Present Perfect (4 page)

I had thought long and hard about my decision. It wasn’t an easy one to come to, but it was time. Today was
the day
.

It was early on Saturday morning. I got out of bed, dressed quickly, and ran out of my room in search of my dad. I found him in the family room, reading his newspaper, drinking his coffee, and eating his usual Saturday morning breakfast which consisted of four Vienna sausages.

I leaned on the arm of Dad’s recliner and said, “Daddy, can I talk to you about something?”

The paper folded down and he gave me his undivided attention.

I leaned further in and planted a kiss on his cheek. Standing straight, shoulders back, and my voice strong, I announced, “Today is the day.”

“For what, princess?” He asked.

“To remove the wheels,” I said with confidence.

My dad paused. He looked away from me. Tilting his gaze up slightly, he brought his fingers under his chin and rubbed it in deep contemplative thought. After several seconds, he turned back towards me and asked, “You sure?”

I inhaled a deep breath and looked him in the eye before saying, “Yes, sir.”

He folded his paper and placed it on the side table. His eyebrows furrowed and his lips pressed together as he sat up straight. “Then, let’s do this,” he said, bringing his hand down on the armrest and nodding in the affirmative.

He got up out of his chair and went to the garage to get his tools as I ran outside and stood impatiently by my bike. I stared down at the training wheels, finding it hard to believe that within the next ten minutes I would be completely free of them. The rattle of Dad’s toolbox startled me out of my hypnotic state.

When he got to the bike, he got down on his knees, and started the surgical procedure of removing the training wheels. I felt my pulse quicken with every turn of the wrench. I began rocking back and forth, barely able to contain my excitement.

I watched intensely as wheel number two slid off and was placed lifeless in the driveway. It was time. The excitement I felt only moments ago quickly turned to nervousness. Biting down on my bottom lip, my eyebrows knitted together. The tingling that had started in my fingers and toes now spread to the rest of my body. “Sweetheart, you ready to give it a try?” Dad asked.

“Huh?”

“Are you ready to ride?” Still staring at the lifeless wheels, I nodded my answer. “I know you’re scared, but you can do this. You’re a big girl now.” He gathered his tools and closed his toolbox. As he stood up, he said, “Besides, your sister was a year younger than you when she stopped using training wheels.”

“Nice,” I said, sarcastically, shaking my head slightly.

My stomach dropped when I heard his words. I was already a year behind Emily. What if I couldn’t keep my balance on the bike and I fell off? Dad would be disappointed in me. I felt the pulse in my throat begin to throb and beads of sweat started to trickle down the back of my neck. I inhaled two deep breaths, trying to calm myself. Looking up at my dad, I said, “Let’s do this.”

He smiled. “You’re going to do great. You have some catching up to do to be as good as Emily, but you shouldn’t have a problem.”

We walked my bike down the driveway. Dad held it securely while I climbed on. He looked into my eyes and said, “I’m right here. I won’t let you fall.”

I took in another deep breath and then slowly let it out as my dad made sure my helmet was secure. My right foot was planted on the pedal. I leaned up slightly and pushed off with my left foot. I felt good, in control.

The wind whipped through my hair as I started to pick up speed. My chest swelled with pride and my face beamed with a huge smile of satisfaction. I felt taller, bigger, and stronger, as if I could conquer the world.

I yelled over my shoulder, “Look Daddy! I’m doing it!” There was no response from him.

My insides started to quiver and my palms were getting sweaty. I was scared the handlebars would slip from my hands because of how wet they were becoming. I immediately pushed on the brakes to stop. I glanced over my shoulder. I saw my dad, standing at the end of our next door neighbor’s driveway. I inhaled a deep calming breath. He had the biggest grin on his face. I had ridden three houses away from mine, without training wheels, by myself. The biggest smile crossed my face.

As I rode back toward him, he began to applaud and cheer. “You did it all by yourself, princess! Congratulations!”

I hopped off my bike, pushed down the kickstand, and ran as fast as I could into my dad’s arms. He lifted me up and kissed me on the cheek before putting me back down.

While I was basking in my father’s pride, Emily came zooming by on her bright-red ten-speed bike. She popped a wheelie both times that she whooshed past us. She was always such a show off. She circled around a couple of times before coming to a screeching halt in front of us. “What’s going on?” Emily asked.

“Amanda just took her first ride without training wheels,” Dad explained.

“Good. It’s about time you stop being such a baby, Manda,” she said. I simply narrowed my eyes at her. “Don’t get all mad. I’m just teasing you.” Just then, Emily’s best friend, Erica, rode up on her bike.

“Come on Em. We need to get over to Shelly’s. She has something very important to tell us,” Erica said.

Emily backed her bike up and rode down the street, popping a wheelie before yelling at us over her shoulder, “See ya later!”

Admiring Emily’s bike skills, Dad said, “See how well your sister rides, princess? Maybe one day you’ll be as great as her.”

He had already turned his full attention back to Emily, missing my eye roll completely.

It had been two weeks since I ditched the training wheels. Noah and I couldn’t wait to get home each day, finish our homework, and take to the road. I was allowed to go as far as the Porter’s house, which was three houses away from mine. Noah was allowed to ride all around our neighborhood.

He had been riding his Schwinn red and black BMX for over a year now and he was awesome on it. Not only could he do forward and backward wheelies, he could do the Bunny Hop, the one hander, and jump a couple of trashcans. Noah was so cool. I wasn’t cool. This was clearly shown by the fact that I was 8 years old and had only been riding my bike sans training wheels for two weeks.

I had been satisfied with riding to the Porter’s house, but after two weeks, the temptation to go further was eating me alive. I begged Mom daily for permission to ride around the block to Noah’s house. She kept telling me no because I had only been riding without training wheels for a short time. She wasn’t comfortable with me going farther away just yet.

I knew Noah was getting tired of riding up and down the same small portion of street I was confined to. He didn’t complain, but he and I never needed words to pass between us to know what the other was thinking or feeling.

“Tweet, don’t worry about it. Really. I can still practice my tricks. Your mom will let you ride to my house soon. You’re riding really good now.”

Soon, but not soon enough to suit me. I had an itch that needed to be scratched.

I rode up beside him keeping my voice low. “Let’s do it.”

“Do what?” He asked confused.

“Let’s take these babies for a spin around the block to your house.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea. Your mom will be mad and we’ll get in trouble.”

“She’ll never know. We’ll only go one time and then, come right back. Pleeease, Noah. You said I was riding really good.”

He looked away then back at me and said, “We’ll ride to my house then back, but that’s it.” I nodded excitedly, agreeing with anything that came out of his mouth. “One time. I mean it, Tweet. Promise me.”

“I promise,” I said, crossing my heart at the same time.

We made sure my mom wasn’t peering out of any windows. Then we started to ride. It felt the same way it had for the past two weeks, until we went past the Porter’s house. The excitement started to build. I was really doing this.

Adrenalin pumped through my veins as my heart pounded against my chest. Noah stayed ahead of me, making sure the road was clear. We rounded the corner. The wind was whipping through my hair. It felt amazing, like I was flying.

Noah rode up alongside me cheering. “You’re doing fantastic. Tweet! We’re almost to my house.”

He rode off, returning to his position in front. It made me so happy to know Noah was proud of me, there was no better feeling in the world. Then it happened.

I don’t know what I did, but all of a sudden the handlebars shook, and I lost control of the bike. In a split second, I was face down on the road. My legs twisted around the bike. Noah must have glanced back and saw that I was no longer behind him.

I heard him yelling, “Tweet!”

He rode over to me as fast as he could, jumped off his bike, and let it fall to the ground. The palm of my hands started to burn, and I could feel the blood dripping down my left leg.

I heard Noah’s panicked voice. “Hold on, Tweet. I’m here. Can you move?”

He pulled the bike slowly away from my knotted legs and tossed it to the side. He knelt beside me and helped me sit up. Tears and sobs started coming out of me. My hands felt like they were on fire. I held them up as Noah blew on them, trying to cool them off. My left cheek was red and covered with dirt and gravel. Taking the bottom of his shirt, he wiped as much of it off as he could. My left knee was the worse casualty. The skin was completely scraped off and hanging to the side. The knee was covered in bright red flesh with blood oozing from it. When I looked at it, I started to cry harder. Noah wrapped his arm around my shoulders, trying to calm me down.

Pulling me into a hug, he whispered, “I’m so sorry, Tweet. I should have stayed with you. I’m going to take care of you. I promise. Can you walk?”

He helped me try to stand. I put my weight on the left knee, pain shot through me like a knife, and my knee gave out.

It was hard getting the words out through my sobs. “I can’t walk. It hurts too much.”

Needing to get out of the street, Noah helped me as I limped to a neighbor’s front yard and sat on the grass.

“Will you be okay here while I go get your mom?”

I shook my head rapidly. “No, no, no, you can’t tell my mom. Please, Noah. She’ll take my bike away and ground me forever.” I held my breath, waiting anxiously while he made his decision.

The next thing I knew, I felt his left arm under my knees, his right arm against my back as he scooped me up off the ground. “Grab around my neck.”

I did as he said. I rested my head on his shoulder as Noah carried me down the street. “I’m not too heavy for you to carry me?” I asked. I was still a lot smaller than Noah, but I had grown a little taller over the past year.

“You’re light as a feather,” he said, smiling at me.

“Where are we going?”

“To my house, we have a first aid kit.”

Noah’s parents were out back doing yard work, so we were able to sneak into his room, unnoticed. He gently sat me down on his bed and left to get the first aid kit.

As I sat waiting for Noah to return a million thoughts ran across my mind about how my mom was going to punish me if she or my dad found out. The sound of the bedroom door opening distracted me from my thoughts of impending doom. Noah closed the door quietly and sat down on the bed in front of me. He stared down at my knee. When he looked up, his eyes appeared watery. He leaned in and draped his arms around my shoulders as mine found their way around his waist.

“Thank you, Noah,” I whispered.

“For what?” He said into my hair.

“For taking care of me.”

Wiping his eyes, he sat back on the bed, and began to gently clean my face with an antiseptic wipe. As the alcohol hit my raw skin, I winced in pain. I saw Noah cringe each time he started to wipe my face.

“I promise, I won’t let anything bad happen to you again, Tweet”

I gave him a small smile. He opened another wipe and cleaned my hands and knee, trying hard not to hurt me.

Once he finished, my face and hands didn’t look bad at all. A lot of the redness and burning had gone away. My knee was the worse injury. Noah gently applied antiseptic ointment and a large Band-Aid. I stayed in his room while he left to put the first aid kit back. It felt like a lot of time had passed before he returned. Finally, the door opened and I breathed a sigh of relief. “Where’ve you been? You were gone for like an hour.”

Shaking his head he smirked at me. “I was gone for like twenty minutes. I had to go get our bikes. Then my mom stopped me in the kitchen when I was getting this for you.” He had a huge piece of chocolate cake with a fork sticking out of it. He handed it to me. “She wanted to know what I was up to.”

“What did you tell her?” I said with a mouth full of cake and frosting.

“That you were here. Then she wanted to know if you were staying for supper. My dad’s grilling hamburgers.”

“I need to call my mom and let her know that I’m over here and ask if I can stay.” I could feel tears sitting behind my eyes. I was scared Mom would know something was wrong the minute she heard my voice.

“You don’t need to call her. Mom said she would check to make sure it was alright if you stayed.”