I found the bathroom first, before heading in the direction she had pointed out. The outdoor area was large, well set out, and already had several members seated, chatting. Some looked up at me as I came out and nodded; a couple of ladies gave me the cold shoulder, but that didn’t affect me; I was used to cold shoulders.
The area was larger than I had expected. Considering how it all looks when you first pull up, has an ablution block with showers and toilets. This place must be used to handle large volumes of visitors on the weekend, and whoever organized our run had notified some stops that we would be coming in for a meal; they had numerous burgers already for us, and younger girls came out with trays of food.
Tank came and sat beside me. I had taken a seat under a tree, away from the chatting crowd.
“Why here? Want solitude?” He joked, leaning back on his chair, his legs stretched out in front of him.
“Under a tree,” I replied, as if it were apparent. The rest had umbrellas or sails where this was a natural cover, and I liked it.
The lady who took my order came out, looked around, and then came to me with our food.
“You are with Mr Tank?” She asked as she placed the order. Tank picked up a burger once she finished and stood waiting for my answer.
“Yes.” I shrugged; it was the first time I had agreed to be his woman to someone outside the club. It felt odd to admit it like that.
“Tilda, this is my woman,” Tank added when I said no more. It warmed me inside at his claim.
“Then I owe you a refund, Mr Tank doesn’t pay.” She looked horrified.
“Don’t worry, you didn’t know, I don’t need a refund,” I say as she looks between Tank and me for confirmation.
“Tilda, Maxine’s happy, so I am happy,” Tank says, reassuring the woman that all was fine.
“Thank you.” She bustled away, and I could see her talking to the others through the door and pointing to me.
“Care to share?” I nudged him with my shoulder before unwrapping my sandwich and taking a bite.
“Been coming here for many years, my bro and I, we more or less built this outdoor area, and you could say, they repay me with free meals, I guess now you are mine, you will get free too.”
“What made you build this? It’s a fantastic job by the way.”
He nods at the compliment, looking around with an assessing eye.
“We always warned them we were coming, and approximately how many, one sunny day, I was sitting out here under some trees, when I thought about how great this could be, and offered to come over time, and fix it up, where my boys could come and rest up, they agreed that I could, they hadn’t done much around here, just eeking out a living. Over three months, we cleared this area and built what you see, including the toilet block. Since then, Zero and I both get free food, drink, and fuel. It was our idea, and we benefit, she said. Her business has boomed since we put this in, and it even gets overnight campers; they are thrilled. I have yet to talk about fixing and painting the outside of the building, but now that I am VP, I won’t get the time to do it. Shame really, these are good people, they have never rejected us because we arrive, scruffy, hungry, and can be a bit rough.” Tank seemed to be in deep thought as he explained. It sounded like he had a soft spot for this place, and I wondered if there was more to it, but didn’t feel now was the time to ask.
Bruiser, Cricket, Sticks, and Prez sat with us and ate. Others came, asked questions, and left after getting answers.
One was about the set up for the night, we should reach the camping grounds late afternoon, set up tents, and join the other biker groups that will be there, and a barbeque set up for dinner, all sounded good, and I was getting excited at reaching the campsite, and meeting other bike members, there would be games, and chase the Ace, and other silly things to keep the night in full swing, there was a shop on site, that had everything we needed food wise, and alcohol, the bikers sponsored it, so cost was low and in some instances free, it all sounded perfect, something my Grandpa would have enjoyed to be part of.
I hoped my Grandparents were looking down on me, proudly. I have come a long way in a short time. I still have a long way to go, but I am well on my way.
Food was done, and Prez was talking to Tank about the rest of the trip, what he was hoping for when we get there, and talking about spending an extra night at the site. There was no reason they couldn’t spend an additional day; those who had jobs usually took the week off, just in case there was trouble. I didn’t get to hear the rest, as Bruiser stood up and started yelling.
“Time. Time. Time.” Bruiser was walking around the area and out back, places I hadn’t investigated yet, and also entered the toilet block, calling out time, getting everyone moving again. There were no grumblings or complaints; they got up, threw their rubbish in the bins, and headed to their bikes. It was good to see that they respected this place by cleaning up after themselves.
Not that I expected anything less, maybe if they were drunk, that might have made a difference, as far as I could tell, none had been drinking, although I did smell happy tobacco a few times, it’s a smell once smelt never forgotten. I saw someone handing out tablets, and I wasn’t going to question whether it was headache pills or something else; it wasn’t my business. I thought and turned away from the guy handing them out.
“Going to the bathroom.” I got up and headed to the ablution block, I was pleasantly surprised by its cleanliness and how well set out it was. The guys did a great job. It even smelled clean, compared to many places I had been to that were for travellers. It’s hard to keep places like this clean when you have no control over the user and how they leave the area. Believe it or not, the girls often leave a bigger mess than the guys do, which was an eye-opener for me.
Tank was at his bike waiting for me, by the time I came out of the bathroom and went looking for where he was parked. He didn’t wave when I came into view. He started his bike, and I could hear it over everyone else’s. Every bike had a slightly different sound, and as a mechanic, I had learned to listen for the differences and could often pick up an issue before it became a big one by the sound alone.
Tank POV
The view going down the mountain, was just as good as going up, watching our destination come closer, the long winding roads, we travelled a little slower going down, as we know from past experience that often drivers coming up, take wider turns and end up in our lane, weird I know, but this side of the mountain, had more twists and turns, and the road was not as wide. It was like this side of the mountain was an afterthought, or they were running out of funding; it was earmarked for upgrading, but as yet, there was no sign of it happening any time soon.
Max was a good blowfly, keeping me hydrated, and her snacks are tasty. She had a great voice, too, joining in to sing the songs on the playlist, forgetting that I could hear her clearly. I did join in on one song, and I couldn’t tell on headphones if we had good harmony, but it felt good. I am not one to sing often, but she managed to draw a song out of me.
That had put a smile on my face for the rest of the ride down the mountain.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.