"Nah. He gave it to us instead – installed it, too." A warm smile crept into his voice. "Mom was so happy, you'd think he'd given her a car."
At the warmth in his voice, I couldn't help but smile, too. "But you said it was a trade. What didheget?"
"Free labor."
"What kind of labor?"
"They had like five bikes in the garage. The guy wanted me to wash them – a decent deal since I was twelve."
Twelve seemed awful young to me. Then again, I'd started working part-time at the bike shop at only thirteen, so in a way, it made the two of us much more alike than different.
And hey, I'd done my share of bike-washing, too.
Of course, I'd had two parents and plenty of hot water, which put me on Easy Street compared to Griff.
I was impressed.
No. More than impressed.
But how could I not be? "Sothat'show you got your start with bikes?"
"You could say that. But evenIknew that the deal sucked – for him, I mean."
Griff was selling himself short, and I didn't bother hiding it. "Oh, come on. The deal couldn't have beenthatbad…not if he got the water tank for free."
"Yeah, but his labor wasn't, at least not normally." Griff gave a low chuckle. "Trust me, I saw their house. The guy didn't work for cheap."
NowthisI believed. The estimate for my own hot water heater was still fresh in my mind. "I bet he was happy to do it. He sounds like a really nice guy."
"Yeah, he was, actually." Griff was silent for a long moment before adding, "His kid was lucky to have him."
I was afraid to ask, but since Griff had brought it up, maybe hewantedto talk about it. Softly, I asked, "What about your dad?"
Griff's voice cooled several degrees. "What about him?"
"Well…you've mentioned your mom, but not your dad, so I was just wondering…growing up…was he a big part of your life?"
He scoffed in the darkness. "More like no part."
Ouch."So you weren't close?"
"Nah." He gave me a little squeeze that nearly broke my heart. "The guy was an ass."
And now, I didn't know what to say.
Before I could think of something, Griff continued on his own. "That's what Mom always said. But to be fair, she only met him the one time."
"Oh." At the sound of my own voice, I couldn't help but wince.Was that really the best I could do?I burrowed deeper against him and tried again. "That must've really sucked. I'm so sorry."
"Eh, don't be," he said. "Mom was wild back in the day." The smile returned to his voice. "At least the way everyone talks. But allIremember is her working two jobs to keep a roof over our head – even if itwasa tin can. And you know what?"
"What?"
"She was always there, no matter what."
I thought of my own mom. She'd been there, too…I guess…just not like that. And she couldn't wait to leave – first my dad and then me in a roundabout way when she'd moved half way across the country, leaving me behind.
But to be fair, it's not like I had wanted to go.
