The white lines reflected under the Road King’s headlight. They passed by in perfect rhythm, almost hypnotic. Jasper felt like he was flying. There was no breeze; the night air smelled sweet and the bike sang a beautiful tune from true duals. It was the perfect ride considering the circumstances.
Jasper was on his way to Florida. Absolutely positive he was leaving California for the right reasons, but completely unsure of what awaited him and the new life that he was pursuing. The road helped him to think.
Growing up in a small California town had its advantages. Jasper, Tommy and Rich were inseparable. All that space and not much to do allowed Jasper and his friends to dedicate all their free time to riding their mini bikes. They shared a passion for all things mechanical and were constantly working on the bikes, trying to make them faster, or make them look cooler. It wasn’t a contest though. It was the three of them against everyone else. So, the mods were always handled together.
As they grew older, the mini bikes were replaced with trail bikes, old street bikes, and whatever else they could afford or scrounge. Jasper was the first to get a Harley. It was a generator shovel with a rigid frame, in boxes. The three of them spent every spare minute piecing the bike together.
The plan was for the three of them to hone their skills, move to L.A and open a custom Harley shop. Rich had always been fairly particular about how he did things and bitched at Jasper for cutting corners to make things work. He was just naturally gifted at figuring out mechanical issues, so he was going to take care of the assembly work. Tommy had always been creative, so he was given all the paint duties, but he needed some practice with an airbrush. Of the three of them, Jasper was the best welder, but his welding still sucked, so he decided that he would go to a technical school to learn to weld like a pro. Then he could handle all of the fabrication work in the shop. All three of them would still tackle anything else that needed to be done, but at least they had their specialties sorted out, and the motivation to see it through.
While Jasper attended welding school, Rich worked as a mechanic trying to accumulate as much cash as he could, while Tommy got sidetracked and learned to tattoo. The skills needed to airbrush and tattoo came so naturally to him that he picked it up and excelled very quickly. Once Jasper completed school, his welding was actually damn good.
The move to LA was tough on the three of them. They still did everything together, through thick and thin. They shared a shitty apartment, got drunk together, rode together, and went in search of life together. Jasper still rode the genny Shovel, and between them, they’d come up with the money to get a couple of cool bikes together for Rich and Tommy.
As the years passed, the shop, along with their reputations, grew. They moved three times to expand, and had only added one more member to their team. Karen, a serious tattoo artist from the LA area, hooked up with Tommy. All the other women in their lives came and went, with little regret, but this was the real thing. Karen was a female version of Tommy, and not only were the couple head over heals for each other, but the four of them got along fantastically as well. The newest version of the shop also contained a sectioned off area set up as a tattoo studio, where Karen worked full time and Tommy bounced back and forth between tats and the paint booth.
The shop was doing well, everyone got inked up and cashed up and life was good. Jasper hooked up with a new girl named Lisa. The rest of the crew wasn’t impressed, but Jasper was really into this chick. She was a plastic blonde, big tits and tight ass, but a real pretentious bitch. As the relationship grew, she pulled Jasper further and further away from his family. She demanded all of his spare time and even cut down his work hours to try and keep him away from the people he loved. Rich, Tommy and Karen were worried about him and tried to talk him into dumping her, but he wouldn’t hear of it. He kept saying how great she was and they’d see he was right eventually.
One day, Jasper showed up at the shop in a crappy old Datsun. He was as happy as can be. Rich came out to see who it was and said, “what the fuck is that?”
Jasper replied, “It’s my new car. It’s only temporary, ‘til I can scrape some money together and build another bike.”
“WHAT? Where’s your Shovel?”
“I sold it to buy this!” Jasper beamed. He had thrust out his hand to show Rich the very large engagement ring that Jasper bought for Lisa with the money from the Shovelhead. “I’m going to ask her to marry me,” he said.
Rich couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Have you lost your mind? What the fuck is wrong with you, you fucking idiot?”
This wasn’t exactly the reaction that Jasper was expecting, but he got it from Tommy and Karen too. This fucking bitch was tearing everything apart. Jasper didn’t care. He went home to propose to Lisa and she greedily accepted the ring. In hindsight, it turned out to be the worst decision he ever made. He should have listened to those he loved and trusted. They were right, he fucked up, and now it’s all too late.
The day he gave her the ring was the last time that he got to fuck her. After that, she knew she had won and turned hell into reality for him. The rift between him and the guys at the shop grew and she played on that, giving him advice when she saw that it suited her needs. She finally convinced him to leave the shop and get a real job for a secure future for the two of them. So, Jasper got a job in a factory as a welder. His life had turned to shit.
Lisa took every advantage that she could. She was never home. Always out with friends and spending his money. She stopped working and he knew she was fucking someone else, but couldn’t prove it. He tried to talk to her about things, but she just batted her lashes and flashed him a smile and cooed in his ear that she was the only one for him and that everything would be great. “Just wait and see Honey,” she’d say as she went running for the door with more of his cash.
After a long and shitty day at the factory, he drove his piece of shit Datsun home to an empty house and sat down with the take out chow he’d picked up on the way. Half way through his dinner, someone knocked on the door. He was a little shocked when he opened it. Rich, the perfectionist, the hard businessman, was standing in the doorway holding a bottle of Jack, with tears in his eyes.
“What’s the matter man?” Jasper asked Rich.
“Can I come in? We need to talk,” he said. They sat in the living room, on opposite sides of the coffee table and Rich broke down. “Tommy and Karen are dead. A drunk driver killed them, while riding home last night. I got the call this morning.” Rich sat there and cried and Jasper found himself crying too. “Go and get a couple of fucking glasses and let’s have a drink for Christ’s sake,” said Rich.
The two of them sat, drank, and reminisced until the bottle was gone. They drank to their lost family and promised to keep in touch, now that they were only two. Jasper started hanging around the shop again, and doing a few little side jobs there. He and Rich were back to normal as far as their relationship was concerned and Jasper was almost starting to feel normal again. Until one day when Rich told him he was moving to Florida.
“I can’t take it here anymore bro. It’s too hard and the memories are too painful. I need a fresh start, so I’m gonna close up and move to Florida and start over. Why don’t you come with me? Fuck that bitch already!”
“I’d love to bro, but I think I’m kind of stuck, with the girl, the house, my job.” Jasper really wanted to go. He didn’t want to lose his rekindled friendship with Rich again.
“Don’t worry,” Rich said. “I’ll let you know when I'm settled, and you’ll be welcome whenever you change your mind. I fully expect you to just show up one day.”
Within a month of the announcement, Rich was packed and on his way to Florida, and Jasper was alone. But being in the shop again had rekindled his spirit. He started to stash away his cash, and when Lisa asked where the money was, he lied and said he’d taken a pay cut to avoid being laid off. “These are tough times sweetie. I’m doing all I can.” These words he spoke to her that seemed to flow so easily a short time ago, were now making him want to puke. He started calling all of the people he new in the LA bike scene and put the word out that he was looking for a cheap bike or a project.
Finally, he spoke with the owner of a large aftermarket shop, who’d just taken in a 2003 Road King that was fairly neglected and needed lots of TLC. The price was right so Jasper went to check it out. The guy also had a brand new JIM's 120-inch engine sitting there along with a Baker 6-speed.
“The guy who ordered the motor and tranny backed out of the deal. If you buy the Road King, I’ll let you have them at my cost. What do you think?”
“I think I’m gonna need a place to work on 'em too.” Said Jasper.
“You got a deal,” was the reply.
A couple of months later and the Road King was starting to look tight once again. He pulled it apart, black powder-coated many parts, rewired and installed the new motor and tranny. There were lots of nights available to him to work on the bike. She was never around, and if she did comment about where he was, he told her that he was doing a side job for extra cash. It worked every time.
When the email from Rich arrived, Jasper was almost ready. Rich was setup and running his new shop in a great location. He already had a regular stream of customers, and he met a great girl, who was helping him run the shop.
“Rebecca is great,” he’d said. “I can’t wait for you to meet her. I think she’s the one Bro.”
Jasper smiled. He couldn’t wait to escape his hell and start over, but now the fear was almost outweighing the excitement. He had to stay focused for just a little while longer.
He broke in his new JIMS motor quick, changed oil and asked one of the guys at the shop to trailer the bike home for him.
“Just follow me dude, I’ll drive the Datsun.” They unloaded the bike and Jasper bid his friend farewell. He went inside and had a look around. He didn’t give a fuck about the house or anything in it. It was all her stuff, purchased with his money, but he didn’t care. He packed a bag with clothes and loaded it onto the bike. He thought better of the next thing he did, but said, “fuck it” anyway and backed the Datsun out of the driveway and drove it straight through the front of the house. He left a note on the seat that said “good luck bitch!” and left with a smile on his face.
The ride across the country was amazing. The bike hummed all the way and he had plenty of time to think, reflect, and clear his head, now knowing that he had definitely made the right decision. He arrived at the new shop and walked inside, looking forward to reuniting with his brother. A cute blonde was behind the counter and she smiled and waved to him before going in the back. Rich must have told her he was coming. He felt a familiarity, as if she knew who he was, and wow, he thought, Rebecca was really cute too.
Rich came running from the back and gave Jasper a great bear hug.
“Fuck I knew you’d come bro,” he said.
“The place looks great. Are you gonna introduce me to Rebecca?” Asked Jasper.
“That’s not Rebecca dude. That’s her sister Jenny.”
