When I woke at seven-thirty, I swilled some coffee and fed myself lightly with a can of chicken soup, then called Sue to send a copy of herself with me to Bost Automotive.
She appeared as I was shaving. I looked her up and down, appreciating her from toes to nose in her shorts and tee-shirt as she leaned on the doorframe.
I asked, "Did you have a good time last night?"
Nodding, she said, "Yes, I did. Did you?"
"Yup. That was the first time I'd ever talked to Vonda. If she shows enough interest, I may ask her out sometime."
Sue's expression in the mirror was innocent as she asked, "Isn't Vonda just a little old for you, Ed? Let's see; Selena, Toni, Dana, Lissa... Your last four girlfriends have all been under thirty, haven't they?"
I sighed and said, "See? They didn't take out anything important yesterday. You're as snotty as ever, flitter girl."
Laughing softly, Sue disappeared. I heard noises in the kitchen, and when I finished in the bathroom, I found my mug full of coffee on the kitchen counter.
"Try it before you say anything," said Sue.
I did. It was about right and I nodded as I sipped again. We boarded the flitter and arrived at Bost just as one of the guys was priming the engine for a test run. We stayed aboard the flitter and hovered above the scene.
The engine balked a bit at first, then fired up and smoothed out after a minute. As the guy listened to it, I asked Sue if she could spot any problems with it. She shook her head.
"No. It's well within acceptable parameters."
"Thanks. Now let's see if we can get a discount for pulling the parts ourselves."
Chuck and the other guy were about to pressure-check the engine as the flitter lifted and Sue and I appeared in the parking lot between them and the car.
After their initial shock had abated, I told them that Sue had already checked the engine and it had passed. Chuck gave us an 'are you nuts?' look and said, "Uh, huh. Right," as he shoved a chain hoist toward the car.
"Sue," I said, "Pull that engine, please."
"No problem," she said with a grin.
Nuts and bolts began spinning off and out of the car and the radiator cap popped up to release pressure as the two main radiator hoses disconnected and floated to join the nuts and bolts. Chuck simply stared; the other guy crossed himself and muttered something.
The hood of the car lifted off and settled beside it, then some more bolts floated out of the engine compartment.
Sue chuckled at their reactions when the air-conditioning system separated itself and settled gently to the ground. She then pulled two more bolts and lifted the 350 engine out of the engine compartment.
The engine hovered above the asphalt for a moment before Sue turned to Chuck and said, "This really shouldn't sit on the ground. I'll put it in the hoist until we're ready for it."
He just stared at her and nodded rather dumbly for a moment, then turned to me.
"Ed, how did she do that?"
"It's a kind of Amaran magic, Chuck. There's some science involved, but it's still a kind of magic. If we do the engine swapout, will you cut us a deal? No muss, no fuss, and you get to work on something else this morning. How does three hundred sound to you?"
Chuck seemed spellbound for a moment as he stared at Sue and the engine in his hoist, then he turned to me.
"Uh... Well... How does five -- that's almost half price -- how does that sound to you, Ed?"
"Kinda high. You paid about a hundred for the car if you didn't actually charge someone to haul it off, Chuck. You've already sold the tranny out of it, so you've made about five hundred so far. The battery, tires, stereo, taillights, and everything else will bring in another few hundred. Three hundred for the engine wouldn't hurt you at all, plus you get to charge someone else for the other work you'll do this morning."
His gaze returned to Sue. She smiled and gave the engine a little pat, then vanished and reappeared next to me. When Chuck turned to me and saw Sue, his eyes bugged a bit.
"Uh, yeah. Yeah. Three hundred. Okay," he said softly, then his voice firmed up and he said, "But no warranty if we don't do the work."
"Good enough," I said.
Sue then lifted the hood off my Olds and began the same procedure to remove the engine. Both mechanics stood watching in almost total silence as my old engine and air-conditioning system floated to the other car and settled to the ground beside it.
The new engine lifted out of the hoist and into the engine compartment of my car and Sue installed it, then she started it and let it run for thirty seconds or so. She then installed the air-conditioning system. The entire procedure took all of perhaps ten minutes.
"This would be a good time to replace fluids," said Sue.
Chuck stared at her for a moment, seemed to shake himself a bit, and then told the other guy to move the car into the bay.
The other guy nodded, but didn't move. Chuck slapped his shoulder lightly and said, "Now," and the guy seemed to get himself organized. He nodded again and almost ran to the car, then started it and slid it into one of the repair bays as Chuck walked alongside it.
"Sue," I said, "That was one helluva show for these guys. Thank you, milady."
A few minutes later we stood waiting as Chuck made out a receipt for the engine. He cleared his throat and looked at Sue for a moment, seemed to think about something, then cleared his throat again as he handed me the receipt.
"Uh, ma'am," said Chuck, "This may sound kind of dumb, but, uh... well... Could I offer you a job?"
Sue gave him a regretful look and said, "I'm sorry, but I already have a job, Chuck."
He shrugged. "Well, I had to ask, y'know?"
End 3WP04
Book Information (click here)
Book Information
* * *
This book Copyright © 2002 by Ed Howdershelt. All rights reserved.
CAUTION: Some tasteful erotica late in the story.
If you're curious about me, check out:
http://abintrapress.tripod.com
http://www.wiccaworks.com/
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
* * *
Book Information
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
>
3rd World Products, Inc., Book 4 Page 61