Saturday, July 23rd, 2005, Brad's Honda-Cyclehouse Course:
Brad rode out on his cycle to where Happy waited with her family and Toby.
"Well, no sense in delaying." Brad said smiling after he stopped by them and put up his visor. "Happy has aced all of our written tests and she aced the simulation several times." Brad told them and then they took turns high fiving Happy. "So Happy, get on your bike and get ready to follow me. Set your channel to 5 so we can communicate."
Happy grinned as she quickly got on her bike.
"Happy." Emmett said. "Be careful."
Happy grinned and nodded before sliding her helmet on. She turned on the ignition and switched her radio channel.
"Radio check." Happy said.
"Radio check is good." Brad told her. "Fire it up."
Happy got the bike off the kickstand and flipped it up before flipping the kickstart lever down. She raised her knee up and thrust her foot down on the lever and the bike fired right up.
"Alright Happy, I marked off course three just for you and me. It's just a mild starter course to let you get a feel for the bike. Basic cornering, speeding up and slowing down." Brad told her as he put his visor down.
"Copy that." Happy told him before she put her visor down. They both pulled away from the group slowly, and then accelerated after getting a couple of hundred feet from them.
"I hope we don't need you, but I'm glad you are here Toby." Veronica said nervously.
Toby laughed.
"I wasn't missing this day." Toby told her. "Good luck getting her off that bike now."
Everyone laughed before Happy and Brad disappeared after entering the course.
The course was truly nothing special. Some straight aways, various minor curves and a few speed change zones. But Happy was enjoying riding the bike.
Walter had his laptop with him and hacked into the CCTV system for the school and had the course Happy was using on his screen so they could actually watch her.
"Go Happy!" Emmett said as Ralph held him so he could watch the video feed with them.
Everyone chuckled at the young boy.
They came back out after about an hour and rode over to where everyone was waiting.
Brad was grinning as he flipped up his visor.
"Well I got to say Ralph, your little girl is as natural on her bike as she is at all her other work." Brad told him before looking at Happy. "Happy, you are welcome to come use the facility as much as Ralph, your Mom or sister and her husband wants to bring you. There are restrictions to how many can be on a course at a time, so there might be some waiting involved. There are always instructors on each course during open hours if you have any questions or difficulties."
"Thanks Brad, we really appreciate this." Ralph said as they shook hands.
"You're welcome." Brad nodded. "You'll receive her diploma for the BMV in about four to eight months. Depending on how much riding she does between now and then. I require all my students to put in at least sixty hours of actually operating their bike, regardless of how they do on their tests. Make sure you log in each time so your time on the track is recorded, Happy. Sixty hours doesn't sound like much, but if you miss logging a few times, it adds up."
"Well since she can't get her license for another 9 months or so, I don't think she'll complain. Especially about coming here to ride." Ralph laughed, looking at Happy.
Since it was lunch time, Ralph took everyone out to eat after getting Happy's bike back on the trailer.
Tuesday July 26th, 2005, New York city, The View:
"Welcome back to the second hour of our show and if you are just joining us, we are happy that Walter and Paige have agreed to stay with us until we came back from the commercial break. They had been so kind to walk us through that day again. In case you missed it back on June 19th the day after their wedding their plane had been taken over. Paige, Walter I just want to take another moment to thank you both for agreeing to come on and share your amazing story with us and our viewers. I can't imagine having to do something like that. I think I would be too scared to jump." Sherri told them.
Paige laughed.
"Well one part of the story that we haven't really shared, happened just before we left the plane. Walter had calculated a small chance I could possibly balk at jumping or delay jumping. So, being the logical sort he is, he signaled one of my agents to grab me and throw me from the plane." Paige laughed.
"Oh no, he didn't?" Sherri said as Paige nodded. "And the agent actually did it?" Sherri asked as she grabbed Paige's hand.
Paige nodded.
"I was so mad after we made it to shore and I was starting to yell at him and Walter stopped me. When he explained it, I couldn't be mad at him for wanting to be sure I got out safely." Paige said as she squeezed Walter's hand.
"We know that there are certain things you can't discuss with us, if you know who did this or what they wanted. But is there anything about it that you can share?" Sherri asked.
Paige looked at Walter as she wasn't sure at all.
"Well the authorities were pretty strict about the information. As they continue to try and figure out if anyone else was involved, so there's not a lot to be honest." Walter said. "I will say this, if the people had known anything about what they wanted me to do, they wouldn't have done it. Internet and computer security has really increased the last few years. I would have done my best, just to keep Paige safe but honestly, I just don't think I would have been successful. The plane would have probably ran out of fuel before I succeeded."
"Goodness, I didn't realize it was that desperate. So, we know Walter, that you are working hard on Elia's self-driving car program but you can't talk too much about that." Walter nodded as she continued. "Paige, are you continuing your studies or are you looking at different career ideas? Home life? Kids?" Sherri asked.
"Walter had left the decision up to me, he'd support whatever I wanted to do. And knowing how he views his work, I decided to go for my bachelor's." Paige smiled at Walter. "As for kids, we are expecting our first in December."
"Well congratulations then." Sherri said excitedly. "Was this planned or a happy surprise?"
"Definitely planned." Paige laughed. "The same day we set the date for the wedding, I threw away my birth control pills."
"Well we're certainly going to wish the three of you a wonderful life. You'll have to come back after the little one is born. Thank you for the exclusive!" Sherri grinned.
"I think we'd like that." Paige said looking at Walter who nodded.
"Now I have to ask. I saw an ad the other day for a wedding venue in Ireland and the two of you were their stars. How did that happen?" Sherri asked.
"Actually, that is thanks to Paige." Walter spoke up. "She'd been concerned about my Father as he is getting older, and the farming and stuff is getting a bit tougher for him. So she put some of her education to work and came up with a business plan. Her Father ran it by a business accountant who was impressed with it and recommended it as viable. So both of our parents and my sister Megan and her husband have created the Wedding Venue, which is also its name. Along with it, Paige has designed a bed and breakfast they will be opening on the property. She's even designed some really cute bungalows that if the newlyweds want, they'll be able to honeymoon in seclusion."
"Oh that sounds lovely. So are you going into architecture as well?" Sherri asked, looking at Paige.
Paige shook her head.
"No, I've just got a strong artistic side. And I used that to design the barn wedding hall, and the carriage for our wedding. But as I thought about all the work going into making the barn and parking lot, it seemed a waste if it was only used this one time. So as I did research, I also designed the bed and breakfast and the bungalows. My Dad is having the drawings for the bed and breakfast, and the bungalows turned into actual blueprints. We're hoping the architect will finish so they can break ground around December." Paige told her.
"That's so exciting. For those who haven't seen this beautiful wedding barn, here are some shots from Paige and Walter's wedding." Sherrie said as they rolled video showing the barn and Paige coming out of the carriage. "Now did I understand you found the carriage as just the base frame?"
Paige nodded.
"I was completely shocked when I found it. And talking to Mr O'Connell about it, the carriage had so much history. It had been part of a special parade float during the 80s, the first time it was used was the same year I was born." Paige smiled.
"So amazing. Now Walter, you said that your combined family is doing this. Are the two of you going to be silent partners with it?" Sherri asked as she looked at both of them.
"No, Walter and I will do everything we can to help make it successful, but our dream is elsewhere." Paige told her as Walter nodded.
"So as you've mentioned a few times in interviews in the past, that your goal is to form a problem solving company, is that still your plan?" Sherri asked.
"Yes, that is still our plan. We may open it with just the two of us and our friend Toby, depending on where my sister is with her schooling. We have a fifth partner who is a bit younger than Happy so it might be even longer for him to join us." Paige said as Walter nodded.
"You never told me that hacking Taiwan would be that challenging." Paige said as they gathered their belongings from their dressing room so they could leave.
"That's because it wasn't true. I thought I would try to sow some seeds of doubt so if someone else was behind what happened, they will think long and hard about trying to do something similar in the future. They'll think the odds are against me achieving their goal." Walter smiled.
Paige grinned as she kissed him as he took her hand in his and they walked out of the studio.
As they made their way down the sidewalk with her agents, they saw a man waving at them as they walked towards each other.
"Do you know him?" Walter asked Paige quietly.
Paige shook her head.
"I'm really sorry to disturb you guys." The man told them. "But I really need to talk to you."
"Well, we're kind of in a hurry." Walter said even as agent Makle stayed beside Paige and agent Todd moved up in front of her.
"I promise I'm not here to cause any issues. Can I buy you a coffee or something? I just need a few minutes. Please?" The man asked.
"Well we don't need a coffee right now. Why don't you just tell us why you are stopping us?" Paige told him.
He swallowed nervously but nodded.
"My name is Patrick, Patrick Quinn." Patrick told them.
Paige's eyes went wide even as she gasped.
"You're Happy's biological Father?" Paige said clearly shocked.
Patrick nodded.
"I'm not trying to cause any problems. When I found out you guys were here today, I had to come up and try to see you." Patrick told them.
Paige looked around and saw a small Bistro and pointed.
"Let's go get a table and talk." Paige told them.
Walter nodded even as he turned to walk with her.
Paige introduced herself and Walter to Patrick as they sat down.
"So what exactly is it you wanted from us?" Paige asked.
"Well first I wanted to thank you and your family for adopting my Happy." Patrick said as before he was interrupted.
"So, no, she is not your Happy." Paige said fiercely. "She's our Happy. I can't believe you said that after throwing her away."
"I never threw her away." Patrick swallowed hard. "I'm not saying she isn't yours, but she will always be mine too. You just don't understand. It was the hardest thing I ever did. I struggled for two years with my depression and I self medicated with alcohol. Which just made things worse. At two years old she wired her dollhouse with lights. It scared me to death, thinking she could have killed herself while burning the house down. I tore all the wiring out. Next day she did it again."
Patrick paused as he sobbed.
"I should have just left it be. The look of sadness on her face. Happy had always been so happy, everyone loved being around her. She brightened every room, every bad mood she dispelled with a simple smile. Seeing her sadness made me realize, I could never foster the natural nature of her properly. She'd be better off with a family, one that could nurture her properly. I'm so thankful your family has done that." Patrick said again.
"You have no idea the horror Happy went through for seven years before Paige's Aunt took Happy in as a foster." Walter said bitterly as Paige nodded. "You had a responsibility with Happy." Walter said as he stood up, anger flashing on his face. "If something were to happen to Paige and I was forced to live on with our child alone, you can bet damn well I'll do everything within me to care for and nurture our child. My own feelings be damned." Walter stormed as people looked from other tables.
"Walter, lover, sit down, get a hold of yourself." Paige told him as she tugged against his hand.
Walter continued to glare at Patrick as he finally surrendered to the pull on his hand and sat down.
"While Walter is right, I also know through all my psychology training that you were in a tough situation and you made the best decision you could in the moment." Paige said softly. She'd wanted to go off on him herself but Walter beat her to it and so she knew she needed to rise up in the situation.
"While I am not happy about what Happy went through, I am so glad you gave her up. I have my sister because of that. And I wouldn't trade her for anything." Paige told him.
"I didn't know." Patrick said weakly as he looked horrified by Walter's words. "I knew I had made a mistake, but their attorneys told me I signed away my rights, I couldn't take her back. I had just assumed your family had adopted her right away. She seems so happy and well adjusted in everything I've seen her in." Patrick said with love in his voice.
"You've been stalking her?" Paige asked incredulously.
"I wouldn't say stalking but I've been keeping an eye out over the last couple of years. I'd first seen her in pictures from the Christmas ball at the Embassy in Dublin back in 1999." Patrick smiled as he pulled out a computer tablet from 2003, Walter noticed.
"Of course the nature of your Father's position made it hard to find out much information." Patrick showed them the pictures of the ball from then. "But now knowing where Happy was, I kept up as best I could. When I found out you guys were moving back to the States, I sold off my garage and moved to Boston and started another garage." Patrick kept showing all the published pictures he had.
"I went to a few of the science fair shows she entered. I'd always wanted to talk to her, but I didn't deserve the opportunity. But this morning as I was getting ready to open the shop I heard that you both were going to be on The View this morning. So I just jumped in my truck and came." Patrick told them as he continued showing the pictures.
"So what is it you really want?" Paige asked.
"I just wanted to thank you, to ask for you to tell your parents how grateful I am that you guys took Happy in and made her part of your family. You've given her all the love and support she deserved, that I couldn't fight enough for, to give her." Patrick said with a sad smile.
Greetings! I hope this finds you all well! Sadly this brings us to an end for now. The Muse has spoken so little. The next chapter is only at about 1900 words. There is a new link on the profile page, I got the next addition to the wedding picture. Added Ralph and Veronica to it. Hope you enjoy it as much as I do.
Railman - Happy did a wonderful job on his car for sure! Who wouldn't want a master mechanic as a friend like that? hehe Her trip to the track went very well!
To the Adventure! -Tim