“Come on Vance. I got something to show you.” He stood up and led Vance through the kitchen to the garage. He shut the door to the kitchen and flipped on the light switch. There in the center of the garage was a large car shaped lump under a tarp. “Now I got a few rules involving this. No eating. And no sitting on it.”

Vance stood there for a moment, mesmerized by the gleaming beauty. Then he slowly went to the drivers door and opened it up. “This is cool.” He said as he slid into the drivers seat.

This chapter will focus on the two Patterson kids. A mix of Vance an Tracy and the fun they have around the Livermore/Dublin areas

November 27th 1982
Livermore California

The sun peeked through the window of the room that Vance was to share with Tracy. He didn't want to get up, but the smell of bacon cooking made sure he wasn't getting any more sleep. He looked around, he noticed her bed was empty. Then he remembered the other two girls who had come over the evening before. He rolled out of the bed, adjusting his pajamas and he headed for the kitchen, planning to stop at the bathroom first.

He passed his Aunt's bedroom and he could hear his mother talking to his Aunt through the closed door, but he didn't stop to listen. As he made his way down the steps he could hear the two other girls talking with his sister. In the living room he could see a sleeping bag and a couple of blankets and pillows. His Uncle Frank sat in a chair, facing the TV, drinking coffee and occasionally looking at a newspaper. Vance waved at the older man and headed to the kitchen, stopping at the door as he saw the three girls taking up most of the kitchen.

All three were still in their nightgowns. Tracy was in front of the stove, still wearing the tie-dyed nightgown she had the night before. Closest to the kitchen door was Sage, who was also wearing a tie-dyed nightgown. She worked the toaster, pulling toast and buttering them, then starting more. On the other side of the tiny kitchen, Rachel was busy pulling eggs from the 'fridge, was in a bright pink nightgown.

“Hey Vance, you want something to drink?” Rachel asked. This caused the other two girls to look in his direction and smile. He was still older then them, but he began to consider an upside to this. If Tracy was to be around more often, that meant more girls in the house. He could handle that.

“Sure. Is there apple juice?” He asked.

“Yep.” Rachel pulled a cup from the cupboard and filled it, then passed it off to Sage, who handed it to him.

“Here ya go.” She said with a grin. He took the offered cup and went to the table. Sage peeked her head around the door frame. “Hey, Mr. Frank. Your foods up.”

“Ah, good.” Frank got up and went to the table. He sat across from Vance and put his coffee down. He knew better then to argue with three women.

“Can we put MTV back on?” Sage asked with a huge grin.

“For now. But when Shelly comes down, she may take over the TV.” He replied.

Sage brought out another plate and left it in front of Vance, then she went to the TV and switched the channel.

After the guys had finished their breakfast, Shelly and Maggie came down the steps. The two guys moved to the living room, leaving the kitchen table free for the girls. As they watched one of the early morning videos, Frank looked at Vance. “So, what's your plan for the day?”

“I don't know. Are you doing anything?” Vance asked.

“Well Shelly is taking your mother and the girls shopping. So I was wondering if you'd like to hang out with me.”

“Sure, doing what?” Vance asked.

“Come on Vance. I got something to show you.” He stood up and led Vance through the kitchen to the garage. He shut the door to the kitchen and flipped on the light switch. There in the center of the garage was a large car shaped lump under a tarp. “Now I got a few rules involving this. No eating. And no sitting on it.”

With that, Frank pulled the trap off, revealing a light blue mid sixties muscle car. He folded the tarp up the best he could and put it in a corner. “This is my baby. A nineteen sixty five Pontiac GTO.” He gestured to the drivers door. “Go ahead. Hop on in.”

Vance stood there for a moment, mesmerized by the gleaming beauty. Then he slowly went to the drivers door and opened it up. “This is cool.” He said as he slid into the drivers seat.

“I know. I had one of these a few years after they first came out. My Dad helped me get it. But back then I was a stupid kid and I wrecked it. So I found one some years back and for the past five years, I've been rebuilding it here in the garage.” Frank replied. “I figured you may want to cruise around today, plus there's a get together happening for one of the car clubs in town. I figured you'd want to do that, more then going shopping with your sister and Mother.”

“Yeah.” Vance replied as his fingers felt the steering wheel. “I'd like that. I hate shopping.”

“I hear ya.” Frank stood up. “Well then, you best go upstairs and get changed. Take a shower if you want, before the girls take the hot water. Grab a coat, in case it rains. We'll meet up with them for dinner.”

“Okay.” Vance replied, reluctantly getting out from behind the wheel. “Can I drive it later?” He said, smiling as big as he could.

“Ummmm. No. ” Frank looked at him and shook his head. “You're thirteen and you can't legally drive yet.”

“Awww.” And with that Vance headed back into the house.

The girls all piled into the back of Shelly's station wagon as a case of the cold feet hit Tracy for the tenth time in the past hour. “What if people know I'm not a girl?” She asked.

Sage chuckled. “Are you going to strip?”

“No.” Tracy said as her cheeks turned a deep red.

“Well then don't worry about it. I'm at the mall with Rachel a lot and no one knows about me.” The redhead replied.

“Yeah. It's going to be busy, so no one will care about just you, other then us.” Rachel replied. “Just remember to watch which restroom you go into.”

“Yeah. That would cause a little trouble.” Sage replied. “So you looking for anything?”

“Not really. I don't have too much money with me.” Tracy said. “I don't get my money for shopping till next week I think. Maybe the week after.”

Maggie turned from her seat to look at the three girls. “I may be willing to help you out if you find something. Then you can pay me back when you get your money.”

“Awesome!” Tracy beamed from the back seat.

“Remember, after we're done, we're catching up with your Uncle and Vance for dinner.” Her Aunt Shelly stated.

“When do you two have to go home?” Tracy looked to the two girls on either side of her.

Rachel frowned. “We begged our moms and Aunt Shelly to let us stay another night, but My mom said no.”

“Aw.” Tracy slumped in her seat.

Rachel smiled at her. “So I asked her if you could come over to our place. And she said yes. I even asked your mom while you were in the shower.”

“I can go?” Tracy leaned forward.

Maggie nodded. “Yes. You seemed to be having fun last night. So why not. Besides, this beats you moping in your room because all you have is Vance to hang out with.”

“Cool.” Tracy said again. “So when do we go over?” Tracy asked.

Shelly glanced into the rear-view mirror for a moment. “After dinner. We'll stop by my place and get your stuff and their stuff too. Tomorrow, Persephone, Sage's mom will have you back at my place after noon.”

“Wait, Sage's mother?” Tracy asked. “Why not Rachel's mom?”

“We got Church at eight. She's not going to make you go, but she won't let me miss it.” Rachel replied. "So when you get up, you can walk down the street to Sage's house."

“Oh.” Tracy frowned some more.

“Hey, it's not the last time we'll see you. You mother said the next time she comes, she'll try to bring you and maybe in the summer we can hang out too.” Rachel stated. “Besides, it's not like you live in New York, plus we can always call.”

“Or write.” Sage put a hand on her shoulder. “And you get to meet my mother. That will be fun.”

“Maybe next time we can get the rest of the group to meet you.” Rachel said.

“Are they fun, like you two?” Tracy looked from one girl, to the next.

“They're....” Sage thought about it for a moment. “They're interesting.”

“So what do you think?” Frank asked as he raced his classic muscle car down the highway, behind him were several others from the car club, all headed out for a drive. His nephew sat in the passenger seat, huge smile on his face. A car pulled up next to them, the driving honked till both Frank and Vance looked in his direction, then the man in the other car flashed them a thumbs up and slowly pulled away from them.

“This is awesome.” Vance replied. “You know that guy?”

“Not at all, but a lot of people love the older cars, that happens all the time. You should see the Friday night cruises in the summer.” Frank looked in his mirrors, then with a big grin, he dropped the car down a gear and stomped his foot to the floor. The engine roared and the car streaked forward, passing the man who had just passed them like he was standing still. Vance began to laugh wildly in the passenger seat. Frank shifted into the next gear and merged lanes. Behind them, a few of the others took up the chase.

“This is so much better then shopping!” Vance exclaimed.

“Isn’t it!” Frank waited a couple of miles till he took his foot off the gas and headed for the off ramp. “Hey, you hungry?” He asked as they slowed down for a traffic light.

“Yeah. But I thought you said no eating in the car?” Vance replied.

“We'll eat outside. I know a great hotdog place.” Frank said, headed into the town of Dublin. As they got to a red light, one of the other cars, a thirty two coupe pulled up along side and Frank rolled down the window. “Hey, the kid is hungry. Want to grab a bite?”

“Caspers?” The man in the other car asked.

“Yeah.” Frank and Vance watched as the man in the other car turned and called out to the car behind him. Word spread through out their convoy.

Frank looked to Vance. “Better then a phone.” He joked. “Wait till you see what happens when we stop.”

“What will happen?” Vance asked.

“You'll see.” Frank smiled as they pulled into the lot and backed into a parking space near the road. The other cars slowly pulled in and copied them. It was getting a bit windy as Vance and Frank got out of the car, so the teen pulled his windbreaker out and threw it on. They went in and ordered, then as they got their food, they all took up a spot outside, near their cars. People passing by began pulling in at the last second and soon a large group was looking over all of the old muscle cars.

After a while Frank pulled Vance away from the crowd. They sat at a picnic table where they could still see the cars. “Hey, I wanted to talk to you about all of this.”

“The cars?” Vance smiled as he watched the crowds.

“No, the whole thing with your...” Frank wasn't sure how to call his sibling. “Well with Tracy and Troy.”

“Oh.” Vance lost his smile. “I...don't know.”

“You don't know what?” Uncle Frank asked.

Vance sighed. “A part of me doesn't care. If he wants to wear a dress, let him. But Mom and Grandma seem to care for him more then me. They let him get away with more.”

“Do they? I hear he's doing more around the house. Are you doing much in the fields for the winter?”

Vance looked down. “Not really.”

“I don't think they love him more then you. But the situation that he or she is in is a bit harder then your life. So yeah, they may dote on him more. But don't think they hate you.” Frank replied. “Have you seen any good things about her being Tracy?”

“Well if he...I mean she gets more girl friends, that would be cool to have girls at the house.” Vance smiled. “That Sage was cute.”

Frank raised an eyebrow, but let his next comment slide. He knew the truth about the redhead, but he wasn't sure that it was to be public knowledge. “I guess so.” He smiled. “Have you thought about the benefits to her staying Tracy?”

“Like more girls at the house?” Vance asked.

“No, like her becoming more confident? More of her own person. A sister who'd love you?” Frank offered.

“I haven't really thought about that.” The teen shook his head. “A part of me just isn't sure, you know?”

“Yeah. I know.” Frank put a hand on Vance's shoulder. “Your brother...sister...” He took a deep breath. “From what your mother and Aunt told me this morning, Tracy may be around a lot more. She's finding herself and she may need her brother in the years to come.”

“What do you mean?” Vance asked.

“Simple. She's going to have a tough time as she grows. She'll need all of us to help her find herself.” Frank replied. “Tell you what, I'll let you think about what I've said. We'll talk more tomorrow, while we're driving.”

“Tomorrow? What's tomorrow?” Vance asked.

“I got a friend that has season tickets to the Forty Niner's. They play New Orleans tomorrow.”

“Really? I get to go to a game?!? At Candlestick?!?” Vance slowly stood up, a shocked look on his face.

“Yep.” Frank stated. “Come on kiddo. Let's get going. We can cruise a bit more, if that's okay with you.”

“Yeah.” Vance stood up and straightened his coat. “I'd like that.”

As they walked to the car, Frank cast a glance at him "Oh and if your aunt and mother ask, I never broke the speed limit once. Got it?" He gave the teen a conspiratorial grin.

Vance smiled back. He knew the trouble Uncle Frank would be in, then he'd never get to ride in the car again. "Right. Safe all the way here." He stated.