Page 29 of Rough Ride

“What about the monitor?” she asked as he dragged her toward the door. Remembering the bulky thing, he phished the key out of his pocket, knelt to unlock it, and slipped it from her ankle before depositing it in the bowl near the door.

“Come on,” he said, taking her hand. She was surprised when he walked them straight past the cars to his bike.

“What if it starts raining again?” she asked when he handed over a helmet.

“Afraid to get wet?” She narrowed her eyes. Sliding on to the back of the bike, Kye took his place in front of her, and they were off.

It didn’t take long for her annoyance to melt into joy. It felt good to be out of the house. Cooped up for nearly two weeks straight either bent over the dining room table or in the living room, she was starting to go crazy. Perhaps Kye had too, and that was why he insisted they go out to eat.

Although the town had changed dramatically, she could still navigate the streets, and she felt a small shiver of anticipation as they neared one of her old favorite places. The park. Even before she’d met Kye, it had been one of her favorite places. Having been built long before she was born, it was one of the few places in town she had that held memories of her mom.

At the next stop light, she could see it on their right. There was the play equipment that had been repainted but still stood the same. A new swing-set was installed, and the landscape had shifted to include two water fountains and a splash pad. Her eyes searched trying to place her finger on what seemed so different. The moment she realized what it was, she gasped.

“Oh my God,” she cried, hand flying to her mouth.

“What is it, Eli?” Kye yelled as she jumped off the back of the bike and ran toward the playground. Ignoring the traffic, he zipped through the red light and flipped a U-turn, drove up and over the curb and parked on the sidewalk. He tossed his helmet recklessly onto the back as he chased her. “Oh,” he sighed when he caught what had caused her distress.

“They tore it down,” she said in a quivering voice, tears already in her eyes. “Our tree,” she said, although she didn’t need to elaborate. Where once the ancient and wonderful willow had towered over the far end of the park and dipped half its branches into the lake, now stood a canoe and kayak rental shed and a small window that read “Ivan’s Icees”. Though it was closed now, Eliana was positive the icees tasted like shit.

“There was an ugly storm that blew through town about five years ago. A lot of trees went down, and a few powerlines were damaged. After that, the mayor put utility crews to work tearing down anything they thought looked like it may be rotting. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you; I had kind of forgotten. I should have warned you,” Kye apologized and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, and he felt her trembling.

“I shouldn’t be this upset over a stupid tree,” she berated herself as she wiped her tears away. “I guess I just… wish I could have said goodbye. Is that stupid?” she asked, turning to face him. He held her tightly, tucking her head under his chin.

“It’s not stupid at all. You didn’t have many things in your life you could count on, Eli. Not many things to rely on. In a small way, you relied on that tree. It was always there when you needed it, wanted it. It held you up and covered you whenever you called on it, never asking questions or judging you. It was a friend in its own way. And now it’s gone. That’s a loss, and you cry all you want over losing a friend.”

“How do you understand me so much better than even I can understand myself?” she questioned as she looked up into his eyes. He gave a half shrug and wiped one of her tears away with his thumb.

“Because I love you,” he said softly, “I make it my business to know you.” She took a sharp breath, mouth opening to speak, but only a small croaking sound from the back of her throat came out. Her instinct had been to reply, but she’d caught herself. He gave a small smile of understanding and took her hand. “Come on, let’s walk over.”

“I don’t know if that will help any,” she said, but she didn’t resist as he led the way past Ivan’s shitty Icees and down toward the water. The landscapers were still clearly renovating parts of the park because there were several trucks parked in the adjoining lot. Some were filled with gravel and large boulders while others had mulch, shrubbery, and trays of spring perennials waiting to be planted.

“Here it is,” Kye said when his feet hit a large patch of dirt that was muddy and soft from the rain. “This must have been where the trunk was. You can feel the ground give way.” He gave a couple of bounces on his heels to prove a point.

“Fresh plot of earth,” Eliana said, wrapping her arms around herself. “Promise me that if I die, you’ll bury me here.”

“What?” Kye asked, turning abruptly to look at her.

“Ground is soft,” she said, kicking at it with the toe of her shoe. “Wouldn’t be hard to dig a grave…”

“I swear to God, Eliana, if I ever hear you talk like that again I’ll… I’ll…”

“Kill me?” she asked ironically as she looked up at him. Kye’s eyes were ablaze with anger, and his nostrils were flaring with the strain of his rapid breathing. Hands balled into fists, he marched toward her. When she didn’t recoil in the slightest, his temper surged.

“I’m not going to kill you,” he spat, staring down at her. “But so help me, I’ll spank the defeatist tone right out of you.” She still stared blankly at him. An idea seemed to strike him so he turned on his heel and ran toward the city trucks.

Eliana watched, baffled, as he surveyed them then jumped into the back of one. He seemed to find what he was looking for and grabbing two objects, ran back to her. Slightly disturbed that one of the items was a shovel, she backed away, but he walked right past her to the wet patch of dirt and began digging a hole.

“What are you doing?” she asked as it began to sprinkle.

“I’m digging a fucking hole,” he grumbled before flinging a scoop of dirt over his shoulder.

“Why?” she asked, and a peal of thunder was heard in the distance.

“Because,” he said when the hole was about two and a half feet deep. He tossed the shovel aside and tore open the second item, a long, black plastic bag from which he removed a brown stick that was producing coils of roots. “I’m going to prove to you that just because something old is gone doesn’t mean something new, something better isn’t coming along.” He shoved the plant into the ground and used his hands to pat dirt around the base. “There!” he yelled, brushing his hands off.

“I don’t see the point…”

“The point,” he said, marching directly up to her and completely invading her space as he stared wide-eyed and sweaty down at her. “That”— he pointed sharply to the plant— “is a fucking apple tree, and in ten years it’s going to produce the best fucking apples you’ve ever tasted, and so help me, Eliana, you’re going to be around to eat every single fucking apple it grows!”