The St Patrick Series Book #1: The St Patrick Bride

Chapter Ten: Grease Monkey

Courtney's POV
I do not make lists.

I am incapable of sticking to a list.

I have my own system that is typically an organized mess in my head but it helps get through my work. I tried not to laugh at how agitated the old man is. He's another mess. His is not organized because he can't seem to find whatever he's looking for. He mattered to himself and finally came to me after endless rounds in the shop.

"You should make a list." I teased him. He likes to tell me that whenever I forget to do something or when I lose a tool or an engine part.

Old man Jenkins is my boss. He owns a small car repair business a little out of town. It's in at the edge of a junk yard which he also happens to own. He gave me a job after I helped him fix his old truck. It was broken down on the side of the road and I happened to be riding my scooter past him when I stopped to help. He gave me a job soon after. It's not much but between it and the internship at Lambert Unlimited, I make ends meet.

"Throwing my words back at me?" He laughed. "I have a customer at..." He scratched his head trying to remember before he fished out a tattered little notebook from his overall pocket. "Yes! Here we go! I have someone bringing in a car. I told him the little grease monkey will look at it. Do s good job. He pays well."

"Yes sir."

"I don't understand something." He sat on a chair and observed me working under the hood of an old car. "You have such a bright mind. Why not work for a big company?"

"Why not work for a smaller one with more opportunities?" I smiled at him.

"I still think you're too pretty to be a mechanic. If I had a grandson, i would set you up with him."

"It's tragic that you don't." I laughed.

"I'm off. Put in your hat." He placed s dark baseball bat over my head. It's old and filthy with engine oil but I like it. He says I should not let the creeps who come here see how pretty I am. He's protective. "At the first sign if trouble, run. Don't lock up or anything. Run."

He treats me like a daughter. One year of this and I already have a second father. I tucked all my hair in the cap. Coupled with the large grey overalls, it's hard to tell I'm a girl. I'm grateful for my not so girlish voice. It's s little deeper and with the right projection, I can sound male. I keep my head down and I avoid eye contact unless I trust the customer.

I kept working after he left. There's an orange in the roof of the car. He gives me one orange everyday and he says I shouldn't say I'm not fed. I climbed on the roof of the car to here I have a fairly good view of the junk yard. I peeled the orange slowly eating one slice after another. It's a hot summer day. Yesterday it rained and it made it impossible for me to do my work. Today is a good day to get things done. For starters, I slept enough. Carly -my roomie- wasn't home. She snores and it gets loud. I can sleep through a storm but not her snoring. I have also completed my assigned reading. It is a good day to get things done. Old man Jenkins let's me keep whatever I'm paid. He must know and understand how much I need the money to give me a high paying client. He also trusts my ability to do a good a job. I have been working under his instruction for a year now.

I can't believe but it has been a year since I started working as a mechanic. It's well over a year since I cleared high school. Give or take, almost two years since I saw my friends. Nate, Marianna and Chris are faces I haven't seen since the motel.

I went back to Italy to look for Maria but Gio told me he doesn't know where she is either. I haven't found her. Part of me thinks she has been through a lot and she just wants to be left alone. Francis isn't hard to find. The guy is on the cover of every other financial magazine. The owner if the high end Harrington Hotels even married a pretty blonde with blue eyes.  Her name is Nora. I have met her. She's quiet and she reminds me of a small town girl in high society. She's often clueless. I'm not part of the social scene anymore. I don't see the need. I keep to myself most if the time. Nate is the one who is not around at all. There are no traces of him anywhere. It's like he vanished off the face of the earth. As for Chris, well, he's been around. I just try not to run into him. I'm yet to understand why I am avoiding him.