"Come on, Big Mike. Her bike's light, sure, but yours isn't exactly a tank. You're riding a Giant that ran you over ten grand. How much more expensive can this thing really be?"
"You wiped out, so you wiped out. Quit making excuses!" the lean man laughed.
Big Mike's face flushed a deep red. Flustered, he hoisted the bike up and passed it around so the others in the club could feel the weight for themselves.
"See? I told you. This bike's ridiculously light. Way lighter than my Giant."
"Damn, he's right. This thing's so light it's like there's nothing in your hands at all."
"No kidding. One look at the build and you can tell it's worth tens of thousands, easy. Don't even compare it to your ten-grand bikes."
"Pfft! Well, it's not even yours! It's Candice's!"
"Candice, come on, how much did this bike actually cost? Don't give Big Mike that 'twenty, thirty grand' line. Tell us the real number."
Candice was clearly basking in all the attention. Every compliment aimed at the Trek Butterfly, she took as a compliment to herself, her face glowing with smug pride.
"I didn't realize you all knew your stuff. This bike runs over seventy grand."
The whole crowd erupted. Every face wore the same I-knew-it expression, all of them locked on the strange-shaped bike with its vivid paint job, unable to tear their eyes away.
First time on a group ride, and someone shows up on a seventy-grand bicycle. Who wouldn't be eaten up with envy?
"Damn, Candice, I just took a spill on it. You're not gonna make me pay for it, are you?" Big Mike said, half-joking, half-serious. "Because I sure can't afford to replace this thing. If you insist, I guess I'll just have to give you my hand in marriage!"
"Get lost!" Candice didn't care in the slightest, laughing as she shot back. "Relax, I'm not making you pay. If I were that petty, I'd never have let you ride it."
Only then did Big Mike let out a slow breath, relieved.
Just then the ride captain came over clapping his hands, urging everyone to get ready. It was time to set off.
I sat inside the car and asked the manservant in the passenger seat, low, his camera propped up and rolling.
"Did you get all of it?"
"Got it. 4K, crystal clear. You can count the pores on their faces."
"Including the part where that heavyset man dropped my bike?"
"Got it, Yolanda. Every second of it, I promise."
"Good." I said it flatly. "All day today, I want every single thing they do to my bike on film. Don't let any of it slip past."
"Yes, ma'am!"
Candice and her group started pedaling up the mountain. She hadn't even gone two miles before she pulled over at a roadside lookout.
She pointed off into the distance and shouted, beaming, "Wow, look over there, it's gorgeous!"
Then she just tossed the bike aside. It hit the gravel road with a clatter.
"Come on, let's all take a picture here together!"
Big Mike dragged his slightly heavy frame over, glanced at the bike Candice had shoved to the ground, and shook his head. "Candice, this bike of yours is so expensive. You're really just gonna chuck it on the side of the road like that?"
"Oh, relax, it's just a bicycle. A bike's a tool, isn't it? You don't see a mechanic babying his screwdriver." Candice couldn't have looked less concerned.
Soon enough, once they'd finished snapping photos, they climbed back on and hit the road again.
By noon, the captain found a guesthouse halfway up the mountain and led everyone in for lunch.
The captain said the view from the middle of Fourbright Mountain was second only to the summit, so he gathered the whole club for a big group photo.
They took several shots in a row, and Candice was unhappy with every one of them.
"You guys are all way too tall. If we frame the guy in the back row, all you'll see of me is the top of my head."
"And if we frame it for my upper body, then you can't even see the back-row guy's head anymore."
The club captain looked half-exasperated. "Why don't you find something to stand on?"
Candice thought it over, and her face lit up.
She just dragged the Trek Butterfly off where it lay on its side, planted her foot on the pedal, and boosted herself up a few inches.
That way the camera could catch her and the guys in the back row all at once.
The captain shot her a thumbs-up.
When the group photo was finally done, Candice raced straight over to the captain and demanded a copy.
My phone buzzed. I opened it to find the group photo Candice had just snapped.
In it, she stood on top of the Trek Butterfly, plain as day.
A message sat underneath.
【Yolanda, had so much fun today, thanks for the bike!】
The corner of my mouth curved up.
Having fun, are we?
Let big sister make it just a little more fun for you.
I switched screens and dialed 911.
"Officer, I'd like to report a theft. One of my bicycles is missing."
"It has a GPS tracker. I've already located it. It's up on Fourbright Mountain. Could you help me out?"
