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trips?”
    “Sure!” Maggie looked delighted with this possibility.
    “Maggie, come on.” Liz urged her off the bike. Maggie did climb down, but only because she’d already spotted another one she liked. “This one’s not for us,” Liz told Mike.
    She followed Maggie to a shiny red and chrome bike with a seat so low she didn’t need help getting on. “How do I look?” she asked, leaning way forward to reach the handlebars.
    You look like a happy little elf riding a stallion . Liz snapped the pictureand gave a thumbs-up. Her thumb was a better liar than she was.
    “Stylin’,” Mike said with a nod.
    “Maggie, you can’t buy a bike today,” Liz said. Then she came up with a stroke of brilliance. “You should take lessons before you buy. Make sure you know what you’re doing. Ryan could probably—”
    “We have a New Rider course you could sign up for,” Mike said. “A new session starts up in a couple of weeks. Should I sign you up? You ride one of our bikes while you get the feel for things; then you can make your final purchase at the end.”
    Surprised, Liz stared at Mike. They actually have classes for that?
    “No need,” Maggie said. “I already know how to ride. I took out my grandson’s bike, and it was easy-peasy. Is this one going to shake me up or give me a good vibration?” Maggie winked.
    Mike chuckled. “This one will give you a smooth, comfortable ride.”
    “I need to use the ladies’ room,” Liz announced. She pivoted toward the restrooms, took a few steps, and turned back to Maggie. “Don’t buy anything without me.”
    “I won’t. There are still more bikes to try!” Maggie handed her cell to the salesman. “Here, take my picture.” She raised her hand in a salute and smiled for the camera.
    Liz speedwalked to the ladies’ room.
    It was time to regroup. She had a little time while Maggie tried all the bikes, but then she’d whip out that check, and it would all be over. She stood by the sink and dialed Ryan’s number.
    “O’Hare,” he said by way of a hello.
    “Ryan, it’s Liz. Your grandmother asked me to take her shopping, and I didn’t know she meant the Harley dealer, but here we are—”
    “What’s the address?”
    “You don’t need to come here. I just wanted some advice on talking her out of it.”
    “Tell me the address,” he demanded.
    Her nerves jangled at his tone, but she told him. What if I lose my job after just one day?
    “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Do not let her hand over any money.” He hung up.
    She looked at herself in the mirror. She was flushed, and a piece of hair had come out of place from her usual smooth, straight, shoulder-length cut. She soaked a paper towel and applied it to her neck. Then she pulled a brush from her purse and quickly brushed her hair back into place.
    When she came out, Maggie was sitting on top of a trike. “What do you think?”
    “Well…” Liz searched for the right words. The bike was a huge three-wheeler, and Maggie looked like a little kid on top of it. “It seems stable,” she finally said.
    “That’s what I was telling her,” Mike said.
    “It’s not as cool, is it?” Maggie asked, adjusting her pink scarf.
    “Trikes are big with the boomers,” Mike said. “If you take a fast turn, you won’t skid out.”
    Liz’s eyes widened with alarm. Maggie could get seriously hurt if she fell off a bike. “You’d still be riding a motorcycle,” Liz pointed out. “A trike seems safer. Not as safe as a car—”
    “I don’t want to settle,” Maggie said, carefully peeling herself off the trike. “You got anything in pink?”
    “Nothing in the shop,” Mike said. “We’d have to custom order it, but we have some jackets and helmets with pink.”
    “Let’s see ’em,” Maggie said.
    Mike brought them to the far corner of the showroom to the apparel section, where Maggie ignored the windbreakers with pink stripes in favor of black leather jackets with pink satin lining. She happily