“I think this is gonna better than his last birthday,” she laughs as I take over doing dishes.
“Go put some clothes on, Mom. We got a boy to teach to ride a bike today.” I tell her with a wet palm to her ass. She yelps before a soft kiss to my cheek and heading off to get dressed.
Outside, I stroll over to my house, first changing into some loose shorts, a t-shirt and tennis shoes. Then I take Justice to my garage where I have his custom bicycle painted the same red as Ruby parked right beside my Harley.
He looks at the bike, he looks to his mom, and then back to the bike.
“This one is my size,” he whispers turning his gaze to me.
“Then I’m thinkin’ you need to try it out.”
His eyes are wide in anticipation. “Really?”
In moments, I have a helmet on him and the bike rolled out into the middle of the cul-de-sac.
He’s nervous. It’s obvious in how he grips the handlebars. His fingers squeezing so tight his knuckles are white.
“It’s not gonna buck you off like a bronco, Justice,” I try encouraging him. “Remember I showed you the most important thing, which is?”
“Brakes!”
“Yes, as long as we have our stop we can manage our go.”
“You sure I can do this, Dean?”
I nod, “abso-freakin’-lutely.”
He doesn’t seem convinced. He bites his bottom lip focusing.
“You ready?”
Jo stands beside us, arms crossed, watching intently. I know she’s nervous, but as mom’s know there are milestones to every part of life for every kid. Riding a bike without training wheels is one of them.
“You won’t let go, right?” he asks looking to me.
“Not ‘til you’re ready.”
He takes a big breath. I grip the back of the seat as he starts pedaling, keeping him stead. He wobbles a bit, trying to find his balance, but I stay in stride beside him holding on.
“Don’t think about it, just feel the bike.”
He still focuses in front of him.
In a few moments, he is staying steady and picking up speed. I feel him settle in and stop second guessing. We get turned around and headed back down the street towards the cul-de-sac where Jo is waiting the excitement written all over her face.
He gets a rhythm going. I know it’s time.
“I’m gonna let go, you keep doin’ just like you’re doin.”
“Okay,” his voice cracks, “I can do it.”
“Yes, you can. You got this!” I release him and off he goes.
He keeps at it grinning wide at his mom with the wind in his face. “I’m doing it! Dean, I’m doing it!”
I don’t take my eyes off him as he makes it to his mom and hits the brake. He wobbles not expecting the stop to come as it did. Jo hugs him as he remains upright but definitely a little nervous. We celebrate and then he takes off with a little steadying from me and rides again. We do this for a bit.
Then like most boys, he gets comfortable. He glances back over his shoulder at me and Jo standing in wait for him. The bike wobbles as he turns back around and, in an instant, he’s headed off the road and into the grass where he crashes.
