One Step At A Time

by Brenda Adcock

  “Need somethin’, chief?” she asked as she wiped her hands on a shop towel and stared back at the boy, who looked about seventeen or eighteen.

  He shook his head. “Just stopped by to visit Poppy...uh...my grandfather.” He pointed at the auto body next to Maddie. “That’s my car,” he said.

  “Right now, it’s a POS that might grow up to be a car someday, but it’s got a long way to go,” Maddie said.

  “Hey, Joel!” Crew called out. “How’s it hangin’, man?”

  The boy smiled and blushed slightly. “No complaints, Crew.”

  “Cool,” Crew nodded. “He’s in the office.”

  “Yeah, thanks,” the boy said. Then he looked back at Maddie. “That it’s new engine?” he asked.

  “Maybe,” Maddie answered with a shrug.

  “Uh...can I help?” he asked.

  “I got it, kid,” she said, picking up a wrench to remove the old spark plugs, which looked shot to shit, but you never knew. Shifting her eyes to the guitar case, she asked, “You play?”

  “Yeah. Sometimes I come here to practice because it’s pretty quiet,” he answered with a smile.

  “Maybe you can play while we’re workin’. Anythin’ beats that country crap Crew always has on the radio,” she grinned at Crew, who waved a hand dismissively.

  “Maybe,” he said before picking up his guitar case and walking to the office. Only a few minutes passed before the clear sounds of a guitar filtered into the bays from Oscar’s office. Maddie listened for a minute and turned back to her work on the old engine.

  She stopped long enough to grab her travel mug, tilting it up for a quick drink of her coffee. An instant later, the coffee spewed out of her mouth onto the floor of her bay. She jogged to the shop’s water cooler and rinsed her mouth and throat repeatedly to remove the taste of oil and gasoline.

  Beau was laughing hysterically, but stopped when she flew at him, hitting him solidly in the diaphragm with her shoulder, knocking the air out of his lungs mid-laugh. He sprawled on the cement next to the vehicle he was working on, gasping for a breath.

  “You think that was funny, ya fuckin’ moron?” Maddie yelled, standing over his prone body.

  “It wasn’t me, bitch,” he finally rasped as he struggled to stand. He grabbed the side of his worktable and pulled it over, dumping tools on the floor. The sound of metal clattering on the cement brought Oscar rushing out of his office, followed by his grandson.

  “What the hell’s going on out here?” Oscar demanded.

  “Just a disagreement, boss,” Crew rumbled.

  Oscar looked back and forth between Maddie and Beau. “Who started this?” he asked.

  They quickly brought fingers up to point at one another.

  “Then I guess you’ll share the punishment,” Oscar said, calming down. “I want this floor scrubbed down, so clean I can eat off it. And while you’re at it, the toilets can use a good cleaning, too. Before you leave tonight!”

  Finally, Maddie said, “It was my fault, boss. I hit Beau first.”

  “Why?”

  “Someone put gas in my coffee and since he was laughin’, I assumed it was Beau so I hit him,” she explained.

  “Did you put gas in her coffee?” Oscar asked Beau.

  “I rinsed off a part I’d cleaned in gas, but didn’t know she’d drink that shit. It was already fuckin’ cold,” Beau said.

  “Just a misunderstandin’, boss,” Crew added. “Right, guys?” he asked.

  Maddie glared at Crew, but stuck her hand out to Beau, mumbling, “Sorry, man.”

  Beau grabbed her hand and squeezed it so hard she could feel the bones in her hand rub together, but ignored it.

  “That’s real sweet,” Oscar said insincerely, “but I still want this shit picked up and the floor cleaned.”

  “We got it, boss,” Crew said before anyone could argue.

  As soon as Oscar entered his office and shut the door, Crew stood between Maddie and Beau. Unexpectedly, he reached out and grabbed both of them by their shirts and jerked them close to his face. “I don’t want any trouble here, got it?” he asked threateningly, shaking them slightly. “Pretty sure you put gas in Maddie’s drink, Beau, and I’m pretty sure you overreacted, Maddie. We all gotta work here, so find a fuckin’ way to get along.” He shoved them away. “Or next time I won’t do a damn thing to save your pathetic asses. Grow the fuck up,” he snarled. “And clean this goddamn floor!”

  Maddie set Beau’s tool table upright and tossed his tools back on it, then grabbed a bottle of degreaser, and squirted it liberally on the floor before filling two rolling buckets with steaming water. She pushed one toward Beau and began scrubbing the floor. Within a few minutes, the back of her work shirt was soaked with sweat and she paused long enough to strip it off and toss it aside. Half an hour later, Joel left his grandfather’s office and stopped to run a hand over the hood of the Camaro body, perhaps imagining what it could look like one day.

  “Hey, kid,” Maddie said. “I work better when there’s good music in the background. Play somethin’ for us.”

  Joel found an old milk crate and sat down, resting his guitar across his thigh, took a deep breath, and flexed his fingers before picking out a series of intricate notes that filled the garage with distinctively Spanish sounds that Maddie enjoyed, but was unfamiliar with.

  “What is that?” she asked, wringing out her mop.

  “Classical,” Joel answered quietly.

  Maddie nodded and swung her mop back to the floor. “Kinda soothin’,” she said.

  For the next hour Joel played a number of pieces Maddie found interesting, and a departure from the heavy rock she knew. It was melodic and beautiful, unlike the hard, raucous pieces she’d played.

  After that Joel showed up nearly every day, presumably to check on the progress of his car, always accompanied by his guitar. Occasionally, Maddie let him get his hands dirty by helping her tear down a section of the old motor or rebuilding an old part. She enjoyed talking to the boy and taught him the basics of how automobiles worked. During her breaks, she split her sandwich with him and she asked him about his guitar and how he learned to play. She confessed she played, but nothing as sophisticated as what he did.

  One day she dragged in an old guitar she’d found at the thrift store, but set it aside while she worked. Joel showed up later than usual and swept up the shop while Maddie wrestled with a stubborn bolt on the engine. After her wrench slipped and she ripped the skin on her knuckles, followed by a string of curse words, she walked around trying to shake it off, her hand covered by a shop cloth.

  “Are you bleeding?” Joel asked.

  Maddie pulled the cloth back and looked at her hand. “A little. Not enough to get worked up over.”

  “That your guitar?” he asked looking toward her case.

  “Yeah. Hearin’ you play kinda made me wanna play again, but I’d rather try alone here before I force anyone else to suffer through it,” she said with a smile.

  “Want me to leave?” he asked.

  “That’s okay,” she answered. “I really liked that one song you played a couple of days ago. It had a really drivin’ back beat. Maybe we can work on a way to jazz it up a little, if you don’t mind me joinin’ you.”

  “Caballero?” Joel asked.

  “Don’t know the name,” Maddie said. “Just play a few notes and I’ll pick up the tune.”

  Joel settled the guitar on his lap and began plucking out the quick intro to the song. Maddie tapped her foot and jumped in, increasing the pace slightly and adding a couple of faster riffs, making the old guitar sing before ending on a sliding note. Joel followed in a slightly higher octave that blended with hers.

  “Any lyrics?” Maddie asked.

  “No. It’s just something I wrote for my music class,” Joel said. “But my teacher said it wasn’t really classical guitar. Called it junk music.”

  “Because it’s rock and roll, man.
Really good rock and roll,” she enthused, clapping him on the shoulder.

  “Joel!” a woman’s voice called out. An instant later, an attractive brunette walked through the back door of the shop. “Let’s go, mijo, or we’ll be late...again.”

  “Okay, Mom,” Joel said as he packed up his guitar. He glanced at Maddie and grinned, mouthing, My mother. Sorry.

  Maddie plucked out a few more notes before returning her guitar to its case and standing up.

  “How’s the car coming along?” the woman asked.

  “Not too bad, considerin’ it was only a body. It’s a long process,” Maddie answered. She saw the expression on the woman’s face when she finally looked at Maddie and saw the recognition in her eyes.

  “What are you doing here?” the woman snapped. Without pausing, the guttural sound of a wounded animal erupted from her throat and she stepped quickly toward Maddie, stopping in front of her, pulling her hand back, and slapping her with the full force of her rage. As she drew back to strike her again, Maddie grabbed the woman’s wrist and held it. Maddie relaxed her grip, knowing her actions had caused the woman’s grief and fury.

  “Mom! What are you doing?” Joel asked, looking confused.

  His mother jerked her arm away and spun around to face her son, her index finger in his face.

  “I forbid you to come here again as long as she’s here, do you hear me?” she demanded, pointing at Maddie.

  “Why? What’s wrong, Mom?”

  She spun back around and stared hatred at Maddie. “Because your Poppy hired her, knowing who she was.”

  “So what?” Joel said. “She’s working on dad’s car.”

  “Not anymore,” she spat. “She murdered your father.”

  Maddie couldn’t blame her for her violent reaction and was sure her handprint remained on her face like a brand. In all honesty, she barely remembered the woman striking her at the end of her trial, but Maddie had snorted a line of coke before that appearance and was high. Her memory of the event was cloudy at best.

  “W...what?” Joel stammered as he looked back at Maddie. When she saw the anguished look on Joel’s face when his mother dragged him out of the garage, for an instant Maddie saw the teen as a seven-year-old boy, struggling to understand what happened to his father and closed her eyes to shut out the past. She wanted to say something, anything, to ease his grief and absolve herself, but this was the road she’d chosen. There was nothing she could say that wouldn’t hurt someone else.

  MADDIE WALKED TO work the next day, fully expecting to be fired. She straightened her work space and attached the list of parts the Camaro would need to a clipboard, and puttered around until Oscar arrived. He motioned silently for her to follow him into his office, then pointed to the chair in front of his desk.

  “From the earful I got last night, I assume you’ve met my daughter-in-law, Natalie,” Oscar said as he fiddled with things on his desk.

  “Yes, sir,” Maddie said. “I don’t want to cause any more trouble, so I’ll gather anythin’ that belongs to me and be out of here within the hour. I appreciate the chance to work, sir.” She stood to leave, but Oscar stood as well.

  “Sit down, James,” he ordered. “I don’t take orders from my daughter-in-law. I already knew you were responsible for my son’s death, but believe everyone deserves a second chance. Natalie needs to find a way to get over her bitterness.”

  “But you won’t be able to see Joel if I stay,” Maddie said. “I don’t want to harm your family any further.”

  “I see the kids every weekend and that’ll have to do.”

  “What about the car?” she asked.

  “I bought it for Bryan, but never signed it over to him. Since I still hold the title, it technically belongs to me, and I’ll have anyone I choose work on restoring it. Understand?”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you,” Maddie answered and offered her hand. Oscar took it firmly before sitting down again.

  “Get back to work, James,” he muttered.

  “Yes, sir,” she said softly as she left the office.

  That evening after work, Maddie walked to a bar that advertised it was women-friendly. She needed a chance to unwind and relax before going home to Flo’s. Maybe she’d get lucky and meet a friendly woman who wouldn’t object to inviting her home for a little romp and wouldn’t ask too many questions. Maddie straightened her work clothes and sauntered into a bar called The Kloset, looking through the dim smoky gray haze, pausing to allow her eyes and ears to adjust.

  She had played dozens of clubs and bars similar to The Kloset when she was starting out and considered leaving because it reminded her of dancing with Shay, their bodies pressed together as Shay twisted Maddie’s nipples painfully or left teeth marks on her neck. Maddie shook her head to throw off the memory.

  She located the bar near the front and ordered a beer before finding a place in the shadows at the end of the bar to observe the pulsing dance floor full of gyrating patrons. On the far side of the dance floor, she saw a familiar face and smiled. Jan was attempting to coax her friend, Dani onto the dance floor, but Dani wasn’t having it. Maddie finished her beer and walked around the edge of the dance floor until she quietly slid in behind Jan and encircled her waist, pulling Jan firmly against her body.

  “Let’s show ‘em how it’s done, baby,” Maddie growled softly in Jan’s ear.

  Jan turned and stared at Maddie. Then a seductive grin split her face. “Well, if it isn’t the wild child. I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” Jan said as she wrapped her arms around Maddie. “Run away from the circus?”

  “Somethin’ like that,” Maddie said with a shrug. “Dance?”

  “You any good?” Jan flirted.

  “Good enough, baby, but it’s been a while,” Maddie said, pulling Jan onto the dance floor as the DJ started a techno set. Maddie raised her arms over her head and thrust her hips against Jan, their thighs brushing.

  “Ooo, careful, stud,” Jan said with a smile.

  “Or what, baby?” Maddie teased, her arm sliding around Jan’s waist. “You gonna spank me?”

  “I’ll think of something, honey, but unfortunately, I’m staying with my friend for the weekend. We’re celebrating her new job.”

  “Then why’s she glued to the damn wall instead of celebratin’?” Maddie asked, looking over Jan’s shoulder at Dani, who was trying very hard to blend in with the wallpaper.

  Jan laughed. “She’s afraid someone she knows from work will see her. Not really into the club scene, y’know? Only came here because I wanted to. She’s a good kid, but a little socially awkward.”

  “Maybe we should loosen her up a little,” Maddie suggested before dropping a firm kiss on Jan’s lips and teasing her with her tongue, remembering the way Dani had kissed her in Buck’s trailer the evening Maddie left the carnival.

  Jan licked her lips when the kiss ended. “I, on the other hand, am already loosened up,” she said invitingly.

  “Yes, you certainly are, baby,” Maddie agreed, her fingers working Jan’s nipple into a tight knot as she nibbled at her neck.

  Jan slipped her fingers into the front of Maddie’s work shirt and pulled her into a darker area that smelled of old cigarettes and stale beer, accompanied by the muffled sounds of frantic, groping sex. Maddie grinned when Jan shoved her onto a love seat and covered her mouth in a blistering kiss. Her hands found their way beneath Jan’s stretchy top as she returned the kiss as earnestly as she was receiving. She pushed her fingers under Jan’s soft form-fitting bra and kneaded her generous breasts. Jan groaned as her hands began trailing their way up the inside of Maddie’s thigh. Without realizing it, Maddie grabbed Jan’s hand to stop its movement and inserted her thigh between Jan’s legs, pressing it firmly against her crotch. Jan rocked against Maddie’s muscular thigh, her breathing becoming more labored and her thrusts jerkier as she began to lose control of her body. Maddie kissed her and whispered, “Move up and let me taste you,
baby.” She pulled Jan up and pushed her panties aside, teasing her with her tongue until she felt the beginning of her orgasm trickle onto her tongue. “Sweet,” Maddie mumbled as she sucked Jan hard into her mouth and traced her folds with her tongue. Jan slid down until she straddled Maddie’s hips and collapsed into Maddie’s arms. “I’ve missed you,” Jan said softly, nuzzling a kiss against Maddie’s chest. “Even though you don’t remember me.”

  “It hasn’t been that long, baby. Of course, I remember you,” Maddie said.

  “Before that, sweetie. We almost met ten years ago.”

  Maddie pushed her head back and stared at Jan. “Really?”

  “I was waiting outside after your last concert, but you passed me up for Dani. Very disappointing,” Jan pouted. “Dani and I were friends in high school and I forced her to go with me that night. That wasn’t her thing either.” She held her fingers up, slightly apart. “I was so jealous when you took her instead of me. Until her mother had to go pick her up at the police station,” she laughed. “Served her right, but she never would tell me what happened.” Suddenly, Jan pushed her body up and said, “Oh, my God! I left Dani alone out there. Sorry, sugar, but I need to go check on her.”

  “No problem,” Maddie said as she helped Jan up. “This joint got a back door?”

  “Back by the bathrooms, I think.” Jan kissed Maddie lightly. “Thanks for another memorable evening, sweetie.”

  “Anytime, baby,” Maddie said with a wicked smile. “My pleasure.”

  ON SATURDAY, MADDIE volunteered to work in order to catch up on a few simple jobs the guys hadn’t been able to get to. She spent most of her time re-assembling the old Camaro while the other three did the other jobs. Oscar came in to work on the paperwork piling up on his desk. Maddie rolled beneath a vehicle on a mechanic’s creeper to drain the oil before changing the filter and replacing the oil in a vehicle that came in late. She unscrewed the oil plug in the oil pan and pulled a bucket underneath the opening to catch the oil, which would be dumped into a recycling barrel behind the shop. As she watched the thick, dark liquid run out, she dipped her index finger into it. She checked the color of the oil and rubbed her index finger and thumb together to check the consistency. She sniffed it and touched her finger to her tongue lightly. The oil she was draining had been pumping through the engine too long and had turned nearly black and had a slightly burned taste and smell. It had a gritty feel and she would probably have to flush out the oil pan. It was a messy job, but at least the clean oil wouldn’t pick up any old grit and carry it throughout the engine to gum up the pistons.