Chapter 17 - Page 243 - Trouble In Chicago

  "Okay," Jim replied, "so what is it?" He smiled, waiting for an answer. He'd already figured out what she was going to say.

  Rhasha hesitated, then said, "Could you please teach me how to drive that truck?"

  Jim shook his head, still smiling. "Being an intelligent man, how is that supposed to make sense to me?"

  "If you teach me how to drive, we could keep the truck on the road," she explained. "When you got tired or sleepy, I could drive." Smiling, Rhasha dropped her arms and locked her hands together. She swayed back and forth, and wet her lips with her tongue.

  "Angel, I don't have time to teach you how to drive right now."

  "I know," Rhasha replied, "but if I could learn to drive a big truck like that, I could drive anything."

  Jim gave in. "When we get unloaded, I'll take you to a big parking lot and turn you loose with it."

  Satisfied, she kissed him.

  "What about me, Papa?" Shanha asked. "Are you going to teach me how to drive a truck?"

  Jim placed the back of his hand against Shanha's cheek and smiled. "No, sweetheart," he replied.

  "I'm going to teach you how to ride a bicycle."

  Shanha smiled back. "That's okay, I'll get Mama to teach me after she learns how."

  Jim knew both his girls wanted to learn too much, too fast, but he loved their enthusiasm. He pulled the dipstick out of the motor and wiped it clean, then checked the oil. When he'd closed and latched the hood, they climbed into the truck; Shanha sat on the bottom bunk in the sleeper. Jim started the truck and opened his window; the diesel engine clattered as he filled out his log book.

  Shanha discovered the Velcro that held the curtains on the sleeper closed. She had never seen Velcro before and couldn't figure out how the two pieces of material stayed together. She kept ripping it apart and pushing it back together. Rhasha, looking in a compartment above her head, found a Rand McNally laminated atlas and thumbed through the pages, trying to figure out what all the lines were.