“Yes.” Jeremiah smiled at Dawn’s obvious excitement.
“I’ve always wanted to see this.” They parked a couple of blocks away and walked to the historic theatre. Jeremiah tried to walk, but Dawn practically ran and dragged him along behind her. “Have you ever been here before?”
“No. I was going to come last year, but the car had a vibration that had to be fixed, so I didn’t come.”
“So we are doing this for the first time together.”
“Yes,” Jeremiah said and pulled her closer so that he could put his arm around her shoulders. They both lost track of time as they walked around the grounds of the theatre. The people here were movie buffs, and not NASCAR fans. No one bothered Jeremiah as he walked. Jeremiah took Dawn’s picture as she put her hands in Marilyn Monroe’s handprints, and Dawn took one of Jeremiah as he stood in John Wayne’s boot prints. All the movie legends were here: Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, Charlie Chaplin, Gene Kelly, and Clint Eastwood. It was amazing to stand in the same places that all these famous people had stood. Another tourist took Dawn and Jeremiah’s picture together in front of the famous building. Dawn’s stomach growled, and she looked at her watch. It was after 6:00 p.m. She hadn’t eaten since lunch. No wonder she was getting hungry. Jeremiah heard and declared that the growling stomach meant it was time to move on to the next surprise. They were almost back to the truck when Jeremiah asked, “Do you know where you are?”
“No. Where?” she asked as she looked around. Then she saw the street sign, “The intersection of Hollywood and Vine. Cool. Look, there’s the Hollywood sign in the background. Jeremiah, we have to get our picture taken here.”
“Okay,” he said and waved at someone who was passing by. “Will you take our picture?”
“Sure. If you’ll take ours.”
“It’s a deal,” Jeremiah said as he handed the camera to the man. They each took their respective pictures and exchanged cameras again.
“You look familiar, but I can’t place you,” the woman said. “Are you a movie star?”
“No, ma’am. I’m a NASCAR driver.”
“You’re Jeremiah Jones!” the man said when he recognized him. “My brother-in-law, her brother, is a huge NASCAR fan. Can we have our picture with you?”
“Of course,” Jeremiah said. The woman got on one side of Jeremiah while the man handed Dawn the camera. Then the man got on the other side of Jeremiah. Dawn snapped the picture and showed it to the couple.
“Ronnie is going to be so jealous,” the woman said. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Jeremiah said, and the two couples went their separate ways. This time it was his stomach that growled.
“I believe you hinted that surprise number three involves food,” Dawn said.
“It does,” Jeremiah said as he again put a hand on the small of her back to guide her toward the truck. “Let’s go.”
They drove to the edge of town, and Jeremiah turned onto a two-lane road that reminded Dawn of the many like it back home. They held hands and listened to a contemporary Christian radio station. The city faded away to countryside. After a few miles, Jeremiah turned again, this time onto a dirt road, and they started to climb a hill.
“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
“No hints, remember.”
“Okay.” Dawn looked out the window as the truck went around a curve, and the Hollywood sign came into view, except this time they were right behind it. “I didn’t know that you could drive up here,” she said.
“You can, but not a lot of people know about it,” he told her as he stopped the truck.
“Is this my next surprise?”
“Yes,” he said and got out of the truck. He walked around the front to open Dawn’s door for her. He took her hand and helped her out of the vehicle. “Go check out the view while I get some stuff out of the back.”
“Do you need any help?”
“No. I don’t want you to see the surprise just yet.”
“Okay,” Dawn said. The sky was beginning to turn all different shades of pink, orange, and red. The sun would be setting soon, and it would be absolutely gorgeous from up here. Dawn could hear Jeremiah moving around behind her, but she didn’t turn around. He had obviously worked very hard on this surprise, and she didn’t want to spoil it. Dawn relaxed and watched a pair of squirrels scamper around the first L.
“I’m ready,” he said as he put his hands on her shoulders. She jumped and shrieked in surprise. “I didn’t mean to scare you.” He laughed.
“I was watching the squirrels and let you sneak up on me.”
“I didn’t sneak. I called your name twice, and you didn’t hear me.”
It was Dawn’s turn to laugh. “Sorry. Is my surprise ready?” she asked.
“Yup.” He moved so that Dawn could see what was behind them. “A picnic.”
“Oh, Jeremiah, this is great!” she told him as she walked toward the blanket spread on the ground. Plates, glasses, and a picnic basket sat on the blanket. Dawn knelt on the blanket, and Jeremiah took a seat next to her.
“I hope you’re hungry,” he said.
“I am. What did you bring to eat?”
“I threw this together pretty quick so I didn’t have time to fix anything fancy. I’ve got several types of cold cuts, cheese, and bread so that we can make whatever kind of sandwich we want. I also have some macaroni salad and potato salad,” he told her as he opened the picnic basket and started pulling out food. “I’ve got sodas too.”
Dawn watched as tons of food came out of the basket. “How did you get all of that in there?” she asked.
“I had help,” he admitted. “I told Wes what I was planning, and his wife packed the basket for me.”
“I’ll tell her thank you the next time I see her. And thank you,” she said.
“You’re welcome,” Jeremiah told her as he handed Dawn a plate. They sat on the blanket and ate while they watched the sunset. She wasn’t a morning person so she didn’t see many sunrises, but she enjoyed a sunset every chance she got.
“That was nice,” Dawn said as the sun dropped below the horizon. “Thanks again.”
“Anytime.”
She rose and started cleaning up. Jeremiah stopped her. “I’ll do that later. Let’s sit and talk for a while.”
“Okay,” she said and sat back down. “That reminds me. Earlier you started to ask me about something you found in the Bible.”
“Oh, yeah. I was reading where Jesus said, ‘The first shall be last and the last shall be first.’ What did he mean by that?”
“Jesus was the perfect example of servanthood. He served others, and he wants us to do the same. In that passage, Jesus was talking about people who are selfish and have that ‘I’ mentality. They do whatever they have to in order to be first or to be the best. When Jesus judges those people, they will be last in his eyes. On the other hand, those who put others first and themselves last will be exalted in Jesus’s eyes.”
“That makes sense. Thanks.” The wind picked up, and Dawn shivered. Jeremiah scooted closer to her and put his arms around her. She leaned in close to put her back against his chest. “I just realized that I forgot dessert,” he said. “Do you want to go back into town and get something sweet?”
“In a little while,” she told him as she snuggled closer. “I talked to my mom today. My dad has to have surgery.”
“Oh, sugar, I’m sorry. Is there anything I can do?”
“Just pray. I sent some money home. I may have to borrow some from Bryan. Since Dad didn’t get hurt at work, he’s not covered by workman’s comp. They have insurance for medical bills, but without him working, money is going to be tight while he recovers.”
“Does your Mom work?”
“Yes. She runs a daycare out of their
house, but it won’t be enough.”
“I’ll give you money if you need it.”
“Thanks for the offer. I may ask to borrow some if they need it.”
“I said I’d give you money, not borrow.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“Why not?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’ll borrow money from Richardson but not take money from me. Why?”
“He’s my boss. I can borrow against my pay.”
“Why not just take my money?” Dawn said nothing, just shrugged. Jeremiah turned her to where she was looking at him. “Please answer me.”
“I don’t know. It just doesn’t seem right. I don’t want to start our relationship like that. I don’t want you or anybody to think that I’m after your money.”
“I don’t think that, and if anybody else does, I’ll tell them to mind their own business.”
“I hope it doesn’t come to that, but if it does, I’ll think about it. Okay?”
“Okay.” He leaned in and kissed her. She leaned into him, closed her eyes, and let him deepen the kiss. She put one hand one on his cheek, and with the other, she held his hand. A sound in the background caused Dawn’s eyes to open suddenly. She realized that they were in a pretty deserted area, and it was almost completely dark.
“I think maybe it’s time to get out of here,” she said as she leaned back.
“I agree,” Jeremiah said. He left Dawn sitting on the blanket while he went to the truck for a couple of flashlights. He returned, and together they cleaned up after their meal. Dawn folded the blanket and followed Jeremiah as he put the picnic basket in the back of the SUV. She threw the blanket in with the picnic basket and ran to get inside the truck. It had been warm that day, and Dawn was wearing shorts. Now that the sun had went down, it was considerably cooler, and Dawn was getting cold. Jeremiah turned on the heater as soon as he got the truck started. “It’ll be warm in here in a second. Do you want me to get the blanket for you until it does?”
“No, thank you. You are so thoughtful.”
“Did you have a good time today?”
“Yes, I did. Everything was great. Thanks again.” She smiled at him.
“Your smile is all the thanks I need,” he said and then backed the vehicle out of its parking spot and headed back down the hill.
The next day was Saturday, and as usual, Bryan spent most of the morning with sponsor appearances. One of Bryan’s minor sponsors was a cell phone company. The company had held a contest among its customers for a free trip to LA to attend the race and meet Bryan. The winner was a woman from Ohio who brought along her husband and two teenage daughters. They were so excited to meet their favorite driver. The lady almost hyperventilated. After the initial excitement wore off, they spent over two hours with Bryan. He showed them the car and introduced them to Travis and each member of the crew. Then Bryan took the mom for her ride along in the car. Everyone had a great time.
The crew was happy with the way the car was running so Bryan gave the crew the rest of the day off. Dawn went back to the motor coach and was cleaning. She had an armful of dirty clothes when Bryan came in. “What are you doing?” he asked.
“Cleaning up a little bit,” she answered.
“What part of ‘the rest of the day off’ did you not understand?”
“That was for the crew.”
“And you.”
“Really?”
“Why would I give everybody else time off and make you work?”
“I don’t know, and I also won’t argue. I’ll throw these in a bag, and then I’m out of here,” she told him. “Call me if you need me.”
“I’m going to my room to call Valerie. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Dawn went back to her hotel room and turned on the TV. She was going to use this well-earned time off by doing absolutely nothing. She got settled on the bed and started watching a cooking show on a local channel. She hadn’t watched for very long when she felt her eyes start to droop. She fought the drowsiness for a few minutes but decided to give in. Dawn woke up about forty-five minutes later and realized that she hadn’t spoken to Jeremiah all day. She picked up her cell phone and called him.
“It’s Jeremiah,” he answered on the fourth ring.
“Hey, it’s Dawn. What are you doing?”
“Getting ready to race.”
“Race? Tonight?”
“Yeah. I do a few Nationwide races a year, and tonight is one of them.”
“Why?”
“I love to race. And it’s like an extra practice for the big race tomorrow.”
“That makes sense.”
“What are you doing tonight?” he asked her.
“Nothing.”
“Come to the race.”
“Okay. When does it start?”
“Thirty minutes.”
“I don’t have time to take a shower.”
“How long do you shower?” he joked.
“You know what I mean.”
“You’ll be fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. It’s warm tonight, and we’re all wearing fire suits. By the time the race is over, we’ll all be very ripe. You’ll be the cleanest of the bunch.”
“That’s gross.”
“C’mon.”
Dawn sighed. She wanted to go see him so there was no use in arguing with him. “I’ll be right over.”
Dawn got there right after the start of the race. She climbed up the pit box to sit behind Wes. “What’s going on?”
“Not much. We’re only twenty laps into the race.”
“Oh.”
“So, you and Jeremiah are getting along pretty well, huh?
“Yeah, I guess.”
“He really likes you.”
“I know.”
Wes thought for a moment before continuing. “I’m telling you this because Jeremiah doesn’t do anything halfway. He either goes at something full throttle, 100 percent, or he doesn’t go after it at all.”
“If you’re afraid that I’ll hurt him, I won’t.”
“I know that you wouldn’t intentionally, but when a guy like Jeremiah goes at something and fails, he gets hurt.”
“I understand.”
“He’s been hurt before, but you helped him reestablish his relationship with God. A lot of us, me included, have tried for years to do that and failed.” Wes spoke, but he never took his eyes off the action on the track. “There were so many times when I tried to witness to him, and he wouldn’t listen. I tried to show him by example what it was like to be a Christian. Sometimes he would make comments that he had noticed, but most of the time he would not. There were times when I wanted to hit him upside the head with a Bible, but I’m pretty sure that would be a sin.” Dawn laughed. “My point is that God used you to bring him back. If something goes wrong between the two of you, I don’t know if he’ll stay with it. If he does turn his back on God again, I don’t know if anything could ever get him back.”
“No pressure.”
“It wouldn’t be you. I didn’t mean to imply that. It’s just the type of guy that he is. If something hurts him, he doesn’t want anything else to do with it after that. He’s not the type to give second chances.”
“I understand what you are saying. But if that is true, how can he race week after week? I know that he’s been hurt, but he keeps on racing.”
“I don’t know. Passion, I guess.”
“We’ll just have to pray that he develops such a passion for God that nothing can put it out.”
Wes’s only response was a nod.
Dawn started to say more, but it was time for a pit stop and that took everyone’s full attention. Pit stops are so cool. They were de
finitely Dawn’s favorite part of the race. It amazed her to watch the crew fill up the gas tank, change four tires, and make any necessary changes to the car in under fifteen seconds. While the car was being taken care of, Jeremiah stuck a couple of fingers out of the window net and waved at Dawn. She waved back.
“Keep your mind on the race, brother,” came Wes’s voice over the headset. Dawn blushed at being caught. The pit stop went smoothly as did the rest of the race. Jeremiah came within half a car length of a second place finish. Dawn was waiting on the ground behind the pit wall when Jeremiah climbed out of the car. He took off his helmet and gloves and threw them back into the car. He took a step toward Dawn, and she climbed over the pit wall toward him. He was stopped by a news crew, so she had to wait. Jeremiah did several interviews in a row before the reporters moved on to the next driver. He walked the rest of the way to Dawn. She tried to hug him, but he put his hands up to stop her.
“Sorry, babe. I wasn’t joking about stinking after the race. I’m so sweaty and gross. I don’t want to get you dirty.”
“Not even a hug for coming in third?”
“I can’t resist, but just a quick one.” They hugged, and then he helped her back over the pit wall. They held hands as they walked toward the motor coach. “I’m starving. I think I’m going to shower and then hit the burger joint across the street. Will you wait on me to clean up and then go with me?”
“Why don’t I go get the food while you clean up and bring it back to the coach?”
“That sounds great,” Jeremiah said. They walked the rest of the way to the motor coach so that Jeremiah could give Dawn some money. “Hey, one more thing. There’s a little store near the burger place that sells homemade ice cream. I’d love some mint chocolate chip.”
“How do you eat like that and stay so thin? I used to eat like that but had to give it up to lose all my weight.”
“I sweat away a lot of calories in that hot car.”
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