Read Online Revving Up the Holidays by A. S. Fenichel - Free Book Online Page A

locked up the shop and found his bed in the guest room.
Finding sleep would prove more difficult. He couldn’t get Giada’s teary face
out of his mind. The words she’d spoken echoed through his mind every time he
started to doze.
    He’d lost the last woman who loved him. Guilt washed over
him.
    After a sleepless night he made his way back to the shop. He
took the tins down to the bike shop and made arrangements for the fenders and
gas tank to be repainted and even got the manager to put a rush on the order.
It helped that they used to ride together back in high school. Then he went to
see his mother.
    Barbara stood in the doorway before he made his way up the
steep front lawn. “You look terrible. What’s wrong?”
    He smiled at her directness. “I didn’t sleep. Do you have a
few minutes, Mom?”
    She pursed her lips and opened the screen door. “I’ll make
coffee.”
    His mother’s coffee was still the best he’d ever had. Once
he had a cup in his hand, he told her about Leslie. He explained that she died
before he’d had the chance to bring her down to meet the family. He apologized
for never saying he was seriously dating anyone.
    Her hand shook as she rested it on his. “You went through
all that loss all by yourself. We could have helped you, Isaac. We’re your
family. Why would you suffer all alone?”
    “I didn’t think I deserved to have support.”
    “Why?”
    “I should have driven her home.” He’d never said those words
out loud before. He’d thought them a million times but he’d been too cowardly
to utter them. For a moment he thought of Giada. “She was my responsibility. If
I’d stopped working and taken her home as I should have, she would still be
alive.”
    He had no idea what he’d expected. His mother could be cruel
in her honesty. She might confirm that he was accountable.
    Barbara leaned forward and kissed him on one cheek and then
the other. “You are not to blame. People die for no reason at all. We thought
your father was a healthy man. He had an appointment for a physical and he
canceled it a month before he died. I should have forced him to go. I should
have railed at him until he went, but I didn’t. Still, it wasn’t my fault he
died. It was his time and some day it will be mine. You weren’t in that car
with Leslie because it wasn’t your time to go. I know that’s not what you want
to hear, my sweet boy, but it’s the truth.”
    Ten minutes passed before either of them spoke again.
    “How is that bike of yours coming along?”
    “I think I’ll finish it before I have to go back to work.”
    She smiled. He could count on one hand the number of times
he’d seen his mother smile or even look pleased about anything. “And will you
take it with you this time?”
    He nodded.
    “But you’ll be careful. Nothing reckless.”
    “Yes ma’am.”
    As he was leaving, she put her hand on his arm. “What was
the date that Leslie passed?”
    “November fourth, why do you ask?”
    “She would have been my daughter, I’ll light a yahrzeit.”
    He was touched by the idea that his mother wanted to light a
memorial candle for Leslie. “She wasn’t even Jewish, Mom.”
    She shrugged. “But I am.”
    He gave her a quick hug and headed back to Sadie’s house.
    He’d lost track of time in the shop until two little shadows
darkened the floor around his project.
    “We want to help you,” Abigail said.
    “Help,” echoed Daniel.
    They both had very serious expressions on their faces.
    “All right but you’re going to get dirty.”
    Abigail shrugged. “I changed into my play clothes.”
    Daniel nodded and tugged at his dark-blue shirt.
    The weather had warmed and it seemed that Sadie hadn’t
forced heavy winter wear on the pair.
    He let them do everything from handing him small parts to
tightening bolts. His niece and nephew never lost interest. They were good
assistants and when he told them to carry something carefully or asked them to
hold a nut for him, they