Chapter 6 #2
“Yeah, we have a lobby in there.” He points to a door with windows.
I look and see chairs. “There’s coffee and water in there, too, so help yourself.
If you get bored, feel free to hang out with us in here.
” He points to the rolling chair. “Just don’t touch anything.
My dad would kill me if a customer got hurt. ”
“Are you sure? I don’t want to be in your way.”
“You’re fine.” He waves me off. “It’s just Robbie and me until noon. He’s over there doing his own thing.”
I debate on what I’m going to do for a moment. Deciding I don’t want to be a bother, I choose the waiting room.
“I’ll go grab a coffee.”
“Sounds good.” He grins, then turns around and heads toward my car.
Opening the door to the lobby, I head in and make my way to the coffee.
“Good morning,” a woman behind the counter greets me. “Are you Blake Clark?”
I nod. “Yeah, I have an appointment for eight. The car is already with Cooper.”
“Perfect.” She smiles. “My name is Linda. If you need anything, just ask me. Not much is needed from you until Cooper is done with your car.”
“Okay, sounds good. Thanks.”
I make a coffee, adding way too much sugar. If it weren’t so early, I’d have stopped at the cafe to grab my regular chocolate mint latte.
This will have to do for now, I guess. Taking a sip, I wrinkle my nose. I hate coffee that tastes too much like coffee.
Sucking it up, because I need the caffeine to make it through today, I take a seat in one of the chairs and play around on my phone.
About an hour later, I hear the door that connects to the garage open. Poking my head up, I see Cooper heading towards me. His face is covered in something black, his blond hair a mess. But that happy boy next door smile is on his face.
“Dude. Your car is a hot mess.” He chuckles.
I die inside. Those are not the words I want to hear. Those are words that tell me I’m going to pay a hell of a lot more than I can afford. Maybe they would be willing to do a payment plan?
I can feel the panic starting to rise inside me. Fuck. Fuck! I knew I should have just left the car in my garage. Walking isn’t so bad. Now I’m going to owe them money and look like an idiot when I can’t pay them.
Maybe Mom can spot me the money, just until I take some extra shifts at work and can pay her back.
Before I start to spiral, Cooper speaks again. “The good news is, all of them are easy fixes, no part replacements. I do have a question, though.”
“O-okay?”
“When was the last time you had an oil change?”
I blink at him, stunned. “I-ah, I don’t know?” The car was bought used. Everything was in good shape when I got it a year ago. I didn’t even think about an oil change.
“That would make sense.” He chuckles again. “Some of the electrical parts have come loose, so your check engine light wouldn’t have come on. And based on the nasty shit I just flushed out, I’d say it’s been a long time.”
Embarrassment floods me. He must think I’m stupid.
Maybe because I am. Of course, I'd need to get my oil changed at some point.
“That’s an easy fix, and you’ll be fine for now. But if you want to save money, I can show you how to change your oil at home.”
“You don’t have to. You’re busy. I can figure it out.”
“Nah, I’m about to fill it up anyway.” He waves me over. “Come on.”
Not wanting to argue, I abandon my shitty, now cold coffee and follow after him.
“First, you’re going to want to get a car jack or ramps. Do you have either of those?”
“No,” I grumble, the tips of my ears heating.
“No worries.” He walks to the other side of the shop, grabs something, and carries it back over. “You can have these.”
“What?” My brows pull together. “N-no. I can’t take those.”
“Yes, you can, Blake.” He’s smiling, but it's one that tells me not to argue, so I don’t.
He goes to my trunk and throws them in. “Now, I probably should have come to get you before I drained it.” He huffs out a laugh.
“But we can still get under there so I can show you.” His brows pull together.
“Are you okay with rolling under there?”
“Yeah, sure.” I blink, still dumbfounded over the fact that he just gave me car ramps. Like, what the heck? Who just gives people stuff like that? They have got to cost a lot of money, right? Why would he give them to me for nothing?
“Perfect.” He claps his hands, then grabs a flat, red bed-looking thing and places it on the ground next to the one already there. “Just lie down on the creeper. It will keep you off the ground and from getting dirty.”
“Creeper?” That has my lips twitching.
“Yeah.” He grins. “You know, to creep under the car.”
I huff out a laugh, shaking my head. This guy isn’t so bad.
I lay on the creeper, and we roll under the car. It’s gross and dirty, but I’m not going to say a thing. This guy is doing me a favor by teaching me when he doesn’t have to.
“Now, once you’re under, this is what you’re going to look for.” He points to a black tube-looking thing. “Open the cap and let the contents drain into an oil drip pan. You honestly could just get a cheap kitty litter pan from the Dollar General. It’s big and deep enough to hold everything.”
“Okay.” I make sure to pay attention and follow along.
“Once that's done, then you need to change your oil filter. Now, yours is near the edge, so we can do that out here.”
We slide out from under the car and get to our feet. He leads me to the front and points. “This is your filter.”
He proceeds to show me how to take the old one out and replace it with a new one.
“After that's done, you’ll slide back under and recap the drain plug.” He gets down and goes under, quickly doing that before coming back up. “Now, you fill it up with new oil.”
He shows me where the new stuff goes, getting a funnel and pouring the contents inside.
“Once it’s in, you want to start the car to circulate like normal, then check that your oil is at the proper level with the dipstick.”
“Wait, that's a real thing?” My brows pull together.
“Yeah.” He smiles. “Why?”
“I thought it was just an insult,” I mutter, and his smile falters a little.
He starts the car up for a few seconds, then looks under it.
“Seems to be good.” Then he steps back over to the front and grabs the dipstick, dipping it in before pulling it back out.
“You want to wipe away all oil with a paper towel, reinsert the dipstick, then remove it again, and confirm that the oil is lined up with the full mark on the tip of the dipstick,” he says, showing me each step as he does it.
“Then you want to start the car up again to check for leaks around the filter.” He pokes his head further under the hood, watches for a moment, and pulls back with a smile. “It’s all good. And that's how you do an oil change. Easy, right?”
Surprisingly, it’s not so bad.
“Yeah. I think it’s something I can do at home.” I nod, feeling a little awkward. This is all weird. Not in a bad way, just in a way I’m not used to.
I’m not used to people being nice to me, doing things for me, helping me learn to do things just because they’re nice people.
“Now, the rest of it? I have to do that myself.” He grins.
“Thanks for showing me. It was very helpful.”
“Of course.”
“I’ll ah, go back inside.”
“Okay.” He nods, grabbing a rag and wiping his hands.
I head back inside. This time I don’t play on my phone. I just stare off into the distance at nothing.
I’m such an awkward person. How sad is it that someone is trying to be nice to me, and I have no idea how to act?
I’m not sure how much time goes by, but eventually Cooper comes back in. “All done, good as new.” He hands me my keys.
Here comes the dreaded part. I think I’m going to puke, or shit my pants. Maybe both?
“How much did it come to?” I try to keep the nerves out of my voice, but I don’t think I quite managed it.
“It’s on the house.” He shrugs.
My brows pull together. “Wait, what? Why, how? No.” I shake my head.
“Blake, let me do this for you, okay? Please? You are saving my ass by tutoring me, taking on another student when you normally only work with one person. You made an exception for me, and now I’m making one for you. It’s no big deal. You didn’t need anything replaced.”
“I did, though, the oil filter.” I blink at him in disbelief. Is this man crazy? Or is he just fucking with me?
“It’s like ten bucks.” He waves me off. “It’s fine.”
“Cooper,” I growl, my body is shaking, so many emotions are running through me. Why the hell is he doing this? Why would he do all that work for free? His time is worth money. “I’m not a charity case,” I grind out. “I can pay for it.”
“I didn’t say you were.” His face is kind and patient. “You did me a favor, I’m returning it. We’re friends now, right? Every now and then, friends help each other. It’s what we do. Just let me do this for you, Blake, please.” He’s still holding out the car keys, waiting for me to take them.
My eyes sting, and my body is starting to shake. My jaw is ground so tight that I think I might break a tooth. I’m not mad at him, I’m just confused.
He dangles the keys and gives me one of those damn pretty-boy smiles.
I don’t know how to say no, because honestly, I don’t think I can. He did so much on my car, and I don’t have the money to pay the bill.
“Thank you,” I rasp out, snatching the car keys from him. “Thank you.”
He nods, giving me a softer smile.
Turning around, I rush for the door before I make a fool of myself. My heart is pounding, and I think I’m going to be sick.
“See you tomorrow, Latte Boy!” he calls out, chuckling.
My car is waiting for me out front. Rushing over, I get in and start the car up. It runs smoothly, the sound from before is gone.
I cast a glance over to the door of the shop and find Cooper watching me. He’s leaning against the doorframe, a lazy smile on his face. He lifts a hand and waves before stepping out and walking toward the open garage door.
The whole car ride home, I can’t make sense of it.
I just don’t understand.
Before I can really freak out, I open my message to Davis and Rylee, filling them in on everything that happened today.
Davis: I think he’s just a good guy, Blake. I know it’s hard to believe, and it’s rare, but there are good people out there.
Rylee: Looks like you found yourself a good one. Don’t push him away, babe. He seems genuine. And from what you say about his friends, they think so too.
Me: You don’t think it's crazy? Too much? Way out of line?
Davis: Like he said, you did him a big favor, he did one back. You’re even.
Me: I didn’t do the favor for him, I did it for my sister.
Rylee: Still. He’s showing his appreciation. Ever heard of the phrase don’t look a gift horse in the mouth?
Me: What if he changes his mind and wants the money later on down the road?
Davis: Then keep the money you have, and add to it as you go. If he wants you to end up paying, then you have the money, and he’s a shitty person for fucking with you. If he is the real deal, then you have a nice chunk of change.
Me: This is crazy.
Rylee: You deserve good things in your life, babe. Just accept it. If you second-guess everything, you’re never really going to enjoy life, and you’re going to keep pushing people away.
I know she’s right, and I hate it. It’s hard to just accept it, though. There’s always a price to pay, nothing is free in life, right?
My mind is a mess for the rest of the day. I’m there, but not; lost in thought.
By the time I’m heading to bed, I decide to accept that Cooper is a good person and that maybe he feels like he needs to do this for himself. Who am I to question that?
I’ll make sure to thank him again when I see him tomorrow. It’s the least I can do.
Today was one hell of a day. One I can’t wrap my head around.