A couple weeks after the incident, the thunder of a motorbike shook the air around Cross Creek Dairy. Suzanne Coswell knocked briskly on the front door, and when Mrs. Dorah appeared, Sue greeted her warmly and informed her “I’m here to take Sam for a ride.”
“Oh” Mrs. Dorah said in a startled tone. “I didn’t know Sam had any plans.”
“He does now, ma’am”
“Really?”
“I think we can both agree that charming son of yours needs to get out more often.”
“Perhaps” Mrs. Dorah conceded in a qualified tone, as Sue continued, “I just didn’t want to give him a chance to hide, if you do get my meaning.”
“Certainly. I get it.” Mrs. Dorah slipped her shoes on and led Sue out back to where Sam was cleaning some stalls.
“Come on, Sam” Sue shouted over the water jet in Sam’s hands. “Let’s go pay your dream girl a visit. You know you want to.”
Sam continued spraying the stall floors for a moment before he shut the jet valve.
“Come on. I’ve got an extra helmet with your name on it.”
“Dressed like this?” Sam gestured to his soaked white overalls, as if requesting a waiver.
“Are you serious? Do you need me to tell you to clean up and get some decent clothes on?”
No waiver was offered, so Sam hung up the hose and walked outside and up to the house.
“Like something to drink while you wait?” Mrs. Dorah asked Sue.
“Why thank you very much!” Suzanne answered.
Sam soon appeared in the kitchen, ready to go. Sue got up, thanked Mrs. Dorah for her hospitality, and led Sam out to the bike. She mounted the saddle and tossed him a helmet.
Sam strapped on the helmet, but then he hesitated, not knowing exactly how to proceed.
“Get on!” she commanded. “I can’t bite with my back turned.”
He got on behind her, and laid his hands nervously on his knees. Sue turned and grabbed his right hand with her left, then turned to her left and took his left with her right, and put his hands together.
“Hold on,” she barked as she let out the clutch.
When Sam and Sue arrived at the Adroushan house, Mrs. Adroushan directed them to the back yard, where she said Cindy was performing her archery drills. When they got out back, they saw that Cindy had been doing just that, but at present she was nowhere in sight. They looked around and found her in a sunny spot with a small pile of dry grass and a magnifying glass in her hand. She turned to them with a start. The grass was smoking.
“Huh,” Sue started. “I didn’t know you were into that.”
“Just a test,” Cindy replied as she stood up and stepped on the smoking pile.
“Oh don’t mind us,” Sue said. “Say, do you mind if I try out one of those bows of yours?”
“Go ahead.”
Sue made a clumsy attempt at firing an arrow at one of Cindy’s targets, and Cindy handed her another arrow, and showed her how to cradle the arrow with her fingers.
“Nice touch” Suzanne observed in Sam’s general direction.