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Abigail
Another long night at Radman’s! Geez, I swear I fucking live here most days. Can’t complain too much though, Fred hired me when I was only fourteen. Radman’s is owned by none other than Fred Radman. My mentor. Fred had to scoot out early and of course, I told him I’d close up shop. I am his second in command for this reason. Fred taught me everything I know, from changing the oil to rebuilding an engine. Fred said I picked up everything pretty quick and would make a great grease monkey. That would lead to why he calls me Monk or Monkey.
Just as I’m about to close up, a dispatcher, from Townsend Towing, calls to let me know they’re bringing in a ditcher and the prodigal son in on call Shit! Victor’s a guy in my class and works for his daddy’s towing company, but I so did not want to put up with anyone else tonight. I open the garage doors and wait for him to pull up.
Victor backs in a good thirty minutes later. Got my homework out of the way while waiting on his ass. Dickhead! Grabbing the paperwork, I walk into the shop as I hear a door shut.
“Hey, Abi,” Vic—the dick—shouts as we come closer together.
“Really? Come on, Vic. You gotta come up with something better than that.” Shaking my head, I look over the Mazda SUV sitting in front of me. “So, tell me whatcha got for me.”
“Now Abi, that was such a loaded question. You know exactly what I got for ya. I can think of many things I can give you,” He winks.
“Not happening, Victor. Let’s get this shit over with. I’m tired, hot, and stinky. I need a shower and some food before I can even sleep. Just tell me what’s up so I can see what I can do or if it will need to be left to Fred.”
“Sorry babe.” Jesus, I hate that pet name! “Picked this one up out of the ditch. I’d say it’s going to need a whole new front end. Of course, I should leave that to you, you know more about this shit than I do.”
“What the hell’d they do? Swerve to miss a deer or new in town and just not know their way around?” Walking around the SUV, I check everything I can see at a glance. “Going to be a lot more than just the front end needing to be replaced from the looks of it.”
He hesitates and I narrow my eyes at his response. “Didn’t really get the story. Angelo told me to go grab it, so I did.”
“Alright. Well, I’ve got it from here. I’ll see how much of it I can handle and how much I will have to order. Should have an estimate sometime tomorrow. Just tell the owner to stop by around...Uh...Let’s say six tomorrow evening.” My dismissal is the nicest I can give at this point. I’m over the shit.
“You don’t want me here, babe?”
“First, not your babe, Vic. Second, why in the hell would I want to spend any time with you? You sure couldn’t have been bothered to talk to me when you were out with your buddies.” God, why can’t he take a fucking hint? “Ya know what...Doesn’t matter anyhow. Please just go, we will always just be secret friends. That’s it.”
Victor nods his head then walks out the door. Thank fuck for that. I still have to finish the assessment on this girl and get her worked up. Grabbing a water from the fridge and turning the music up, I shut the garage door and get to work.
Just as I get the SUV that I’ve now come to recognize as a Mazda CX-5 up on the lifts, Life’s A Dance by John Michael Montgomery starts playing. As per usual, I sing along. When everyone is working, they usually wait for me to start singing just so they can embarrass me. Crazy guys just don’t understand. I can’t be embarrassed. Singing is my passion and what will get me out of this shithole town.
