When it's really busy, I'll help with oil changes and tire rotations. To uphold our reputation, all our mechanics are certified, and I'm not...so, I can help out with the small things that don't require certification. The bells on the door jingle, signifying that someone opened the door. I peek around the corner from the little break room to see Jimmy walk in.
"Hey Jimmy," I yell and wave, smiling cheerfully.
"Hey, kiddo."
Jimmy's older, in his forties, and married with three kids. He's worked for my dad for the past seventeen years, and his wife makes the best cookies, muffins, pies, fudge...well, everything.
"Cindy made some chocolate chip cookies," he says. He holds up a circular tin and shakes it.
"I love your wife!" I tell him while taking it from his hands.
"Yeah, some days, I do too." He laughs as he walks away.
I place the cookies by the coffee pot, swiping one for myself, and walk back into the front to log into the computer. Saturday is our busiest day, considering that most people don't work, and think it's the best day to have their car done. Today is no different, by the looks of our schedule. The office has a massive window that looks out into the garage. Vin has already pulled in a car and has started working. I see Craig around his toolbox. He must've snuck in. Craig is quiet and keeps to himself most of the time. Nice guy, ex-military. Mark is the only one missing...no surprise there. It's a minute until we're officially open by the time he finally waltzes in.
"Veronica, you're a sight for sore eyes."
"Maybe you should get your eyes checked if they’re hurting."
"Why, when you're the cure?"
I groan. Mark is the definition of a player. He's the cliché. Hot, rides a motorcycle, sleeps with just about every willing woman, mom, wife in a fifty-mile radius. I shake my head and smile,"Oh Mark, save your lines for the dumb girls they actually work on." He chuckles and walks into the garage.
The morning and afternoon move relatively quickly. Thank goodness. I keep myself busy with the daunting tasks of an office assistant. Victor stops in to grab the books but doesn't stay long. He moved out of our parent’s house about six months ago, and now lives with his long-time girlfriend, Melissa. We don't get to see him much. They come over for our Sunday dinners sometimes, but it's not the same.
I order food for the guys, a Saturday ritual, and before I know it, we're shy two hours until closing. At five-thirty, Vance comes bursting through the door.
"To what do we owe the pleasure, big brother?" I don’t need to look at him to acknowledge him.
"Just wasting some time before I have to get Chase from the airport." This causes my head to snap in his direction.
"Chase is coming home? Why are you picking him up?"
Chase has been Vance's best friend since elementary school. He was always at our house growing up. He's an only child and always said that our house was ‘full of life’. But in reality, I think he enjoyed coming over and helping Vance torture me endlessly.
Vance shrugs, "His parents are in Hawaii or some shit."
"What!? He's coming home from deployment, and they're on vacation?" I find myself irritated.
"I don't know. He just called me a couple of hours ago asking if I could pick him up. You going to the field tonight?" Guess that conversation is over.
"Yeah, I told Taylor I would."
"You want to ride with us?"
"I suppose." Vance plays on his phone, no doubt making plans for later, and I finish up my work for the day. It's silent for a while until he stands up, "Alright, I'm out! I'll meet you at home then."
"Are you bringing Chase over?"
"I don't know...whatever he wants to do." With that, he walks out the door and leaves me reeling. Chase is coming home!
Home
I awake with a jolt as the plane drops from turbulence. I lift my hat off my face and look towards Geoff, who was in my unit overseas. We're both from the northeast. It’s comforting to fly home with a brother.
"We're about to land," he informs me. I sit up and make sure my seat is in its upright position. I've been gone for about eight months, but it's been over a year since I've been in my hometown. Geoff is three years older than me and has a girl waiting for him. He plans to propose to her. I don't have anyone waiting for me, not even my parents. I called my mother a month ago to let her know that I was coming home. I guess a long vacation was more important.
I knew my boy, Vance, would be around. I called him a few times while deployed. He's my brother from another mother and his whole family is like my second home. The plane begins to descend, and I grip the armrests. I watch out the window as the airport slowly becomes bigger, and cars no longer look like little ants. The plane hits the landing strip, jumping around until it finally starts straighten' out, all wheels on the ground.
Once the airplane has stopped moving and connects to the gate, all passengers are immediately grabbing their belongings. I guess they’re just as eager as I am. Geoff gets up and grabs our packs from the overhead compartment and tosses mine to me. People are beginning to exit the aircraft. We're still in uniform therefore men are shaking our hands, thanking us for our service while ladies are, not so discreetly, eye fucking us. It's a perk of the uniform. We walk straight to baggage claim where we know our parties are waiting for us.
Once Geoff's girlfriend sees him, she comes running and jumps into his arms. It's quite a scene. I notice Vance leaning against a beam, his head down focused on his phone. He looks up at the commotion and straightens when he sees me. He meets me halfway, putting his hand out. I smack it with mine, we pull each other into a hug including a pat on the back.
"Chase, my man! You bulked up!"
I laugh and pull away from him. "Yeah," I squeeze his arm, "Looks like you put some muscle on, too.”
"Oh, these?" He flexes a muscle and then kisses it.
"Dude, seriously?"
He laughs. "Welcome home man." He pats me on the back again.
"Thanks, it's good to be back on American soil."
"I bet. Do you want to go home? Settle in? Or grab some food? I'm going out to the Field tonight if you want to come out and see everyone." This sounds like it's exactly what I need.
"Yeah man, that sounds good. I wanna grab a shower. Do you mind if we hit up my place first, then grab some food?"
"Sounds like a plan."
We head to my house where it's extremely empty...and quiet. I quickly shower and change into some civilian clothes, pull on some boots, put my wallet in my back pocket, and run down the stairs.
"Where you wanna go?" Vance asks me.
I only have to think for a second. "Big Woody's?"
"Hell yeah, best wings in town! Let's go!"
Woody's is a quaint place, a mixture of restaurant and bar. The tables are tall and scattered around the restaurant. A sign hangs on the hostess desk, ‘Seat Yourself’. I scan the place, noticing a few people that occupy a couple of stools at the bar, and some couples at the high-top tables. I head towards a table in the back for privacy, but mainly I prefer to have my back facing the wall allowing me to see the whole restaurant.