Chapter Five Mo
Chapter Five
Mo
“Okay, sugar plum, serpentine belt,” Mo called out to Madison as he straightened up from the open hood of the lifted car he was working on. The shop was closed on Sundays, but he’d decided that it was important for Madison to have some good automotive skills, so he’d taken to bringing her into the shop with him from time to time on their weekends together. That particular Sunday was doing double-duty for him; the basketball league’s thank-you banquet had been the previous night, and Mo was in desperate need of some quiet, reflective time to evacuate the remaining tension from the hours of being in an enclosed space with loud music, excited kids, and painful small talk. While he was appreciative of what the parents had wished to express, the hand-drawn cards from the players touched him much more than anything else. That, and seeing Maddie have a good time dancing with the players and their siblings.
Refreshed from the previous evening after sleeping in quite late, Maddie hopped off the stool on the other side of the bay where she’d been doing her homework and started over to him, then stopped.
“Gloves?” she asked.
“Yep.”
She bounced over to the workbench and grabbed a pair of purple nitrile gloves from the box he’d purchased specifically for her.
“Okay, Daddy, serpentine belt. Let’s get crackin’,” she said, snapping the second glove at her wrist and smiling at him.
He chuckled.
“First, let’s set the stage,” he said. “The belt’s job is to transfer energy from the engine’s crankshaft to other components that need energy to function. If the belt breaks while driving, it’s not a crisis situation, but it can become very dangerous. The goal is to change the belt before it breaks. They’re usually good for a minimum of fifty thousand miles.”
“Fifty thousand miles. Got it,” she said, standing beside him, close enough to look at the engine but still keep her pink-and-purple outfit clean.
“If it needs to be changed before that, you might hear a squeaking noise while you’re driving. If it has cracks, or tears, you definitely need to change it.”
“Squeaks, cracks, tears. Got it.”
He grinned.
“So let’s dive in. Can you find the belt?” he asked.
She leaned forward a little more, resting her hands on the frame as he was. She tilted her head to one side, leaned a little closer, then leaned back again. He noticed that her bottom lip was a little tucked in on one side, a focusing habit she’d had since she’d started reading. A wisp of dark hair from her slipping ponytail fell across her forehead and she pushed it out of the way with the back of her gloved hand.
“Is that it, Daddy?” she asked, pointing.
He followed her gesture and smiled.
“Great eye, sugar plum. Now, it won’t look exactly the same on each engine, but the path is similar. You see how it goes over a couple of different pulleys? We have to look from underneath to see everything.”
She nodded.
He drew her attention to a diagram on the inside of the hood.
“Here’s the path the belt takes. Keep this in mind as we work to remove it and as we get the new one on.”
She frowned, looked at the engine, then back at the diagram.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“Um, okay, but…Can I take a picture instead?”
Why hadn’t I ever thought of that?
“Uh…of course.” He fished his phone out of the pocket of his work pants. She leaned in, slipping her glove off to take a few shots and zoom in and out on one. She nodded her approval.
“Okay, let’s get underneath,” she said, smiling.
They grabbed creepers and slid under the car together, Mo picking up a slim light and switching it on. Before he pointed out the pulleys that the belt wove over, Madison had taken two more photos and slid back out from under the car to judge them in the sunlight coming through the open garage door.
“Looks good,” she said, sliding back underneath and handing him the phone.
Dropping the phone on his chest, he began to explain the process. As always, Madison was attentive and anticipated the right questions to ask. When it was time to loosen the tensioner, Mo got it started but let her do the rest. She wound the belt off with ease, and as they slid out from under the car, she took a closer look at it.
“I need to line up the grooves on the new belt with the grooves on the pulleys, don’t I?” she asked.
Mo smiled. Observant twelve-year-old.
“Yep. It’s easy to do. The challenge is getting the new one into position from the top and the bottom.”
He walked her through verifying that the new belt and old belt were the same size, pointed out the signs of wear on the old one, and handed her his phone. She glanced between it and the pulleys a few times then rested it on the frame so that she had both hands free to thread the belt in place. She was focused, and Mo watched, letting her approach the task the way she saw fit. She’d taken quickly to all the projects they’d worked on together so far—changing the oil, the spark plugs, and the battery. Changing a tire had required extra help from him, but he was confident that she’d be able to do it on her own when she was older and stronger. That one was particularly important to him. He wanted to be sure she could handle that even if it was cold or dark or raining. He hoped she’d never find herself in a position to have to depend on someone else to do it for her. She was already pretty fearless, but he wanted to add a layer of confidence from extra skill.
“Okay. I think the top is good,” Madison said.
He took a look.
“Nice job. Down we go.”
Madison grabbed the phone from the frame, and he held the light. He started to help her tug at the belt, but she wanted to do it, so he only watched. Once everything was in place and she’d tightened the tensioner, he gave it one last tug. He handed her the phone so she could verify with the photo she’d taken. Suddenly it rang.
“Here, Daddy,” she said, handing it to him.
“Jess” was lit up at the top of the screen. Shocked, Mo barely noticed Maddie sliding out from under the car.
“Hello?” he asked, answering as he followed her.
“Hi, Mo? It’s Jess, um, from the Folk School.”
He caught a whisper of timidity in her voice. She hadn’t sounded like that in front of the School the other day.
“Yeah,” he said. “Hi, Jess.”
Maddie had just finished standing and was pulling off her gloves. “Who’s Jess?” she mouthed, a grin pulling at her lips. A hot blast went through Mo’s chest, and he couldn’t breathe. He didn’t know why Jess would be calling him, and the look on Madison’s face was messing with his head. She looked like—
“I’m calling about the meeting this week,” Jess said, drawing his attention back to the call.
“Oh, right,” he said. Teaching Maddie was important for her development, but it also gave him the chance to forget about any outside stressors. Although it was Sunday and the organizational committee’s meeting wasn’t until the end of the week, he’d already had to start his mental pep talks about feeling trapped in the room and preparing an overstimulating event. He’d been out to the School and taught classes over the past couple of weeks with zero problems. It had even been nice to see Jess at a distance when he’d been there. But the meeting would force him to face This Thing and the threat to one of his safe spaces.
“Actually,” Jess said, helpfully interrupting the anxiety cycle set to begin, “I’m surprised to be calling you. Probably as much as I imagine you’re surprised to get a call from me.”
“Uh, yeah.” She had a point.
“From what I understand, you aren’t a fan of texting. Since you hadn’t replied in the group chat, I was nominated to call and check that you’re coming to the meeting,” she said.
Mo smothered a small chuckle. She was absolutely right about him and texting. Maddie was the only person he ever texted with voluntarily. He’d seen the progress of the discussion in the chat. There hadn’t been anything for him to add, so he hadn’t thought to say anything. And he certainly wasn’t going to spontaneously participate. Jess’s word choice had caught his attention, though.
“Nominated?” he asked.
“Well, they nominated, I volunteered, potato-potahto,” Jess said.
In Mo’s opinion there was quite the gulf between those two options, so he wasn’t sure what to say. A weak “um” was all he could get out. Looking down, he kicked at the tag that had been on the serpentine belt with the inside of his shoe. Maddie strolling by caught his attention in the corner of his peripheral vision. She was smirking a little. He raised an eyebrow, and she dropped the smirk, walking toward his office and out of the garage.
“I…” Jess said. She paused and then sighed. “I don’t know about the dynamics at the Folk School, but it seems like everyone…gives you a wide berth. Which I don’t get. Yes, you can be intimidating at first glance. But it seems like…well, like you can also be empathetic.”
Mo’s face flashed hot. Nobody caught on to his empathy without knowing him for a long time. They just took his exterior at face value, not understanding that it was there to keep all his stupid empathy inside. The empathy that wouldn’t let him not feel what other people were feeling and get submerged by it if he let them get too close. He crossed his free arm around himself and squeezed. Then he caught Maddie peeking at him from the open shop door. He tilted his head and raised his eyebrow again. She disappeared.
“Um, yeah…I…” He wanted to say something. To thank Jess for seeing that, for using the word “empathetic” with him, about him. But he felt kind of exposed, and that feeling always made him retreat into himself to get away from the sticky prickliness blooming over his muscles. He hugged his arm even tighter around himself for courage.
“It’s…uh…Thanks for noticing,” he croaked out before his throat closed up. He immediately wanted to kick himself. He should have been able to say more, but he just couldn’t. Plus, his face was on fire, and it was keeping him from thinking straight.
“Sure,” Jess said. There was a little pause and Mo figured that maybe she didn’t know what else to say. He wanted to push the conversation along—which surprised him—but he didn’t know how. She cleared her throat, and he figured she was about to say goodbye.
“Actually,” she said, “I noticed something else, too.”
“Yes?”
“You don’t seem to want to do this Faire. At least, you didn’t during the meeting. But when we were outside, you said that doing it would be for the best reason.”
She was right. He was impressed that she remembered what he’d said.
“Uh, yeah,” he said.
“Is that because you kind of like to keep to yourself? That won’t really be possible if they want to draw a lot of the attention to our skills in particular.”
Mo didn’t know what to do. This woman not only saw him; it sounded like she got him.
“That’s exactly it,” he said, mind still reeling a little.
Jess sighed again. Long and heavy.
“I don’t really want to do it, either,” she said. “Not because I don’t think the School should be saved,” she added quickly. “If I can help, I’ll do it. It’s just that Ren Faires…they bring up some personal stuff.”
“Oh.”
Mo had an inkling that the “personal stuff” might be related to her sister, but he didn’t want to pry. He hated when people did it to him. He wanted to be supportive, but short of saying that she really didn’t have to participate, he wasn’t sure how.
“You know,” she said, “maybe we could help each other. Be a personal sounding board if we need to gripe about it. Or have each other’s backs if the rest of the committee tries to put too much on the two of us?”
She was open to talking to him? Letting him vent? His smile bloomed on its own. That was the exact moment Maddie chose to pop her head out of his office. Her eyes went wide, and she giggled. He scowled and she disappeared again.
“That would be great, Jess,” he said. “Thanks. A lot.”
“Thank you, Mo,” she said. “Feels better not to be alone on this.”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll let you go,” she said. “Been talking your ear off.”
He wanted to say that she hadn’t at all. Which was weird because he only ever had phone calls this long with family. However, Maddie had been getting a little too curious and he would be relieved to remove the source of her curiosity.
“Um, okay,” he said. “Thanks for calling.”
“Have a good day, Mo. See you Friday.”
“You too. And see you then.”
After ending the call, he looked at the phone, holding it in both hands. He took a deep breath, trying to clear out the lingering shock from Jess seeing what most other people missed. His worry for the Folk School and how he could possibly deal with the Faire was present, but it had taken a backseat to the amazement of being seen. Jess’s fortitude had been on full display the night they’d crossed paths, as had her desire to make things right at the open house. What he hadn’t anticipated was her ability to be observant. Especially about someone like him. He wanted to do something nice for her, too. The question was, what? Then he remembered that she’d said her keychain was always—
“Dad-dy? Who’s Jess?” Maddie sing-songed less than a foot away from him.
He nearly jumped out of his skin. She’d appeared in front of him without making a sound. She’d done that less and less with time, but still managed to now and then.
“Someone from the Folk School. We’re working on a project to get funding for it,” he said.
Madison tilted her head to the side and squinted.
“You smiled with her, but you don’t talk to her like you talk to me,” she said.
Mo was confused.
“Why would I?” he asked. “I don’t know her very well.”
“You should talk to more people like you talk to me. It would help you make friends.”
Mo frowned. Making friends was an annoying, recurring conversation with everyone related to him. Just how carefully had she been listening in, anyway? He leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead.
“I’m fine, sugar plum. But thank you for being concerned about me.”
“No, wait,” Madison said. “You talk to Mrs. Sargysan the way you talk to me. She’s your friend.”
Even though they spoke multiple times a week, Mo doubted that his next-door neighbor would consider him a friend.
“You’re right, I do talk to her. But I don’t know that she’s my friend.”
Madison shook her head as she stuffed her pink MP3 player into her pocket. It was what they’d settled on so she could listen to music before she got a cell phone. She shoved the cord down too, and her headphones slipped from around her neck. Mo caught them and handed them to her.
“She’s your friend, Daddy. Trust me.”
“I trust you, Mads,” he said, sliding an arm around her shoulders. “Let’s finish up and get out of here.”
“Can we get some fruit for Mrs. Sargysan on the way?”
“We can do that,” he said.
—
Mo tapped on his horn as Madison disappeared into Diana’s house. He put the truck in gear and pulled away from the curb. He was always a bit sad when Maddie left, even though he knew they would talk that night, at least by text.
After pulling into the driveway of his house, he took his sunglasses off then slid his mesh grocery bag across the seat and brought it with him as he stepped out of the truck. He never wanted to seem disrespectful to Mrs. Sargysan, and he probably wouldn’t get a headache from the little sun he’d pick up while they were talking. Maddie had chosen so much fruit, she’d had difficulty carrying the bag out of the store. Mrs. Sargysan was sitting on her porch, reading, and she waved at him.
“Where’s my little kuzu?” she called out.
Mo smiled.
“Your little lamb is back with her mom. Just dropped her off,” he said, climbing her steps. “But she sent something for you.” He carefully placed the bag on the metal patio table beside her chair. The oranges and grapefruits pulled in multiple directions, so he decided not to let go.
“Ah! Always thinking of her bonus grandma. Such a sweetheart,” she said.
“Shall I take them inside?” he asked.
Mrs. Sargysan’s eyes went wide.
“All of that?” she asked.
“All of that,” Mo said, nodding.
“Goodness, I’m spoiled,” she said. “I hope she chose something for herself.”
“Yes, but I had to be a bit firm. Natural sweets are healthier than man-made.”
Mrs. Sargysan nodded.
“Good dad. I’ll make her a fruit salad when she comes back. No way I’ll be able to eat all of that by myself. Let’s go get everything put away.” She began to rise, but Mo shook his head.
“I’ll handle it; you rest here.”
Mrs. Sargysan rolled her eyes.
“Enough resting. I’ll rest myself to death, and then there’ll be even more resting. Out of my way, young man.”
She got up and went into the house first. Following her into the kitchen, Mo noticed that it was a little warm.
“Is your A/C working right?” he asked as he put the bag down on the table.
Mrs. Sargysan harrumphed.
“I don’t know. I set the thermostat like normal, but it doesn’t feel like it should in here,” she said.
“Do you want me to take a look?”
She patted him on the arm.
“Don’t worry about it, I already have a man coming tomorrow,” she said.
“Want me to hang around, make sure he doesn’t try any funny stuff?” he asked, waggling his eyebrows.
“Ha! That’ll be the day,” she said. “I think it’ll be all right.”
“If you get too warm, you know you can come over.”
“Thanks, Mo, but I’m fine. You go relax. I’m gonna watch my shows and go to bed.”
“Okay. If you need anything, bang on the wall.”
She saluted him.
“Will do.”