Savior Ch. 12

"Has anyone told you that you spend too much time flirting and not enough time working?"

"Not since last week," Patrick called back, his smile spreading, and I got the sense there was some meaning to that exchange.

I giggled as Rand fussed and growled good-naturedly. I couldn't make out all the words, but I heard the one's I was meant to hear, like 'do all the work,' 'flirting,' and 'pretty girl.'

"He may not be your son, but I think you did a pretty good job raising him," I said quietly.

He grinned. "I think he came out okay in spite of me." He held the part up for my inspection. "What do you think?"

I wouldn't call it shiny, but it was no longer coated in gunk. "Uh... what is it?"

He chuckled. "It's the carburetor. It's what gets the gas into the engine so it'll run."

"Oh. It looks perfect, then."

With another chuckle, he nodded in the direction of the car. "Come on, let's go see what Rand is doing."

I watched for another hour as the men worked. While Rand continued fussing around at the back of the car and in the floor under the steering wheel, Patrick took all the wheels off and examined something. He then crouched under the front end, pulling and tugging on stuff, making the steering wheel dance. He wrote a long list of parts and then sent me to the store again.

The list of parts, though long, weren't overly expensive, though paying for them took another large bite out of my available funds. I'd spent more than half of my money on my car. The thought made me queasy with dread, but I wasn't letting Patrick pay for parts for my car if there was any way I could avoid it.

When I returned, the Beetle had been lowered, though it was still on the lift with the wheels off, and Rand and Patrick were fussing around with the engine. I was walking up with three more bags of parts when Rand walked to the driver's door, reached through the window, and turned the key. The Bug whirred over as Patrick fiddled with the engine, then it roared to life.

When I'd bought the car, even after Dad got it running, I didn't remember it running this well, but as Patrick tinkered, it smoothed out more and more. After a few moments he stepped back, reached into the engine, and revved it hard several times. Rand turned it off, then twisted the key again and the engine sprang immediately to life. He repeated the procedure a couple of more times before grinning at me.

"Want to try it?" Rand asked. Biting my lip so I wouldn't cry, placed the bags on the ground, hurried to the car, and squeezed into the seat. "Ah-ah. Don't do that," he said with a grin as I pumped the accelerator. "You'll flood it. Just turn the key."

I did. It took a moment longer to start than it did with Rand, but the engine caught, stumbled, then settled into a strong steady idle. I switched it off, turned the key again, and the engine thrummed immediately to life.

"Thank you," I whimpered as I squeezed out of the car and hugged first Rand, then Patrick. "Thank you so much," I gasped as I released Patrick and stepped back, wiping my eyes as I did.

Patrick began pawing through the bags, pulling out parts and looking at them. "Now that it goes, it has to stop. Your brakes are shot. Steering, too. You're lucky to still be alive driving this thing."

I left the men to their work and went to Patrick's house to prepare dinner. I found some hamburger that I set to defrosting in the microwave as I hunted for additional ingredients. I was expert in hamburger.

I browned the ground beef as I boiled elbow macaroni. I then added salsa, cheese, and spices before dumping the concoction into a baking dish. I allowed it bake for twenty minutes before I added more cheese to the top and slid it back into the oven. As the cheese melted, I returned to the garage and called the men for dinner.

I was placing corn chip, sour cream, and beers on the table when they arrived, covered in grease and sweat, but smiling.

"I've never built an entire car before in just one day, have you?" Rand asked after he stepped out of the bathroom. His hands were clean halfway to his elbow, but the rest of him was still dirty.

"No. There's a first time for everything, I guess," Patrick chuckled as he took Rand's place in the bathroom so he could wash his hands.