by Mimi Barbour
***
Two minutes after Kay’s head hit the pillow, she was out. Morning came quickly, but that didn’t mean it was daylight. It was early December and the sun wasn’t up for another couple of hours. Today, like every day, Kay was awake at 7:15 AM. She didn’t even own an alarm clock, other than the one on her phone, and she hadn’t bothered figuring out how to use that one. Having flexible work hours was the most important reason she was self-employed: she liked setting her own schedule.
“Call and make sure my orders went through and the parts can ship today, check emails, take a shower, eat breakfast, go to the bank, and then return the money to Jay.” A smile crept across Kay’s face. “Stop that!” she told herself aloud. “Do not smile at the thought of a man, any man, at least for another year or two. When you’re totally self-sufficient, have all those confounded credit cards paid off, an apartment bigger than a walk-in closet—or better yet, a real house—then you can ooh and sigh over men all you want.
***
“Would you like to apply for our low introductory fee credit card?” the teller asked. “You’re already pre-approved because you’re a member of this bank.”
“No, thank you. Oh, and would you make sure I get at least two five-dollar bills in change?”
“No problem. Here. Have a nice day, ma’am.”
When did I go from being a miss to a ma’am? Do I look that old? What is the cut-off age? I thought it was fifty. Shoot, I’m not even forty! Kay caught her reflection in the plate glass window. Whether you’re a miss or a ma’am, you still have your figure. And if what Lumpy says is true, Jay likes you.
“Oh, shut up,” she said aloud, trying to quiet the voices in her head.
“Pardon me?” asked the older woman who had passed her outside the bank.
“Oh, excuse me. I was just talking to myself. Sometimes I have to say something out loud or I won’t listen.”
The older woman laughed and shook her head. “Honey, I’m glad I’m not the only one. Don’t let anyone tell you to hush, either,” she said, then leaned down and whispered to Kay, “But you might want to make sure there isn’t anyone around when you tell yourself to shut up!”
The two of them shared a chuckle, then parted ways. Yes, the other woman was older, but was still attractive. Will that be me in a few years? Will I look worse? There’s certainly no way I could get better looking. Should I wait to find a man? Will there be any good ones left?
Kay looked around to make sure she was alone, then got in her car, turned the engine on, and said very loudly, “Shut up! You don’t need a man!” then left the parking lot, grumbling at herself as she sped off to Lumpy’s shop.
Chapter 4
Kay watched as the shaggy cat scampered across the road, into the shop parking lot, then disappeared behind the building.
“Hey, there!”
Kay jumped. “Oh, hi Jay. I didn’t see you. Were you in the secret service or something? You’re always so quiet.”
“No, and I think that would be the CIA or SEALS. The secret service guys are pretty obvious, all dressed up in their suits and dark sunglasses, standing right in front of the president or whoever it is they’re protecting.”
“Oh, yeah, right… Hey, I saw our cat just now! Man, she was hightailing it from out front of the shop to the back yard. Do you think she’ll survive the winter?”
“Our cat?” Jay asked with a chuckle of surprise, then smiled as if Kay had just revealed her bra size to him.
“I mean, the cat. You know, Yardley. He or she sure has a lot of life left for being outside this long. It was ten below last week and I don’t think he/she belongs to anyone.”
Jay opened the door to the shop and let her inside. “Anyone but herself. I got a close look at her when she was eating some cat food I left outside on that old D3 dozer. If it was a male, he must have froze his balls off.”
Kay stifled a laugh with the back of her hand, then changed her mind and let it go. “So, you feed the cat on the Cat?”
“Yup, and she has the thickest, most matted coat I’ve ever seen. She’s a mess, but I guess it keeps the cold out. Her tracks go in and out from under that old orange connex storage container out back. I noticed that there haven’t been any voles in the shop, either. They usually come in once it starts freezing. Yup, she’s not a lazy female; she goes out and works for her keep, just like someone else I know.”
Kay blushed, then wondered why. He was flattering her, but also apologizing for insinuating that women in general were lazy. Score one for Jay being a good person, regardless of whether he’d seen the inside of a jail cell or not.
“Oh, I just remembered! I have some money for you. Thanks for standing up to Lumpy for me. I really didn’t think he was going to give me the money. You sort of forced his hand.” She handed him two five-dollar bills. “And the next time I bake, I’ll make sure I give you yours before I give him any. That is, if I do decide to share with him. He doesn’t seem too generous or even helpful. Does he even work on any of these tractors?”
“Nope. He’ll pop his head over my shoulder every once in a while, tell me I’m doing something wrong, then walk away. He just wants to feel like he’s in charge. Well, he is, in a way. He does manage to get a customer or two talked into letting him repair trucks or tractors, but he doesn’t do the work. He gets some down-on-his-luck guy like me in here to pull the wrenches, then he takes all the credit—and the cash. He hasn’t stiffed me yet, but he knows not to cross me.”
Kay’s eyes widened, shocked that maybe she had a warm spot for the wrong guy. Was he violent?
Jay laughed when he saw her discomfort. “No, I’m not a tough guy. I can probably count on one hand the times I’ve yelled at someone. People are afraid of me because I’m quiet and because I’m big. The chatty kinds or the runts with an attitude are the ones who start trouble.”
“Um, I didn’t think you were that tall,” Kay said, then grimaced.
Jay walked over to her without saying a word, stopped just inches from her, then straightened up. He saw her back away in fear.
“See what I mean about being quiet and tall? It scares people. I just use it when needed. I would never hurt you, and woe be to anyone who tries to mess with you… Lumpy hasn’t laid a hand on you, has he?”
“No, but he sure makes suggestions. Not direct ones, he just crows about his sexual prowess and big feet. Then he tries to get me interested in him by telling me how much money he usually has, but that he’s just in a dry spell right now.”
“Feet lie, and he’s a chronic bullshitter, pardon my French. I’ve known him for a year and a half now, and every time he gets money, he drinks it away. That’s why I make sure my rent is part of my wages and that he pays me every Friday for the cash portion.”
“Oh, I never thought about where you lived. I mean…” Kay’s face reddened. “Excuse me,” she said as she fanned herself with her little notebook. “I didn’t think I was old enough, but I think I’m having a hot flash.”
Phew! Dodged that one for now. Maybe she could use that excuse for another year or two. ‘I’m old enough to be going through menopause’ should scare off any man! And what was that about feet? She looked over at the floor where Jay was standing and saw him lifting his boot to show that he didn’t have big feet. Shit.
“By the way, I got good news,” Kay said in a strained effort to recuperate. “All your parts should be in tomorrow.”
Jay answered her with a sly grin, “And I have good news for you, too. I may be pissing him off, but I really don’t care. I took the price you were quoting Lumpy, doubled it, and told the owner of this Cat that he was to pay you direct. It’s a big chunk of change and I know you’ll get it right away. All you need to do is go downtown to his office with an invoice and his secretary will cut you a check while you wait. This nonsense of not paying you—when I know that wad of bills really was all hundreds—is for the birds. On a parts sale this big, he’d have it blown before the bars closed.”
; “Are you sure Lumpy won’t get mad and fire you, or get back at you in some other way?” she asked, suddenly concerned for his welfare and well-being.
“He can’t get too mad because it’s my customer. I got the deal, not him. When I hired on, he told me I could work on my own stuff in his shop if he didn’t have something else going on. Well, he didn’t have anything else, not even any prospects. He’s out chasing some gold miner right now, something about they need a big generator. He has an old Detroit he’s been trying to get rid of ever since I met him, but this guy wants Caterpillar only, so I think he’s screwed.”
“Really,” Kay drawled. “I just happen to have a father who has a friend who refurbishes and sells old Cat generators. I don’t want to take away his customer. I mean, that wouldn’t be very ladylike, much less civilized, so I may have a word with Mr. Lumpy. Maybe I can upgrade to a one-bedroom apartment from my studio by Christmas if this plays out…”
“Be careful when working with Lumpy,” Jay cautioned. “Just a minute ago, you were seeing right through him. Right now, you have that dollar sign blindness going on. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
“Well, since I don’t know much about you, I can’t say whether I will or won’t,” Kay snipped. She realized she had been sassy, so added, “But I will be careful,” then turned to leave.
Jay watched as Kay walked out the door. She was smart, determined, and cute, and that round bottom of hers was worth a second look any and every time. Now, as long as she didn’t do something stupid like fall under that snake charmer’s wiles, maybe he’d get to know her better, her and that perky hot-flashing figure, a lot better.
***
Kay walked up to Lumpy and got right down to business. “If you give me the specs for the generator your customer wants, I’ll see if I can find it for you.”
“Now you’re talking, young lady,” Lumpy said, cautiously sliding his arm around her.
Kay cleared her throat, and slinked down and away from his test move. She knew if she let him get away with a casual touch, she’d be fighting off the old fart fist, tooth, and nail before the month was out. The sale was worth a lot, and see needed the money, but nothing was worth getting ‘friendly’ with him.
“As I was saying, I can get Cat generators, and I don’t want you to think that I’d go around you, so I’ll sell it to you, then you sell it to him. I do need to get paid up front, though. I can’t carry $1,000 much less $40,000.”
“You stick with me, young lady, and you’ll be keeping a thousand dollars cash in that little change purse of yours,” Lumpy said, winking at her. “Here, I have a copy of what’s needed by my gold miner buddy up near Fairbanks. You get a 350KW generator quoted to the Port of Anchorage, and I’ll take care of it from there. You see, I have this trucker friend who owes me. I’ll get him to take it up to Nenana and the customer can drag it in to his mine from there with a D8. I’ll set the price to him, then we’ll split the profit, 50-50.”
Kay looked down at the photocopied spec sheet in her hands. It looked like this request had been making the used equipment circuit for quite a while. Carl’s name had been crossed off as had Sully’s. Either Lumpy was careless and had given her the wrong copy, or he thought she was stupid. It was better for her if it was the latter. It was easier to watch a man hiding aces up his sleeve if he thought no one was looking.
“I’ll get back to you tomorrow afternoon,” Kay said. “Everyone has closed down for the day on the east coast and even if I do get in touch with the right person, he’ll need to make sure someone else doesn’t have a sale pending.”
“What? I thought you were going to take care of this right away, little lady. Are you slipping?” Lumpy asked, his hand reaching out to stroke her arm.
“No, I’m not slipping!” Kay said and moved further away. “And you’ve had this information for how long and are just now sharing it with me?” she asked, glaring at him, hoping he’d squirm for making light of her skills.
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I knew you could find something quick as a Playboy bunny,” he replied, once again trying to wrap an arm around her, this time for a full-blown hug.
Kay backed further away, stifling the urge to slap him. “Would you be acting like this if I was a man?” she asked, her throat tight from resisting the urge to yell. “Would you try groping or hugging Jay or any other person you work with?”
“Of course not! They’re not my type, I mean, I’m not queer or nothing. Now look, you’re a fine woman and you need a man to take care of you. I’ll help you all that I can, but you need to give me something in return… You know what I mean?” Lumpy said with a wink, then licked his lips suggestively.
“I’ll do just fine by myself, thank you very much,” Kay said with self-assurance. “I’ll get back to you tomorrow about that generator. By phone.” Turning to leave, Kay paused then looked back and said sarcastically, “And have a good night.”
As soon as she in her car and out of the parking lot, she let loose. “Ergh! Son of a bitchin’ whoremonger, shit-eating, cock-su… No, wait, he said he didn’t do that. Asshole! I do not need a man!”
Kay started braking way before the stop sign—it was winter and she knew the road surfaces were unpredictable—and was glad she had. The intersection at the four-way stop was polished ice for at least fifty feet before the signs in every direction, the halogen street lights reflecting off the uneven mirrored surface, giving the area an eerie golden glow. Her brakes shuddered as the ABS automatic skid control kicked in, finally coming to a complete, forward-facing stop. She panted for half a moment, taking quick breaths to compose herself. Where in the heck were the sander trucks? Someone could get hurt out here.
Her wits back in place, she looked in all three directions, ready to take off, then saw a one-ton pickup truck on her right, barreling toward the intersection. There was no way he’d be able to stop, so she waited, bracing herself, hoping that he’d get his truck under control at the last moment and make a safe stop or continue, heading straight through the stop sign without hitting anyone.
No such luck. The driver slid up to the intersection, fishtailing then spinning like an Olympic ice skater. It finally came to a halt when the passenger side of the Ford pickup smacked Kay’s, her two-year-old sub-compact vehicle taking the full brunt of the impact, his road-grime gray dually truck rebounding ten feet away.
“Shit! Shit! Shit!” she screamed as she pummeled the horn in frustration.
Suddenly, the driver of the truck was at Kay’s window, pounding on it with gloved hand, urging her to roll it down. “Are you all right?” he asked.
“Hell no! You just wrecked my car. And it’s only two years old! And I have a $500 deductible on it. Hey, I want to see your insurance papers right now! You are insured, aren’t you?”
The middle-aged driver with the black knit cap pulled low over his head blocked her from getting out with his leg held close to her door. “Hold on,” he said, and pulled off his glove with his teeth.
“I want to get out,” Kay said, and tried again to open her door.
“Stay put,” he said gruffly. “I want to make this right, but if I get any more points on my license, they’ll throw me in jail.” He pulled out his wallet and counted off ten one-hundred dollar bills. “Here, this ought to take care of your deductible and any other problems that might pop up. Or not. Anyhow, have a merry Christmas.”
Kay reached out and took the money, stunned that for once the cash in her hand belonged to her. She hadn’t seen the damage to her car, but it was unlikely that the accident had caused an issue great enough that she couldn’t drive it. Looking up again, she saw the man lean over and look under his truck before getting back in and hightailing it down the road in the direction he had been headed. She quickly unbelted and jumped out of her car then watched his truck as it disappeared into the late afternoon darkness. Even if she had thought to look sooner, she wouldn’t have been able to see his license plate: it was caked over with snow. Kay looked at
the bills spread between her fingers, then shoved them in her coat pocket. It was just as well. At least unless he hit someone else. Nah, he didn’t have booze on his breath. He was probably just distracted.
The sound of a horn blaring brought her back to her senses. There was a car behind hers, honking for her to get out of the way. “Sorry,” Kay hollered at the other driver, glad that he hadn’t rear-ended her. Hurrying back into her damaged but drivable car, she looked both ways, then took off to her itty-bitty apartment. Safe. And not as broke as she was an hour ago.
Chapter 5
“Why, hello, Yardley,” Kay said, glad to see the cat was still around.
The gray tabby sitting on top of the dumpster lid didn’t reply, but warily watched as Kay neared her. At the last minute, the scraggly cat jumped down and ran toward the snow-covered equipment-studded yard behind the shop.
“Not feeling too social today, huh, Yardley? Ah, give you a few months, and you’ll be eating out of my hand,” Kay said after the long gone feline.
“She’s almost eating out of mine now,” Jay said.
Startled by Jay’s voice, Kay turned and saw him approaching. “Where’d you come from?” she asked, trying to regain her composure. “I didn’t see you when I pulled up.”
“Well, I was born in Washington, but I just came in from the bearing store. I just needed a few things. Don’t worry about losing any money on this transaction. I won’t be charging the customer. These are supplies I like to have on hand in my toolbox. By the way, I know it’s none of my business, but did you find a generator for Lumpy’s gold miner buddy?”
Kay chewed back a smile. Jay didn’t talk much, and now he was concerned about her personal business? “Actually, I did find a 3406B gen set. It’s a 350KW, has low hours, was used as a backup unit, and only run once a month for maintenance. I got it quoted f.o.b. Anchorage dock for only $29,000. There isn’t much of a warranty—only 30 days—but I figure if there’s something wrong with it, it’ll show up right away. I tried calling Lumpy this morning, but his phone went right to voice mail. Have you heard from him?”