by Natalie Dean
“Yeah, Dante says that he can head out to tow your car. You’re gonna ride along, right?”
“Uh, sure. Right.” Not exactly what he had been expecting, but maybe that was how things were done in this neighborhood. He certainly wasn’t going to object.
But… as it just so happened, he kind of wished he had. By the time one of the workers grabbed a rusted, beaten old tow truck and got it to Silas’ car, that feeling of being unwanted had grown much more. When they eventually made it back to the mechanic’s shop, Silas was about ready to climb out of his own skin.
He was charming. Normally people liked him. He couldn’t figure out what he had said or done to make a whole shop take offense to him. He wasn’t wearing anything political, even religious really. He had an old cross on a necklace that was from his great-grandmother, but it was small and hidden under both his shirt and his undershirt. Besides, judging by the Lord’s prayer that was framed behind the desk, the business wasn’t going to take offense to Christian iconography.
His family didn’t have any bad blood in the area either. And he hadn’t introduced himself, so no one even knew that he was a Miller. And even if they did know he was a Miller, they didn’t know he was one of the Millers.
He didn’t climb out of his own skin, however, and instead climbed out of the tow truck. Silas wished he was back on the ranch. His hands were itching to do something productive, to get on his horse or go check on the cows. Maybe do some fishing at the large pond Dad had built when Silas was barely old enough to remember. The family used to have picnics there when the summer sun was hot and the water was cool, but that had stopped too.
Why had that happened? Why had they all… drifted apart? Silas couldn’t quite remember, and the details weren’t going to come back to him while he was standing in the middle of a strange mechanic’s yard. He was beginning to wish that he had called his brother and one of their on-call guys, but he was already committed to his decision.
There was a flurry of activity and noise that Silas stayed out of the way for, but then, when it settled, he saw two mechanics looking over his car, which already had been placed onto a lift.
Except one of the mechanics wasn’t anything at all like he had expected.
She was fairly tall and with a figure that was evident even through her mechanic’s jumpsuit. She was a redhead, almost flamingly so, but there was a shock of white hair at one of her temples. It was a strange fashion choice, one that Silas hadn’t seen before. The kind that Mom would call ostentatious. He just thought it made her stand out compared to the blues and grease stains and metal of the mechanic shop. She was young, as well. She looked even younger than Silas, and yet the body language of everyone seemed like they were deferring to her.
Well, if there was anyone who probably had an idea of what was going on, it was her. Striding across the lawn, he went into the garage, stopping far enough back that he hoped he would be out of the way.
“Hey, how are you? How’s the—”
“You shouldn’t be here,” she said brusquely, not even looking up. “Insurance hazard. Please wait in the reception area.”
“I just wanted to ask—”
“I’m still in the process of examining your car. I’ll need time. Please be patient and go wait. In the reception area.”
Silas was good with people, he really was, so it grated against his nerves that suddenly everyone and their mom seemed thoroughly irritated with him.
“I’m sorry, did I do something wrong?” he said, trying to sound more amused than perturbed. “Seems like everybody’s giving me the cold shoulder around here.”
The young woman turned to him, and he was struck again by how young she looked. She couldn’t be past her mid-twenties. She had a button nose, her eyes angled in a slightly cat-like way. She was quite pale, with cherubic cheeks that made her seem like she’d be the cheerful sort.
Except the look she was giving him wasn’t anywhere near cheerful.
“I don’t know, maybe because we all know why you’re here.”
“Why I’m here?”
She furrowed her brows. “Don’t play dumb. You’re another rich businessman here to push us all out of our homes and snatch up our businesses to make room for more of your rich friends to buy things away from us rabble.”
Silas blinked at her a moment, surprised by her description. The way she said it made him and his family sound like bad guys. They were looking to invigorate the local economy and give everyone they purchased land from a tidy little boost.
“We’re not—”
She held up her hand, already turning back to his vehicle. “You’re here to have your car fixed, so let me fix your car so you can go back and tell them everything you’ve dug up about us.”
The thing was, what she was saying would have come out as scathing from anyone else. But from her, it was more… matter of fact. Like there wasn’t even a point in arguing because it just was the way it was. Plus, Silas was still shocked by the fact that she seemed to know that he was there for acquisition purposes and even more shocked at the picture she’d painted about him.
Also… another rich businessman? Had his competitors already been skulking around?
“Alright. I’ll, uh, I’ll be in the reception area then.”
Silas turned and walked quickly away. He felt like he needed to defend himself, but also that it would be rude to do so. Plus, he didn’t want to tick off the people who were supposed to work on his car any more than they already were. And even though they were… less than pleasant, they were helping him. The tow had been smooth—although awkward—and the worker had done his best not to damage or scratch anything. They unloaded his car and got it onto the lift carefully as well.
Silas wasn’t used to being so off-center, but that was exactly how he felt as he wondered if he should call his brother or not. And the whole debate turned out to be pointless because about ten minutes later, the redhead was walking into the reception area.
“So, good news, your car has a real easy fix. Probably only an hour of work.”
Silas stepped forward, still feeling uncertain. “Your tone implies there’s bad news.”
She nodded. “Yeah, we need to order the part. You’ve got a sporty ride out there, so it’s not really something we keep around. You’re looking at a couple of days. If you have a guy or a shop that you think would fix it faster, we can arrange for a tow of your car there, on the house.”
Silas blinked at her again. He hadn’t been expecting that. “You’d do that even though I would be taking my business elsewhere?”
“Of course. It’s not your fault that we don’t carry the part, and here at Andre’s, we’re more interested in making sure everyone can get home safe.”
“That’s… uh, that’s a good motto.”
There was a strange expression on her face as she regarded him. “Yeah. It is.”
Silas wasn’t quite sure why he said what he did, but then his mouth was opening, and he was giving her an amiable smile. “No, I don’t have a guy. If it takes a couple of days, it takes a couple of days.”
It was her turn to look surprised, although she covered it quickly. For some reason, that amused him a touch more than it should have.
“Alright then. You have a way home?”
“I’ll call my brother to pick me up. In the meantime, you have a recommendation for someplace I can grab some food?”
Her stare was bordering on unnerving as she evaluated, and Silas couldn’t help but wonder what exactly she was looking for. Whatever it was, she seemed to find her answer because she was talking again.
“Mar-Ray’s is down the street. Got the best Jamaican and soul food. It’s owned by this great couple who’ve been around for ages.”
Silas couldn’t help but feel like she had a very pointed reason for her recommendation, but good food was good food. “Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.”
3
Theodora
Teddy was starving. It had been a long
day, especially with the arrival of that blatantly obvious business shark that dropped in toward the end of the day. At first she had almost thought that his supposed broken-down car was some sort of con, some way to get more information from them, but after examining it, she realized that no, he just happened to have some bad luck and his fancy car had actually broken down.
At least he got out of their hair quickly, and she’d closed up the shop after that and headed upstairs with Roman and a couple others. And they all definitely scrambled, because it was Andre’s night to cook and everyone knew that he made the best meals out of any of them. It was the main reason that she hadn’t just run across the street to Salina’s or Mar-Ray’s. She didn’t want to fill her belly when her father’s quality cooking was on the table.
Now, if it was Roman, his son, that would be an entirely different matter. Teddy loved her brother, but the man was not gifted in the kitchen. Not like his pop.
Warm, happy smells greeted her as soon as she opened the door leading into their apartment right above the shop. It wasn’t the biggest place, but it was a three-bedroom and that was all the space they needed. Even though it was crowded around dinner time with all their visitors that tended to drop by.
“Hey there,” Andre said from the kitchen, turning down a couple of the burners. “Dinner’s almost done. You want to set the table?”
“Roman can do that,” Teddy said, pulling her bandana off and reaching for her brush she always kept by the door. She had her mother’s hair in more than one respect, and her wild, frizzy curls always ended up even wilder after a full day in her dad’s shop.
“Excuse me, you’re the youngest. Since when do you order me around?” Roman said.
“Don’t act like that’s new boy,” Andre called from the kitchen with a laugh. “She’s been bossing you around since the day you met and ain’t nothing changed.”
Roman grumbled under his breath in that good-natured way only a beleaguered older sibling could. He was a good egg, her brother. All strapping muscles and basically the spitting image of their father, his hair in artfully arranged locks. Teddy was pretty sure he could have been a male model if he wanted, but he’d chosen to stick around the shop, just like her.
She couldn’t blame him. The world was a cold place and Andre’s hearth was always so warm. He was the kindest man that she had ever known, and she’d met quite a few people in her twenty-four years on earth.
“Hey, Boss. That’s a nice apron you have there.” That was Jameel, one of the newer hires.
“You’re darn right it is,” Andre said with a grin that made him look younger despite his short, salt and pepper hair. “Teddy made it for me when she was thirteen in home-ec class.”
The worker’s eyes flicked to Teddy, and she just shrugged. She wasn’t exactly known as the most feminine person or for being interested in the creative arts, but that was how she liked to keep it. She was a relatively private person, and the less other people outside of her circle knew her, the better. At least in her opinion.
“Alright, table’s set,” Roman said, sticking his head in from the small kitchen. “We got milk, water and OJ.”
They all said what they wanted and headed to the kitchen. While Teddy liked her privacy, she didn’t mind that her dad always had an open kitchen policy. The world was a pretty scary, cruel place, and she hated the thought of anyone being hungry. Besides, as her mother had always said, food was better shared, and there were plenty of hungry people in the community to share with.
“Let’s say grace,” Andre said once everyone was seated, and they joined hands. It was nice, the tradition. A comfort that had started when she’d been ten and had continued for fourteen years. She wasn’t very good at praying out loud herself, but her dad certainly had a knack for it. Teddy thought that he should teach more lessons at the church—the only day of the week the shop was closed—but Andre would always say he wasn’t one for public speaking.
“Amen,” they all said together, and then Teddy was digging in with gusto.
It was good. Because it was always good. The warm food hit her belly in just the right way, and she inhaled it perhaps faster than she should have. If the other two workers thought anything about her ravenous chow-down, they didn’t say anything, but that might have been because their mouths were full too.
“Hey, slow down there, Teddy. The food will still be there in a couple minutes,” her dad said.
“Not if I have anything to say about it,” Roman said and laughed, reaching his fork over and spearing one of the bites of pork chop that she had cut.
“Don’t you dare!” Teddy objected, covering her mouth with one hand and snatching at the piece of meat with her fingers. Thus started a quick grab-battle with her brother that lasted approximately a half minute before Andre cleared his throat.
“Sorry,” the siblings said, but Teddy still stuck her tongue out at her brother.
“Huh, I’ve never seen you like this,” Jameel said, not unkindly, an amused expression on his face.
“Don’t let her fool you,” Hassan said, chuckling lightly. “She just likes to pretend to be all hard edges in the shop. Make us think she’s one of those mean ones.”
“Can you blame me?” Teddy asked with a shrug. “You’ve seen how some customers treat me.”
Jameel rolled his eyes. “You ain’t kidding. You think they’d be havin’ a straight-up heart attack just because a lady touched their car. It’s the twenty-first century. My mom was the one who taught me how to change my oil.”
Teddy smiled at that. It was always a gamble with new folks, but she was glad that Jameel seemed to be one of the good ones. Her dad had a real knack for choosing good employees. The only reason he’d needed a replacement was because Hyacinth, the other female mechanic, had gotten pregnant and decided to become a stay-at-home mom after her hubby got a promotion at his government job. Hyacinth had been whip-sharp and took absolutely no crap. Teddy missed her.
“How is your mother, Jameel? I haven’t seen her in church lately,” Andre said.
“Still on that cruise. Why you asking?” Jameel smirked, and it was such an impish expression that Teddy almost wanted to pinch his cheek. “She’s single, you know.”
That had Roman coughing on his water and even Teddy found herself snorting in surprise.
“Why, young man, you act like you’re trying to set me up,” Andre said.
“And what if I was? You’re a good man, Boss. I wouldn’t mind seein’ my ma taken care of by a good man.”
Andre shifted uncomfortably. “Uh, well, I—”
His stilted response was cut off as a buzzer sounded, a small light flickering in the corner of their kitchen.
“Oh, what’s that?” Hassan asked, craning his neck behind him.
“Another one of Teddy’s strays,” Roman said, rolling his eyes.
She was well aware that he disagreed with some of the things she did, but he never did much besides grumble about it.
“I got it,” Teddy said, standing up quickly. “You talk more about this dating business. I’m sure Pops would love to hear more about your ma.”
Okay, maybe that wasn’t the nicest thing to do, but sometimes Andre needed a shove. And he definitely needed one when it came to his romantic life. As far as she knew, he’d been single well before she met him, never having quite gotten over his falling-out with Roman’s mother and the ensuing custody battle. He’d dated a couple women very casually, but it never even got far enough for him to ever bring one of the nice ladies home.
Which didn’t make sense to Teddy. Her dad was the most loving, caring, forgiving and warm person in the world. It was probably fair to call her a Daddy’s Girl, but how could she not be, considering how amazing he was? Growing up, she had plenty of friends who had parents who were borderline abusive or actually so. Considering how rocky her life had started, she really had been blessed with Andre.
She made it downstairs to the door all the way at the back of the garage. The corner tuck
ed right against the alley, on a blind spot of the shop. The buzzer blared again, and she opened it to see Antonio, one of the young locals who had a real knack for getting into trouble.
“You look terrible,” she said bluntly, standing to the side to allow him in. He was a tall, scrap of a teenager, all full of lean muscle and too many scars.
“Thanks, Mami. And you’re just as pretty as ever.”
“Yeah, yeah, Casanova. Let me get a good look at you in the light.”
He followed her over to where she kept the first aid kit in the other corner of the shop, along with an eye washing station and sink. Flicking the switch, she gripped his chin gently and tilted it up to give it a good look.
He was busted up pretty badly, but it wasn’t the worst he’d ever been, and it certainly wasn’t the worst she’d ever seen. With a sigh, she went about cleaning his cuts first then going about patching him up.
“Do I even want to know what you were up to this time, huh?” she asked, his blood a stark contrast on her pale skin. Geez, maybe she really did need to leave the shop once in a while. She was turning into a ghost. Maybe she was using a bit too much sunscreen when she was out in the garden.
“You never do, Mami. You know that.”
“It’s Teddy,” she corrected for probably the hundredth time. “And aren’t you tired of showing up here, battered in the middle of the night? If you made new friends, got involved with a better crowd, you wouldn’t—”
“God, Teddy, can we not do this while I’m bleeding right now?”
“Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain. At least not here.”
“You really think that God cares about someone like me?” the teenager scoffed.
Now that… that really stabbed at Teddy’s heart. Sure, Antonio was rough about the edges, but people cared for him. She cared for him. “He cares about us especially.”