That One Ride

6. Perfect Life

Stewart Haddock has always been known as someone who was successful. In elementary, he learned extremely quick, teachers loved his personality and the kids loved his friendly attitude. In high school, he was the captain of the football team, being the most well built boy of his generation, not to mention he was part of the student council. In college, he graduated with the biggest praise from his professors, getting a job offer at one of the biggest law firms as soon as he got his diploma. He turned that firm into an empire in under three years. So when he ran for mayor, it was a piece of cake to win the elections. He has been mayor of the city he grew up in, for almost eighteen years. You could say his life was perfect. And it was, for some time actually. He had a nice house, a good job and a beautiful wife and baby son. That is, until everything went south. Suddenly, instead of coming home to a warm smile from her and the giggling of his son, he would come to a son who barely spoke, his wife's absence notably visible. Suddenly, she was never home, and his son and he didn't have much in common to talk about.

It would be a lie if he said he wasn't surprised, when his son grew up a bit, that he didn't have any resemblance to his own physique. While Stewart was a mountain of a man, with muscles big enough to fit someone's head, Hunter was...not. He was lanky, scrawny even. He had arms like noodles, and legs like toothpicks. He sometimes didn't want to hug his son, afraid that he'll brake him if he did. He wasn't good in any kind of sport, unlike his father. The boy preferred to read and draw, and tinker with small gadgets. Sure, Stewart liked to read a good book every once in a while, but the amount of books his son was reading was just ridiculous. And the time he spent inventing things in the shack behind their house, was just ludicrous. So, with his mother being barely in the house because of her personal project, it was up to him to show him how to play ball. It was a disaster. He couldn't hold the ball for longer than five seconds, and if he even thought about throwing it, he would fall down on his face instantly. It was a trial and error process. The problem was, that it always ended with error. So, Stewart gave up, seeing that his son and him would never have something in common to do. He was too much like his mother, anyway.

As years passed, his home grew colder and colder, until it was just...nothing. It wasn't home anymore. And, after the incident, it was just a place that brought bad memories. So, he moved, packing his and his son's bags, and never looking back. He bought a house near his office, and settled in. It was a rough couple of months when they first moved in, with him being busy with running the town and Hunter taking every opportunity to escape into the garage to occupy his time with a new invention. They barely talked over the years, speaking only when necessary, usually about groceries or him having to go out of town for a meeting. George would look after Hunter then, one of his childhood friends. He was a bit envious of George's relationship with his son, since the boy seemed to be more open towards him. It didn't surprise him, since George was a mechanic and was sort of a mentor to Hunter, that he was teaching him the basics. Just as he lost all hopes that his son and him would ever have something to talk about, Ashley came into the picture. He beamed when he saw the blue eyed beauty, fierce and strong for a eleven year-old. She was athletic, smart and fearless. The complete opposite of his son. He would be lying if he said he wasn't curious about how did his son become friends with her. But, that was the first time he noticed how she made his son act. He was always smiling around her, glowing, he dared to say.

It reminded him of how he acted around his wife, which, even though sometimes saddened him, made him feel good. They started to talk a bit more, the air around them not so awkward anymore. He was glad about that, and it was Ashley he had to thank. He also enjoyed her company, talking about sports and things he couldn't with his son, while Hunter quietly drew next to them, listening to the conversation but not participating. Then, Ashley would suggest for them to go into the garage to see his latest handy work. As much as she liked to talk about sports with him, she enjoyed watching Hunter's inventions far more, for some strange reason. He didn't question it, glad he had that girl in his son's life. And in his, too. Just as he thought that he had no more problems with his son, he came up with a brilliant idea. He wanted a bike. For obvious reasons, Stewart wasn't thrilled. So, when his son asked him why he said no, he didn't respond. He just told him no, and ended the conversation there. And it was a couple of weeks of him asking for one, before he stopped. He thought he evaded the problem, when he saw the bike in the garage one morning. His anger rose instantly, calling him to come downstairs immediately. It was a small talk, with him scolding him for buying a bike behind his back. What was he thinking? A fifteen year-old should not be riding a bike. He thought he solved the problem by giving the bike to George, only to find out that he was just keeping it in the workshop so Hunter could work on it. He talked with George, trying to reason with him to just get rid of the damn thing, but he just dismissed it, saying that the boy was just keeping the bike in great condition. He was too young to ride one, he couldn't even get a driving license. Seeing it would be futile to continue trying to reason with the stubborn mechanic, he gave up, letting his son tinker with the 100 hp machine.