Page 30 of Carver
“Oh my god. This started as a pile of scrap?”
Dravin doesn’t bother with locking his emotions down. I found that surprising when I first met him, and I guess I still do. Big, burly biker stereotypes and all that. The pride in his beaming smile is absolutely unmistakable, but then, so is the affection he’s feeling when he turns to Dom. They just wheeled the bike out of the shed together.
I expected a more modern motorcycle. This thing has to turn of the century, and not the twenty-first one either. How old is it? Eighty? A hundred years? It resembles a bicycle, with skinny tires and an engine mounted to the frame, more than it does the bikes I saw lined up in the club’s compound when I camped out on their front lawn.
“The guys at the club all lent a hand for the restoration,” Dravin states proudly. He and Dom wheel the bike throughthe overgrown grass, heading around the shop, to the waiting enclosed trailer.
I haven’t met Willa yet, or her boyfriend, Atlas, but Dravin has said their names a number of times tonight. The truck and trailer belong to them. I love antiques and I’m super stoked to check out Willa’s shop when I have more than a few minutes in Hart.
Now that I’m here with Dom and I can see the determined set of his jaw and the flames flickering in his eyes, I know it won’t be long until we’re there.
“And you didn’t tell Dom anything about it until you just showed up with the finished bike?”
I can’t believe Dominic didn’t tell me about this.
Scratch that. I can. But I’m still a little surprised that he tucked it into the shed like it hadn’t even happened.
Especially when we round the shop and step fully into the headlights illuminating the yard and I walk around to the front and turn so that I can see Dom’s face.
He’s feeling everythingrightnow. This bike means a lot to him. More than he’d ever even be able to put into words. It’s not just the bike, but the fact that Dravin and the rest of his club did this for him. They saw him when he couldn’t even see himself.
If I had any doubts about those men before, they’re completely erased. Most of them probably hadn’t even met Dominic. They did this incredible restoration—and it couldn’t have been easy with something this old—for a complete stranger.
“I had no idea it would be this beautiful,” I exclaim as Dravin rolls the bike straight into the trailer. “You have to ride it, Dom!” As soon as I take his hand, I want to cringe at myself, but Dom doesn’t grimace or retreat.
He doesn’t point to his arm and ask how the hell he’s supposed to do that. He doesn’t use the word cripple anymore to refer to himself. Every time he said it in the past, it was a boot coming down on my already battered heart.
“I’d like to. One day. I would never do it if I couldn’t do it safely, though.”
I love the thought of Dominic being a part of something bigger than himself, surrounded by men who justget him. Dom never had any friends because it was so hard for him to make them. He might be magnetic, but he doesn’t let people close. Friends were a risk. We’re twenty-five. He deserves a place where he can belong. There are tiny parts of me that do have some reservations, and they’re mostly to do with how dangerous getting on a bike can be, even one like this, that looks more benign.
“You’ll have to get yourself a big old cruiser with a second seat like some of us have.” Dravin motions for Dom to hold the bike. He turns his phone’s flashlight on so we can see what we’re doing.
Dom holds my hand, guiding me around the bike so I can take one handlebar while he balances most of the weight. Dravin secures a tie down to a hook on the plywood floor of the trailer. He hands it to Dom and gets another started. This clearly isn’t his first rodeo. I would have had no idea where to start.
“The old ladies get miffed if they don’t get a ride once in a while,” Dravin explains. “Atlas has a bike he restored, a fifties Harley,but he also has something he and Willa can ride. Most of us have an extra seat back there, and there are guys at the club that have two or even three bikes each.”
“Oh, I’m sure it’s just the old ladies who want to share in that experience.”
Dravin secures the first strap and then works on getting the second tightened, attached to another point in the trailer. There are hooks all over the walls and at various points in the floor. He works deftly, even while he’s balancing his phone in one hand so he can see what he’s doing.
He chuckles at my dry statement. “You’re right. It’s a joint effort when it comes to getting enthused about it. It’s an experience like no other.”
“What’s it like going on rides with the club?” I don’t know if I’m allowed to ask that question, and Dom shoots me a warning look.
Dravin doesn’t shut me down. “I like riding with the club. I’ve been asked on several, which is a big honor for a prospect.”
I didn’t realize he wasn’t patched in yet, but I probably should have. Then again, I’m not even sure how long he’s been in Hart.
“The prospects often get told they have to stay behind and do guard duty, but that’s not a problem for me. I don’t have to watch the compound or anything. The younger guys do that. I got a bit of a boost past that because Wizard needed help in a big way with security. I like my job. Rides are great, but I equally like doing the rounds.” He secures another tie-down. I don’t know how many of these we need, but this bike won’t be flopping around back here, that’s for sure. “I’m good at finding people,but I’m also good at keeping what has already been found safe. It’s only right.”
Dravin didn’t have to say that, but he did. He’s given us both a glimpse into his life. I don’t think it’s the kind of information he’d just lob around in public either.
“What kind of finding do you do?” I ask cautiously.
Dom shakes his head at me, but just one up and one down. That’s more aproceed with caution, please.Does he know? Has Dravin told him something that he hasn’t told me? If Dravin gave Dom his secrets in confidence, I know that even on pain of great freaking torture, they would never pass Dom’s lips.
Dravin shrugs. “Online stuff.”
