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Being Obvious
The following Saturday morning, Carter looked up when Avery and Josie came into the shop the minute he was officially opened.
His plan was to close around one since it was Labor Day weekend and he’d be off Monday too. He rarely took time off but was trying to learn to do that more.
“Thank you for fitting me in,” Avery said. “I’m sorry for the last minute call.”
“Not a problem,” he said. She’d called when she left the clinic last night; the tire light was on in her SUV. She’d said she went to put air in them all and the light went off, but driving the half a mile back home, the light came back on. “It wasn’t flat this morning?”
He’d told her to call him this morning and he’d come out and deal with it or at least tow it to the garage and get air in it to get here and figure out the problem.
“No,” she said. “It’s soft but not flat. Maybe I shouldn’t have driven it here though.”
“It’s here so don’t worry. I’ll get it on the lift now. I’m going to assume you’ll wait?”
“Yeah,” she said. “I didn’t want to call Laine and wake her this early.”
“I’ve got this for you, Carter,” Josie said.
He reached his hand out to the little girl. Another piece of paper and he assumed it was a drawing of Doc.
“Wow,” he said. “It looks just like her.”
“Is she here?” Josie asked.
“Both Dopey and Doc are here,” he said. “They always come to work with me.”
“Can I play with them while we wait?”
He smiled. He hadn’t put his coveralls on yet. Not sure why. He shouldn’t be embarrassed over his career choice and how he looked while he worked, but there was part of him that wanted to greet them looking like they’d always seen him.
Not dirty with grease on his hands and looking a mess in baggy stained coveralls even though he had four pairs.
“They normally stay in the garage with me if no one is up here yet, but you know what?” he said. “I think they would love to visit.”
They were in the waiting room right now. He tried to keep it clean and upbeat as much as he could for a garage as many did wait to have oil changes or small things done. He even had a TV for them to watch.
“We’ll take a seat,” Avery said. “And take good care of the dogs for you.”
“If I can’t trust my vet, who can I trust?” he said as he walked away.
He had Avery’s keys in his hand too. Might as well move her car in, then get the dogs.
Her car was in the front. He went around to see what tire was low. No, she shouldn’t have driven it but nothing he could do at this point other than fix it.
He pulled it on the lift, grabbed his coveralls to put on, then got the dogs while the SUV rose up.
When he walked back through, he looked at the tire to see if he could see anything in it, a nail or something, but nothing.
“Come on, kids, let’s go visit in the other room.”
He moved through and saw Avery and Josie still sitting there. Josie looked up and ran toward his dogs. Doc got excited like a puppy would, Dopey moved through like he was the king of the garage as always.
“Hi, Dopey,” Josie said. “Hi. Do you remember me?”
Doc was nudging her for attention, but the little girl wanted his boy first. He found it funny and cute at the same time.
“Come here, Doc,” Avery said. “Are you afraid of me?”
