Author: Free Spirited One aka Cleo
Rating: R (for language and sexual content)
Summary: Set prior to the events of the film. When the foundation of your life is built on the backs of others - who are you without them?
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from The Fast and The Furious. I do own the other characters. I hope no one sues me, more for your sake than mine. All I have are student loans and you're welcome to those. It's up to you.
~~~~~
The rumbling growl of Dom’s voice woke her. It was fortunate since the late morning sunshine glaring in her face sure hadn’t. Words of her father from days long past drifted through Mia’s head. Don’t stay up late on a school night.
Dom said something else, cutting into her memories. Squinting and blinking furiously she pushed into a sitting position straining to decipher his words. No luck. It was apparent that he’d been smoking again, she noted angrily. His voice was filled with gravel and a little lower than normal. Damn if he didn’t sound just like Barry White.
Barry White? Oh no. She knew what that meant.
Mia scrambled out of her bed and crept halfway down the stairs. At the front door she found her brother, wearing nothing but boxers, bidding farewell to a bleached blond she didn’t recognize. Some things never change, she thought. Disgusted, she turned tail and stomped back to her room and slammed her door shut.
Turning a circle Mia tried to push thoughts of Dom out of her mind. She had to get to school. A glance at the clock told her if she hurried she would make her second class. No shower. Oh, well.
Mia dressed quickly, hoping to avoid her brother and his excuses for the latest in a long string of bimbos. She didn’t have time. Again, no such luck. As she was pulling on her shoes there was a knock on her door.
“Go away, Dom. I’m late.”
He poked his head through the door wearing his classic big cheesy ‘I know I am in trouble but hope to charm my way out of it’ grin. “Late for what?”
As if he didn’t know. “School.”
“Oh. I put coffee on. Cream and sugar right?” He asked, still wearing his innocent face.
She finally gave him her eyes and was pleased to see him flinch a little. “I’ll get something on the way. Now get out!”
“Damn, try to do something nice and get your head bit off,” he muttered as he retreated from the doorway.
Mia followed him down the hallway to the stairs and down to the first floor. “Nice? What did you do that was nice? You think a cup of coffee is nice? I make your damn dinner every night. That’s not nice. That’s expected. Screw you and your coffee.”
He turned around spreading his arms wide to block her path. His face wore an irritated expression but guilt glinted in his eyes. He boomed, “What’s wrong with you?”
Ducking under his arm and slapping away the hand that grabbed at her, Mia pushed past him. At the bottom of the stairs she grabbed her book bag and keys with one hand pulling the front door open with the other. Unable to resist a parting shot she quipped, “Have a great day, Dom. Tell Letti I said hi, okay?”
~~~~~
It was a bad morning.
It started off that way and had just continued its trek downhill. He’d fucked up. Wasn’t the first time, wouldn’t be the last but it still bothered him. Whatsername, the blonde (yeah right) had been a mistake, a big drunken mistake. Not getting her out of the house before Mia woke up ensured that what had been a minor problem was going to blow up into a huge one. Mia and Letti were friends and he was brother to one and boyfriend to the other. Mia wouldn’t tell, but it would be written all over her face. Letti was good at reading that face.
As if that weren’t bad enough, his car was making a funky new noise. He hadn’t noticed it the night before, alcohol and sexual tension dulling his senses, but he sure was now. It was a high-pitched whine that was not supposed to be there. He’d have to get Jesse to look at it. A grimace masquerading as a smile formed on his lips. If his luck held, it would only cost a small fortune to fix.
Pulling into the DT Automotive, the garage his father left him, he sighed realizing his luck was even worse than he’d thought. Letti was standing in the middle of the entrance blocking him. She looked pissed. Great. Just fucking great.
Fixing a smile on his face he leaned out the window and called, “You wanna move your cute ass outta the way?”
She shifted her stance slightly but didn’t move. Folding her arms across her chest she demanded, “You wanna tell me who you were with last night?”
“Aw, baby I went straight home last night,” With another girl and fucked my brains out, he silently finished. I am such an asshole.
“Yeah? With who?” She still hadn’t budged.
Shit, she knows. Wonder if Mia told her after all. Probably not if she knows what’s good for her. It was time for evasive maneuvers. Licking his lips he started, “Well, Mia was there…”
“Fuck you, Dom,” she cut him off and looked down at her boots as her shoulders slumped.
She turned and walked back toward the office, finally granting him access to his own garage. He thought long and hard about going back home before finally parking inside. This wasn’t going to be pretty. Reluctantly he shut off the engine. Before he had the door open Jesse descended on him.
“What did you do to her, Dom? She sounds terrible.”
Confused if the ‘her’ in question was the car or Letti, he arched an eyebrow as he climbed out of the bright red RX-7. “Huh?”
Sidestepping him, Jesse popped the hood and spoke to the car in a soothing tone, “Never fear, the Mad Scientist is here. Come on baby, tell Uncle Jesse what ails you.”
~~~~~
“Letti? C’mon, don’t be mad. You know you’re my girl.” She is you know. Better start remembering that asshole, he reminded himself.
She was sitting in his chair with her back to him. The hot stale air of the office charged with her anger. Without turning Letti questioned, “How would I know that?”
Answering a question with a question had gotten him out of a lot of scrapes in the past. “How could you not know you’re my baby?”
It was a stupid thing to say he realized the moment it left his lips. The list of probable answers to that question was longer than his rap sheet. Damn.
She slowly spun the chair around. Her dark eyes shot sparks and her full lips clamped into a tight line. For a long moment she stared at him and he felt like he was shrinking in the face of her anger. Suddenly he wanted her to yell at him, needed her to actually. He’d hurt her again. He wanted to tear his eyes away from her pain filled gaze but couldn’t.
“Gee Dom, lets think about that.” She started ticking things off on her fingers, “You lie about where you’ve been. You sleep with other girls. You’re right. How could I not know that I was your girl, light of your life, woman of your fucking dreams? You’re an asshole and I’m an idiot for thinking you would grow the hell up. Fuck me for being so stupid.”
Each word cut into him like a knife and he felt shame. Not that he hadn’t the last time, or the time before, or the time before… But at the moment he felt terrible. It hadn’t been worth this. “Baby, I…”
“Don’t you baby me! I saw her car Dom. I saw it last night and I saw it this morning.”
“But…” His voice trailed off. But what? But he didn’t mean it? But it didn’t mean anything? But he’d never do it again when they both knew that was a lie? Shit. Caught with his pants down. Stupid move bringing the slut home, Letti only lived 3 houses down. What the hell had he been thinking? There was nothing he could say, so he didn’t.
Their eyes locked for a moment that seemed to drag on for hours before she rose from the chair and stalked toward him. He was crowding the doorway, the no man’s land between worlds. Was he in or was he out? He didn’t know.
She decided for him, pushing him roughly out of the doorway and practically running out of the garage.
Dom followed at a distance, watching her stomp out into the sunshine toward her purple Nissan 240SX. Never turning she hopped in and slammed the door so hard he cringed at the sound. The engine roared to life and he thought she would leave without a backward glance but the window came down and Letti’s tear bright eyes glared hard at him, “I never want to see you again!” she yelled and sped away, tires squealing leaving clouds of acrid smoke in her wake.
~~~~~
So how exactly does one forget about a test? She had a syllabus that clearly stated the date. There was a review last Friday. But somehow you forgot, Mia cursed herself.
Really, it was all Dom’s fault. After all, she would have studied if he hadn’t had a race on Saturday and she hadn’t been caught up in his hype. Damn victory parties that went on until dawn. Her brother was the only person she knew who could win one race and throw himself two parties to celebrate it. Ruined all her study plans.
In comparison with her disastrous English Lit exam, Spanish class was going pretty well. She was in the back corner where the slackers usually sat after sneaking in late. It was an appropriate place for her since she never heard a word the professor said, worries about how things would change drowned out everything else.
She was supposed to meet Letti later. They were going shopping. How could she hang out with her best friend and act like nothing was wrong? It would show on her face. It always did. Mia knew she was a terrible liar. Her cheeks got red and her eyes darted around no matter how hard she tried to control them. If Letti suspected, one look at her would confirm it. I hate being in the middle, she thought wishing her brother was half as nice to his girlfriend as he was to her.
Dom, you promised, she silently whined, you said you’d keep it real or end it. That conversation had taken place exactly 3 weeks and 4 days ago when the last tramp had scurried out of his bedroom. Why did you do it, Dom? Why? You’re breaking up our family damn you.
There was no way she could face Letti. Maybe I can flake out with some excuse about….
The bell rang. Mia didn’t hear it. Realization that school had concluded for the day came with the book bag that slammed into her shoulder as a classmate passed by too close.
“Damn it,” Mia muttered as she shuffled out into the bright sunshine sifting through her book bag for her cell phone. An image of it sitting in its cradle on her dresser flashed through her mind. Forget flaking then.
~~~~~
“Excuse me.” Nothing. Not one of the Neanderthals acknowledged her. Boys and their toys. Silly things drifted through Claudia’s mind. How many men does it take to fix an engine? Judging from the circle around the red sports car, at least four. Shaking her head, she raised her voice and called louder, “Hello!”
The big, bald, sweaty one pulled himself away from the car and turned to her, his voice as impatient as hers, “Yeah?”
“I’m looking for…” she pulled a tiny hand written note from her pocket and read the name off of it, “Dominic Toretto. Is he here?”
“What for?”
She noticed that the big guys eyes had traveled past her and landed on the black Mercedes SLK 32 AMG convertible she’d arrived in. Admittedly, it was an awesome car but it irritated her that he focused on it instead of her. She stepped into his line of sight and asked again, “Is Dominic Toretto here?”
From behind them the scrawny one asked, “Why’d you need to see Dom?”
Taking a deep breath and willing a smile onto her face, she replied, “I would rather take that up with Mr. Toretto. I have a car that needs his attention.”
“Not this one,” The big one rumbled setting her mind adrift.
She shook her head in an effort to clear it. No. Focus on what’s important. The window of opportunity is narrow and you can’t afford to waste it on some Barry White voiced mechanic who spends all his free time in a gym. “No, not that one. So is Mr. Toretto here? I really need to talk to him.”
“You already are. I’m Dom.” The big one stuck out a greasy hand glanced at the grime and withdrew it offering a lazy eyed grin instead. “What can I do for you?”
Several things with absolutely no relevance to car repair sprang to mind but she quickly crushed them. “Is there somewhere we can talk?”
~~~~~
“So, who was she?”
“Who was who?” Mia replied as her heart sank and her loyalties split. It had been going so well. Granted, there was tension in the air and she knew she looked as uncomfortable as she felt but for the most part it was like any other shopping trip. Until now.
Seemingly unaware of her discomfort Letti browsed through a rack of dresses. Her face bore a placid expression as if they were discussing the weather. Even her voice was casual. Her words were not. “The bitch Dom was fucking last night. Who was she?”
And there it was. The question Mia had spent all day dreading. There was no easy answer. To tell the truth was to betray her brother. To lie was to betray her best friend. What could she say?
After an unbearably long pause while Mia thrashed around for an answer Letti let her off the hook. Still sifting through a rack of dresses she sighed, “Forget I asked. Don’t really matter who she was anyway.” She raised a small red dress up to scrutiny, replaced it and continued, “I just don’t get it. He says I’m it for him but he fucks other girls. Why does he do that?” Letti’s voice finally sounded bitter, emotion twisting her beautiful face into something almost ugly.
Mia wanted an answer to that question herself. The Dom she knew wasn’t the same man Letti knew. Weird how he could be so many things to so many people. She remained silent.
Letti seemed to understand. Bowing her head and taking a deep breath she changed the subject holding up a little black dress asking, “What about this one?”
~~~~~
“Why me?”
Claudia studied him with disbelief. Could he be this thick? Did he have to prove the rule that jocks were by in large as dumb as she had always assumed they were? Perhaps if she explained it to him one more time slowly, using shorter sentences, “I wrecked my father’s favorite car. I need a mechanic to fix it. I have three weeks to do it or face his wrath. I can’t go…”
“To his normal guy cause he might tell your pop whatcha did,” Dom finished for her. “I got it. But you didn’t answer my question. Why me? Look around you. Every car in this garage is a Japanese import, heavily modified for racing. You’re talking about a classic Jaguar. I don’t do English cars. Especially not old English cars.”
“I was told you could fix anything. Was I misinformed?” There you go, play to that hefty ego of his, Claudia thought as she studied him from behind mirrored sunglasses. He was leaning against the trunk of a Civic. Dirty white tank top, similarly dirty jeans did nothing but accentuate every curve of his powerfully muscled frame.
“Who told you that?”
Claudia was slow to reply, trying hard not to stare at him anymore. “Someone from school. It isn’t important. Can you fix it?”
He pulled a rag from his pocket and started to wipe off his hands. Claudia found herself entranced by the pull of bone and muscle in his arms as he cleaned his hands. He met her eyes for a second and then looked down again, a strange look passing over his features. Claudia believed she could actually feel the conflict within him when he looked back up, a small forced smile on his lips.
She thought he would refuse but instead he said, “I’m not gonna promise you anything without seeing it first.”
What are you doing? She was convinced she looked no more comfortable than he did. Still, she needed his help. Willing a bland expression onto her face Claudia started past him. With far more confidence than she felt she said, “Fine. I’ll be home after six tonight.” She handed him a card and continued, “This is my address. Come by and take a look.”
~~~~~
Dominic sat in his car for several minutes engrossed in a heated debate with himself. It was almost 9 pm and he was parked just down the street from the address the girl had given him. He’d driven past it hoping to learn a little more about the brunette before entering her world. One look at the huge gate that stood open told him all he needed to know. He was out of his element. But like with so many other things his curiosity propelled him forward. Why she came to him rather than a Jag specialist made no sense to him but it was intriguing, very intriguing.
The flipside was that he really should have been on Letti’s doorstep convincing her she didn’t see what she saw. It was a scene they’d replayed many times during their tumultuous four years and he knew exactly what he would say. It was easy because she wanted to believe him. I don’t know what you’re talking about, baby. Lots of people park on the street, Letti. I don’t know whose car that was. She’d let it go and believe him. She always did. Then he always promised himself he wouldn’t do it again because he hated lying to her.
Then, as the final act of their little ritual, they’d have mind blowing makeup sex.
Four years was worth something wasn’t it? She had stuck by him through thick and thin, ups and downs and a string of ‘scanks’ as she called them. He cared for her didn’t he? He needed to try to patch things up.
But that girl, what was her name again? Christy? Karen? No. Claudia. Claudia something or other. She had work for him and from the look of things she could pay for it. The cash would come in handy too. But he didn’t really care much for classic cars. Sure they looked cool, but they were slow and the people that owned them had a distinct lack of automotive creativity.
No, he decided, it wasn’t the cash or the car. It was the girl. He was being lead by his dick again. He tried to fight off the urge and go home but in the end he turned back toward Claudia’s house, chuckling derisively at himself. Mia was right. He was a dog.
~~~~~
“Door’s open!” A disembodied voice called from within the house as he rang the bell. Dom pushed the heavy door open and walked into a huge foyer. Damn, knew she had money but this is nuts. What the fuck are you doing here, he asked himself again. He ran a nervous hand over his shaved head. Just as he was about to go out the way he came in she called, “I’ll be down in a minute. Meet you in the library, first door on your left.”
Feeling very uncomfortable Dom forced an unimpressed look onto his face and found the library. It was two stories of paneled oak and floor to ceiling shelves. It smelled like old leather and dust.
Mom would have never left this room, he thought letting his eyes drift around the library. Small art objects littered the room but on closer examination it felt stiff and artificial somehow. Carefully crafted clutter, the illusion of hominess. He didn’t like it.
He had just gotten engrossed in the contents of a curio case when a throat cleared behind him.
“I wouldn’t have taken you for a bibliophile,” Claudia said with a smile as she entered.
He didn’t respond, not quite sure how to take her remark. Was she joking or serious. He couldn’t tell. Think I don’t know what you said? I’m not a dumb jock Claudia, but if you want to think that you go right ahead. You’ll know different soon enough.
Claudia didn’t seem to notice his mood shift as she strode into the library asking, “So what caught your interest anyway?”
Her eyes dropped to the curio cabinet. “Oh that silly thing. It was hand copied by a Franciscan monk in the 1,100s. It’s one of my father’s prize possessions. He shows it to everyone.” Her voice was slightly accented, a little too posh. Sarcasm filled her words, hurt and anger sparked in her hazel eyes and he felt the urge to take a step away from her. She didn’t seem to notice though which was good.
Lost in crazy thoughts about why a book would make her so angry he was startled when she asked, “Want to hold it?”
Dom shook his head but she didn’t notice the gesture already crossing to the huge mahogany desk and fishing a key from under a drawer. He thought about stopping her but didn’t because it gave him an opportunity to really look at her, something he purposefully hadn’t done at the garage. Too many eyes on him then.
She was average height and boyishly slender but that was all he could really see about her figure. She was wearing baggy beige cargo pants and a white turtleneck sweater. The outfit was a far cry from the skimpy clothes he typically encountered and it had the novelty of leaving almost everything to the imagination. He found that his imagination was in overdrive as a result. Her ruddy brown hair was tied in a bun at the nape of her neck just as it had been earlier that day at the garage. There was no way to guess length or texture. She didn’t wear any makeup.
She turned and smiled wickedly on her way back to his side, holding the key up for him to see before unlocking the case and hefting the book. She must have noticed his carefully veiled hesitancy because she snorted, “It is just a book, Dominic. It won’t bite you. Here. Take it.”
He took it from her with forced confidence. He really didn’t want to hold it. But there he was with a very old, super expensive, crumbling bible in his hands. It was heavier than it looked and much more delicate. He wanted to give it back afraid he’d hurt it. Words like ‘you break it you buy it’ lasered through his head. But given her sarcastic sense of humor he would pay mightily if he did.
Apparently oblivious to his discomfort she reached around him and flipped a few pages. She smelled like peaches. You need to leave man, what the hell are you doing? Letti, remember her?]
Claudia explained, “He worships this book. Always tells his guests that it took 5 years to complete and that it’s real gold that makes it weigh so much. Then he reads a little to them in Latin. Seems they are supposed to be impressed. Most of them are.” She took the volume from him thankfully missing the relief that passed over his face before he adjusted back into his stoic mask. “It’s just one more thing in his collection of wonderful things. They’re all over this place. Want to see the rest of them?”
She sounded so bitter. Dom found himself speechless in the face of it. Half of him wanted to run for the door but the other half was dying of curiosity. Why was this girl who obviously had everything so upset?
She gestured for him to follow and his feet complied trailing her halfway down a hallway to stand in front of a painting. He knew it instantly, “Picasso.”
“That’s right. From his blue period.” She stared up at him for a second as if seeing him in a different light. “You like art?”
“Mom was a painter. She used to take me to LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) all the time when I was a little kid. She loved Picasso.” Already flustered he couldn’t stop the flood of memories that bombarded him as he gazed at the painting. He didn’t want to think about family. He needed safer, more familiar ground. He changed the subject. “So, where’s the car?”
“My tour boring you?”
He couldn’t tell if she was teasing. “No, I…”
Claudia giggled and he thanked God she was still clueless about his discomfort. She grabbed the cuff of his jacket and started to drag him down another hallway, “It’s okay. Lets survey the damage shall we?”
~~~~~
“Hey, girl.” Letti’s familiar voice greeted her when she answered the phone. She sounded disappointed like she’d hoped Dom would answer so she could blow him off and ask for Mia instead.
“What’s up?” Mia asked warily. Can’t this day just end?
“Nothing much. Wanted you to tell the asshole I quit. I won’t be working for him no more. I’m gonna work at Hector’s now.”
“Letti, I don’t think you should do that.” Mia sighed. Hector and Dom were friends. Letti was just making things worse this way. She just had to give it some time. Let things heal.
“Why not? It’s my life. I don’t have to ask for his permission. I don’t belong to him. If I wanna work for Hector that’s my business. Besides, he’ll pay better and I don’t have to put up with any bullshit.”
Mia sighed again. Letti was a stubborn person. Neither hell nor high water would detour her. But Mia was also stubborn and every inch of her resisted the idea that Letti was leaving. Dom and Letti had to stay together. Things had to go back to normal.
Maybe if Letti found something new to do, something without cars involved, something without Dom. She just needed an interest outside the scope of Dom’s world where she wouldn’t ask for or need his validation. The couple had gotten along so much better when Letti had been less dependent on him. She had an idea. “I know, but why not go back to school instead Letti? I mean, you keep talking about it and now is the perfect opportunity. We could take classes together again.”
“You know I can’t do that. If I don’t work my mom’ll lose the house. I gotta have a job, Mia. Not everyone has somebody to take care of them, girl.”
“I know, but maybe you could just take a night class or something. Get started at least. Things won’t always be so tight. Dom…” Her voice trailed off. Dom was always her answer when things were bad. He took care of her. He took care of his team. Dom always took care of everything. But that wasn’t what Letti needed to hear. Dom was the cause, not the answer to this problem.
“Dom’s an asshole and I don’t want any more a his help. He hasn’t said one word to me since I left the garage this morning. He hasn’t called, hasn’t stopped by. Nothing. He really doesn’t care anymore, not that he ever really did.”
Hefting her cross of sibling loyalty Mia started to defend him, “He does Letti. I know he does. He just has a hard time showing it sometimes.”
“A man in love doesn’t bang every scank that bats her eyelashes at him,” Letti snarled and then fell silent for a moment as if collecting herself. “Anyway, I didn’t really wanna talk about this. I just wanted you to let him know he’s one mechanic short at the shop from now on. I gotta go. Mom needs me. Bye, girl.”
Mia hung up the phone convinced that life as she knew it was over.
~~~~~
Glowing under an overhead spotlight sat a gorgeous hunter green Jaguar C-type convertible. Or at least it had been. The front end was little more than scrap metal and fiberglass chips.
“How exactly did this happen again?”
“Stupid really. I am forbidden to even look at it but I just couldn’t resist taking it out when I had the chance. Wanted to know why he loves it so much, you know? Anyway, I took a corner a little too fast and lost control. Ran it straight into a pole. Thankfully I remembered my seatbelt.” She sounded shaken, scared. But then her tone changed. “Heaven forbid anything should happen to his pride and joy. God help me if he ever finds out about this.”
He looked at her again, seeing her flushed cheeks and furrowed brow. It was obviously a touchy subject and one he didn’t want to delve into further. He eyed the other cars in the garage and changed the subject. “Mind if I take a look at some of the others?”
She still looked angry but she said, “Be my guest. Some of these only see the light of day at car shows. Like the Porsche over there, he never drives that one.”
Dom followed her finger to a beautiful little gem from Germany. He didn’t know the year, but the classic silver speedster was in terrific shape. With gentle reverence he reached in and popped the truck exposing the engine to scrutiny. It was perfect, utterly perfect. A true classic.
“Beautiful isn’t it?” Reverent, but bitter.
“Yeah,” Dom breathed closing the engine cover. “Its gorgeous. All these cars are.”
Resisting the urge to look at her again he returned to the Jag. Fiberglass huh, Dom thought doing some math in his head trying to fix the dates in his mind. He reached into the tangle of metal and fiberglass and began exploring the damage. The engine was new, in many little pieces but new none the less. Very interesting.
Let’s see what you do with this little bit of info, he thought as he told her, “This isn’t a restored classic, Claudia. It’s a kit car. Bottom of the barrel kit too judging from the fiberglass.”
“A kit car? What’s a kit car?”
He carefully pulled his hands free and searched for a towel to wipe off the grime. Seeing a neat stack on a worktable to his right he went to get one answering, “It’s exactly what it sounds like. It comes in a bunch of boxes and you put it together. It looks like a Jag but isn’t.”
“You mean it’s a fake?” She glared at the car for a moment and a huge smile blossomed on her face. She looked ready to laugh out loud. Her expression changed again, became pensive. “Can you fix it?”
He knew he could fix it. Question was, did he want to. He looked at her for a moment, meeting her hazel gaze. The smile was gone and fear reflected in her eyes. The pit of his stomach twisted and his heart leapt at the look. His much more sensible head told him to walk, no run, out of there. But his mouth seemed hardwired to organs located a little further south. He found himself rambling, “Sure. I just need to find out who sells the kits and have them ship me the parts. Not a problem. That’s a new Jaguar engine, shouldn’t be too hard to repair. I think we can do this in three weeks.”
“I need to know you can, Dominic.” Her voice was desperate, eyes pleading.
Can’t turn your back on her when she needs you, his heart said. His dick agreed. His brain called him an idiot. Too late to do anything about it now. He shrugged noncommittally; trying to hope she’d change her mind. “Can’t promise that. Too dependant on venders but I’ll try to get it done before then.”
She nodded accepting his limitations.
Shit, last chance to get out of this, he thought. Shifting his weight and feeling like an asshole for bringing up the torrid subject of money he said, “You realize this’ll be expensive right? I mean, some of this stuff will have to be shipped overnight and that ain’t cheap.”
The bitter tone returned. “Do I look like money concerns me? Just do what you must to fix it in three weeks.” Noting his skepticism she offered, “I’ll give you the cash upfront for the parts, we can settle labor after. Sound fair?”
“Yeah. Have the car at the garage in the morning. We’ll start work first thing.” Shrugging at his own folly he started after her. The sooner the job was done the better.
~~~~~