Joyride*
Powder did not get enough sleep that night. She stayed awake, the words of her crazy neighbors echoing in her head, despite how she tried to push the thoughts aside. Restless in her sleep, she hoped the other world would call her, but she strangely didn't dream of the butterscotch rabbits coming for her. As the hours ticked on, she wondered why they hadn't come.
Had it been her imagination after all?
Regardless, when morning came, she did not want to get out of bed. And hated how Vi knocked on her bedroom door, asking her to get up.
That day, Powder came downstairs to find that Vander had arranged to stay at home, to work on the water damage upstairs.
He vaguely retold how he woke up early and politely knocked on Dr. B's door to ask permission to access the roof. Although skeptical, the man vaguely allowed Vander to work so long as no one came in his flat or bother 'his training'. Dr. B shooed him away in Russian, then shut the door in his face. Although perplexed, Vander didn't raise any more questions.
All morning, Mylo, Claggor, and Vi took turns climbing the tall, silver, house ladder, helping Vander on the roof, continuing his work from yesterday. But Powder stayed out of the way, far on the ground. She preferred it that way.
Yet she was still bored just holding on to the bottom of the ladder. And even more irritated from the lack of sleep.
For once, it was almost a sunny day. It hadn't rained in twenty-four hours. She began to get hot and cakey with sweat. After a while, Powder wandered away and tried to take a shovel from the garage and dig out a dead stump in the garden, but its roots were much too deep for a little girl to dig up by herself. She cursed in frustration, tossing the shovel aside.
"Lunch is ready!" Vi eventually called out of the kitchen window.
Soon enough, the family was gathered in the kitchen again, trying to cool off. This time, Vander had taken an early break and made hotdogs. Vi helped hand out condiments and bags of buns on the table and warmed up the leftover soup from yesterday on the stove.
When the family had eaten their fill, Vander got a call on his phone. It sounded like Benzo on the other line. The kids instinctively stopped what they were doing and glanced at each other. They hoped it wasn't bad news from work. When Vander hung up, he stood up from his chair, smirking with a twinkle in his eye. All the siblings looked at each other in confusion.
"What's going on?" Mylo asked suspiciously.
There was a rumbling from outside that came closer to the house.
Vander shrugged casually, nodding his head toward the door. "Why don't you go see?"
Knowing they weren't going to get more of an answer out of him, the kids dropped their food on their plates and went out onto the porch.
Outside, parked in the driveway in front of the house was a teal blue pickup truck. It had some rust around the tire rims, a couple dings and scratches, but otherwise it looked serviceable. With a start, Powder recognized it as the same truck Vander was working on in the garage. Although, the paint job made it almost look brand-new.
Stepping out of the driver's seat was a large, rotund man with long sideburns and a receding hairline. He tugged on his overalls as he closed the door.
"Afternoon, Vander!" Benzo called with a friendly smile, "Just came back from the car wash. Now, she's presentable!"
He patted his hand on the hood, proudly. Out of the passenger door came someone else. Someone short and wearing a matching set of overalls.
"Ekko?!" The kids all said together, coming down the porch steps.
"Hey, guys!" The boy waved his arm, smiling. "You met my uncle, right?"
The group blanched again. "Wait! Benzo is your uncle?!" Mylo exclaimed.
The boy laughed. "Well, it's a long story," he said.
While they talked, Benzo tossed something small to Vander, winking at him. "Best it comes from you," he said, conspiratorially.
Vi noticed and arched an eyebrow between the two men. "What is going on?" she asked.
Vander smiled at her and held up the thing in his hand. It was a pair of car keys. He jangled them. "Consider it your early graduation gift."
He tossed her the keys and Vi caught them against her chest, blinking, surprised.
"It's all yours," he said, leaning on the porch railing.
Vi stared at him, then at the keys in her hand, then back up at him, silently.
"Is this what you've been…?"
She didn't finish, but she didn't need to. He merely nodded to her, knowingly.
This was the thing he'd been working on.
Vi didn't speak. She looked down at the keys in her hand and closed her fist around them, tightly. Her lip trembled. Powder couldn't remember the last time she'd seen her sister so moved.
Vi suddenly launched herself at Vander and hugged him around the waist. She buried her face in his shirt, out of view, so no one would see her. Even so, the back of her neck was red.
Chuckling lightly, Vander wrapped a large arm around her, patting her head, gently. "Hey… You earned it, kiddo. Why don't you take it out for a joyride?"
Mylo immediately broke the tension, jumping off the porch, calling, "Dibs! I get first ride!"
"Nuh-uh! You can't just call first ride! Vi gets to pick!" Claggor exclaimed.
As they argued back and forth, Violet pulled away, smiling a bit as she wiped her eyes. She shared one more look with Vander, smiling, before turning on her brothers.
"Oh no, you don't! You guys are not allowed anywhere near my ride!" she threatened, jokingly, pointing at them as she jogged around to the driver's side.
Powder perked up, hopefully. Her sister didn't say, 'No girls.'
Vi pulled the door open, jumped into the driver's seat, and twisted the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life without complaint. She grinned, stroking the white steering wheel, appreciatively.
Excited, Powder skipped toward the passenger door, swinging her mini doll by the arm. But as she reached out for the door handle, she was shocked when the car was pulled in reverse. With the height difference, she figured Vi must not have seen her, below the door.
Powder watched, along with everyone else, as Vi kept looking over her shoulder at the road behind her, backed out of the driveway, shifted gears, and turned off onto the main road. In a matter of moments, her truck disappeared from sight, the engine fading in the distance, a dust trail left behind her.
Powder stood on the lawn, hugging her doll tighter to her chest, feeling a sick ball settling in her stomach.
A hand rested on her shoulder. At first, she thought it was Vander, but she realized instead it was Claggor's hand. Both her brothers were both standing behind her shoulders.
"Hey, I wouldn't take it personally, sport," said Mylo, surprisingly gentle.
"Vi's just excited," added Claggor, trying to be helpful, "I bet she'll give you a ride when she gets back."
Sickened at the thought, Powder suddenly growled, pushing his hand off and storming off between the two of them. They stared after her in confusion, but Powder didn't care. She didn't like the taste of bile forming in the back of her throat. Being mad was easier than being hurt.
Ekko saw Powder stomping away toward the house and was antsy to follow her, but Benzo put a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe not right now, son."
Vander watched Powder sit on the porch far away from the others by herself and shared his sentiment. "She needs some time to herself first."
Changing the subject, Benzo spoke up, "I heard about your water damage. Sorry I'm better with cars, not so good with houses. But I figured, why don't you boys stay at my place for a few days?"
Ekko's brown eyes practically glowed at the idea. "Can they?!"
Vander scratched his face. "I would hate to impose."
"Nonsense!" Benzo waved his hand down. "I got a pullout the boys can use. Can't have you sleeping on the floor, right?"
Vander looked to the boys and they both shrugged to each other. Their mattresses hadn't fully dried yet. And despite Vander offering his own, the boys refused on account of Vander's back troubles.
"Our couch isn't the most comfortable for sleeping," Claggor mumbled in agreement, self-conscious about his size.
Mylo added, "Besides, I don't want to share a room with Miss Sourpuss, over there."
Powder stuck her tongue out at him. Standing, she headed into the house without hearing the rest of the conversation, taking her doll with her.