Ride On

Chapter Nine

We pulled up to the house in utter silence. The police man reminded me the address of the place they'd be housing Trigger again, and I stomped inside. My attempts to hold back my tears were nearly in vain.

Of course I could easily pay off the money, but the simple fact that this happened was appalling. My father sure wouldn't be pleased.

I headed to the fridge immediately and grabbed a can of cool whip, gently pressing the nozzle to release some foamy white goodness. None came out and little droplets splattered onto my palm.

Gritting my teeth I made my way to the sink, opening the window overlooking it. My knuckles turned white as I moved to the other side of the island. Pablo had just come out of the bathroom when I chucked the bottle out the window, full force, hitting one of the chickens outside. Luckily it got up and sprinted away, unharmed; nothing but an angry squawk and some flapping.

Pablo was horrified, and immediately rushed to the store to buy me some more cool whip. I understand where he's coming from with that move. He's dealt with me for fifteen years, and has a few tricks up his sleeve. He was like my second daddy.

With my head in my hands, I sat down on my usual chair and stared at the table in shame. So many patterns in the wood. Very interesting. The guilt of the whole thing had me nearly sobbing. But no; I will hold it in. All of it.

My father stomped upstairs with the newspaper in his hands, as if he'd been reading it since it came this morning. I tried to ignore him, but knew that I'd spill the beans with little prodding. He'd be so ashamed.

The garage door swung open for a moment but I didn't look up or register it. Before long it was closed and a small wad of hundees' sat beneath my face.

I had no doubt in my mind that it was Chris who gave them to me. How did he even know about my predicament so fast?

My suspicions were confirmed as my dad piped up. "Why did Chris just give you money?" He asked calmly, setting down at the head of the table. I exhaled in frustration.

"Trigger got impounded." I squeaked quietly. For a few moments I heard no reply from him. Although the temptation of the cash was great, I did not move to claim it. "I was riding him on the Benson property." I explained.

Dad merely shook his head in disappointment, as I saw when I removed my hands from my face and looked up. His lips were pursed, his eyes peering straight at me. He did not make a sound. Instead, grumbled, and returned to his newspaper.

Pablo got back in the nick of time, shouting, "Nobody move a muscle!" He set his bags down on the counter and dug through them frantically and dramatically, finally finding the antidote to my anger. "Okay, nobody provoke it or ask it questions for the next half hour. Leave it be with the cool whip and hope for the best." He whispered, removing the plastic cap from the bottle.

He slowly, slowly set the bottle on its side and rolled it over to me on the table. All the while, my dad couldn't have been laughing harder.

Pablo quietly returned to making lunch as I snatched up his offering, but was a little late due to my needs. The guys stormed in and sat down, talking loudly.

"SHUT UP!!" The cook screamed, moving behind my chair. His calloused hands were set on my shoulders, as if to protect me from any aggravation they would cause. "Here, come into the living room. I'll deal with this." He muttered, leading me away. I raised the bottle to my mouth and squirted some, sighing as I swallowed the sweet cream.

I almost cracked up as I heard Pablo lecturing the guys. "Everyone here needs to learn the signs and signals of an upset woman." Was his introduction as he started to chop up some lettuce. I laid down on the couch, facing the kitchen to watch. My face was painted with a smirk. I filled my mouth again. "When you know how to avoid them, or get them into a better mood, your life will be much simpler. At least with Eve involved." He sighed, moving his knife expertly.

The guys were silent. "When Eve is mad her face turns bright red. That is a given. Her whole body tenses, and she balls her fists. She also grinds and clenches her teeth." Wow. I'm just now learning this about myself. I think he doesn't know that I'm listening. "If you can recognize this, immediately find the nearest bottle of cool whip and offer it to her. It'll save your life. If you can't find cool whip, chocolate is a good substitute. When none of these are available, run for your life."

I chuckled. Now I knew why we always had cool whip. Pablo is really good at reading women, I guess. He found my antidote and kept me stockpiled with it. I didn't even know that I addictively ate cool whip when I was in a mood.

Come to think of it, I don't think it mattered what mood I was in. I used to eat cool whip all the time.

"If she heard me saying this, the whole plan is shot, so let's hope she didn't. Now you're all better off. So pay more attention." Pablo finished. I rolled my eyes. I'll pretend I didn't hear it, dear Pablo, just because you are the best.

By supper time I had taken the remote and switched channels forty times. The bottle of cool whip was already gone, but my mood has improved immensely. I didn't need it anymore, that day.

I gave Pablo a long hug preceding dinner and thanked him over and over. He looked appalled, as if he truly thought I wasn't listening. Furthermore, he usually ate on the counter. I wondered why he didn't sit down. There was always an empty chair, so I ordered him to tonight.

I went back to watching TV for a while, but eventually tired of the moving pictures. My eyes had dried out and stung as I blinked. After turning the TV off, I walked up to my room and took a shower. Digging through my wallet and change bucket, I came up with exactly $280, all in pennies. Not a cent more or less. Ha, I thought. You can deal with that when I give it to you. Rationally thinking, I shouldn't have been such a brat.

I threw on some pajamas and climbed into bed, setting the money on my nightstand. The weight of the day had finally relieved itself from my shoulders, and I felt much better as I laid down. The simple task of brushing my teeth had even calmed me.

Chris had hopefully reclaimed the paper money he tried to give me earlier. If not, as he doesn't want it, I'll gladly take a few extra bucks.

Although, I couldn't keep ignoring the signs and signals he was giving me forever. He was trying so hard.

But it was immensely harder to swallow my pride and forgive him.