Cam
“Nope!” He headed for the door. “Not me. I’m out.”
“Wait.” Teagan dragged him back to the rack. “Perry? This isn’t you we’re dressing. Dial it back a bit?”
“Umm. That it pretty much fits and is clean?”
Perry tucked his hand under his chin, considering the brief. “Hmmm. Comfortable. Not showy, but proud. With a hint of a rebellious streak…” He turned back to the rack and presented a beautiful deep blue, classically cut velvet suit. “Here we are.”
Cam didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. Perry had nailed it. He went up for a closer look. “How did you do that?”
Perry held out the suit to him. “Call it a gift. Suit up, Cam. The crew may row like no one’s watching, but we dress like Anna Wintour is.”
After hanging up the garment bag Perry had lovingly zipped his suit into, Cam grabbed a set of coveralls from the stash he kept in the garage office.
“Hey, Dad.”
His dad held up his finger, pointed at the phone.
Cam pulled off his school shoes and started changing, mulling over the Formal and the handful of things he needed to do before Friday.
He had the threads. Transportation, though?
His Cinderella needed a carriage. His beat-up truck was a far cry from the limos and sports cars everyone else would be arriving in.
“I know,” his dad said to whoever he was talking to. “We’re a few months late and I’m sorry about that. As you know, it’s the slow season. I just need a few extra weeks.”
Shit. The shop had done pretty well this summer, but no matter how many late nights his dad and the other mechanics worked, sometimes it didn’t matter. It sounded like this was one of those times.
“Right. Thanks,” his dad said. “As soon as I can. I promise.” He hung up the phone.
“Everything okay, Dad?” Why did people ask that when they knew it wasn’t? To soften the blow?
“Oh.” His dad shook his head, moved a few papers around on the desk. Hiding whatever bill he was late on, probably. “Don’t worry about that. But… don’t grow. We can’t afford a new school uniform. The old one still good?”
“Yup. It’s fine.”
“Also,” his dad scrubbed his hair, depositing a streak of grease in it, “are you okay to pitch in on the evening shifts this week?”
“Of course. All except Friday.” He pointed at the garment bag.
“Believe it or not, I’m taking someone to the Fall Formal.
” He grinned at his dad. It had taken him months to ask Teagan out.
He was pretty sure it wasn’t his insider knowledge about taco trucks that had spurred her to ask him to the dance, but even if it had, he wasn’t complaining.
“Son! That’s fantastic!”
“If you need me, though—”
“Absolutely not. Who’s the lucky date?”
“Her name’s Teagan. She’s on crew.”
His dad laughed, like the news just kept getting better. “A girl after your own heart. Can’t wait to meet her.”
“So, umm… would it be okay to use the truck?”
His dad frowned. “No. You may not.”
“Okay. No prob.” Maybe one of the team could give him a lift.
“Son?” His dad’s expression softened. “You can’t take a girl to a formal dance in that.”
Yeah. He kinda already knew that, but…
“Listen.” His dad clapped his arm around Cam’s shoulder and they headed to the shop. “I have a client who owes me a favor. Don’t worry about a thing. You’ll be taking Teagan to the dance in style.”