Artemis was happy her mother managed to find the bearing for her bicycle. Hudson’s bearing had the exact bearing she needed for her crank. Her mother suggested she disassemble her bicycle and have it sandblasted. That way she could repaint it. She could also fix some of the problems the frame had.

Her mother was nice enough to let her use her tools. If she wiped them down and put them back where she got them from. She looks at all the parts as they laid on the floor. She took pictures of each part and where she removed it from.

She wipes the grease off her hands and starts cleaning up. She makes sure she cleans her mother’s tools and puts them back in the proper drawers in the toolbox. She picks up all the old bearing and put them in a box.

Once she has all the tools put away, Artemis carries the frame out to her mother’s truck. She puts the frame and the fork in the back. Also, the seat as well. Her mother knew a person who could make her a brand-new seat for her bicycle.

She looks at the parts as they sat in the cargo area of her mother’s pick-up. She had found the bicycle someone had abandoned. Then she had fixed it with some help and used it to look for work. Which turned into finding a new family.

Artemis walks into the house and spots her mother watching a movie. She sneaks up behind her and hugs her.

“Are you done, sweetie?” Roxana pauses her movie and looks at her daughter.

“Yes ma’am. I’ve completely disassembled my bicycle and put the frame, front fork, and seat in the back of your truck.”

“I’ll drop them off at Barry’s and ask him to sandblast them for you and fix any problems he spots in the frame.” Roxana trusted Barry and liked his work.

“Thanks, mom.” Artemis kisses Roxana on the cheek.

“So, what are you going to do for the rest of the day?” Roxana planned on taking it easy, after the week she has had at the shop.

“I don’t know. I was thinking about going for a ride, but I disassembled my bicycle. Is it alright if I go check out the thrift store?”

“Sure sweetie. Go get my purse and I’ll give you some money, so you can buy yourself something.”

“Okay, mom and thanks.” Artemis heads upstairs to her mother’s bedroom and brings her purse downstairs.

Artemis hands Roxana her purse. She knew her mother would give her, her weekly allowance.

“Thanks, sweetie.” Roxana accepts the purse and opens it.

She pulls out thirty dollars and hands it to Artemis “here you go, sweety.”

Artemis accepts the cash. She folds the bills up and puts them in her pocket.

“Thanks, mom.”

“You’re welcome, sweetie. Don’t spend all of it.” Roxana knew Artemis normally put some money in her bank account.

“I’ll try not to, mom.” Artemis hugs her mother.

Artemis puts her earbuds in and plays some music as she leaves the house. The walk to the thrift store wasn’t too far from her mother’s place.
The weather was nice outside, and the neighborhood was pleasant.

It takes Artemis twenty minutes to walk to the thrift store. There was a collection of bicycles outside for sale. Some looked like they needed some major work and the others looked brand new. She looks among the bicycles and spots an old one. It had a headlight, a horn, and carry baskets mounted on the front and back of the bicycle.

The light had Avanti on it. The price tag the thrift store had on the bicycle was twenty dollars.

“Well, I know where most of my money is going.” Artemis takes a picture of the bicycle and heads inside the store.

She walks up to the counter where two old ladies were ringing people up. She waits in line behind a middle-aged woman with two small children. She was buying a lot of clothes for herself and her children.

One of the older women behind the counter motion for her to step up. Artemis walks on the other side of the young mother and children. When she is standing in front of the older woman “I would like to purchase this bicycle, please.” Artemis shows the woman the picture she took.

“Ah! That’s a nice bicycle. Do you think you can handle it?” Betty looks at Artemis. The bicycle was a men’s bike and was twenty-six inches tall.

“I think I can handle it, ma’am.” Artemis pulls the thirty dollars her mother gave her out of her pants pocket.

“That will be twenty-one dollars and ninety cents.” Betty looks at Artemis.

“Here’s thirty dollars, ma’am.” Artemis hands the twenty and ten dollars bill her mother handed her to the old lady.

Betty accepts the money and rings the bicycle up. They have had that bicycle for months now and no one has been interested in it. She was happy to see it going to a nice young girl.

“There you go, young lady. Enjoy.” Betty smiles at the young girl.

“Thank you, ma’am.” Artemis puts the change and receipt in her pants pocket.

She looks around in the thrift store to see if there was anything else, she might want. She liked exploring the thrift store. She never knew what
she was going to find. She knew her mother and aunt liked exploring as well. There was another thrift about thirty miles up the road her mother and aunt go to sometimes.

She doesn’t see anything that catches her eyes. So, she heads out of the store and over to the bicycle she bought. It was in better shape than her other bicycle. She checks the tires, and both were rock solid. The seat was still in good condition. There were only a few cracks in the material.

“Well, let’s see how well you peddle.” Artemis walks the bicycle away from the others and mounts it.

She mounts it and is barely able to touch the peddles. The seat needed to come down a little more for her to put her feet on the peddles, fully.
She starts peddling down the driveway and onto the street. The bicycle had the old-style type of brakes.

It took some getting used to and a few close calls, but Artemis manages to make it home without hurting herself or the bicycle. She dismounts and puts the kickstand down. She looks at the chain and notices it needed to be lube.

Artemis walks into the garage, after opening the door to grab a can of white lithium grease to lube the chain with. She tries out the horn and lights and discovered she needed batteries. The battery compartment was in good condition.

Artemis steps away from the bicycle and looks at it. It was a nice antique bicycle she wonders when the bicycle was made. She takes a few pictures of it to look upon the web. When she is done taking pictures. She puts the bicycle in the garage and heads into the house to tell her mother what she bought.