go read it here<\/a>. We\u2019ll wait for you to catch up.)<\/p>\nAfter driving past it twice, I finally found the mechanic shop. The faded sign in front said something I interpreted as \u201cbattery and alternator,\u201d but it\u2019s possible that I was just imagining it.<\/p>\n
There were no lights on inside the building, and the junk strewn about the yard made it look uninhabited. I stopped the car and reminded myself \u201cbest mechanic I know.\u201d I determinedly tried to ignore the end of that statement. As promised, there was an old RV standing behind the shop. Where the shop was completely dark, the RV glowed with light and the sound from a football game carried across the yard. I sighed and got out of the car. <\/p>\n
The rain had turned back to heavy mist, but I was so wet by now that it didn\u2019t matter. Cold water dripped from my hair and ran down my back. As I walked toward the camper, I saw that the windows were weatherstripped with old duct tape and the satellite dish was held on with c-clamps. \u201cBest mechanic I know.\u201d<\/p>\n
I knocked on the door and then waited. Nothing stirred. I banged on the door with all my might. The camper door rattled and looked as if it might fall off, but then nothing. I started to walk away, but some dumb voice in my head said \u201cYou\u2019re a big girl. You need help. Look in that window and see if he\u2019s there.\u201d<\/p>\n
I did.<\/p>\n
There was Bill\u2026not quite in his altogether, but close. He was wearing boxer shorts and socks, and sleeping peacefully on his makeshift sofa. His hand was wrapped around his beer, and the better part of a twelve pack lay strewn on the floor around him. Clearly the \u201cwhen he\u2019s sober\u201d part was not going to apply today.<\/p>\n
I was almost back to my car when I saw Bill\u2019s nearest neighbor leaving his office. It was half an acre or more away, but I was desperate. \u201cHEY!\u201d I hollered at him. \u201cDon\u2019t get in your truck yet! I need to ask you something!\u201d<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know if it was his surprise, my bedraggled appearance as I ran straight at him, or just Texas-bred manners that kept him there \u2013 but he waited, clearly amused. I slogged through the marshy grass and climbed over a low pipe-fence to get to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI need a mechanic.\u201d I told him. \u201cMy battery light is on and I need a part for it. It\u2019s after 5:00 on a Friday and I\u2019m not from here, but I need a mechanic. Where do I go?\u201d<\/p>\n
He studied me for a moment before pulling out his cell phone and dialing a number. \u201cHey, Steve, you still open?\u201d He listened briefly before saying, \u201cI know it\u2019s closing time, but I\u2019m sending a little gal to you who is having some trouble with her car. It\u2019s no big thing. It\u2019ll take you five minutes and then you can close and she can get back on her way to wherever she\u2019s going in such a hurry.\u201d a minute longer and then \u201csure thing, Steve. Thanks.\u201d<\/p>\n
He hung up the phone and told me, \u201cMa\u2019am, you need to go back the way you came and then a little bit further. It\u2019ll be about eight miles total, give or take. You look for the big Napa Auto Parts Superstore. It\u2019ll be on your left. Steve is waiting for you.\u201d He turned on his heel, climbed up into the cab of his dually truck, touched the brim of his hat, and drove off.<\/p>\n
Back in the car and on the road again, I prayed and hoped like anything that I had enough power to go eight more miles. I sweated out the stop lights in town \u2013 both of them \u2013 and eventually spotted that Napa sign hanging over a bright blue corrugated metal building. Superstore was about the last word I\u2019d have used to describe it.<\/p>\n
The inside of the parts store was maybe 18\u2032 x 20\u2032. The OPEN sign had been turned off, but there were three ol\u2019 boys leaning against the counter and drinking coffee. The one behind the counter smiled as I walked in and said \u201cYou the gal I\u2019m waiting for?\u201d I nodded as he took the keys from my hand and walked past me out the door.<\/p>\n
I fished my phone and its charger out of my purse and called after him, \u201cIs it alright if I plug this in? It died a few hours ago and my husband will be worried.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHelp yourself,\u201d he tossed back.<\/p>\n
The plug was in the back of the shop and halfway up a wall. I plugged the phone in, and was relieved to hear the familiar buzz as it began to charge. I held it in my hand and leaned against the wall, closing my eyes. It was almost 6:00 and a little mental math told me that if I left soon-ish I could be in Houston by 9:00.<\/p>\n
I rested there about 10 minutes \u2013 texting my husband that I was still alive and getting the car fixed, and my friend that I was in Buffalo, Texas with car trouble but would be there in a few hours.<\/p>\n
Steve came to find me in the back of his store, and his face did not look reassuring. \u201cI\u2019m sorry to tell you this ma\u2019am\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d I croaked out.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell\u2026you see\u2026I fixed the battery connector like you asked \u2013 it was broken sure enough \u2013 but something in my gut told be to test your alternator\u2026so I did. Well\u2026you see\u2026it\u2019s dead. You\u2019re running on battery power. I figure if you\u2019re lucky that you can go maybe 30 minutes down the road. I\u2019m sorry to tell you, but you need an alternator.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thirty minutes was not enough no matter how you measured it. I was two hours plus a bit from home, and two hours plus a bit from Houston. I was smack in the middle with nowhere to go. The tears just poured down my face right then. I didn\u2019t even try to stop them. It wasn\u2019t ugly crying, just frustration leaking out. I texted my husband \u201cthe alternator is dead.\u201d His reply was \u201cget a new one then. We\u2019ll figure out warranties and stuff when you get home.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you have one, and is there someone who can put it in?\u201d I asked the parts man. \u201cI know it\u2019s late, but I can pay a little extra.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWell,\u201d he drawled, \u201cI do know a guy who could, but that\u2019s not the issue. That car out there is a Lexus, and you can\u2019t find a part for that car anywhere near here. I can order you one. It\u2019ll be here first thing Monday morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
Monday morning. She\u2019d be on her way back to Virginia and I would have missed her. <\/p>\n
\u201cAny chance that you can bring me one? They don\u2019t have Lexus parts here.\u201d I typed to my husband with shaking hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably?\u201d Was his hopeful reply. <\/p>\n
I stood there for a moment in that Napa store, and considered my options. There weren\u2019t that many. No matter how I sliced it, I was going to be spending the night in Buffalo.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
(In case you missed part 1, go read it here. We\u2019ll wait for you to catch up.) After driving past it twice, I finally found the mechanic shop. The faded sign in front said something I interpreted as \u201cbattery and alternator,\u201d but it\u2019s possible that I was just imagining it. There were no lights on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1979,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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