Fanfic: In The Fast Lane

27: Un Choaue Cultural

Chapter 27: Un Choque Cultural
Eight Months Later: June 1998

As the months past, Harley continued to train herself at Willy's Butte. Doc never encouraged her, never supported or approved of her choice. But he had learned to accept it. Not her racing, but accepting that she wasn't going to change her mind about it. He'd still go down to the butte with her to make sure she was safe, and he would even give her a few pointers as just a few small things he "managed to pick up out of small talk from other cars." Which wasn't entirely a lie. He didn't always go to watch her. At times, he would send Sheriff to keep an eye on her for one reason or another, but Harley didn't mind. It was obvious that the tension around the topic of racing was still an ever existing factor in their father-daughter relationship, but the time the spent away from each other seemed to help ease the tension.

One summer day, Harley was driving home by herself from a solo practice. All the townsfolk were at the cafe as she drove up, and it made her smile. The only family she ever had all in one place on a daily bases. She drove and parked beside Doc, dust covering her tires and sideskirts.

"Did you have a good practice?" Doc asked and she nodded. Ever since their first big argument, Sheriff and Flo had now kept a close eye on both of them, making sure nothing the tension around racing got too out of hand.

"Yeah, it was fine." Harley said without looking up at him. "That turn has gotten easier. And I'm starting to get up on that wall a little smoother." Doc nodded but didn't say much after that.

"So. What do you want to do for your birthday?" Doc asked and the stiffness of the conversation quickly dissolved, causing Flo and Sheriff to share a look and relax.

"My birthday? Isn't that, like, next month?" Harley asked having no idea what time of the year it was. Being in a slow and sleepy town meant that Harley didn't quite keep track of time. Doc chuckled in response.

"You do this every year." He muttered with a smile. "It's June, Har. And your fifteenth birthday is coming up."

"Can you believe it Doc?" Sheriff asked and drove up to them. "Little Harley is going to be fifteen. We've had her for almost a decade now!" He looked at Harley who had matured in look and personality much over the past nine years. Suddenly an excited Impala came out of seemingly nowhere.

"Wait, did you say fifteen?" He asked and looked from Sheriff to Doc and finally to Harley. "Flo! Mija's going to be fifteen!" He said and rose up on his hydraulics. "How long do we have until then?"

"Two weeks." Doc said calmly.

"Two week!" Ramone looked shocked at the time limit and lowered back down. "Ay Dios mio! That's not enough time!" He said then started to rush off. "It's alright, we can pull this off!"

"Wait, Ramone!" Harley called out. "What's the big deal? It's just another birthday!" He suddenly braked hard and turned back to them. He slowly drove up with a look of disbelief on his face as if everyone knew the answer to that question.

"Just another birthday?" He repeated and drove back to them.

"Well, every birthday is important, I think." Doc said with a half smile.

"But none more important than this one!" Ramone held a look of concern seeing that none of them understood the importance of the upcoming date. "This is her fifteenth birthday! A Quinceañera is in order, man!" Ramone said and took off in a flash of sunset orange. "I got some phone calls to make!" Seeing the still confused faces of her friends, Flo laughed and drove up to meet them.

"He hasn't celebrated a Quinceañera in a long time!" she said as she watched her husband dash for the phone inside the café.

"Uh, okay…" Harley said as she too looked at the excited Impala. "But what is a quince-whatever?" she asked. Flo turned back to the three cars with confused expressions.