“I have a pretty good idea of what you two mean to each other.And you might as well call me Doc—everyone in town does.”
Ally gave Teddy a goodbye hug and he seemed to have found his lopsided grin again.He shared it with her as he was carried away by the vet tech.Ally stopped at the front desk before leaving.
“Yes, ma’am, Miss Jones.”She was greeted with the same friendliness as earlier.“How can we help?”
“If you would tell me what the bill amount is for Teddy?I get to take him home tomorrow and I just want to check on it now?”
The receptionist pulled up the screen on her computer and studied it.“Well, it seems the bill has been taken care of already.”
Ally shook her head.“You must have me confused with someone else in your accounts.I haven’t paid yet.”
The young lady shook her head.“No, it’s a zero balance.It looks to have been billed and paid yesterday.”
“By whom?”
“I’m sorry but I don’t have permission to give out that information.The person chose to not have it released.I’m sorry.But it must be nice to have such a surprise.”
Ally could only nod and smile a thank you to the receptionist.And as soon as her brain got over the shock of the news, it came up with a likely Good Samaritan.She would find out and pay that person back.Her next stop was D and J Garage.
As soon as she pulled up and parked, she saw a familiar sight.Her little car was hoisted up on a lift inside one of the bays.Surely, they weren’t working on it.They might still be checking it out for an estimate.That is what she asked for when she was able to give them a call after her phone had been delivered to the hospital after the accident.
She walked inside the office part of the building, and a woman came out of another smaller office to greet her.
“How may we help you?”
“I’m Ally Jones and…” She got no further.
“Yes, ma’am…nice to meet you.”The woman smiled and held out her hand and they shook.“I’m Dee…the D in D and J,” she said with a laugh.“I’m the one who did the estimate, and we just got the parts in we needed so your little car is being started today.I had to tell you because of its age, we had to send a distance for one or two things we needed.But we got them.”
“It’s nice to meet you.You’ve already started?I never received an estimate.”
“Well, we were given a green light, and the bill has been taken care of already.So, you don’t have to worry on that score.And we will guarantee our work.No need to worry about that, either.”
“Let me guess,” Ally responded, already having an idea of the answer, “the person who paid wants to remain anonymous?”
Dee winked at her.“Yes, indeed.You are one lucky lady.Although, I’m not surprised.I heard you were a very pretty lady from up north.”
Ally had to admire the woman’s forthright speech and attitude.“Up north?”
“I don’t mean to be politically incorrect or nothing, but up north generally refers to those people from the East Coast… Yankees for want of a better term.”
Ally could not help herself.She had to laugh.She shook her head trying to tame it down to a grin.“I’m not laughing at you.I just haven’t heard that term in ages.Someone I knew once, a dear friend, said that and I laughed then also.I take no offense.I am learning that Texas is a lot like its own country.”
“Well, we were indeed our own country a couple hundred years or so ago.But just so you know we aren’t being snobs or such.”
“I don’t take it that way.Let’s just pretend that I came in here with a car in pretty much the same shape as my car is in…what would be a ballpark figure do you think?”
“Smart lady.Brains and pretty.And if I came across a car in that shape…well, let’s see.”Dee scribbled on a piece of paper and turned it around for her to see.Ally took a silent but deep breath in.“I see.Thanks for that ballpark idea.”
“No problem,” the woman said and tossed the paper into the trash.“We’ll give you a call when it can be picked up, but it might take a week or more.Just depends on if there is something else we can’t see yet.”
“I will leave it in your mechanic’s expert hands.”
“Well, I do like having my hands called expert.”
Ally smiled.“You’re my mechanic?”
Dee beamed back at her.“Yes, indeed.My daughter Jaimie and I are the D and J in the sign.My dad taught us both and his dad taught him and so forth.”
