Page 12 of Pride

FOUR

Fisher

Her hands rested loosely in my lap. She was comfortable on the back of the bike, which was more than I could say for those who had ridden on my motorcycles in the past. It seemed to me that women either got on a motorcycle to satisfy an urge to go against their father’s wishes, or because they truly enjoyed it as much as the man who was riding it.

I believed Anna to be the latter.

She didn’t fidget in her seat or thrash about while we were riding. She simply relaxed on the long straight runs, and leaned with me as I rode through the curves. It was as if she was an extension of me. A surprise while riding a motorcycle is rarely a good thing, and her predictability was appreciated.

I slowed behind a truck as traffic maneuvered around an SUV that was coming to a stop. “Mesa’s half an hour out,” I said over my shoulder.

Her chest pressed against my back. “Okay.”

“We’ll be there long before dark,” I said. “Figured after we got to the hotel we could ride out to the desert and watch the sunset.”

“That’d be nice.”

“Ever watched the sun set in the desert?”

“Nope.”

“I’m not sure why, but it looks different. Better. More colorful. You’ll see.”

“I can’t wait.”

The truck inched forward. After passing the SUV that was pulling off the shoulder of the road, I twisted the throttle back and passed the long line of vehicles that had become all but stationary.

I cocked my head to the side. “I’m not much on sitting still,” I shouted.

“You have ten years of making up to do,” she responded. “Sitting still is wasting time.”

I didn’t have any making up to do, I only needed to resolve one thing that had been lingering in the back of my mind for the last seven years. My pride wouldn’t allow me to simply walk away from it.

As soon as I resolved matters, I could go on with living my life.

“All I’ve got to do is make it to the coast,” I said. “After that, my life will be golden.”

“Will we get there tomorrow?” she asked.

“Easily,” I said.

She leaned against her backrest. “I can’t wait.”

I couldn’t either. I accelerated up to the speed limit, and held the throttle firm. Now out in front of all the traffic, it seemed I had the road to myself. Nothing but pavement and desert was in front of me.

Behind me, memories of my past, and a stinging reminder that there were seven years of my life that would never be returned.

All I needed to do was get to the coast.

We made it to Mesa in twenty minutes and checked into a hotel. After showering and changing clothes, we took sub sandwiches and a six pack of beer to the most remote spot we could find.

We parked the bike and then hiked through the remote section of desert toward a large flat rock that gave an unobstructed view to the west.

I lowered my backpack from my shoulders and glanced around the desolate countryside. “Looks like a good spot.”

Anna sat on the edge of the rock and gazed off in the distance. “It seems like we’re out in the middle of nowhere.”

I gestured toward the mountainous horizon and chuckled. “We are.”