As it happens, I got my first car which was a motorcycle, from the soldier…

“Well you came back and gave me your motorcycle. You kept your promise. Do you remember that?” I asked.

“I remember,” he said, interrupting me. “Of course I kept my promise. I had to keep my promise. It suited you better than it ever suited me. It was red. It was fiery like you. My new bike was black. It suited me better, but anyway, yes I kept my promise. I keep all my promises, or at least I try to. There have been a few promises I’ve made in my life I’ve not been able to keep, but they are very few and far between and it sure wasn’t for the lack of trying.”

“Well I thought that was something. Because we were broken up and then here you come back with that bike. And you hand it over. Here’s your bike, Els. Most people would not have done that. You know. I was going to give you this bike, but now to hell with you.”

“Yeah, well I’d have kept my promise no matter what happened between us.Even if there had been a bad break-up, I’d have still done that but as it was, it was also a ploy to see you. It was an excuse.”

“Oh for chrissakes. You don’t need an excuse. Just call me up!”

“I know. I know, P, but I’m a man. And this is how we do things. We need an excuse and giving you that bike was a good one.”

“Well it was one of the most incredible things anyone ever did for me. You gave me my first transportation! Do you realize that? And I rode off into my life on that bike. I mean, you were gone. But not before you gave me that bike and literally launched my life. You propelled it I mean. I took off on that bike.”

“I don’t know. I guess so. I do know it was something I had to do and I never considered not doing. I always told you that would be your bike so it was going to be your bike and that was all there was to it.”

“Fine. I agree. It was my bike, but still. Not that many people would come give their bike to their ex-girlfriend so they can ride away to wherever… off with another man, for that matter. But you did. You let me your energy, see. And it was supreme, too. You took care of that bike.”

“Yeah, I did.”

“So the way I see it, I took off on your energy. Between my legs no less,” I said with a chuckle. “A fact that does not escape me now and did not escape me then. And I don’t think you realize this, but my whole life took off on the energy of that bike. I rode that bike to the stratosphere and if you factor your motorcycle out of the equation… well I wonder sometimes what would have become of me. I think I’d have had a very different life. Get it? You set me up. You left, but you left me empowered and it was a rare and incredibly beautiful thing to do.”

Do you keep your promises? Was there someone who really impacted and empowered your life like this? Who was it and what did they do?

skip to “What Secret Life?”