A collection of Short Stories

by Jamie Heppner

Harry couldn’t believe his eyes when he rolled around the backside of the Wal-Mart to wait for Mary. Sitting behind her beat up old car was that fucking idiot Ralph. He had seen a picture of him and his daughter in Mary’s house. They were sitting on some kind of reversed tricycle type motorbike he had never seen before. He had asked who it was in the picture and Mary had told him a few things about Ralph, including the name of the bike. Now there he was just standing there with a big, idiotic grin on his face. Beside him was that same gay bike he had seen in the picture. Harry had to think hard for the name of that monstrosity.

  "Piaggio! That’s what it is!" Harry grinned behind his black bandana. "What a stupid name for a bike. Sounds like some kind of pig."

  The rumble of his Harley announced him better than he could have. He watched Ralph’s smile drop off his face as he came into full view. Harry had to chuckle to himself as he wondered what pathetic reason Ralph would come up with for why his bike was better than a Harley...it was almost a ritual now when he met someone who didn’t ride a Harley. Harry reached for the key to kill the engine while keeping an eye on Ralph to see when he started to talk. As soon as Ralph opened his mouth to let out some kind of comment, Harry hit the throttle hard, and a roar broke free from his bike. Ralph’s mouth snapped shut and his face turned an instant red that matched his hair. With a deep laugh, Harry killed his engine and stepped off his bike, his leathers creaking slightly.

  Harry reached up and pulled his bandana down revealing the deep smile that didn’t touch his eyes.

  "You ready to turn that little pig in for a real Hog?"

  Harry noticed Ralph’s fingers twitch as if he might go for a gun. He didn’t think this loser had it in him though. No matter how hard he pushed people like this yuppie looking carrot top, they never did anything to him. Of course, no one ever took a swing at him since word had gotten out around town about his past. The rumors that got back to him from his gang were outrageous. Even if more than half of them were true. Harry watched with a sneer as Ralph cautiously opened his mouth to speak.

  "I don’t want any trouble from you. Maybe you should just get back on your bike and ride off before I have to call the cops."

  "Is that some kind of a threat?" Harry moved his hand towards his back. He always kept a small blade there. It was less than four inches so the cops couldn’t take it from him. It didn’t stop them from giving him a hard time though.

  "No, I know better than that. Mary mentioned your past. She told me you have had trouble with the police and I don’t want you to get in trouble. I just want you to leave us alone. That’s why I think it would be best if you just got back on that bike of yours and leave. I think everyone would be happier."

  "By, everyone, I take it you mean you and Mary?" Harry slid his hand back into sight.

  "Well that would be everyone who is important to me." A hint of a smug smile slid back onto Ralph’s face as he realized he had managed to pull off a burn.

  Harry considered the knife again for a moment but had to dismiss it. Too many possible witnesses.

  "Look here carrot top, if you ever want to take this to the streets you just say the word okay? I will clean the fucking streets with that little tricycle of yours!"

  Harry could hear the click of Ralph’s teeth as his response died in his mouth. He couldn’t understand what Mary saw in the loser.

  "Just what the fuck do you think you are doing standing here?" Harry did not intend to leave unless it was with Mary on the back of his bike. He needed this shit head to leave, now. Ralph reached behind his back and pulled out a small box with a pink bow on top.

  "I brought this to give to Mary. After all, today is her birthday and my daughter and I wanted to give her something special, she deserves it. My daughter helped me pick it out."

  "So what did you manage to scrounge up and get for her? Spare keys to your pig?"

  The red flashed through Ralphs cheeks as the dig hit him.

  "No, we got her a necklace she has been looking at for a while. My daughter and I knew she wanted it and thought it would be a nice gift. We even had her birth stone attached to it."

  Harry felt his own cheeks begin to heat up. The anger that so often got him into trouble was coming. Harry’s vision blurred with barely contained fury.

  Ralph noticed the change and took an involuntary step back. Harry tore open his leather saddlebag ripping one of the leather straps. He pulled out a box of similar size and shape. The only difference being instead of a pink bow his gift only had a simple dark purple ribbon. Ralph’s eyes went wide when he saw the similar box to the one he was holding. "What's in there?"

  Harry was fucking loosing it, how this weasel could have thought of the exact same gift he had bought Mary was beyond him. Then here he was trying to give it to her at the exact same time and place he had planned. He needed to get rid of this asshole right now. If Mary saw this, it would fuck everything up. He had plans to get laid tonight and this asshole was in his way.

  "You are leaving. Right—fucking--now." Harry took a step closer to Ralph, the fake smile long gone.

  Ralph didn’t back down.

  "I, I don’t think so. I was here first, and I think you should do the right thing and leave."

  Harry saw red and he started to yell at Ralph. There was no way this little man was going to ruin the night he had planned for himself. A sharp whistle from behind him stopped him from putting his fist through some teeth.

  The sun was just about to set behind the mountains, and Ralph couldn’t help but notice the beauty in it. If he was lucky, Mary would be out from work soon, and they could share it together. Today was her birthday, and he wanted the evening to be perfect for her. She was a great woman and he felt the need to show her a good time. Ralph knew she would be tired from work. She tried so hard to please people.

  He had arranged for his daughter to spend the night at her friends place, just in case they stayed out late. His hands fumbled over the small box wrapped with a pink bow, the bow had been his daughter’s idea. It did look pretty but it really wasn’t his taste. Ralph was considering taking it off when he heard the deep rumble of a bike getting louder. It had the distinctive sound of a Harley.

  "Oh, Mary told me about a guy with a Harley."

  As if his thought had commanded it, a large biker rounded the corner of the Wal-Mart and slowly rolled up to where Ralph waited at Mary’s car. The rider was bigger than he was and looked a rather tough character. A black cloth wrapped around his face hid his features. Only his grey eyes were visible over the top of it. The rider reached towards his keys to kill the extreme noise coming from his bike.

  Ralph decided this was a good a time as any to make an introduction. Perhaps he just wanted to ask him a question about bikes. Ralph opened his mouth to say hello, but the rider gunned his engine in response, blocking out any attempt to speak. Ralph waited nervously as the rider’s eyes seemed to bore a hole through him. He tried to stop his fingers from twitching, but they did that on their own volition some times. The oddity was a nervous idiosyncrasy he had since he was a child. His late wife had thought it cute.

  The rumble of the bike came to a halt when the rider finally cut the ignition. Ralph watched as the rider stepped off his bike. He wore nothing but black leather adorned with skulls and crossbones. It had to be uncomfortable. You could even hear them creaking as he stood up.

  "You ready to turn that little pig in for a real Hog?" The man broke the silence he had created by turning off his rattling noisemaker.

  Ralph’s fingers twitched again despite his efforts to calm them. He did his best to relax. There was no way this rider could know that his late wife had given him his bike on his thirty-fifth birthday.

  "Wait! This must be the guy Mary had mentioned. I think she said his name was Harry. Did he come here for her birthday to?"

  While Ralph worked to get himself under control, he noticed the space on the back of Harry’s bike for a second rider. He could envision the kind of person that would be happy
sitting there. He didn’t think that should be Mary.

  "I don’t want any trouble from you. Maybe you should just get back on your bike and ride off before I have to call the cops." The words shot out of his mouth before he could even think about what he was saying.

  Ralph had been riding by Mary’s house one evening and saw a Harley out front. When he asked her about it later, she had told him a few things about Harry, including his problems with the law. He didn’t like what he heard, and he had no idea what Mary would be doing with this kind of person.

  "Is that some kind of threat?" Harry responded, those grey eyes of his seemed to grow more metallic, colder.

  Ralph started to panic inside, he realized how his words seemed like a threat, yet, that was not his intent.

  "No, I know better than that. Mary told me some of your past, that’s why I think it would be best if you just got back on that monstrosity of yours and leave. I think everyone would be happier."

  Ralph watched Harry as he seemed on the edge of action, yet unwilling to continue for some reason.

  "Does he really like Mary? I can’t see it. He just wants to use her."

  When Ralph showed the present that his daughter had helped him pick out Harry came unglued. Whatever was holding him back was dissolving fast. When he told Ralph what was inside, the conversation shifted and went into a pure rage. Perhaps he should have just called for the police right away. It wasn’t until a sharp whistle broke the fight did he even notice Mary had walked up in pure silence.