only child. He grew up a bookworm, never had a taste for manual labor. Hank tried to teach him to work on bikes, but Roger had no desire for it. I was a street kid they kind of took in and raised with Roger. It was fairly obvious growing up that Hank liked me better than his actual son, because I liked the same things he did. Elizabeth loved us both the same, but she couldn’t get either of us to go to church with her. I was always working with Hank in the shop, and Roger just felt that religion was for ignorant people. After Hank’s death, we all kind of went our separate ways. I still visit Elizabeth at least once a month, which is more than I can say for Roger.”
Suddenly a nurse walked up and interrupted them. “I’m so sorry,” she said, “The doctor just... called it. Is there someone else we should notify?”
“I’ll let him know.” Ratchet said as he rubbed his forehead.
“This was the only thing she had in her possessions.” the nurse said, handing them Mrs. Berry’s Bible.
“Thanks.” Ratchet replied, as he took the Bible. “C’mon kid,” he said, looking at Jeremy. “Let’s get you home.”
Jeremy had bad dreams that night and the next. By Wednesday afternoon it was time for Mrs. Berry’s funeral, and Ratchet picked Jeremy up on his motorcycle again. As they pulled up in front of the funeral home, the parking lot was packed. Who knew this many lives had been touched by Mrs. Berry?
“Wow.” said Jeremy as he got off the back of Ratchet’s bike. “Mrs. Berry sure was popular.”
“Kid,” Ratchet said, “You have no idea.”
Ratchet kept the sunglasses on that he was wearing to ride, but he dug into a saddle bag on his bike and pulled out an extra pair. “Put these on.” he said as he handed them to Jeremy.
“Why?” Jeremy asked.
“You’ll see.” Ratchet answered.
As they waited in line for the viewing, Ratchet kept silent and expressionless. His sunglasses hiding any emotion that might have been seen in his eyes. Jeremy looked around and saw several people lean over to the person next to them and whisper while pointing at Ratchet. An older gentleman in a suit came up and shook Ratchet’s hand saying, “Joseph, I’m sorry for your loss. She was a wonderful woman.”
“Thank you Judge.” Ratchet replied.
When he walked away, Jeremy tugged on Ratchet’s sleeve and said, “Joseph?”
“What…” he said quietly, “you didn’t think my momma named me ‘Ratchet’, did you?”
After a few minutes, a middle-aged woman in a suit came up to Ratchet and hugged him, saying, “Joseph, I’m so sorry.”
“Thanks Mayor.” Ratchet replied.
Several other well-wishers greeted Ratchet as they waited in line. Eventually, he and Jeremy got to the casket. Mrs. Berry had such a peaceful look on her face. As a tear started to fall down Jeremy’s cheek, he understood what the sunglasses were for. Then he heard a voice he had only heard once before.
“Joseph.” said the man from Mrs. Berry’s apartment.
“Roger.” Ratchet replied without looking up.
“Why is it you’re always around when my parents are dying?” Roger said in a low voice.
“Well,” Ratchet said smartly, “At least I’m around.”
“Oh yes, you were always around,” Roger went on. “No reason you should have been, but you were always around.”
“Yes, well…” Ratchet shot back, “somebody had to receive all of their love and attention.”
Roger curled up his lip, like he just tasted something awful. “And who’s the urchin?” he said with a sneer, looking down at Jeremy. “One of your… mistakes?”
“Oh him?” Ratchet smiled. “He’s the other kid Elizabeth loved more than you.”
“Don’t bother staying for the reading of the will,” Roger said. “She had no money.”
“No, she didn’t...” Ratchet said as he looked straight at Roger and lost his smile, “...though I’m sure you checked.” Then, without looking away from Roger, Ratchet said, “C’mon kid, I’ll show you where Hank used to take me to get ice cream…”
Jeremy watched Roger as they walked away, and saw his jaw get so tense he thought a blood vessel would burst. As they walked toward the door, Jeremy asked, “Aren’t we going to stay for the funeral?”
“Nah,” Ratchet said. “It’s just some preacher who says a bunch of nice things and then tries to get you to come to Jesus.”
Jeremy stopped walking. Ratchet took a few more steps, then stopped when he noticed Jeremy wasn’t there. “For Mrs. Berry?” Jeremy asked, his voice breaking.
Ratchet put his hands on his hips and looked down at the ground. He looked back at Jeremy, then he looked at his watch and sighed, “Okay kid… for Mrs. Berry.”
They sat close to the back and never took off their sunglasses. While Ratchet sat emotionless and seemed distant the entire time, Jeremy was intrigued by the preacher’s words. He never realized that he was one of many lives that Mrs. Berry had touched. Because she had made him feel so special, he just presumed that he was unique. Looking around, he realized that he wasn’t. As the preacher gave an altar call, Jeremy looked at Ratchet. Ratchet just raised an eyebrow and looked at Jeremy as if to say, “What?”
After the preacher finished, a girl got up to sing. Jeremy recognized her from the varsity singing group at school, he thought her name was Allison. She had a beautiful voice, and Jeremy got a chill as she sang…
“As I went down to the river to pray, studying about that good ol’ way, and who shall wear the starry crown, good Lord show me the way…”
Jeremy was mesmerized. He suddenly found himself torn between two worlds. On the one hand, there was Mrs. Berry and Allison’s world, where there was beauty and kindness and it was nice. On the other hand, there was Ratchet and Roger’s world, where there was power and courage and it was cool. Jeremy and Ratchet left the building after the service and went out to the parking lot. As they mounted Ratchet’s bike, and Jeremy heard the engine roar to life, several people looked over at them.
“Ratchet,” Jeremy yelled over the growl of the engine, “Can you teach me to ride?”
VERSE 2
(Hello Jenny Mahoney)
One day during the summer between freshman year and sophomore year, Ratchet caught Jeremy staring at the calendar in the garage again.
“They don’t have girls like that at your school do they?” Ratchet teased as he wiped the grease from his hands.
“Jenny Mahoney.” Jeremy said without a pause.
“Beg pardon?” Ratchet said, stopping what he was doing.
“Jenny Mahoney,” Jeremy repeated. “She’s the captain of the volleyball team. I’ve seen her in her uniform, she looks like that.”
“Well hello Jenny Mahoney…” Ratchet said smiling as he looked at the calendar. “So, have you asked her out yet?”
Jeremy looked sternly at Ratchet for a moment, then spoke up, “Jenny Mahoney is WAY out of my league.”
“Let me tell you something about girls who look like that,” Ratchet continued. “They like bad boys.”
“What do you mean?” Jeremy asked.
“They like boys that ride bikes and have tattoos.” said Ratchet. “How old are you now, fifteen? That means you’ll be able to get your license at the end of this year.”
“Yeah,” Jeremy said, “but what good is that going to do me? I can’t afford a car even if I did have a license.”
“Not a car kid… a bike.” was Ratchet’s reply. “I’ve been looking for an opportunity to show you something, I guess now is as good a time as any.” Jeremy followed Ratchet out back to where the parts were kept. As Ratchet moved some old bike parts around, he uncovered an old beat-up motorcycle. “What do you think?” Ratchet asked.
“I think it must have died a horrible death from the looks of it…” Jeremy replied, somewhat bemused.
Ratchet explained, “I got it as a trade for some w
ork I did a few years ago, never really did anything with it because it’s kind of small for an adult. But it’s just about right for a fifteen-year-old.”
Jeremy looked closer at the bike. After checking it out more thoroughly, he asked, “Do you think we can get it running?”
“I think you can get it running,” came the reply. “I’ll help, but you’re going to have to do the work. With a few modifications, this baby will make Jenny Mahoney ask you out.”
Jeremy smiled at that. “When can we start?” he said.
“Let’s wheel it in the shop and you can get started right now.” Ratchet said. As they pushed the old beater into a corner of the garage, Ratchet gave Jeremy his marching orders. “Break it down to the frame and clean up the parts so we can see what’s still usable. I have a few ideas for modding the engine, do you have any idea what you want in a bike?”
“Chrome,” Jeremy said, “lots of chrome…” And they both laughed.
As Jeremy got to work on his future bike and Ratchet went back to doing what made his money, Jeremy began thinking again. “Ratchet,” he said, “have you ever been married?”
“Now why would I want to get married?” Ratchet asked.