Take Me with You

I'm not 'sue crazy', but in today's world it's usually the only recourse you have. I recently read Chernow's biography of Alexander Hamilton. It's amazing that a couple hundred years ago, men would resolve their differences with dueling pistols. Unfortunately, the person in the right didn't always come out on top. Come to think of it, nothing much has changed, now the guy with the better, more ruthless lawyer probably wins. Lawyers instead of pistols. Kassie and I can't complain though, things turned out all right for us.

But not perfect. The hospital in Wisconsin didn't fix my hand properly and I had to go back into surgery to use my right index finger. For two months I couldn't ride a motorcycle because of the cast and therapy. Maybe it was a sign. By now, Kassie and I were recommitted to each other and talking about buying a house and getting pregnant.

At the end of my rehabilitation, I got on the Road King and headed northeast up to the North Cascade Highway. I spent the day, by myself, and made the decision. Without telling Kassie, I put the bike up for sale and had it sold within a week.

It took her a few days, but one day Kassie came home from her new job at the local gym and asked me. "Bud, where's your bike?"

I was at the stove, stirring a pot of spaghetti sauce, my grandmother's recipe, Kassie loves it. "I sold it." With a 'oh well, no big deal' tone.

"Why would you do that?"

"Why do you think?"

"I hope you didn't do it because of me!"

I almost laughed at the absurdity of her statement. She kept on.

"Bud, I was trying. I stopped asking you to quit riding. You didn't have to sell it."

"That's what made it possible. It wasn't you forcing me. It was my decision, mine alone."

Kassie jumped in my arms and squeezed me tight.

"How did you know?"

Now I was confused. "Know what?"

"How did you know I'm pregnant? I only found out today."

A chill went up my back. I hugged Kassie and told her how happy I was. "This weekend, we start looking for a house with a yard."

I don't remember ever getting a kiss like that before.

******

Look how wrong you can be - I wrote earlier that as a scientist, I didn't believe in magic. Twenty weeks later, I'm holding a photo of Kassie's ultrasound which changed my mind.

Twins!

The End

*Other great motorcycle books include:

Neil Pert's 'Ghost Rider -Travels On The Healing Road' - Pert travels 55,000 miles in search of a reason to live after a personal tragedy.

"She's A Bad Motorcycle - Writers On Riding" - a collection of short stories edited by Geno Zanetti

And Bill always recommends and has gifted numerous copies of David Hough's 'Proficient Motorcycling' to friends who ride. He contributes his decades of accident-free riding to Mr. Hough's excellent book.