Set in the summer of 1959 Gloria is desperate to see a world beyond the church and the small Texan town she grew up in. One day she runs into a bad boy with striking green eyes in the local greaser gang the Saint's of Duke Street. She had only heard...
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AN: Just a little something to share. A one shot that takes place during Gloria's college years. Enjoy.
Spring 1961 | Austin, TX
It was a breezy day with a clear sky, but the cool wind did little to help Bill as he worked beneath his old beater of a truck. Years of tinkering had made him an expert at fixing and taking apart automobiles, but there was a mysterious clanking noise he couldn't quite place. Taking a short pause from his search, he decided to change the oil too while underneath. As he probed around, his fingertips became increasingly covered with thick, sludgy grime.
He smiled when his fingers finally found the source of the noise: a thick, beaded metal chain, twisted into a tight, tangled ball. With a firm tug, he dislodged it and began examining the wicked twists in the knot. Just then, he felt a familiar pressure against his lower half, which was still sticking out from beneath the dodgy truck.
Swiftly, he pushed off while still lying on the plastic mechanic creeper. The sudden motion caused Gloria, who had straddled him, to fall forward. Her hands landed on the concrete on either side of his head, leaving her hovering just above him. Her beautifully curled hair fell around them like a curtain, framing her bubbly smile.
"What are you doing?" he laughed, his eyes crinkling as she straightened up on his lap. "It's broad daylight!"
"Oh, no one's around," she said with a dismissive wave. "Is the truck fixed?"
"Well... it wasn't really broken, but—" He paused, holding back his dirty hands to avoid staining the hips of her light yellow dress. "Is it time to go?"
"It is... but I called Maxine since you were taking so long."
Bill frowned slightly. He'd gotten up early to take her to class, but the added oil change had eaten up too much time. Besides, Maxine was only a passenger—it was Maxine's boyfriend, who gave them a ride.
"Honey..." he sighed. "Call her back and say you don't need the ride."
"She's already on the way, Bill..."
The sound of a door closing in their small apartment complex made Gloria gasp softly. In a panic, she scrambled off him. It wouldn't be very ladylike to be caught on top of Bill in such a suggestive way—handsome husband or not.
~~~
Fresh flowers—one's Bill had stolen from someone's yard for Gloria—sat in water inside an amber glass liquor bottle on the card table they used for a dining table. After seeing Gloria off to school and topping off the truck with fresh oil, he returned to their tiny, humble apartment.
As he pulled on his work pants full of patches Gloria had lovingly stitched to them, he paused, looking at the newest one above the knee. His thumb traced the threadwork around a red flannel scrap of fabric and sighed to himself.
