Bradley Ch. 2

Bradley knocked on his parents's front door, and opened the door directly after. He could just have walked in, but Bradley was always polite, even to his parents.

"Hello?" He called, making his way through the living room. His mother answered, the joy of hearing her boy's voice in her own voice.

"Bradley! I'm in the kitchen. How was your trip, darling?" She walked to meet him at the kitchen doorway, wiping her hands on a towel.

"Hi, Mom. You look beautiful." He stepped over to her, kissing her cheek softly. "Our trip was great. I love the Pacific. I couldn't get enough of the beach." He smiled, touching her cheek lovingly. His mother smiled back to him.

"Good, sweetheart. I'm glad you had fun. You look like you got a bit of a tan." She smirked, and walked back to the stove to check on what she was cooking.

"Where's Dad?" Bradley asked.

"He's in the backyard, working on that damned car. He'll never get that old thing running, you know?" Bradley laughed at her, walking to through the kitchen to the back door.

"He will Mom, don't worry. It just takes time, that's all." He opened the screen door, stepping down the steps onto the grass of the backyard. The yard was fairly large, fenced off with ancient fence boards made of cheap wood. The old, white clothesline was still up in the back corner. Bradley smiled when he saw his old tire swing hanging from the lowest branch of the large tree that shaded the backyard.

"Dad?" Bradley called.

"Bradley! I'm in the garage son, come over here and see this new steel blade fan I'm putting in." Bradley walked over to the car port that was in their backyard, and saw the hood up on the 1967 Shelby Mustang. Originally, his father bought the Mustang for Bradley when just before he graduated high school. It was a heap, and Bradley's father was working to get it restored before Bradley moved to college, but it had never gotten done. When his father finally realized it was not going to be done in time, he bought Bradley a new car, and decided to work on the Mustang himself.

"How's she look, huh?" Bradley's dad stood up from under the hood, smiling at his son. "I got the new radiator in, all the electrical work is done. This baby will be screaming before you know it." He laughed, looking the engine bay over.

"It looks great Dad. It's really coming along." Bradley slid his hand along the roof of the car, looking inside briefly.

"Oh...how was your trip son? God it's good to see you." Bradley smiled and walked over, giving his father a one-arm hug.

"It was great Dad. It's actually why I wanted to come over and talk to you." He said, sitting on a stool they had in front of the work bench.

"Okay. Well, you talk, and I'll keep working to get this fan on. What's on your mind?" Bradley's father bent his head under the hood again, wrenching a socket wrench on the chrome plated cooling fan he had just installed.

"Well, it's about me, and Jennie, and a decision I'm thinking about." Bradley started.

"Okay, what about them?" His father answered.

"Well, when we were on our trip, I told Jennie I loved her." Bradley said, looking at his father's back.

"You did, huh? Is that how you feel?" He asked. Bradley nodded, even though his father could not see.

"I'm pretty sure it is, Pop. I really like this girl a lot, she means the world to me." Bradley said.

"I see. Well, she's a nice girl son. I just want you to make sure you know what you're doing. I think if she's the right girl for you, you should definitely work on it." His father lifted his head out from under the hood and smiled at Bradley, holding his hand out. "Hand me that 1/2 inch, son." Bradley grabbed it from the tool box, and leaned forward, setting it into his father's hand.

"I know what I'm doing, dad. I'm sure she could be the one. I just haven't talked to her about it yet." He said.

"That's something you should definitely do." His father said, going back under the hood again. "Now what about this other decision, you want to marry her you think?" Bradley's father asked.

"Oh, maybe someday. But that's not the decision I was thinking of. It was just something I decided I might want to do when I was in Newport Beach. I uh, think I might start looking for work in California." He said.

"You liked it that much, huh?" Bradley's father laughed, wrenching with the socket wrench again.

"I do, Pop. I really do. I've never seen any place like that before. I mean, I love it here too, but I think I would really like a change of scenery for a while."

"Moving won't make a complete change on you, son. You'll still be you." His father said.

"I know, Dad. I'm not worried about changing myself. I just need to see what else is in the world." Bradley replied.

"Well, it's a big move, son. But if that's what you want..." his father said.

Bradley gave a nod, feeling better that his father accepted his decision. But then, Bradley could not recall a decision Bradley ever made that his father rejected. Bradley's father was always behind him for support, and it made making decisions easier on him. Now all he had to do, was team up with his father to convince his mother.