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Without another word Coop shuffled into the garage. Sid watched him for a few minutes then chuckled. Coop's walk was much less appealing than Grace's. He could watch Grace walk away all day. He'd be mindful not to tell her that. If he saw her again, that is.
He picked up his wrench and continued to remove the parts he could get off easily. He then moved into the garage and asked Coop, "You have something I can put small parts and nuts and bolts in, so I don't lose them? I also need something I can soak parts in."
Coop picked his cap off his head, scratched his scalp, then reset his cap. "I have one of those little tin pans over in that corner..." He pointed across the garage. "And there's a parts soaker below it."
Sid ambled in the direction of both things and dug around in the mess. Maybe once he finished with the motorcycle, he'd come in here and clean and organize. This place needed some good old elbow grease and military organization.
Finding the tin pan, he blew dust out of it and bent to find the parts soaker. A bunch of miscellaneous junk had been stacked on top of it, but he found it.
Pulling the parts soaker out, he saw it would need a cleaning before he'd soak anything in it. If this is how it would be, he'd be here all month trying to get that old Knucklehead running.
He began gathering supplies to clean the parts soaker and set to work. Two hours later he'd finished cleaning the soaker, filled it with oil to give these old parts a good oil bath, and started carting parts he'd removed into the garage for their bath.
Coop looked at his watch. "So, I'm about ready to head home."
Sid glanced at his watch. "It's only three o'clock."
"Yeah. I need a nap." He reached into his pocket and pulled out some keys. "Lock up when you leave."
"You trust me to be here alone?"
Cooper laughed. "What are you going to steal? It would take you four hours to find anything worth taking. My tools are good but they're old. I don't keep money here. I don't have vending machines. I have someone else’s vehicle that still doesn't work and a few miscellaneous parts and pieces. If that's your big take, you can have it."
Coop tossed the keys into the air and Sid caught them in his right hand. Coop stared at him for a few moments, then nodded. "See you tomorrow, Sid."
"See you tomorrow, Coop."
The old man shuffled out to an old pickup truck. It took him some time to finally get himself inside then he waved and started the old truck up. It sounded great. It was a sleeper for sure. Didn't look like much, but it ran like a top. Mechanics did shit like that.
He chuckled and finished adding parts to the oil bath. He spent some time sweeping the floor of the garage. He put some tools away, tossed old rags into the garbage, and hung up larger tools that belonged on the wall. He didn't do everything he wanted, but it felt good.
He took a deep breath and looked around the little garage. It felt real good. He felt good.
Sid walked into the little front reception area and locked the door. He pulled the chain on the open sign to turn it off, then sauntered into the garage area. He closed the two overhead doors, then stepped out of the service door between the garage doors and the reception area. Pulling the keys from his pocket, he locked the door. As he walked away from the Garage, he stopped on the sidewalk and looked at it once more. A grin spread on his face, and he found a new stride in his step as he moved down Main Street toward his little bungalow. Despite the middle part of the day when he had his PTSD attack, he managed it, with help, and continued on with his day. He'd never done that before. In the past, he'd have gone home and crawled in bed for the rest of the day. Most of the time anyway. They drained him.
Maybe this little town had healing powers after all. That's what Sarge had said about it.
4
Grace and Chiefy finished their walk with a skip in their step. Yes, it seemed Chiefy felt pretty danged good about their day too. They helped someone today and it felt damned good.
Hanging Chiefy's leash on the hook by the door, Grace turned around and she began digging into her work. Today she was going to tile the wall above the bathtub. Heaving out a deep breath, Grace entered the bathroom and looked at the mess. She was so sick of living in a construction zone. But, really, what could she do? This was the plan and she needed to save her money right now for the projects, not lavish digs. Once she had this place finished, she'd move next door and work on that one. She could live over there for the time being, but this was better than that place, sadly. These cute little bungalows had been left to their own devices for years now. Which was surprising in this location.
Anyway, she'd had the exterminator over there a couple of times now, and she felt leaving it closed up was better than trying to live in it, in case there were still bugs living about. Such was life in Florida. At least that's what she'd been told. So, now, she added the quarterly pesticide treatments to her budget, and she felt it was well worth it, if not a little gross.
Heaving out a deep breath, Grace opened the five-gallon pail of premixed thin set and set the lid in the kitchen. She then opened the box of tile. Admiring them for a few moments, she smiled. Beachy blue subway tile was going to look fantastic in here. She'd marked her lines yesterday, so she was ready to begin.
Grabbing her trowel, she smeared a large swath of thin set onto the wall, then moved it around in small sections. Adding her tile to the thin set she worked meticulously to get the first wall completed.
Chiefy whined and Grace looked at her watch. It had been a couple of hours. It was time to let her play in the water. This was their routine. Sit on the front porch in the morning and watch the water while Grace had her two cups of coffee. Then go for a walk. Then work for a while and go for a walk after lunch. Then work. But in the evening, Chiefy got to run in the water and look for things left behind. She just loved ducking her head into the water and coming up with weird things. A piece of carpet. An old can. A discarded water bottle. Grace always brought a garbage bag with her and considered it their community service in keeping the water clean.
"Okay, girl. Hang on."
She washed her hands, looked at her clothing and decided to go for it. Thin set smudges and dust were all over her, but she'd been working, and she'd wear these clothes until her shower tonight. Luckily, she had two bathrooms here.
She dried her hands on a towel, then pulled Chiefy's leash from the hook by the door. That got her excited. Running back to the kitchen, she pulled a garbage bag from the drawer and met Chiefy at the door. She attached the leash to Chiefy's collar and stepped outside.
Before crossing the road she looked both ways, then they hurried across. As soon as they were on the beach, Chiefy began tugging hard on the leash. Grace giggled at her enthusiasm. As soon as they were within a couple of feet, she unhooked the leash and let Chiefy run to the water. Sand kicked up behind her feet she ran so fast, and the splash she made when she dove into the water was huge. Grace laughed and neared the water waiting for Chiefy to come up with a treasure.
