Vagabonds

When Maggie turned sixteen, Brianna asked her what she wanted for her birthday. She told us she wanted her driver's license. She studied and practiced for two weeks and she passed it the first time. The night of her birthday Brianna talked to me in bed.

"I want to get her a car," she said.

"Okay, what kind of a car?" I asked.

"I want to get them a new Camaro convertible," she said.

"How much does it cost?" I wondered.

"Jesus, Mack, does it matter?" she asked. "Do you think we're going to go broke?"

"No, I guess it doesn't matter," I said. "I just like to know things, Bri."

"I know," she kissed me. "I'm sorry I snapped at you. I think we can get the one I want for somewhere around 60,000 dollars."

I whistled. "That's a lot of car. She's an amazing girl though. She deserves it."

"Yes, she does," Brianna smiled. "They had a lot of bad things in their lives, Mack. Let's make sure they only have good things now."

We ordered the car. It was bright yellow with lots of black stripes and a black interior. We went ahead and got the big V8, against my better judgment. Brianna thought it would hold its value better and she was probably right. I didn't think Maggie would drive it crazy, anyway.

When it came in, we parked it in the garage and when it was time for school, they got their bags and followed me out to the car. Brianna was inside the garage and I didn't unlock their doors.

"Dad," Stokely said. "Let us in."

"You're not riding with me today," I called. "You're going to drive, Maggie."

"Is Mom not going to work?" she asked.

"No, she's going," I said.

"What am I going to drive, then?" she asked.

I punched the garage door opener. "You'll be driving that," I pointed inside the garage.

Her big green eyes went as round as saucers. Neither one of them moved for a minute and then Maggie began to wail. Big tears rolled down her cheeks and she was shaking like a leaf.

I leaped out and Brianna came running down the driveway. I threw my arms around Maggie and Bri joined me. "What's wrong, honey?" I asked her. "We thought you would be happy. It's your car. We got it for you for your birthday."

She tried to tell us something but she was too choked up for us to understand her. She buried her face in my chest and we held her and petted her until she calmed down enough to speak. Stokely joined the group hug and we finally got Maggie to talk.

"I don't want the car," she choked out. "I love you guys so much and it's too much! I... we... we don't want you to have to buy us things. Stokely and I have talked about it. We don't need things, we just need you to love us," she broke down again.

"Honey, we do love you," Brianna consoled her. "We love both of you more than anything. Having you girls is a dream come true for both of us. We like buying you things, though. We work and make lots of money so we can buy things for our girls. We like making you happy. This is part of the way we show you that we love you. It isn't the big way, but it's a little way. It makes us happy to give you things."

Stokely was crying too, now. I kissed them both on the cheeks. "Come on," I told them. "It's a really cool car. Let's at least go and look at it."

They sniffed around and wiped their eyes and let me lead them into the garage. I opened the door for Maggie and Brianna let Stokely in on the passenger side. Maggie put her hands on the wheel and looked up at me. A smile was starting on her beautiful face. "It looks good on you," I told her. "Start it up."

The big V8 rumbled to life and they were both trembling with excitement. I shut the door and knocked on the window. She rolled it down and I kissed her again. "See you at school," I told her.

She backed down the driveway to the street and stopped. Brianna and I stood together, watching them. Her door popped open and she came flying back up the driveway, throwing herself into our arms and kissing us both, over and over.

"I love you so much," she repeated again and again. "Thank you, you're the best Mom and Dad on earth!" She ran back to her car and they drove away.

I turned to Brianna and she was crying like a baby. My own eyes were leaking for some unaccountable reason. "Look at us," I said. "You would think we were three or something. That was a great idea, Bri. You're an amazing woman."

We held each other for a long time. I knew I was going to be late for class, but I didn't care.

When Stokely turned sixteen we got her one of the new Challengers. It wasn't quite as emotional, but it was special. We took them to Hawaii and Belize when they graduated. The day Stokely started college I came home to find Brianna crying on the sofa.

I went and sat beside her, taking her into my arms and loving on her without saying a word for a while. She just laid her head on my chest and cried quietly for a while. Finally, she looked up at me, those big blue eyes filled with tears. "Our babies are all grown up, Mack," she said.

"I know." I kissed her. "That's what babies do."

She took my face between her hands and looked deeply into my eyes. "Let's make another one, Mack," she said. "You and me this time. I want a baby, Mack." She broke down and sobbed. "I never thought this would happen. I'm so in love with you and I miss them so much already. I want to do it again. It was so amazing! I know they're just 60 miles away, but I miss them."

"Me too, kitten," I said. "Maybe if we're going to have that baby, we should go practice."

She gasped and stared up at me. "Really? You want to? I mean, have a baby?"

"Of course," I said. "I hope it's a red headed girl like you. I love you with all my heart, Brianna."

I picked her up and carried her through the empty house to our bedroom to start practicing. We had to kick Grandville out, but I decided I liked making babies. As I drifted off to sleep, the picture on my night table of Maggie and Stokely held my eyes. They didn't look like vagabonds.