Steven brought the dog’s home and found the garage open, with his car and Rox’s truck both gone. So, he closed the garage and took the dogs around the side of the house, through the gate, and into the backyard. Both dogs ran across the yard to the back fence, and the gate there. Steven opened it and the dogs chased around to the main doors of the barn.
Both dogs were sniffing around, and making a nuisance of them selves in the shop. They had long since been trained to stay out of things that could cause trouble. The Camero was sitting on the gravel driveway, his Bonneville next to it, with the truck on the lift, Roxanne working underneath it.
Diana and Alex pulled off their jumpsuits and chased the dog’s back out into the backyard as quick as they could.
“Don’t go out of the yard.”
Other mechanics had posters of naked and nearly naked ‘tool-girls’ on the walls of their garages, as well as posters and diagrams of cars. Most of Roxanne’s posters were from her various tournaments, or of the cars and trucks she had worked on. Except for one, which always embarrassed Steven.
For whatever reason, Roxanne’s grandmother liked butt-naked baby pictures. It was the classic pose, belly down on fur, from a ¾ view. The few times that they had gone to Nebraska to visit, Steven had been embarrassed by the progression of pictures that Grandma had on one wall. One of the rows was of Roxanne’s mother Margot, a butt-naked picture from each birthday until she had left for college, at 19. Plus a few as an adult, including one of Margot and infant Roxanne, for a total near 30. There was a similar row for Roxanne. Hers counted 19, with two of her as an adult with each infant; last they had been there. All this was besides the pictures of Grandma, and Grandpa.
Then, over Steven’s objections, there had been three butt-naked pictures each of Diana and Alex. Steven couldn’t say they weren’t tasteful. He just didn’t think they were appropriate. What Steven did not know for some time was that Margot had a more complete collection, which she kept in storage in her own house. It included all of Grandma and Grandpa; everyone of Margot’s from every year of her life, which Grandma was ever trying to get; and the complete set of Roxanne for every year of her life until she got married, that Grandma was also after. At Roxanne’s request, in deference to Steven, Margot kept all of these put away.
When the last one of Alex had been taken, Steven had insisted that he take the picture himself. So they had selected a spot on a beach at Lake Tahoe, that was secluded. Once everything was set up, Roxanne sprung the trap on him, and proposed a butt-naked family portrait.
Steven had agreed to a single photo. Himself, Roxanne, 5 year old Diana, and 3 year old Alex, all butt-naked on a large fur at Lake Tahoe, the dawn coming over the mountains behind them. Steven had developed the pictures himself, to be sure to control distribution. There was one 4x6 in a photo album. But Roxanne had got hold of the negative, and sent a portrait size to Grandma and Margot, and had a poster size made, that now hung over the garage doors. She had returned the negative. Steven then burned it.
The kids did not seem to mind the poster and Roxanne thought it was a good joke. Steven was glad it was here and not in the house on public display. On the other hand, what he and Rox had done after getting the kids into their bathing suits and sent to play was still a fond memory.
Steven always glanced at the poster then ignored it, and just sat and watched as Roxanne brought the truck to the ground and finished servicing it. She was still obviously sore, and would be for the next few days. But she had been through this enough times that the aches were not worth noticing. She finished and closed the hood, making sure to put the retaining pins in.
Of all the vehicles that Roxanne had built over the years, this truck was the only one she had kept for long, after finishing it. It was the one that she had done the most work on. And it reflected her personality the most of any of them.
Roxanne had always had a truck of some sort. Mainly to use to pull the flatbed trailer that the incomplete vehicles rode on. As time progressed, she noticed that the extended-cab trucks were becoming more prevalent. But as she looked them over, the existing ones did not suit her. Finally she read an article and followed its example. She chose the make and model of truck she wanted. She looked around for the right donor vehicles, and built herself a truck. The hardest part was to construct the cab, having to weld pieces from two separate cabs together, and mount this on a minimally customized frame. The rest was simply getting the pieces to fit.
She had decreed to herself that there would be no chrome on it. It would show itself for what it was, not for its decoration. It started as a 1986 square body 1-ton GM truck. Roxanne had taken it apart to the frame, and began to rebuild it. The additions started at a custom front bumper with winch, grill guard, push bars and more lights than a stadium. These continued past the over-built step/nerf-bars, and the custom rear bumper with 8000lbs hitch, to the heavy duty drive train. A moderately lifted suspension and oversized tires added to the additions, as did the custom built extended cab, modified bed with a light bar, and more lights finished the outside. The thing was simple brute competence, with a gas-guzzling supercharged engine that Roxanne nicknamed ‘the toilet.’
Roxanne had rebuilt and restored other trucks since building this one, but had not ever considered selling it. She had begun to consider changing the engine to a modern diesel from the big-block gas engine.
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