Chapter 10 - Page 142 - Rhasha Drives

Jim stood up, about to announce his displeasure, but it was to late. The teenage boy wrapped both hands around the vine and swung from the rock to the other rock, yodeling like Tarzan.

    The two boulders were about fifteen feet above the water. Between the two boulders, a rock protruded just above the surface of the pool. Jim was worried the boy would lose his grip and crash onto the lower rock. If that happened, it would cause severe injury, at best.

    The boy successfully landed on the opposite boulder. His parents were watching from the grassy area, so Jim sat down and thought no more about it. Both boys continued swinging from one boulder to the other and back again. Several people watched as the boys laughed and played.

    The sun was still up, but the time was getting late. Jim was getting tired and wanted to go home. He remembered he and Rhasha had to go to the hospital to sing. “Rhasha, are you ready to go sing for the patients?”

    “Sure. I’ll start packing.”

    Rhasha packed the leftovers in the box as Jim folded the blankets. When everything was loaded, Jim slid into the jeep on the passenger side and Rhasha, grinning, climbed into the driver’s seat, put her seat belt on, and started the motor. She put the jeep in gear, let out on the clutch, and pressed on the accelerator. The jeep took off perfectly. She had trouble shifting as she drove toward the highway, twice placing the gearshift in the wrong position and twice forgetting to push in the clutch, but Jim knew the more she drove, the better she would get at it. He told her not to worry about grinding the gears.