We Taught Ourselves to Fly

Laying her head on Rob’s shoulder, Lavine glanced up at the window where her boss currently resided. They both were sitting outside of the wash on the sidewalk, watching pedestrians and laughing over past experiences. She’d be fired on the spot if her boss glanced below his window seal, if only for a moment. Her job was the last thing on her mind.

“How’s California been treating you?” Rob asked, kicking his skateboard over to Lavine.

“Well, I suppose,” she laughed, rolling the board around with her extended feet, “It’s weird to hear that. I’ve been here for eight or nine years.”

“I heard…” he mumbled, fixating his eyes onto hers, “You ran away from Kettering.”

Lavine lost her breath at the sound of his reply. She had no idea Rob had known about her flight from Ohio, or even where he had found out about it. Shuffling into an awkward stance, she broke sight abruptly and brushed her long, dark locks across her face, using them as a shield for her embarrassment.

“Who told you about that…” Lavine whispered, almost masked by the buzz of the passing mid day traffic.

“Your mother,” Rob stated, pulling her to his shoulder once again, “Because of me, huh.”

“…Partially,” she exhaled, almost throwing the words from her throat, “I had no place in Ohio anymore. Did you really expect me to accomplish anything without you?”

Rob remained silent, replaying her mother’s words on the phone with him as if it were a movie. The fear, the regret he felt, all of it resurfacing from the archives of his memories. For years he had convinced himself that it wasn’t his fault. Now, straight from her own mouth, it was confirmed that he caused the actions of her departure.

“You shouldn’t have left Sparrow.”

“But I did Rob, now look at me. Before I left, I had never been out of the state of Ohio. Leaving opened my eyes to the world. I mean, once you hop a freight train with a bunch of Iron Maiden, washed up metal heads, you haven’t seen life.”

Rob laughed hardily, bowing his head while listening to her absurd story.

“There’s no fucking way the Sparrow I know would hop a freight train with a bunch of haggard crusties.”

“Well, I’m not the Sparrow you remember Robbie,” she laughed.

Checking her cell phone, Lavine rose to her feet. She had five minutes till the end of her unceasing shift. Following her lead, Rob pushed himself up and followed her inside the building.

“So,” Lavine began, beginning to roll up water hoses and pack objects away for the night, “How’s skateboarding Dyrdek? Still on Alien?”

“Got on DC,” he shrugged, knowing this was old news to everyone but her.

Handing her a vacant looking brush, Lavine quickly put into it’s place as he continued.

“I’ve got my own company now, Dyrdek Enterprises. Has a ring to it, right?”

Rob spread his hands out in a presentable fashion, as if his name had magically produced itself in front of him. Lavine rolled her eyes and giggled, pulling the polo from her chest reveling a plain, striped tank top. Softly, she crept into the main office door, grabbing her purse and sending her goodbyes towards the manager. She chuckled as she shut the door, looking over at Rob’s glowing face.

“That sounds fantastic Robbie. But, I need to get home. It‘s been nice catching up with you”, she waved, keys in hand which had almost cost him his life.

“Going home already? What happened to late nights with my Sparrow? Hell, I should have named you Night Owl.”

“Well, I’m a morning Sparrow now.” Lavine started, beginning her walk out to the parking lot with Rob tailing behind on his skateboard, “This is what I do. Wake up, take a shower, get dressed, work, make noodles, and sleep.”

“Sounds pretty boring,” he admitted, weaving out in front, causing Lavine to stop in her tracks, “You should come with me. We can, ‘get acquainted’ for a bit longer.”

“I don’t think that’d be-” Lavine protested, only to have Rob dart in her line of fire and cover the keyhole in the door.

“I won’t take no for an answer.”

Snatching away the signature skateboard from his hands, Lavine proceeded to roll around the parking lot. Rob looked on in amazement, as if he had forgotten the skills Lavine had possessed. Stopping at the end of the lot, Lavine kicked the board up to her hands.

“Fine Diesel!” she shouted, “But I’m taking this skateboard!”

“I’ve got plenty back in the car!” Rob stated, jogging over towards her.

“Hell, I haven’t been on a skateboard since I was a kid.”

“It’s like riding a bike, you never really forget.” Rob said, directing her towards his parked Tahoe.

Slowing to walking speed, she looked in amazement at his murdered-out ride. He must have hit it big somewhere along the line to get a whip like that. Taking a small glance back at her own, less than stunning set of wheels. Her face scrunched into slight disgust and disappointment, but the expression almost stayed silent.

“How about I show you the factory? Give you a taste of that Bobby Diesel life,” he suggested, popping the trunk of his car, gesturing for her to throw in the skateboard.

“The factory?” Lavine asked, doing as told and walking around, waiting on the curb.

“The Fantasy Factory. Where all your skateboarding dreams come true.”

Nodding, Lavine climbed into the passenger seat, now hoping she wouldn’t come back to the lot and find her car broken into or toed. Knowing her luck, she’d come back to find both.

Tightly buckling herself in, she watched out the window as Rob started the engine and pulled out of his street parking space. Today had started out as a regular day, regular schedule, but had ended far from anything her daily line had taken her.

“Only you would have a skateboarding paradise,” she stated, slipping a pair of plastic sunglasses on her eyes, “So, where is this place at anyway?”

“Not far,” he assured, not breaking his concentration from the road, “Don’t worry about it.”

Laying her head against the tinted glass of the window, Lavine watched the sidewalks roll by. Different scenes changing every few seconds. Her life was in Rob’s hands now, and she had no idea where he was about to take it.