“Your look was fine for the sixties,” Ford said.
“And yours is good for a retired Army Ranger,” Billy Joe told him. “Now, let’s get these bags in the truck. Henry will take care of the place while we’re gone, and then when we get back, he’ll be retiring. I’m glad you’re here to take over.”
Ford picked up the two suitcases and headed toward the pickup truck. “Grandpa, you know I haven’t made up my mind about that.”
“You’ve got until the end of summer to get it done, and if you don’t want this ranch, I’m putting it on themarket to sell.” His grandfather’s tone had a definite edge to it.
“Yes, sir.” Ford fought the urge to come to attention and salute, but it seemed rude and kind of military sacrilege to salute someone who looked like his grandfather did at the moment. Was the old guy going to grow his gray hair out and braid it like the hippies did in the sixties?
The two of them got into Ford’s pickup truck, and he drove down the lane to the road and made a left-hand turn. The reflection of the sun in the rearview mirror had him reaching for his sunglasses before they’d gone the three miles to the next ranch, owned by Sharlene, who was one of his grandfather’s best friends and was going on the trip with them. Ford was sure glad he had them on when he pulled into the driveway and saw what was evidently the van that his grandfather said they would be traveling in for the next two weeks.
“Holy crap!” he gasped.
“Guess I forgot to mention what Sharlene’s van looks like.” Billy Joe chuckled as he opened the pickup door and slid out of the passenger seat. “Just keep your sunglasses on and don’t take off your cap when we take pictures. No one will recognize you.”
“Yeah, right,” Ford grumbled. With him at four inches over six feet, and wearing a cap that screamed former military, there was very little doubt that someone on social media would recognize him standing in front ofor even beside a VW bus with a trailer behind it. Both of them were painted up like a hippie wagon withChasing Dreamswritten on the front of the bus in neon-green letters. “So that’s where you got the idea for your T-shirt?”
“Yep, and because that’s what the three of us are doing. We’ll all be eighty this summer, and we’ve been best friends since before we could even talk, so we’ve decided to start crossing off items on our bucket lists,” Billy Joe said as he got out of the truck. “Hello! Are we ready to get this show on the road?”
Sharlene Griffith, one of his grandfather’s two best friends, came out of her house with a six-pack of beer in her hands. “Yep, me and Nita done got our stuff in the trailer. Get yours squared away, and we’ll take our first picture. Joelle has taught me and Nita how to use Facebook and how to put our pictures on it right from these newfangled phones we all have. We intend to post pictures every day so the folks at our church and our neighbors can see what a great time we’re having. Everyone needs to stand in front of the bus so we can see the Chasing Dreams on the front.”
She slid open the bus’s panel door, set the beer on the floor, and handed her phone off to her great-niece, who was going along with them as a relief driver. “Joelle, you can take the first picture of us three. Then I’ll take one of you and Ford.”
Nita Woods came out of the house, took her place at the front of the bus with them, and struck a pose. She wasa short little lady with gray hair that had been braided and wrapped around her head in a style that reminded Ford of pictures he’d seen from the sixties when the hippie era really was in full swing. She and Sharlene had either kept the jeans they were wearing more than sixty years ago, or else they’d found a vintage clothing store somewhere in the area.
Ford had been stunned by the hippie wagon, but not as much as he was when his grandfather stretched out on the ground in front of the vehicle.
The whole thing looked like a six-year-old girl had painted it, starting with the base coat that was hot pink. Then there were big daisies, peace signs, and hearts everywhere—all in bright colors. And now three almost-octogenarians were acting like they were on the way to a revival of Woodstock.
Sharlene held up two fingers in the peace sign. “Seems fitting that I take her out of the garage for this trip. I even had the name put on the back doors of the little trailer that carries our supplies and had it all painted up to match the VW.” She flipped her long red braid over her shoulder for the picture.
Billy Joe flashed a peace sign like both of his friends were doing. “If I was old, I couldn’t do this, now could I?”
“Okay, is everyone ready?” Joelle asked. “Smile for the photo. You are all about to fulfill the first item on each of your bucket lists.”
Billy Joe gave her a nod, and she snapped half a dozen pictures. Then he hopped up with the agility of a man half his age. “Are we ready to close the doors to the trailer?” he asked as he dusted off the seat of his jeans with his hand. “Do we have plenty of beer and snacks inside the bus?”
“Yes, and yes.” Sharlene answered. “You can close the doors and get in the bus while I take a picture of Joelle and Ford.” Sharlene reached out for her phone and Joelle put it in her hands.
“You stand here,” Sharlene said and pointed to one side of the vehicle and then looked up at Ford, “and you go on the other side of the sign. It’s not just us that are chasing our dreams. Y’all are, too.”
“What makes you think that?” Joelle asked. “How do you know what my dreams are?”
“Mine sure don’t include anything like driving around in something that looks like this,” Ford added.
“We all have dreams, whether we admit that we do or not. Smile or say ‘cheese’ or maybe say ‘sex,’” Nita said with a giggle.
“Nita!” Joelle gasped. “I can’t believe you said that.”
Ford could believe it. Not one thing would or could surprise him after the last half hour. He took a close look at Joelle, and memories from the past flashed through his mind. That she had a crush on him was no secret, but she was five years younger than he was. He had finished his first stint in the army when she was just graduatingfrom high school. He crossed his arms over his chest and realized now that he was thirty-eight and she was thirty-three, the age difference didn’t seem to be such a big deal.
But the two of you chose different paths, and it’s probably too late for them to cross, the pesky voice in his head reminded him.And besides you need to get your problems resolved before you even think of a relationship.
He shook the thoughts from his head in time to hear Sharlene and Nita giggling and see Joelle with her hands over her ears.
“Honey, we all three lived through the free love era,” Sharlene said. “We know what sex is and that just saying the word made you smile. Nita, you and Billy Joe lean over here and look what a great picture we got!”
“We got us some good pictures here,” Billy Joe said and then led the way around the VW bus. “Now, let’s get this show on the road. We’ve got miles to cover and good times to be had,”
