Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
RILEY
I’m the first to arrive at the garage. Again.
But rather than feel annoyance that Jimmy, Carlos and Blade failed to get to work on time, I feel a hit of relief.
My steps echo as I turn on all the lights. As each corner of the workshop becomes illuminated, my mental to-do list grows as long as Pinocchio’s nose.
Two light bulbs still need to be replaced. The ceiling is missing some tiles. Pigeons keep pitching on beams outside and leaving their poop everywhere.
And don’t get me started on the bathrooms. It’s clear that this was an all-male mechanic bay because there’s only one bathroom and it’s filled to the brim with urinals along with a toilet that made me want to gag when I saw it yesterday.
This morning, I want to brainstorm a way to keep out the pigeons, replace the bulbs and tackle that toilet—while wearing a hazmat suit.
Those chores aren’t the real issue, Riley.
Yeah, well, I promised Nat yesterday that I wouldn’t give up on being an aircraft maintenance technician, but that doesn’t save me from my current predicament.
Which is that I don’t know how to run an auto mechanic shop.
I walk past a dark puddle on the floor and stop. Where on earth are those mysterious oil spills coming from?
Eager to get some manual labor in, I grab the high-chemical dish soap and pour it on top of the oil. Some of it starts to disintegrate immediately and it makes my job of sweeping it away much easier.
Maybe I should just clean the workshop for a living and tell Rebel to find another manager.
“Knock-knock,” a voice says.
I spin around.
Rebel saunters into the garage, wearing pink over-alls and shiny pink bracelets on her wrist. A pink bandanna holds her hair away from her face.
“Boss.” I straighten like a soldier at the queen’s gates.
“I figured you’d be here early.” Rebel’s eyes and voice are gentle when she says, “You okay? I heard about what happened yesterday.”
“I-I was going to report it to you. I just haven’t gotten to my computer to write the email yet.”
That’s not true. I had no plans on telling Rebel what happened yesterday. Not until I found a way to fix it first.
“I apologize.” I swallow hard. “I should have reported to you immediately rather than let you hear it from a third party.”
“It’s a small town. Gossip is much faster than an email. And that’s not why I’m here.”
Oh my gosh.
She’s going to fire me.
I avert my eyes to the ground and tighten my grip on the broom stick.
“I won’t make any excuses, Rebel. I know I let you down.
What happened with the customer is totally my fault and I’ll take responsibility for the hit to the shop’s reputation.
But if you give me another chance, I’m going to work twice as hard to—”
“I’m not here to fire you, Riley.”
I breathe out in relief and, in that moment, I realize just how much I didn’t want to leave this shop.
Not in shame.
Not again.
Rebel pats my shoulder. “And I’m not here to scold you either. If anyone should be scolded, it’s me.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Rebel smiles prettily. “What you said that first day really stuck with me. ‘Even if it’s not a leader’s fault, it’s her responsibility’. Since I’m the owner of this shop, everything that goes wrong is my responsibility.”
I shake my head because that’s not fair. I’m the one who messed up.
“I’ve been so busy with my own life and The Pink Garage that I threw you into the deep end without any instructions,” Rebel admits. “I’m sorry, Riley.”
I’m at a loss for words. Rebel is far too gracious. She has her own garage, a relationship, and an entire charity organization that she runs. This shop is literally all I have to do and I blew it in one day.
“Even so, I think there should be consequences,” I admit.
“On who?”
“On me?”
“Why are you so hard on yourself?” Rebel asks, tilting her head.
“AMTs don’t get to make excuses.” I let out a shuddering breath as a memory from three months ago resurfaces.
‘Because of you, hundreds would have lost their lives. And what would you have said then? ‘Sorry?’ You think ‘sorry’ brings people back to life, Carter? Don’t cry.
This isn’t the place for tears. If you were going to be this shoddy of a technician, you shouldn’t have joined the trade in the first place.
Because of your stupidity, every woman who comes after you will have to work hard to prove she’s not an idiot! ’
Emotions sting the back of my throat. “There’s no room for mistakes.”
“But you’re not fixing planes anymore. You’re fixing cars.”
I wince.
“I don’t mean that as an insult.” Rebel’s blue eyes glitter with kindness.
“Cars and avionics are not the same. In a car, you don’t have to torque every bolt with a torque wrench.
You don’t need dual spark plugs. A lot of the things an airplane needs is a waste on a car.
Unless a customer asks for it or unless it really is unsafe to ignore, you don’t have to address every problem. ”
Is she referring to the estimate I gave the customer yesterday? “I thought I was being thorough,” I explain. “I want the customer to leave our shop knowing they won’t break down ever again.”
“People need their cars to move and stop safely. That’s it. There are more complicated cases, but those two things are the heart of what we do.”
“But what if the car needs more help than the customer wants to give it?” I point out, unwilling to let it go.
“We can inform the client, but if fixing one thing is all they can afford, we let them sign for it and we fix what they ask us to. Our job is to make our customer happy and safe. If you really, really don’t think they’ll be safe, you can pass on the job.
But unlike a plane, a car can run with its bumper hanging off and its windshield cracked. It’s not optimal, but it’s possible.”
I gulp, thinking of that last day on the job. “I’m not sure I have it in me to bend protocol like that. Maybe… maybe I’m not cut out for—”
“Morning, morning!” Jimmy’s cheerful voice rings.
Rebel glances his way and then nods at me. “What were you going to say?”
I bite down on my bottom lip and shake my head. Nat isn’t giving up on hockey despite the obstacles. I can’t give up either.
“My advice,” Rebel says patiently, “rely on your team. They’ve got the experience and you have the structure and systems. If you can find a way to merge all your skills together, you’ll give The Pink Garage a serious run for its money.”
Jimmy draws nearer, a big grin on his face. “Is that the church van I see outside?”
“Mm-hm. I offered to fix the church van for free.” Rebel drops the key in my hand.
“This van has been giving the parsonage trouble for a long time. If you fix it before Sunday, there will be a ton of members in the congregation who’ll bring their cars to you.
” She gives me an ‘are you up for the challenge?’ look.
Mission received. I square my shoulders and say in a firm voice, “I’ll get it right this time, Boss.”
Rebel smiles.
To my surprise, Carlos and Blade wander in while the boss is walking out.
“Good morning to you,” Blade says as Rebel sashays by, his eyes lingering on her from behind.
A confused expression crosses my face as the mechanics saunter into the garage. “You guys came earlier today.”
“Yeah, well,” Blade sniffs and runs his thumb over his nose, feigning indifference, “I heard rumors about how things went down yesterday. I wanted to see if that customer tore this place up.” He shrugs. “But it doesn’t look so bad.”
Jimmy wags a finger. “If you were here waiting with her yesterday, you would have known if there was damage or not.”
“You left too.” Blade accuses.
“And I regret that,” Jimmy snaps back.
“Me too,” Carlos says, wringing his hands together. “I heard he was throwing things and cursing you out.”
I’m not sure who embellished the story, but I guess this is how small-town gossip works.
“I handled it, but…” In the spirit of the moment, I decide to get vulnerable too. “I, uh, I wanted to apologize for how I acted yesterday.”
All three men come to a complete stop.
“The workshop does have rules and a structure to abide by.” I pull my hands behind my back to hide my fidgeting. “However, I should have listened to you and Jimmy when you told me I was overdoing it with the inspection.”
A thick silence falls.
All the guys look stunned.
Did I seem that arrogant yesterday? Maybe I overdid it while trying to assert my authority.
“I… used to work on planes and when you’re up there in the air, every bolt, every rivet is very important. One bad rivet could mean a part of the plane tears off.”
Blade winces.
“One part of the plane tearing off means that the shield around the cabin can potentially open and people can get sucked out.”
Jimmy grimaces and turns his head slightly away.
“Life and death depend on one rivet. It’s why there’s airplane maintenance hierarchy. It’s why we have double and triple checks and sign logbooks to make sure that nothing is missed.”
I stare down at the callouses on my hands. “I have a lot to learn about auto-mechanics and I want you all to know that I respect your experience in that area. I’ll try to listen more than I lecture.”
Jimmy taps his chin. “I, for one, don’t mind the logbooks, boss. Ain’t nothing wrong with writing down notes. Makes me feel all official, like I work in an office.”
“Nah, I hate the logbooks. You can fill in my notes for me too then,” Carlos says.
Blade rolls his eyes but I see a tiny smile breaking free on his lips.
A few minutes later, the guys start working on the church van and I steal away to send a text to Nat.
Riley: I want to make a tweak to our deal.
Nat: What about it?
Riley: You said I shouldn’t give up on AMT, but that’s not what I want.
Nat: Okay. What do you want?
Riley: I want to dominate auto mechanics.