As far as you being the one to ride it; girl, if I understand you right, you plan to try to turn yourself into some kind of Amazon warrior and go out and save people. After what happened last night I am obligated by all I hold dear to do everything I can to help you. If you need someone to hold your coat while you run into a burning building after someone's child, I'll be there for you. And you'll be able to find me when you come out, because I'll be the one cheering the loudest."
She got me again. She was just going to be as stubborn about supporting me as I was about doing it. Again, there was only one thing I could say, "Thanks, Mom."
I swung my legs over hers and leaned my head on her breast. She rocked me and I thought about where I was going and how much my life had changed in two short weeks. "Do you know any places I can go to learn Kung Fu?" I asked.
"No," she said with a laugh that vanished almost instantly. "But I will check on that while you are at school tomorrow and let you know. I'm sure we can find something. Do you want a class or private lessons?"
"A class will do to start. No sense wasting someone's time if I'm not going to be able to handle it, and if I get to the point where private lessons would be better, then we can do that. Oh, ah, Neeka made me promise that she could take them with me. She's going to be my driver and sparring partner."
"Well, that's up to Monique. I'll certainly include her if that's what you want. But is she really up to being your sparring partner? You might hurt her."
"You're forgetting something. I did too, until she pointed it out to me."
"What? If you can beat those thugs, you should have no trouble with Monique!"
"Those thugs could not read my mind and counter every move I made before I made it."
"Ah! You're right. I hadn't though of that. Hmmm. She's right. If she is willing to do it, she's the best choice for the job. You say she wants to drive the bike, too?"
"Unhunh."
"Brave girl. I can see where having her along would be a great safety factor too. You wouldn't need to call for help if you got into a bind and she would know where to go to pick you up. I feel better about this now. This is going to work out."
"Can we get some tumbling mats to put in the workshop? We already tried sparring down there. The light is fine, but the floor is too hard."
"You are really thinking this out! Yes, I can have some mats installed. I'm sure the same place I bought all that weightlifting stuff for the boys will have something. I need to make a list."
We got up and went back to the kitchen so she could get a pad and pencil. She jotted a couple of things down and then said, "Anything else? How about a costume? Have you thought of that?"
"Actually... no."
"Well, you will have to have a costume. Something tight, so it won't get in your way. Something light, but substantial enough to give you some protection. Ah! I bet our Mr. Morton would have some suggestions. The old dear would love this sort of thing. The most challenging request he gets now is 'make my butt look smaller'. Of course, we won't tell him what it's for. But if he sees it on the news, can you imagine how proud he would be?" Bambi had the bit in her teeth and she was off to the races. She was still scribbling away when Neeka and the Hendersons came back from changing.
"Thanks for ironing our clothes, Mrs. Reynolds!" Lori said. "It was sweet of you to do that for us. We put all the sexy clothes in the washer on the gentle setting. I hope that was right?"
"Yes, Lori. That was very thoughtful of you. Well, if everybody is ready to go, I'll just get my car keys and we will be on our way. Oh, did Bud and Jim say goodbye?"
"Oh, yes ma'am. That's what took us so long." Sara smirked. "We all had a nice goodbye kiss."
"That's nice. I'm glad they didn't just run off and watch TV or something." She got her purse with her keys and we all marched out to the car through the side door.
Neeka and I said our own goodbye as Lori and Sara piled into the back seat. "Let me know what we're doing about the lessons," she reminded me.
"When I know, you'll know," I said. We kissed briefly and she walked on up the street to her house. I hopped into the front seat of the car and Bambi drove us over to the Henderson's house.
When we got there, Lori and Sara kissed me goodbye at the curb and I waited in the car while Mrs. Reynolds walked the girls to the front door. I saw Mrs. Henderson open it and Lori and Sara hug their mother and run into the house. Bambi and Mrs. Henderson talked for a while on the front step and then she came back to the car.
"What did you tell her?" I asked, just in case I would need to backup her story at some point, of course.
"I told her that she was a very lucky woman to have two such wonderful daughters. I told her that they were a joy to have as houseguests and that we hoped that they would be able to come back again very soon. I told her that they helped me with the laundry; that they made their own beds, and picked up after themselves. I told her that they were polite and considerate and that I attributed all of this to their upbringing."
"And she bought all that?"