When Jack and Poppy came into the kitchen dad looked up with a big smile on his face. A biggest-ever smile. He said, “You two’ll never guess …” And he waved his phone at them. “We’re going to get a bike!” Jack put his schoolbag down and wondered if the bike would be for mum and dad, or for him and Poppy. Then dad showed them the phone screen. It was a message from their uncle.
There was tiny writing and emojis and a photo of a bike seat. An old bike seat. Dad said, “See that? He’s found a bike and we can have it!” Jack didn’t quite know what to say. He looked again at the photo and said, “It’s old, dad.” Poppy wanted to know if it would still work. Mum came in, rolling her eyes. She said, “That brother of yours is giving away more junk?”
Dad laughed and said No, No. This time it was all good. And in fact he and kids should go right now and fetch the bike. Now? Yes! He winked at mum and headed for the door. Jack and Poppy shoved their school stuff in a corner, gobbled a small handful of biscuit from the round tin, said “Bye mum!” and sped after dad.
When they got to the garden gate Poppy called out, “Where is it, dad? At uncle’s place?” And he laughed again and said, “No! It’s up the hill. Where else?” Jack and Poppy stopped. They looked at each other and shook their heads. There weren’t any bikes up there. But dad seemed to know. He checked his phone, pushed open the gate and led the way along the footpath. Soon they were on the hill, quickly climbing up through the grass and little bushes that prickled their legs.
Up and up they went. Dad was soon puffing and panting but he was going straight and Jack and Poppy could see that he knew where he was going. They traipsed after him. After some time they got to the first shady trees and dad pulled out his phone and stopped to check. He said, “Your uncle’s told me where the bike is and I think we’re getting close. Should find it soon.”
It didn’t seem like that to Jack and Poppy. They looked at each other again and shook their heads. Jack said he thought there was only the funny tree with yellow leaves up ahead in the direction they were going. Poppy nodded. “Dad we’ve been up here lots and … like, there isn’t any bike up here.”
Dad was frowning a bit, and scratching his head, looking down at his messages, but he said, “Well, your uncle said he left it up here. Just a bit further up. And unless someone’s taken it …” He opened his maps and nodded to himself.
The three of them set off once more. Up they went, pushing through the long grass, brushing over tiny purple and yellow flowers, going around rocks and ducking under trees with low-hanging branches. Then, suddenly, dad stopped. He checked his phone again and said, “We’re here!”
Where they were was in front of a big, smooth, black rock. Big and puffy, like a giant’s pillow. And right next to it a big tree with yellow leaves. Jack and Poppy looked at each other again. They knew this tree. They’d been here before. And they’d never seen a bike. Dad knew what they were thinking but he said sometimes people didn’t notice stuff and they should look around a bit. “Your uncle’s usually right. And especially about his bikes.”
So they spread out around the big rock, looking and peering and squinting and inquiring and searching and detecting. Jack drifted under the tree, pushing through long dry branches and scuffling in deep piles of old yellow leaves. Nothing there.
Poppy was also finding nothing. She’d gone behind the big rock and was slowly and carefully peering into shadowy cracks and feeling with her fingers in the dirt. Maybe it had been hidden or buried.
Dad was standing in the middle of a big clump of messy brambles and blackberries. Some of them had found his jeans and weren’t letting go. But he pulled and shoved this way and that and looked down into the dark places under all the scratchy things.
Jack turned to the others and said he was feeling hot. Poppy told him to toughen up. Dad thought they should be patient with each other. He said, “There aren’t many more places to look. We must be close now.” So they kept poking and probing.
Jack found an old shoe. He held it up and said it might fit Poppy. She laughed and said she’d just found a muddy plastic bag under a corner of the big rock. “Bags are such bad news for the environment,” she told Jack. Dad came across a couple of pieces of old wood nailed together. Then Jack uncovered a rusty heap of old wire. Now that they were looking quite hard and serious, there was so much stuff here. A lump of concrete, a gardening glove, a small brown bottle, someone’s socks, an ice-cream box, two squashed yellow tennis balls.
Jack said, “How did all this get here?” And just as Poppy was going to explain dad let out a yell. “Kids! What’s this?”
They rushed over and looked down where dad was pointing. A bicycle wheel! It was smothered in bushy, prickly, creepy plants but as they looked closer they could see, sure enough, it was a bike wheel. Dad pushed the blackberry back a bit. And there was the bike handle. And a pedal and the chain. And everything. They’d found the bike!
Together they pulled and heaved and strained and yanked and … pop! The bike came flying out from under the tangle and everybody fell backwards and landed in a heap. With the bike on top of them. One wheel slowly turning.
Dad blew some straggly grass out of his mouth and said, “You kids OK?” Jack said he was and Poppy wiggled up to her feet and dusted herself down. They were all good. And so was the bike. Dad leaned it against the rock.
It was a big bike. Blue, with an old seat. Jack thought it had been lying in the rubbish for a long time because it was covered in dirt. “And cobwebs,” Poppy said. But dad pointed out there wasn’t any rust, so maybe it was newer than it looked. Then he stopped. He said, “Kids. See what I see?” Jack and Poppy were just seeing a bike. Dad said, “No. Look. It’s got a battery.” Poppy’s eyes went wide. A big smiling grin crept across Jack’s face. Dad wiped his hands on his jeans. “It’s an e-bike!”
Jack and Poppy couldn’t help themselves. They did a wild this-is-so-good dance and whooped and yelled. Dad was chuckling and looking down at his phone. He stood up straight and said, “Kids. I think your uncle definitely knew what he was talking about. And I think we might be able to get this thing working.”
They wiped the bike clean with handfuls of big fresh yellow leaves. Jack and Poppy made the handlebars straight. Dad checked on Google and got the wire in the battery connected. He felt the tyres. “Hmm,” he said. “They’re pretty flat. I don’t know if they’ll be OK to get back home.”
That got Jack thinking. He said, “How will we get it home, Dad?” Poppy said it was too heavy to carry though all the bush and scratchy grass and stuff. Dad smiled. He said, “We’re going to get it home the easy way. We’re going to ride it down the hill!”
Now they were all laughing. Jack and Poppy scrambled onto the bike. Dad said there was a lever, at the back, and he’d press it when the bike was moving. He said, “Ready?” Jack and Poppy held on tighter and said Yes. “Go!”
Off they went. Wobbling and swerving. Over some scrunchy blackberries. Arms and legs waving. Bouncing and bumping. Dad running behind. The bike got faster. Dad reached out to grab the little lever. But the bike jolted away from him! No! He made a desperate grab at it again. Missed! Now the bike was going even faster. Jack yelled, “It’s out of control!” Poppy said, “Quick, Dad!” Dad reached and stretched and strained and this time the tips of his finger just managed to touch the little lever. And the motor started! Dad made a huge jump and landed on the back of the bike. Brrrrm!
Now the three of them were flying. Down, down. Through tall grass. Swerving around prickly bushes. Onwards. Downwards. Banging over flat rocks. Ducking under trees. On and on. Jack and Poppy were laughing and yelling. Dad was holding on tight to his hat. The wind was whooshing. Down they went, bumping onto the footpath. Jack managed to steer the bike through their gate and they slid to a stop at the kitchen door.
//
At that very moment, mum came out. She was holding up her phone and said, “It’s your uncle! He’s on video and asking if you found the bike.” Dad beamed. He took the phone and said, “Bro, we found it!” He turned the phone so the bike and Jack and Poppy were in the video. They said, “Uncle! It’s such a cool bike.”
Their uncle smiled and asked who managed to press the little lever. Dad chuckled and took the phone again. He said, “I did. I ran behind and pressed it.” Jack called out, “It wasn’t easy, uncle. Dad was awesome.” Poppy cut in. She said, “Uncle, dad was just like that lady in the Bible story that you read us the other night.” Her uncle paused. “You mean that sick sick lady in the crowd, who reached from behind and touched Jesus coat?” Poppy nodded.
And just then mum took the phone and stepped back into the kitchen. She said, “Sorry, Bro. I’ve just remembered there’s something in the oven. Would you mind if we talk more later?” Jack and Poppy’s uncle laughed and said, “I can almost smell what’s in your oven over the phone! See you later!” And Jack and Poppy raced each other inside.
\\ Alternative ending
Mum looked up with a start. “My,” she said. “That sounded like a herd of elephants!” Now they were all laughing and grinning and reaching for biscuits and telling mum all about the bike and how dad had managed to reach from behind and press the lever. Mum said, “He knows how to move quickly when he has to. A man like that deserves another biscuit.” Dad smiled and took another biscuit. He said, “Kids, remember our Bible story the other night? About the sick lady who reached out to grab Jesus’ coat? I felt a bit like her.” Mum smiled and wondered if dad would be able to reach the lever again, “Because,” she said, “I’d like a ride on the bike too.”