010 - Sunday In Nevada With The Caplan’s

Rox woke up sore. After a long Sunday morning soak in her whirlpool tub, she got out and stood before the full-length mirror examining the damage. Every tournament she came home with a new set of bruises. Roxanne stood tall, thin, and curved only because she worked out, with brown hair that was destined to turn white before she turned forty five. Just like her mother, and grandmother.

Still sore around her ribs, Rox skipped a bra and put on an old tee-shirt, panties and shorts, and a pair of sandals. Steven had cooked breakfast and left it for her, before taking the dogs for their morning run. The kids were up and watching television in the basement. Rox took her breakfast, went down, sat with them, and finished her breakfast as they watched the Mormon Choir broadcast. She then gathered the dishes, and her children, and went back upstairs. The leftovers went in the dog dishes, the breakfast dishes went in the dishwasher, and the kids got dressed. Being twice-a-year Christians, watching the choir and reading from the bible as a family several times a week was all the religion they generally engaged in.

When the children came back, she led them across the backyard to the barn. Rox took them in the side door, and turned on the lights. Other women have a craft room, or sewing room, or some other private place to be alone and be creative. Roxanne had a garage in the barn behind her house. It doubled as a workshop and an auto shop where she kept the car she was currently working on, or getting ready to sell.

Alex and Diana opened the main doors, as Rox put on a jumpsuit and boots. Shortly the kids were also in jumpsuits. With their help she put the Camero onto the hydraulic lift and set about changing the oil and filters.

The feeling about something happening to her children still nagged at the back of Rox’s mind. So she wanted to keep her children close. Having them help her here was one way to do that.

Steven brought the dog’s home and found the garage open, with his car and Rox’s truck both gone. So, he closed the garage and took the dogs around the side of the house, through the gate, and into the backyard. Once off leash both dogs ran across the yard to the back fence, and the gate there. Steven opened it and the dogs chased around to the main doors of the barn.

Both dogs sniffed around, and made a nuisance of themselves in the shop. They had long since been trained to stay out of things that could cause trouble. The Camero was sitting on the gravel driveway, his Bonneville next to it, with the truck on the lift, Rox working underneath it.

Diana and Alex pulled off their jumpsuits and chased the dog’s back out into the backyard as quickly as they could.

“Don’t go out of the yard.” Steven just leaned against a work bench and watched his wife work.

Other mechanics had posters of naked and nearly naked ‘tool-girls’ on the walls of their garages, as well as posters and diagrams of cars. Most of Roxanne’s posters were from her various tournaments, or enlarged pictures of the cars and trucks she had worked on over the years. Except for one poster that always embarrassed Steven, when there was company.

For whatever reason, Roxanne’s grandmother liked butt-naked baby pictures. It was the classic pose, belly down on fur, from a ¾ view. The few times that they had gone to Nebraska to visit, Steven had been embarrassed by the progression of pictures that Grandma had in one hallway of her house. One of the rows was of Roxanne’s mother Margot, a butt-naked picture from each birthday until she had left for college, at 19. Plus a few as an adult, including one of Margot and infant Roxanne, for a total near 30. There was a similar row for Roxanne. Hers counted 19, with one each of her as an adult with each infant, last they had been there. All this was besides the pictures of Grandma, and Grandpa.

Then, over Steven’s objections, there had been three butt-naked pictures each of Diana and Alex. Steven couldn’t say they weren’t tasteful. He just didn’t think they were appropriate. What Steven had not known for some time was that Margot had a more complete collection, which she kept in storage in her own house. It included all of Grandma and Grandpa; everyone of Margot’s from every year of her life, which Grandma was ever trying to get; and the complete set of Roxanne for every year of her life until she got married, that Grandma was also after. At Rox’s request, in deference to Steven, Margot kept this entire collection put away.

When the last one of Alex had been taken, Steven had insisted that he take the picture himself. So they had selected a spot on a beach at Lake Tahoe, which was secluded. Once everything was set up, Rox sprung the trap on him, and proposed a butt-naked family portrait.

Steven had agreed to a single photo. Himself, Roxanne, 5 year old Diana, and 3 year old Alex; all butt-naked on a large fur at Lake Tahoe, the dawn coming over the mountains behind them. Steven had developed the pictures himself, to be sure to control distribution. There was one 4x6 in a photo album. But Rox had got hold of the negative, and sent a portrait size to Grandma and Margot, and had a poster size made, that now hung over the garage doors. She had returned the negative. Steven had then burned it.

The kids did not seem to mind the poster and Rox thought it was a good joke. Steven was glad it was here and not in the house on public display. On the other hand, what he and Rox had done after getting the kids into their bathing suits and sent to play was still a fond memory.

Steven always glanced at the poster then ignored it, and just sat and watched as Rox brought the truck to the ground and finished servicing it. She was still obviously sore, and would be for the next few days. But she had been through this enough times that the aches were not worth noticing. She finished and closed the hood, making sure to put the retaining pins in.

Of all the vehicles that Rox had built over the years, this truck was the only one she had kept for long, after finishing it. It was the one that she had done the most work on. And it reflected her personality the most of any of them.

Rox had always had a truck of some sort. Mainly to use to pull the flatbed trailer that the incomplete vehicles rode on. As time progressed, she noticed that the extended-cab trucks had become more prevalent. But as she looked them over, the existing and new ones did not suit her. Finally she read an article and followed its example. She chose the make and model of truck she wanted. She looked around for the right donor vehicles, and built herself a truck. It started as a 1986 square body 1-ton GM truck. This model did not come as an extended cab. The hardest part of constructing the cab was welding pieces from two separate cabs together, and getting it to fit over the factory gas tanks. Then she had to mount this on a custom frame. The rest was simply getting the pieces to fit.

She had decreed to herself that there would be no chrome on it. It would show itself for what it was, not for its decoration. Rox began to rebuild it from the bare frame, starting with the cab. The additions followed with a custom front bumper with winch, grill guard, push bars and more lights than a stadium. These continued past the over-built step bars, and the custom rear bumper with 8000 lbs hitch, to the heavy duty drive train. A moderately lifted suspension and slightly oversized tires added to the additions. The custom built extended cab on factory long bed wheel positions required a shortened bed with a light bar, with more lights finishing the outside. There were other things done to it, like a third gas tank, but most people never saw these. The thing was simple brute competence, with a gas-guzzling supercharged engine that Rox nicknamed ‘the toilet.’

Roxanne had rebuilt and restored other trucks since building this one, but had not ever considered selling it. She had begun to consider changing it to a modern diesel from the big-block gas engine. Or maybe constructing a four-door short-bed.

“That’s all of them. Fresh oil and filter, with all fluids checked and topped.” Rox removed her dirty gloves after pulling the lift arms out from under the truck.

Steven went around to the driver door and got in to back the truck out, and Rox guided him. He parked and leaned out the window as she walked over.

“Shall we take it for a drive?”

Rox leaned on the door. “Where to? You didn’t fill it up before coming home yesterday.”

“I didn’t clean the guns yet, either. We can start with the gas station. But I was thinking a picnic lunch at the beach, then maybe up to Susanville.” Steven did not have anywhere planned. He just liked to wander and see.