Speed Queen (GxG)

Chapter 12: Meredith

Rex and I stood in front of Judy's barn, watching her push the doors open, revealing two cars.

One was The Rocket, still smashed beyond repair. And the other had a tarp over it.

"Between the two of these, we should be able to make one hell of a race car." Judy said.

Rex glanced at the tarp covered car. "Is that her?"

Judy nodded solemnly.

I glanced between them. "Who?"

"Meredith..." Judy replied, pulling the tarp off to reveal an older, black car.

"... My dads 1955 Chevy 210. It was his first race car and he named it after my late mother. He said it gave him confidence and strength to know the love of his life was always with him, even if it was just in name." She finished.

I took her hand in mine, giving it a gentle squeeze.

She squeezed back before addressing Rex. "Shes still got the old 265 small block. You think we can squeeze the Hemi out of The Rocket into Meredith here?"

Rex looked over the car, scratching his chin. "It'll take some minor fabrication, but shouldn't be a problem."

Judy patted his shoulder. "That's why you're the best. Now, while you get to work on that, Angela and I will strip the interior. We need to cut as much weight as possible."

Rex nodded before popping the hood on Meredith while Judy and I opened the doors and grabbed a few wrenches, getting to work on stripping the passenger and back seats out of the car.

As I turned one of the bolts holding the back seat in place, I looked across at Judy. "So, your mom must've been really special."

Judy smiled lightly, taking a quick look at me before returning to her work. "Yeah, she was the nicest lady around. Everyone loved her, especially my dad and me."

I smiled a little myself. "My mom sounds a lot like yours. She was always so kind to everyone she'd meet. I don't think anyone in the whole city had anything negative to say about her. They were all just happy to have her around..."

Judy stopped working before setting the wrench down and taking a seat in the passenger seat, opening the glove compartment.

I watched her for a second before slowly sitting down next to her.

She glanced down at a yellowed envelope.

"What's that?" I found myself asking.

She wiped at her eyes as she opened it. "The last letter she ever wrote me..."

I glanced over at it as Judy started reading it aloud. "Dear, Judy. I know there are some things you won't understand until you're older, but I want you to know that my choices had nothing to do with you or your father. I love you both so much and I'm sorry I won't be there to watch you grow into the kind, beautiful woman I know you'll be. I hope one day you can find it in your heart to forgive me... Love, mom."

I watched a few tears roll down her cheek as she folded the letter and put it back into the envelope.

"I'm so sorry..." I said.

She nodded. "Me to..."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and she rested her head on mine, wiping at her eyes again.

We stayed like that for a while before getting back to work, continuing on late into the night...

By the time Saturday was upon us, we were putting the finishing touches on Meredith.

   Rex closed the hood as Judy and I walked up behind him.

   "So?" Judy asked.

   "Well, she accepted The Rockets drivetrain like it was always supposed to be there." He replied.

   Judy nodded. "Great, let's start her up then." She said before walking over to the drivers side, turning the key in the ignition.

   The car immediately fired right up.

   I covered my ears as Judy gave it a few revs, then shut it off.

   "She sounds a lot louder than The Rocket." I said.

   Rex shrugged. "Didn't really have time to add an exhaust system."

   "Doesn't matter, it won't slow her down any." Judy said, twirling the keys on her finger. "Now, let's get her loaded up and head down to the track."

   So, that's exactly what we did, making it to the track just in time for qualifiers.

   Afterwards, Judy met us in our tent.

   "She pass?" Rex asked.

   Judy nodded, smiling.

   Rex patted her shoulder. "Nothing'll stand in her way."

   "Not even Ronnie?" I asked.

   "Time will tell... Where the hell is Ronnie anyway?" Judy asked.

   "Not racing today." We heard behind us.

   We all turned to see Ronnie himself standing just outside our tent.

   "Speak of the devil." I muttered.

   "It's nice to see Meredith up and running again. It's been a long time." He said.

   Judy walked right up to him. "What do you want, Ronnie?"

   He looked down. "Well, I wanted to apologize. My mechanic warned me about pushing the motor to hard, but I didn't listen."

   She folded her arms over her chest, speaking sternly. "Well, I don't accept your apology."

   "I'm not asking you to... I just want you to know, that's all." He replied.

   "Now we know, so you can leave." Rex said, walking up next to me.

   Ronnie finally met Judy's icy glare. "Actually, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute, Judy... It's about your father."

   Judy's arms fell to her sides. "What about him..?"

   Ronnie rubbed the back of his neck. "First of all, I wanted to apologize about what happened with him all those years ago... He was my best friend for so long and it kills me that I never even visited his grave... But, I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Not after what I caused... I loved your father, like a brother... and, well, I just figured you should know that..."

   Then, he turned on his heal and started to walk away, when Judy stopped him. "Wait a second."

   He stopped in his tracks and turned around as Judy jogged up to him.

   Rex and I slowly followed after her.

   Judy let out a long breath. "I probably won't ever be able to forgive you for what happened with my father, but I want you to know that I hold no hard feelings towards you... You lost a friend that day and I'm truly sorry for that..."

   Ronnie smiled a little before stretching his arm towards Judy.

   She thought for a second before finally shaking it.

   "Good luck today." Ronnie said before walking away again.

   "Hey, Ronnie!" Judy called.

   He stopped again, turning to face us.

   "Get that hunk of junk you call a race car ready by the end of the season, you still owe me a race." Judy said with a smile.

   He nodded, smiling as well. "You're on."

   Then, he was gone.

   I walked up next to her, taking her hand in mine. "I'm proud of you."

   She smiled, pressing a sweet kiss to my lips. "Thanks, now c'mon, we got some racing to do..."