Categories > Original > Romance > Far From Over
Chapter Five
1 reviewChapter Five: Morning Coffee. or-Oh my. Oh. We get to ride on THAT?!! Vin takes Ari for coffee the next morning, and she LIKEY the suprise mode of transport.
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The next morning came all too quickly, and I don’t even remember going in and collapsing on the bed fully clothed. Leeni, who is the worst kind of friend – a MORNING PERSON – bounces into my room and jumps onto the foot of the bed. “Wake up sunshine. Time to get a shower and get those muscles going! It’s a beautiful day out, and we’re going to be leaving in fifteen or twenty minutes.”
“Ugh, go away. I need sleep.” I mumble into my pillow as I drag it over my head to block out the perkiness of Leeni. “Besides, I have a ride for later, so you two can go ahead and take the car and get breakfast. I’ll meet you at the hospital by nine, I swear.”
“Oh? And just WHO is your chauffeur going to be this morning, hmmm?” Intrigued, Leeni pulls the pillow off my head, and forces me to sit up in the bed.
“Um, yeah, I forgot. You were already snoring away last night when I got back from my walk. Guess who’s staying three cottages down from us?” I knew it was a mistake to tell her, but I can’t keep secrets at all, so I might as well get it over with.
“First off, I don’t snore. Secondly, WHO?!?!” She is practically bouncing around my room, grabbing clothes for me from the closet and dresser where I had unpacked the day before, trying to get me up and to the bathroom for my shower.
“Ok, ok. Calm down. That hunky doctor from the hospital, Dave, – I mean Dr. Shaw. AND, he has a brother, Kevin, whom I met last nite during my beach stroll. His best friend is Pinky’s grandson. Vin’s been staying here looking after her for his friend, and is doing all the renovations on the whole place. He’s going to drive me after we get some coffee. Is that alright, mom?” I tried not to sound mean, but it IS early, and without the benefit of either a shower OR coffee, that’s what I’m like.
“So, its VIN now, is it?” giving me this all-knowing stare. “ROY!!! Get your butt in here! Ari’s got some news to share!” she practically screams, as I stumble from the bed in the general direction of the shower.
“You tell him Leeni, I’m getting my shower now.” Grumbling to myself some choice words condemning the sun for getting up this early, I turn the shower to the hottest setting possible and stand there for a good five minutes before actually applying shampoo to my hair. After finishing everything, including shaving the legs, (Hey, you never know when a certain hunky guy might want to rub his hand on my legs, and it wouldn’t do for them to resemble a gorilla, now would it?) I turn off the water, wrap the big fluffy towel around me that was sitting on the shelf right outside the stall, I throw open the curtain to see Leeni standing there, with a big grin on her face.
“Dr. Hunky and his Handyman brother are outside on the porch with Roy, so you’d better hurry. Oh, and Ari, wear the shirt I left out for you. It will be perfect for today.” With that, she leaves the doorway and heads back to her own room to finish getting ready.
After speed drying my hair, and applying a little makeup (eyeliner, mascara and some watermelon lip gloss) I go back out to my room and see the shirt she was speaking of. OF COURSE!! My favorite Eagles shirt. She is EVIL. I pull in on over my head, and throw on the jeans next to them. Finishing off the outfit with some new boots that Leeni helped me pick out (shoe queen strikes again); I head outside to the porch where everyone else is waiting.
Roy takes one look at me and goes “Wow – that’s a new record! Ready to face the day not even 20 minutes after the first grumblings of awakedness. Someone mark the calendar.”
“Asshole. That’s not even funny.” I grunt, as I slap his arm, the whole time looking at Vin, hoping he doesn’t see the look of total mortification on my face. “You must not pay any attention to these two. They know I am not a morning person, yet they constantly tease me about it every chance they get. I have been known to get up before the sun on several occasions, if it is warranted, without any problems. Now, where’s that coffee?”
Vin is by now trying to hold in his laughter, but not succeeding very well. I let him off the hook by saying “ok, fine. Go ahead a laugh all you want. I just want it stated for the record, that I am ready to go a whole HOUR before I needed to be today, so yes, go mark your darned calendar Roy. And, that should give me an hours’ reprieve at a date to be determined later.” Turning to Vin, I say, “Now, where’s your car?”
At this, all five of them start laughing even harder. “Um, my TRUCK is out back, full of all the materials for later today. But, I have Paul’s bike. Here’s your helmet.” He hands me a helmet, and that’s when I notice the shiny blue Harley parked next to the rental car of ours. I also glance, albeit very quickly, over to where Dr. Dave Shaw is standing next to Ms. Pinky, both holding their hands discreetly over their smiling faces so that I wouldn’t see them snickering.
“Oh my. Oh. It’s.. It’s awesome. You mean we get to ride THAT?” I stammer, as I walk around the aforementioned Harley, admiring it from every angle. “what are you waiting for? Let’s GO!” Did I neglect to mention that I’ve always wanted a Harley? Well, I have. Ever since my Uncle’s friend came to stay at my grandparents with him one summer when I was 9, I have dreamed of one day riding down the highway, wind in my hair, with a big old Harley in between my legs roaring, and carrying me off to who knows where. But, ever since Suzi, I’ve let that dream go to the back burner. Can’t very well carpool her and her friends to and from karate class on a Sportster, now can I? So, for now, I have my beat-up, but reliable old Bronco. It’s got 4 wheel drive, and that’s all I need right now.
With a wave and a promise to meet everyone in the ICU waiting room at 9, we put our helmets on, I climb onto the back behind Vin; he starts the bike with a rumble ( did I mention I LOVE the sound of the engine when it starts) and we’re off to a little hole in the wall café for some of the best coffee I have ever tasted.
I would have never been able to find the place again on my own, if I hadn’t thought before hand to bring my trusty GPSr and plugged in the coordinates for future reference. (gotta love them GPSrs!!) If it wasn’t for my nerdy coworker, I would have never found out about a website called geocaching.com, and all the fun you can have with “finding treasures” all over the world. So far, I have six states, and plan on sneaking out sometime during this trip to find a few here in Florida to add a seventh. Just then, Vin spies the said piece of equipment in my hands and looks at me with a questioning expression. “What exactly are you doing?” he asks, as he sips on his coffee.
“Oh, well. I guess the cat’s out of the bag now. You’ve caught me. The techno-geek side of me has been unleashed. I have this insane desire to waymark every cool place I’ve been to, in case I ever want to come back again. Hence, the GPS. Oh, yeah, and I cache.” I reply, rather cautiously.
“My brother and his family do that. When they can, that is. More so his wife and the girls. Oh, didn’t Dave tell yous all that he’s married?” Vin asked. “Yeah, right out of high school to his sweetheart. She’s BIG money, Daddy owns half the county back home. So, when they found out the twins were on the way, they got married, and she stayed home with the girls while he went to college and then thru the residence and all that doctor crap. Good for him, but that’s not my thing. Her parents bought them a house, and Shelly supported them all with her trust she got when she graduated. Now, with him taking this position down here, they’re on their way up. Shelly and the girls are so great about it all. She home-schools them, so they do the caching thing as part of their science and history lessons, going to different parks and such. I’ve done it with them a few times, but only because Dave couldn’t, and they wanted to do some pretty tough hikes.”
“The hikes are the ones I like the best. That would be some of those times that I get up before the sun, so that I’m at that spot along the trail at sunrise. It makes it sooooo worth it.
“Yeah, I get that.” At that, he raises his coffee cup in a toast, and I smile my best ‘take me now, even tho it’s 7:20am” smile, and down a gulp.
“And no, your brother hadn’t said anything to me at least. But, I know Leeni, so by the time we meet up later, she will have the full history of his and by extension, your family tree.” I laugh, knowing that I wouldn’t be far from the truth there at all.
“Well, we still have some time, I’d really like to get to the hospital no later than 8:30, but we have time for a short ride, if you want.” Vin looks at me, as he stands up and starts to clear up his trash.
“Sounds perfect. Lead the way,” I reply, as I do the same.
We head out to where the bike is parked, and in a few minutes, we’re cruising down the road, no particular way, enjoying the early morning ride. All too soon, we pull into the parking garage at the hospital, and take off our helmets.
“That was amazing. You don’t know how much I’ve needed that. Roy has a bike, a crotch rocket, and he takes me riding every once in awhile, but it’s just not the same. I have always wanted a Sportster myself, but this is… well, it’s just plain perfect” I sigh, as I ran my fingers along the gas tank. Yes, I’ll admit, IF I had the body AND the nerves, I’d be one of the girls posing in the magazines stretched out over the custom bikes in a New York minute.
“I’m sure Paul will be more than happy to hear that, and I’ll make note to go to the nearest Harley store as soon as I get home,” Vin says with a grin.
“That would be the Route 40 and Martin Boulevard, Route One in Elkridge, or Annapolis stores. Although I AM partial to the Seaford location myself,” I answer back, being cheeky about it.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Maybe I can be lucky enough for you to accompany me when I venture to one of those locations” He left that hanging, obviously for me to pick up on.
“Maybe,” I said, not hinting either way, but inside of me I’m screaming “YES YES YES”
“Ugh, go away. I need sleep.” I mumble into my pillow as I drag it over my head to block out the perkiness of Leeni. “Besides, I have a ride for later, so you two can go ahead and take the car and get breakfast. I’ll meet you at the hospital by nine, I swear.”
“Oh? And just WHO is your chauffeur going to be this morning, hmmm?” Intrigued, Leeni pulls the pillow off my head, and forces me to sit up in the bed.
“Um, yeah, I forgot. You were already snoring away last night when I got back from my walk. Guess who’s staying three cottages down from us?” I knew it was a mistake to tell her, but I can’t keep secrets at all, so I might as well get it over with.
“First off, I don’t snore. Secondly, WHO?!?!” She is practically bouncing around my room, grabbing clothes for me from the closet and dresser where I had unpacked the day before, trying to get me up and to the bathroom for my shower.
“Ok, ok. Calm down. That hunky doctor from the hospital, Dave, – I mean Dr. Shaw. AND, he has a brother, Kevin, whom I met last nite during my beach stroll. His best friend is Pinky’s grandson. Vin’s been staying here looking after her for his friend, and is doing all the renovations on the whole place. He’s going to drive me after we get some coffee. Is that alright, mom?” I tried not to sound mean, but it IS early, and without the benefit of either a shower OR coffee, that’s what I’m like.
“So, its VIN now, is it?” giving me this all-knowing stare. “ROY!!! Get your butt in here! Ari’s got some news to share!” she practically screams, as I stumble from the bed in the general direction of the shower.
“You tell him Leeni, I’m getting my shower now.” Grumbling to myself some choice words condemning the sun for getting up this early, I turn the shower to the hottest setting possible and stand there for a good five minutes before actually applying shampoo to my hair. After finishing everything, including shaving the legs, (Hey, you never know when a certain hunky guy might want to rub his hand on my legs, and it wouldn’t do for them to resemble a gorilla, now would it?) I turn off the water, wrap the big fluffy towel around me that was sitting on the shelf right outside the stall, I throw open the curtain to see Leeni standing there, with a big grin on her face.
“Dr. Hunky and his Handyman brother are outside on the porch with Roy, so you’d better hurry. Oh, and Ari, wear the shirt I left out for you. It will be perfect for today.” With that, she leaves the doorway and heads back to her own room to finish getting ready.
After speed drying my hair, and applying a little makeup (eyeliner, mascara and some watermelon lip gloss) I go back out to my room and see the shirt she was speaking of. OF COURSE!! My favorite Eagles shirt. She is EVIL. I pull in on over my head, and throw on the jeans next to them. Finishing off the outfit with some new boots that Leeni helped me pick out (shoe queen strikes again); I head outside to the porch where everyone else is waiting.
Roy takes one look at me and goes “Wow – that’s a new record! Ready to face the day not even 20 minutes after the first grumblings of awakedness. Someone mark the calendar.”
“Asshole. That’s not even funny.” I grunt, as I slap his arm, the whole time looking at Vin, hoping he doesn’t see the look of total mortification on my face. “You must not pay any attention to these two. They know I am not a morning person, yet they constantly tease me about it every chance they get. I have been known to get up before the sun on several occasions, if it is warranted, without any problems. Now, where’s that coffee?”
Vin is by now trying to hold in his laughter, but not succeeding very well. I let him off the hook by saying “ok, fine. Go ahead a laugh all you want. I just want it stated for the record, that I am ready to go a whole HOUR before I needed to be today, so yes, go mark your darned calendar Roy. And, that should give me an hours’ reprieve at a date to be determined later.” Turning to Vin, I say, “Now, where’s your car?”
At this, all five of them start laughing even harder. “Um, my TRUCK is out back, full of all the materials for later today. But, I have Paul’s bike. Here’s your helmet.” He hands me a helmet, and that’s when I notice the shiny blue Harley parked next to the rental car of ours. I also glance, albeit very quickly, over to where Dr. Dave Shaw is standing next to Ms. Pinky, both holding their hands discreetly over their smiling faces so that I wouldn’t see them snickering.
“Oh my. Oh. It’s.. It’s awesome. You mean we get to ride THAT?” I stammer, as I walk around the aforementioned Harley, admiring it from every angle. “what are you waiting for? Let’s GO!” Did I neglect to mention that I’ve always wanted a Harley? Well, I have. Ever since my Uncle’s friend came to stay at my grandparents with him one summer when I was 9, I have dreamed of one day riding down the highway, wind in my hair, with a big old Harley in between my legs roaring, and carrying me off to who knows where. But, ever since Suzi, I’ve let that dream go to the back burner. Can’t very well carpool her and her friends to and from karate class on a Sportster, now can I? So, for now, I have my beat-up, but reliable old Bronco. It’s got 4 wheel drive, and that’s all I need right now.
With a wave and a promise to meet everyone in the ICU waiting room at 9, we put our helmets on, I climb onto the back behind Vin; he starts the bike with a rumble ( did I mention I LOVE the sound of the engine when it starts) and we’re off to a little hole in the wall café for some of the best coffee I have ever tasted.
I would have never been able to find the place again on my own, if I hadn’t thought before hand to bring my trusty GPSr and plugged in the coordinates for future reference. (gotta love them GPSrs!!) If it wasn’t for my nerdy coworker, I would have never found out about a website called geocaching.com, and all the fun you can have with “finding treasures” all over the world. So far, I have six states, and plan on sneaking out sometime during this trip to find a few here in Florida to add a seventh. Just then, Vin spies the said piece of equipment in my hands and looks at me with a questioning expression. “What exactly are you doing?” he asks, as he sips on his coffee.
“Oh, well. I guess the cat’s out of the bag now. You’ve caught me. The techno-geek side of me has been unleashed. I have this insane desire to waymark every cool place I’ve been to, in case I ever want to come back again. Hence, the GPS. Oh, yeah, and I cache.” I reply, rather cautiously.
“My brother and his family do that. When they can, that is. More so his wife and the girls. Oh, didn’t Dave tell yous all that he’s married?” Vin asked. “Yeah, right out of high school to his sweetheart. She’s BIG money, Daddy owns half the county back home. So, when they found out the twins were on the way, they got married, and she stayed home with the girls while he went to college and then thru the residence and all that doctor crap. Good for him, but that’s not my thing. Her parents bought them a house, and Shelly supported them all with her trust she got when she graduated. Now, with him taking this position down here, they’re on their way up. Shelly and the girls are so great about it all. She home-schools them, so they do the caching thing as part of their science and history lessons, going to different parks and such. I’ve done it with them a few times, but only because Dave couldn’t, and they wanted to do some pretty tough hikes.”
“The hikes are the ones I like the best. That would be some of those times that I get up before the sun, so that I’m at that spot along the trail at sunrise. It makes it sooooo worth it.
“Yeah, I get that.” At that, he raises his coffee cup in a toast, and I smile my best ‘take me now, even tho it’s 7:20am” smile, and down a gulp.
“And no, your brother hadn’t said anything to me at least. But, I know Leeni, so by the time we meet up later, she will have the full history of his and by extension, your family tree.” I laugh, knowing that I wouldn’t be far from the truth there at all.
“Well, we still have some time, I’d really like to get to the hospital no later than 8:30, but we have time for a short ride, if you want.” Vin looks at me, as he stands up and starts to clear up his trash.
“Sounds perfect. Lead the way,” I reply, as I do the same.
We head out to where the bike is parked, and in a few minutes, we’re cruising down the road, no particular way, enjoying the early morning ride. All too soon, we pull into the parking garage at the hospital, and take off our helmets.
“That was amazing. You don’t know how much I’ve needed that. Roy has a bike, a crotch rocket, and he takes me riding every once in awhile, but it’s just not the same. I have always wanted a Sportster myself, but this is… well, it’s just plain perfect” I sigh, as I ran my fingers along the gas tank. Yes, I’ll admit, IF I had the body AND the nerves, I’d be one of the girls posing in the magazines stretched out over the custom bikes in a New York minute.
“I’m sure Paul will be more than happy to hear that, and I’ll make note to go to the nearest Harley store as soon as I get home,” Vin says with a grin.
“That would be the Route 40 and Martin Boulevard, Route One in Elkridge, or Annapolis stores. Although I AM partial to the Seaford location myself,” I answer back, being cheeky about it.
“I’ll keep that in mind. Maybe I can be lucky enough for you to accompany me when I venture to one of those locations” He left that hanging, obviously for me to pick up on.
“Maybe,” I said, not hinting either way, but inside of me I’m screaming “YES YES YES”
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