Chapter 1
FrederickBennettleanedagainsta car needing a headlight replacement and pulled his vibrating phone from his pocket.Esther.
His finger hovered over the answer icon for a second before he dropped his hand to his side and let it go to voicemail.
“I see the gorgeous best friend is calling again.”Sean Clayton, Fred’s co-worker and long-time friend, held up the bulb Fred had sent him into the automotive department of Drummonds to get.
Esther’s picture flicked off the screen, indicating it was safe to text her.
Busy with a car.Call you later?
“You’re not going to answer her?”Sean asked in surprise.“This lightbulb can wait.”
Her reply was quick in coming:Important.Don’t forget.
Do I ever?
Sometimes.
He chuckled as he stuffed his phone back in his pocket and prepared to install the light.“I’ll call her later.If she’s calling instead of texting, it means a long convo or a favour that might take some persuading to get me to do for her.Either way.”He tapped his name tag.“Responsible employee.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know.”Sean’s reply sounded like he was answering a teacher or his mom.It was a tone Fred was familiar with, since he and Sean had known each other for more than a dozen years – since Sean moved to Hatfield Falls back in grade seven.“You owe the boss the full amount of time he’s due.”
Fred chuckled at the way Sean rolled his eyes as he said that last part, but it was true.Some of the guys here liked to cut a few corners, but that had never sat well with Fred.To him, it seemed dishonest or something.
“Well, yeah, that, and Mrs.Jones will be much happier once she is no longer chasing her son around the waiting room.”
Besides, this was his last car of the day.The next one would be all Sean’s, and he’d be on his way home to shower and eat.There’d be plenty of time to call Esther then, and there was no need to prolong his day here.
Sean leaned against Mrs.Jones’s car, looking back toward the waiting room.“According to what I heard as I passed through, the little guy was just eating cookie number four, and his mom was not happy that he had managed to snag it.”He shook his head and laughed softly as Fred reattached the wire socket.“Say, did you top up the washer fluid yet?”
“Nope.I was going to do that after this.”
Sean pushed off the car.“I’ll get it.”He grabbed a bottle of purple windshield washer fluid and deftly poured it into the correct reservoir without more than one tiny dribble escaping where it was supposed to have gone.It wasn’t the first or last time one or the other of them had done or would do that.It was store policy to always check fluid levels at the end of each service call.
Fred removed his work gloves, then flicked the headlights on to make sure they were working, while Sean replaced the cap on the washer fluid before he lowered the hood.
“Chris,” Fred called as the hood clattered into place, and Sean pushed down on it to make sure it was secure.“Bay three is done.Invoice is incoming.”The newbie, who was the current garage runner, would relay the news to Stephanie at the service counter when he went to retrieve the keys for the car so he could back it out and get the next vehicle to bring in.
Fred scrolled down the list on the computer that stood between bays two and three, checked off all the things that had been done during this service, recorded the replaced lightbulb, and marked the finish time.That was it.With one more click of his mouse – to send the invoice to Stephanie – his shift was over.
“Need anything before I head out?”he asked Sean.
“Not that I can think of, unless you want to let me leave and you work a double.”
Fred laughed.There was no way he was going to do that.“The only doubles I like are double-doubles from Timmie’s – oh!And those double chocolate cookies they started putting in the waiting room.Have you had one of those?”
“Nope,” Sean replied.“I’m weird, remember?Chocolate and I don’t get along.”
“Ah, right.Sorry.You’re missing out.Not that I should probably say that, but wow, I don’t know how I’d live if I had to saynoto chocolate.”
“Would you rather give up chocolate or coffee?”Sean asked as he motioned for Chris to pull the car ahead just a bit more.
“Well, when you put it that way,” Fred said with a laugh, “chocolate doesn’t seem so hard to do without.”
“I thought so.”Sean popped the hood on the Toyota Camry, before coming to the computer to double check what he was supposed to be doing with it.
“Hey,” he said when he was next to Fred.“How come you don’t ask out that hot BFF of yours?Afraid to ruin the friendship?”
