Sparks War (original draft) by Robbie Keith (general ebook reader TXT) 📕

 Jon knew it was one of the middle houses, so he chose the home closest to the east side of the building to his right. With clammy cool fingers Jon pushed the little white button that was almost completely hidden from site notched into the molding of the door jamb.
Jon’s stomach pained and swirled as he heard footsteps coming rather quickly down a flight of stairs. There he stood waiting. He was more nervous than when he thought he was being pulled over for speeding. He could ride that bike at top speeds at any given moment without flinching. But here he was scared just about out of his mind.
The door made almost a suction sound when it opened; the house was obviously built air tight with some good weather stripping keeping the drafts out of the house.
His eyes wide and his jaw clinched tight.
“Jon?” A woman about twice Jon’s age spoke with a slight heartfelt pop in her voice. With tears starting to form in her eyes taking the last couple of steps slowly towards Jon. She gently reached for Jon’s clammy hands as he stood there almost stunned.
“Hey “with a half smile and several crackles in his throat.
It had been 5 years since he last saw his Mother. And at this moment was overtaken by the beauty of a mother that had almost been forgotten, and ignored.
She returned his half smile, as it was the same smile.
“Come in Jonny, I’ll make you something warm “.
Even after 5 years Mom would always know what he needed and when he needed it. His Mom still holding one of his hands leading him into the door way, through the living room, the dining room, and then the kitchen. Jon noticed a little ceramic tile hanging on the refrigerator painted light green, with the name Trixie on it. Each letter of the name was spelled with their own color, red, purple, blue, yellow, silver, and then pink. Obviously done by a child’s hand and imagination. With slightly tearing, smiling eyes “You still have this” Jon could hardly get the words out. It wasn’t a question but more like a statement of joyful disbelief. Since Jon was nearly 6’2”, Trixie at about 5’6”, she still held one hand, wrapped both arms around his one and pulled her head resting on his big solid arms. Jon could hear his mother’s emotion, both by her beating heart, and by her occasional sniffles.
“Sit down ok Honey “, Trixie smiling through her tears and precious red nose. “ I need some tissues, I’ll be right back “.
Jon smiling much bigger now turned with his free hand cradled his mothers face and kissed her on the cheek. “Ok Mom “.
Trixie looked at her son, tears falling from her eyes like little raindrops rolling off of a Lilly.
“Give me a few minutes ok sweetie I’m a wreck “
Still with little crackles in his throat he squeezed out “Sure thing mah”.
Jon took his time taking his steps through the kitchen to the breakfast nook. Multiple memories seemed to flow through his thoughts simultaneously. Now standing at the little glass table in the nook with 2 lonely chairs at its oval ends. Jon found himself leafing through his Mothers mail. Bills and letters of all types were marked Tracy Sparks. After all this time she still hadn’t changed her last name. Jon recalled in his memories some of the hardest days in his life up until just recently. There was never a divorce only a signed certificate of death.
Jon heard those same rapid footsteps coming down the stairs.
Trixie stopped in the kitchen. She grabbed the tea pot from off the stove top, turned to the sink and let the faucet fill about four cups of water into the pot, turning quickly to her previous spot at the stove placing the pot on the gas burner clicking it to high. She glanced over to the fridge gazing at her name drawn by a 4 year old on a slab of ceramic.
She recalls her little 3 year old Jonny trying to say mommy’s name. She smiled as she remembered how cute his raspy little voice was trying to create all the syllables for Tracy.
Visions of him saying “Mommies name is Trwecksee. “It didn’t sound completely like Trixie. But that nick name stuck none the less. All her neighbors knew her as Trixie, and she remembers all of her children having fun with it as if teasing her “Mommy is Trixie, Mommy is Trixie.” In those days past it wasn’t always funny, even good kids like hers had tendencies towards the annoying at that age. But now they are all sweet sweet memories. She always loved it most when Jack said it though. Trixie sighed, “I miss him so bad Jonny.”
“I know Mah “sighing stressfully, “That’s why I’m here”.
Jon took a couple steps towards his mother, “maybe we should both sit down “.
The mother and son now reunited sitting at opposite ends of her little breakfast table
“Jonny I know I wasn………” Jon stopped her mid sentence holding his hand motioning that he needed her attention. “Mom I have some news, it’s about dad. Mom, dads alive! “
Trixie clasping both hands together on her lap under the class table with streams of tears on her cheeks. There was no sob no sounds, only the pat of tears lightly popping on the glass table.
Five years ago Trixie had left her family in the care of her brother and sister in-law for 2 years to search for her husband, only to return empty hearted, and to add to the heartbreak there were two girls and one boy that were angry for her leaving them and wanting nothing to do with her. Somehow anger had infected her children. They blamed their parents for not having any for two years. Maybe they were right Trixie thought. And what more, taking the advice of her friends and family to let her husband Jack go. She can see the memorial service they had for him so clearly in her mind. She could never really decide if she believed he was really gone or not, even after signing all the legal documentation. But she knew she would never change her last name. She needed as much of Jack as she could get. And within the past five years with her children disowning her, Jacks last name was all she had left of him.
“What? You know where he is Jonny”? , her eyes red and still filled with tears
Jon , a little stiff from 1 ½ days of riding in the cold pulled his chair away from the table pushing his feet against the hardwood floor . He slowly got up, “Mom I need to show you something, you’re gonna need your coat.”
Trixie noticing her sons intense look with his road worn emotions, she got up wiping her tears “Just Show me Jonny.”
Jon took his mother by the hand and led her out side. At first Trixie had a feeling of being rather oblivious. All she could see was the west side of the cul-de-sac, the trees, and what looked like small puzzle pieces of the baseball diamond through fall lit branches. What was Jonny doing, she thought?
As they walked down the side walk, Trixie walking ever so slightly behind Jon blocking some of her view at the end of the cul-de-sac. They followed the round sidewalk hand in hand, and then she saw it. She couldn’t believe her eyes. Trixie bit her bottom lip holding back all the emotions that were screaming inside her heart.
They ended their little walk facing the BMW. Trixie glided her fingertips across the rear fender of the bike lengthwise down across the seat, looking intently at every detail of the area where Jack used to sit. She palmed around the opposite side of the gas tank noticing every contour. With her arm still around the bike like someone might do if they were holding on to their lap dog that is if they had a bull mastiff. “How did you get his bike Jon?” With a much more serious focused tone so much so that the cool 40 degree air was of no concern to her. “Jonny, your father took this bike with him to that job in Nevada, how did you get this?”
“Mom I’ve been getting this bike piece by piece in the mail since June “.
Trixie grabs the throttle handle with her right hand, and slides her right leg over the seat sitting her little self on the bike. She recalls when Jack got this bike. It was actually one of the prototypes for the 2009 racing model. It was in 2005 when Jack acquired this one though. Jack was a mechanical and electronics engineer, with a hobby as Jack called it in physics .He was basically a grease monkey with a PHD, contracted by the US government. Other times Jack was contracted by small companies outside the US boarders. Jack never divulged how he “acquired “this bike but he apparently had some connections with the higher ups at BMW racing. In fact Trixie never even saw the change in the bank account when he brought the bike home on that first day. Jack was known for bartering work for certain hard to find items, and that’s what Trixie had always thought it was.
Jon followed closely in his father’s footsteps. The first thing that Jack did on the following day of the beamer’s arrival was call for a young 12 year old Jonathan Sparks. Jon remembers that day. It was one of his best days, and if he had more time to think about it he could probably say with full confidence that it was his best day ever.
Jon remembered walking into the garage seeing the beamer in its entire glorious splendor. Jack said,” Son I want this “, opening both hands towards the bike as if he were submitting someone with some great honor,”down in the basement.”
Jon knew what that meant. They were gonna strip that 200 horse power beauty down to every last bolt , piston ring , and chain link , and put it back together . Jon was helping his father build things since before Jon could really talk. But what it really was, just a boy in a diaper learning how to say connecting rod. Jon and his father must have torn that bike apart and re assembled it more than 5 times.
Had all the parts for the bike come all at once Jon would have had it done in no time , but getting small packages just about every day for the past few months meant he could only get it done in a few months . Jack had sent his son the parts in the exact order that they were to be re assembled knowing full well that his son would know.