Jack was what most people would call a motor mouth. He often shot out what he said before giving it any serious thought. He was impulsive and free spirited. When he saw something he didn't like, he told you about it.
Family life was a circus because his little sister and his mother were also motor mouths. His father on the other hand was a very quiet man who had a wrinkly smile and a twinkly eye. If it wasn't for his father, Jack and the other two motor mouths would never listen to each other.
Jack wondered how his dad did it. His sister Beth was yacking about how mom had over cooked the noodles and undercooked the meatballs. Mom completely ignored her and started talking about how the teller at work got proposed to in the lobby of the bank. She went jabbering on about a lost romance. Beth had no idea what she was saying so Beth cut her off saying,
"If the meatballs weren't frozen maybe we could have a n eatable dinner. Suzie's mom bought a new air-fryer at the mart and paid only 45 dollars...."
Jack tried to get in his two cents by talking about the basketball game after school when he noticed his dad's proud smile. He wondered to himself,
"How does my dad keep his cool in a room full of motor mouths?"
After dinner his dad excused himself and went to the garage. Beth helped her mom with a few of the dishes and then laid on the sofa scrolling through her phone.
Jack felt like he wanted to get some fresh air and there was a local tavern on the corner he would sometimes find himself in at this time after dinner. There were a few regulars and there was a nice pool table. Jack liked to talk with George Rodgers, an older divorced man who would tell him stories of the way things used to be in this town.
After a couple drinks George and Jack started talking about the local building code issues. It turns out that their neighbor wanted to build an extension but the city ordinance was against it because it went to close to the property line.
George wanted to say something about how things used to be, but then Jack cut him off and told him how lousy the ordinance was and how all the politicians are corrupt and stuck up old men who don't even visit their tavern. Jack was not much of a listener. He also had a hard time to keep his cool.
Jack lost his cool and gave George a push. The bartender asked Jack to step outside for some fresh air. Jack told off the bartender.
Then again he did feel like he wanted to go outside. Things were getting hot in the bar. Outside he was under the summer evening sky. He heard frogs croaking in the distance and saw fireflies zooming across the yard. He blurted out,
"You F'n flies! You F'n frogs! Would you just shut your traps!"
Then another sound came from the corner. That was his alley. Jack stumbled down the alley into his open garage. There he found his dad tinkering in the garage with an old Moto Guzzi. He didn't even know that his dad had a motorcycle let alone such a beauty. The chrome of the V7 twin motor shined in the dark garage. His father looked up and smiled. He said,
"It's time to give it a rev."
The bike was on a stand and his dad said,
"Go ahead pull the throttle, I'll hold the clutch."
The sound of the engine moving the motor gears through the bike made Jack completely quiet. His motor mouth stopped and he just listened to the hum of the engine. His dad said,
"Get on. We'll go for a spin."
Jack felt like he was on a magic horse flying through the town. That day his dad taught him how to shift. He caught on quick and for the first time Jack was speechless. It wasn't just power, it was fun and smooth and a comfort to be driving his dad's Moto Guzzi on the back roads like a good old boy.
This story was inspired by the inkwell prompt motor. I also tried the plot writing technique by jotting the plot on a post it before writing. I'm more comfortable with writing the plot in my head before typing it but everything works. I couldn't be completely faithful to my original plot line, but I was able to stick the main outline.
Cover picture is from Pixabay. The other picture is from my desk.
