbling racket erupted at the far end of the farm driveway! A dozen or so Bikers pulled into the farmyard and made their way toward the farmhouse. Dently popped out Hard Luck's now repaired helmet from his storage compartment, Hard Luck caught it and quickly put it on.
"HEY, IT'S THE JERK FROM THE GAS STATION THAT BUSTED UP OUR BIKES!" One of them shouted out while pointing at Hard Luck, who was visibly on the verge of panicking and bolting right there! Sunni quickly put her hands on his shoulders attempting to calm him down, just as Mr. Daigh stepped off the Porch to take a stance next to his granddaughter, Hard Luck and Dently, while Mrs. Daigh walked up directly to the approaching horde, all 3 stepping up to let Him know he wasn't on his own, not this time!
"OK, What's this all about here now?" Mrs. Daigh asked the gang directly while standing directly in their path, hands on hips with a look of pure strength all but emanating from her. An almost deafening silence broke out as they shut off their bikes until one of the bikers stared at her for a few seconds before yelling out. "Mrs. Daigh is that YOU!?"
Mrs. Daigh looked on almost in shock as the bikers quickly started pulling off their helmets and all but rushing up to her like excited school kids! She looked at them before a big smile broke out on her face. "Little Tommy Tararanowicz, Ricky Ungar, Bobby Forward, Suzy Silo, it is you!" They all gathered into a group laughing and shaking hands.
"What the Cheese is going on?" Hard Luck asked confused, not sure if he should still be worried or relaxed at this point. "Ha, ha those are her old Students from back in the day." Mr. Daigh chucked, which did nothing to help his confusion. "Your Grandma is a Teacher?" This was almost more worrying than the bikers in some personally disturbing way.
"No, she was an instructor." Sunni said. His still confused look demanded more. "An instructor in Scuba Diving." Hard Luck was still confused. He didn't know there were any big bodies of Water in Kansas. Maybe it had some big lakes as Chicago did.
"Oh, look at you all, so big and grown up now, what are you all doing here!?" Mrs. Daigh asked the group all standing around. "Oh, we're here because we heard about all the trouble that's been going on around the area, and we wanted to see what we could do to help out." One of them pointed out to her. "And we're also looking for that Guy over there because He Wrecked Our Bikes!" They all Yelled out while pointing at Hard Luck, who was once again very tempted to turn tail and get the Fondue Outta Here!
He might have actually run this time if not for the supportive looks from the entire Daigh Family. "Oh Cheese." He groaned. "Hey, tha, that aint my fault, you can't put the blame for that on me, it was those two punks robbing that joint's fault, not mine!" Hard Luck yelled back at them while pointing his gauntleted paw at them to just back his excuse up. Dently added his support by growling his engine with a deep rumble.
"Yes, It Was! That Happened After the Robbery!' The Leader shouted back, with the gang supporting him. "We were all there and we all saw it!" Hard Luck grimaced at them correctly remembering the series of events as they actually happened. He hated when that happened. "Yeah, uh so what, whatcha gonna do about it!?"
'Oh, you don't want to mess with us pal, you really don't!" One of the other bikers retorted at him. "I, I've taken on Bigger and Bader than You Losers, what makes you think I should be worried about you!?" The Daighs just watched this back and forth like they were at a tennis match, they were totally absorbed by it.
"You should be Worried because we're not just Bikers, we're also LAWYERS TOO!" All the color drained out of Hard Luck's blue fur, going as white as Vinnie's! Dently's engine shut off with a loud banging backfire! "Luh, luh, luh, luh, lawyers?!" He stutteringly squeaked.
"Yeah, LAWYERS!" They all cried out! "We were going around to offer our services pro bono to all the farmers after all the stuff that's been going on the last few weeks." That just made Him feel even worse for mouthing off at them. The Real Killing Blow came next. "All this was after You bashed up our bikes, which we were going to put into a Charity Auction to go to help Orphans and the Local Children's Hospital which we can't do now because of YOU!" Yup. Drop him in the hole and throw the dirt on top of him.
"Or, orphans, an, and a chuh, children's hospital?" He groaned, looking down at the cash reward voucher in his paw. He could almost literally see the wings popping out of it as it flew out of his paw and away into the wide-open Kansas sky. "Ugh, Here, take this, it should go to the kids in exchange for the Damage to your bikes." He sighed, crumpling up the voucher and tossing it to the lead biker, who caught it. He almost did a double-take when he saw the amount. "Wow, Thanks, yeah this will really help the kids out a lot, thanks mister, all's forgiven!"
"Yuh, yeah, Suh sure, it, it's for the sigh, the kids." He sighed waving weakly, his helmeted head collapsing onto Dently's handlebars with a heavy thud. He admitted Defeat again to one of his greatest adversaries. His own GUILT! Everyone had to laugh at this, the bikers, the Daighs, Dently, and eventually even Hard Luck joined in, if not to the same level of enthusiasm.
A short while later, the Lawyer Gang had made their goodbyes and gone on their way to Donate the Reward Money to the Needy Children, and once again more heartfelt goodbyes were being attempted. "Now your SURE you've got everything?" Mrs. Daigh asked again, concern all but beaming out of her. "Oh, yes Grandma, I'm sure, very sure!" Sunni replied with her standard smile but it appears all 3 of the Daighs had caught that Pesky Dust in the Eye problem. "You two, um I mean the three of you look after each other, I expect you to keep yourself out of trouble now!" Mr. Daigh added in that Stern but Caring Grandfatherly way when really trying to keep from blubbering.
"Yes Mr. Daigh, We'll make sure nothing happens, won't we Dently.?" Hard Luck doing his best to assure the Grandparents of their Granddaughters' safety. Dently made several strong Vroom noises adding a level of confidence that Hard Luck wasn't quite capable of.
"Hee haw, hee haw!" Molly The Mule bleated sadly openly letting her emotions show at watching her most beloved human going away. Sunni leaned over and hugged the mule heatedly. "Oh, I'll miss you too very much Molly, but I'll be back next summer like always, I promise!" She said kissing the animal's nose.
"You got your helmet secured good and tight and you keep that seatbelt on and make sure you obey the speed limits and no fancy driving or silly stunts or…" Mr. Daigh instructed before his wife cut him off. "Now Bert, Sunni isn't a little child no more, she is a full-grown adult and fully capable of looking after herself." Mrs. Daigh said, sounding like she didn't really believe what she just said but was doing her best. No Grandparent ever truly lets go of that image of the beloved child.
"You don't have to worry about that, I leave all the driving to Dently." Hard Luck joked while trying to reassure the elderly couple. The look Mr. Daigh gave him didn't exactly say he was reassured. "Oh, we'll be real careful Grandpa, and I promise I'll call, and write and send postcards every chance I get, I promise!" Sunni's promises and enthusiasm did far more to elevate their worries than anything else possibly could.
"We're just eating up daylight and stopping these 3 from getting on their way so we'll just going to start waving goodbye now, Goodbye Sweetie, you all have fun and Stay Safe!" Mrs. Daigh said, holding a hanky to her eyes and waving goodbye as promised. Mrs. Daigh in pretty much the same condition did the exact same. Molly did so as well.
Shifting into gear, Dently, Hard Luck, and Sunni waved back and started down the driveway towards the road. They stopped just at the entrance and Hard Luck turned back to look at Sunni. "You're SURE You wanna do this?" He asked again. "This is your last chance to back out."
Sunni just laughed. "Of course, I'm sure, I've got all kinds of places we can go and visit, oh this is going to be a great adventure, one we'll never forget!" She gushed full of excitement! Hard Luck just rolled his green eyes. Dently chuffed getting into her feelings, sharing her excitement for adventure! "Yeah, that's Kinda what I'm afraid of, so sure Famous last, uh er, I mean Ok. Hold on Tight Here We Go, Punch it Dently!"
Letting out a loud and enthusiastic honk of his horn, engine roaring, and wheels tearing into the ground, the three of them took off roaring down the dirt road in a cloud of dust! "California is the Other Way!" Sunni Shouted! SCREEEECHHH! VROOM! Brakes screaming, tires scrunching as they spun around and tore off in the opposite direction!
"I Knew That!" Hard Luck called out! And they were on their way. Adventure and Excitement waiting for them on the roads ahead!
The Beginning?