I dropped the kids off at school as scheduled then went to the repair guy Gabe had told me about but he hadn’t opened so I went to the next electronic repair shop which was a few shops away.
“Hi, do you guys fix laptops?” I asked the lady at the counter.
“Yes we do. Let me get one of our repair guys,” she said before walking away.
“Hi, how can I help you today?” the voice sounded familiar. I looked up and there she was, the woman from my dreams.
“I…umm…I…I,” I cleared my throat, “The lady that was here told me she went to get someone that’ll help me…I mean my laptop.” I couldn’t remember ever being so nervous.
“I am that someone. What is wrong with it?”
“It won’t start,”
“That’s it?” she asked with a smile on her face and I felt my heartbeat rising.
“Yes that’s it. Yet I need it for work as soon as possible,”
“Come back in three hours, I’ll have it ready for you.” she wrote a receipt and handed it to me.
“Thank you,”
“It’s my pleasure,” I didn’t know if it was how she said it or her facial expression when she said it but my heartbeat dropped down to my lady part.
I didn’t want to drive all the way home then go back three hours later so I decided to wait at a nearby café.
Time always flies when wasting it, before I knew it the three hours were up with an additional thirty minutes. I went to check up on my device and as she had promised it was ready. She explained all the things she had to fix and replace and I expected the bill to be higher that Cheech and Chong.
“That will be two thousand,” the cashier said and I thought she had made an error.
“Are you sure?”
“A new fan belt is one thousand five hundred while the labour is five hundred,” the cashier explained. I paid my tab and went back to where the repair lady was standing to hand her the paid receipt.
“You made a mistake,” I told her as I handed it to her.
“I seldom make mistakes.” She looked at the receipt, “That was the only thing that needed a new part. Everything else could be easily fixed and replaced,”
“Then this isn’t enough for your labour,”
“Helping a beautiful woman out is always payment enough for me,” I could feel myself blushing.
As she handed back my laptop her hand brushed against mine and on different circumstances I’d have peed myself a little. I thanked her and left.
I sat in the car for a few minutes trying to catch my breath. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop thinking about her.
As I drove the kids to school early the following morning, I saw her heading towards the bus stop. I honked at her before pulling over.
“Can I be of any assistance?” I asked.
“I’m on my way to catch a bus,”
“Are you going to work?”
“Yeah, my car won’t start and I can’t wait for a taxi,”
“I can drop you off if you don’t mind,”
“I don’t want to be an inconvenience,”
“Not at all, not after the help you offered yesterday,” As if he knew what I was going to say, Chance went and sat at the back with his sister. I introduced myself and the kids.
“I’m Patricia but friends call me Pat,”
“Are you a girl or a boy?” Joelisa asked.
“Joey!”
“It’s okay. I get asked this question a lot. I’m a girl who likes dressing up like a boy,”
“You don’t like girl’s clothes?”
“I don’t. I’ve never worn them since I was your age.”
“How will you get married to a boy if you dress like a boy?”
“Joey!” I called out again.
“She doesn’t like boys,” Chance said.
“But she’s a girl,”
“Not all girls like boys and not all boys like girls,” I almost stepped on the brakes.
“How did you know this?” I asked looking at him through the rear view mirror.
“I umm…I,” he looked at Pat then at me, “I saw it on a documentary,”
“That’s it. The three of us are going to watch TV together so I can keep an eye on what you are watching,”
“Come on mom, I’m not ten. These things happen in our lives,”
“I do understand that you are a teenager and things can get a little confusing but if you ever need someone to talk to I’m always here for you,” There was silence for a few minutes.
“Mom,” Chance called out.
“Yes son,”
“Would you disown me if I was gay?” I stepped on the brakes and looked at him.
“No, I’d never disown you. You are my son, my blood, the fruit of my womb. I would never do such a thing,”
“Why do some parents disown their children for being gay? Is it a disease or a curse?” I could feel my eyes well up.
“Some people are just scared and as a result they make very bad decisions,” Pat told him.
“I’m not gay mom. I know you’ll start pestering me with questions and Google on it. I’m not gay. I was just curious if you are as homophobic as dad is,” We got to school before the conversation got more uncomfortable.
“You’ve got a beautiful family,” she said as I drove towards the mall.
“I’m blessed and I don’t take it for granted,”
“Your husband is blessed to have a beauty like you for a wife,” I almost accelerated.
“Thank you... I think,”
“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I’m not one to mince my words. I tell it like it is,”
“I can see that,”
“Thank you for the ride,” she said after I pulled over.
“I should be the one thanking you for the work you did on my laptop. It’s working better than before,”
“It’s always a pleasure working for a beautiful woman,”
“I’ll see you around,”
“I guess you will,” she was about to get out of the car when I stopped her.
“I’m the one dropping off the kids at school for the week, maybe I can give you a ride to work before it’s up or your car gets fixed,”
“I do not want to get in your way,” she said placing her hand on mine. I could feel my heart beat faster and my palms got sweaty. I cleared my throat.
“Not in the least. It’ll be my way of returning the favour,”
“Then I guess I’ll see you tomorrow Mama Chance,” she said after she got off the car.
“You will,” I said and drove off.
I was so excited seeing her waiting for us the following day. We dropped off the kids and she invited me for a cup of coffee at a nearby café. We sat and talked until Gabe called to ask where I was. Talking to Pat was therapeutic. It was like I had known her all my life.
YOU ARE READING
Pat
Любовные романыLove between two women who must overcome different challenges both together and individually to be together.
