Chapter 9 Book 8

Chapter 9

Timing

Part 1

Thursday would have been a great day, but after last night's advent, it was just another day where everything seemed to happen. We had a group meeting as we had a quick pancake breakfast inside an empty house. We couldn't trust anyone other than our close friends here in Santaquin, but even those were questionable after last night. It was just one lousy day before my mermaid friends would be leaving for home. And we barely had a pot to piss in.

I called my adoptive Dad first as we decided it would be best that their parents came and got them because we couldn't risk putting them in danger. Even though mine was questionable, Dad was right. We needed to make sure they got out; the rest of us would be fine with extra protection. We couldn't go to Heber until the shed was built to unload the trucks; also, they had sufficient help. Without us driving all the up there when we could do it all on Saturday.

We gathered around the table and made a new plan. The Earls would be completely out of the home by Saturday morning. My mermaid friends would be picked up around noon. Greg and his brothers and sisters would stay with me while their parents went to Heber and worked out a floor plan for their new house, seeing to the registration of each of their kids and the basic things that would need to be done. Even my mother seemed to like the plan, but my father, on the other hand, refused it; because it meant I would have the entire house to myself because my mother would be in school during the day.

He didn't trust me; he didn't trust my friends. My mother had to make a choice, and that was either give up going to school and be home or we would have to go back home. He didn't care if it was for three days or even one day; he made it clear that wasn't going to happen. So, my mother was left with the decision, and she worked it out that Monday and Tuesday she could miss school, and Wednesday I could stay with one of my friends or stay at the Cranny's house until she came home from school. Greg and they would be staying at a friend's house here in Santaquin until Friday.

Again, the plan was simple as we quickly went over what was left to do to the house which wasn't much other than unhook the appliances and re-hook them up in each of the person's homes that Bishop Earl and his wife were donating them to. Yet the first thing on my list was the wrecking yard and going down to Tischner and having him put on four brand new tires, but I didn't want to leave until my mermaid friends left so we worked on our list of things in the home until their parents arrived. I hate goodbyes but it really wasn't a forever goodbye because Mom and Dad promised me that I would see them again next summer at the nudist colony, but it still hurt to see them go as they disappeared from sight as I watched them go down the road, with a promise that I would write to them often.

I wasn't ashamed of crying as I wiped the tears from my eyes. It was better this way. I told myself; that it was just one day early, but to me, every single minute counted. Bishop Earl placed his arms around my shoulder and squeezed me to him. He said. "Let's us boys go have some fun," and got into my car and we headed down to the wrecking yard. The place looked deserted, seeing nothing but miles and miles of broken-down cars, some of them piled up and smashed some of them missing parts, and some of them still whole.

I was introduced to a whole brand-new world as the boss of the wrecking yard met me covered from head to toe in grease as he wiped his hands on his overalls and shook my hand. I wanted to bathe after that, as I noticed that some of that grime had stuck to my hands. I had never worked on a car in my entire life. I really never had a passion for it. I didn't read car magazines or anything, well except building models which I hadn't done since I was twelve, but that was as far as it came to getting acquainted with cars. His name was Bud Watkins.

He was an average guy with brown, mossy hair that hung down into his eyes and graying around the edges. He was short, although not as short as my father Jim, measuring somewhere around 5'6 or so. He also had brown eyes, and a strong chin curved into a block, with slightly chiseled corners and a brown, hairy mustache. Additionally, he had a son, Bruce, who was the same age as me and was friends with Greg. He also had a daughter, Maxine or Max, who had just turned seventeen. Both Bruce and Max worked at the wrecking yard, just like their father. They had brown hair and blue eyes and were equally dirty. He introduced both of them to me and Eli.

I was a little shocked to find a girl working on cars because I had never met one in person before. Mr. Earl introduced me as Eric Rothwell and said I was interested in getting my hands dirty; and introducing my new car. Having Maxine popped the hood, her brother stood looking over the engine. Like me, they saw potential and said I got myself a good deal for what I paid for it; that my Nova was a workhorse and very reliable if I took really good care of her.

Greg quickly listed the things I needed even though Max and her brother Bruce had already taken note of most of them and a few things we didn't think of. Not only was the radio shot the speakers too were broken and I need new shocks or would be needing them soon. I would also need a lift kit, a new muffler, and other things that would make my baby run like cherry.

Everything they listed seemed big and expensive, but instead, I got it all for less than a hundred bucks and they threw in a brand new slightly used carpet and a set of stocked rims for free that would just need a good cleaning and a little elbow grease or some chrome paint and awesome looking steering wheel. Within two hours, I had everything I would need to get my Super Nova looking good. Including a radio that was the bomb with a cassette player and a brand-new set of speakers that had never been used; except a little dent here and there but could be straightened with little work, using a vice.

I would need to buy brakes (front and rear) and several cans of paint from Checker Auto to repaint the faded interior plastic and dashboard, as well as shocks. I even was given a toolbox with everything I would need to get started with, and a pair of coveralls that I could wear just for working on the car.

With the back of my Nova crammed full, the seat down to accommodate everything, we returned to the Earl's house and unloaded. Leaving the rims inside the car so the new tires could be attached, we boys changed into our greasy car overalls, the smell of oil and rubber already thick in the air. We made our way back into town and pulled up to Tischner. He smiled when he saw us, and we shook hands. He said. "Back so soon."

Bishop Earl said. "Yep, but I have a favor to ask."

He said. "O'" and he said. "I think we can arrange that," As Bishop Earl stated that we three boys would like to do most of the work ourselves.

He quickly inspected the rims for the tires, stating they were good, and had one of his boys show us how to use the equipment. Bishop Earl left us there and said he would be back with the parts, but Tischner said he'd give us a discount on the same parts considering we were the ones doing the labor. Including the same warranty, we would get at Checker Auto on their lifetime guarantee parts and for the parts he didn't have he would send one of his boys over to get them since he was going for a part run, anyway. He already had Bishop Earl's Credit card on file, and we were put right to work. Learning how easy it was, or how hard it was to change brakes on a car.

The front disk brakes were the easiest compared to the back brakes, which had so many moving parts. I was told the back brakes would never have to be replaced again. They are normally only changed twice during a car's lifetime. This would be the second time for this car, and I was glad because I cursed several new swearwords. The front was easy, as Eli and I each did one front and one back, and the same for the tires.

Because we were sixteen, we could help with the muffler and tail section piping, but we weren't allowed to do any of the welding. I cringed seeing the old exhaust pipes fall to the ground corroded with rust and in places; they were paper thin, and if you touched them, they would fall in, creating a hole. They dented easily as they tossed them into the garbage can as they welded a new shiny silver pipe from the engine all the way down to the new muffler that had seen better days.

I was told that I needed a new oil pan and in the future, I would be repairing the transmission lines spotting a small leak where for now we just patched it, because the lines are expensive. But when it becomes a problem, I will have to either put out the dough for it or if I wanted to, there was an old mechanic trick that I could use using a joint connection with rubber tubing and only replacing the damaged section. It was damaged because the car rode too close to the ground. It was why I needed to buy a lift kit which I would have to order from the manufacturer. I coughed when I heard the price which was about 80 dollars.

Bishop Earl sprung for the new muffler for all the hard work he was getting out of me. Tischner threw in the oil pan for free. Since he told me that they had gone over the car with a fine-tooth comb, he even gave me a discount on the muffler. Or should I say Bishop Earl a discount on the muffler since he was paying for it? After it was all said and done, I forked out another 60 bucks out of my wallet which meant I needed to stop at the bank to get more money so I could pay Becky, and buy a few more things for the car that seemed tied to my wallet. Man, I was going to give my mother a stern talking to about keeping my car up and running, while she's driving it next week back and forth to and from school and while I wasn't here to use it.

After the repairs were complete, the car could stop on a dime, and it rode smooth as silk with new tires and it was quiet as a mouse with the new muffler. We stopped at Stringham's store for the paint and wire for the speakers, but he didn't have the kind of paint I needed for the rims nor the plastic sheeting I would need for the new carpet and the interior walls. I was putting in. So, we headed to Payson and ended up in Provo, finding a collision repair store that had everything I needed, and it didn't cost me an arm and a leg, because they bought things at a wholesale price. I even picked up the lift kit for a fraction of the price. Instead of eighty, I got it for thirty dollars.

I made a note to come back, seeing several things that caught my eye that would make my baby look good, like more chrome for the engine, and paint that they used to paint engines with to make them look like new. I even bought an engine cleaner and hand cleaner so I could get the car grit off our hands without too much scrubbing. I cringed seeing how dirty they were. I knew if my adoptive Mom saw them, she would give me a tongue lashing if I came to the table looking like a grease monkey. I even picked up some washing detergent so I could wash my car clothes with it.

All in all, it was a pretty big day. It became even more eventful when we returned home and began the process of transforming my baby. We started by tearing out the seats and the interior, then painted it inside the garage, allowing it to dry overnight. We also discarded the old carpet and lining underneath by tossing them into the dumpsters. With the help of Bishop Earl, the three of us boys installed the new lining in the car, not only on the floor but also on the walls. We took the time to install the radio and speakers. To protect the car during the process, we taped all the windows and placed clear plastic over the doors. Finally, we spray-painted the dashboard to match the new color I had chosen, which would complement the carpet and the new seats that I planned to put in the following morning.

It was nearly 5 pm as we closed up shop; it hurt seeing my baby lying in pieces in the garage and seeing her nothing more than an empty shell, but I knew she would be looking good once we put her back together again.

After a nice hamburger dinner, my mother came back with Jeannie. I smiled when I took her out to the garage when she asked where my car was. She gasped, seeing her all torn to pieces as I listed everything, we had done to her that day. It drove the point home that the car was mine and I was loaning it to her. She asked how much I had spent on the upgrades, and I said enough. Knowing it was none of her business, and Bishop Earl told me not to even tell her how much I spent. Just tell her that the repairs were being done or had been done, to ensure my baby would run without a problem, We three boys and Bishop Earl would be spending the night here to keep watch over the house, while everyone went home to my mother's house.

My mother's gasp echoed through the eerily silent house—emptied, save for the crude cardboard covering the shattered windows—as we recounted last night's events, the heavy police presence, and our mermaid friends' hasty departure.

Despite her dissatisfaction with Bishop Earl and his family's quick move to Heber, even faster than the three times we had changed the date, there was little she could do about it. It was what it was. My father, Jim, had always been unhappy with me, whether I was at home or in the same room. His displeasure intensified; the sight of the Earls lounging in his mother's house, completely at ease, was infuriating. "Where's "our" car?" Taking note of the possession of it like everything else, it was obvious they were not mine. It had always been this way and remained so, even when I moved out on my own. My sister Susan and my father's voices carried a hint of worry, tinged with possessiveness, as they scanned the empty driveway. They didn't care about the money I had spent; to them, money grew on trees, and they believed I had plenty of it. They intended to drain me dry and pocket it all for themselves. However, my mother assured them that the car was being updated and would look fantastic once I put it back together again. I watched my father and sister Susan's eyebrows raise and he said, "Yeah right, it better be worth the money we paid for it."

Bishop Earl said. "Funny, I thought Eric was the one that paid for it out of his own pocket, including the repairs he is making, whereas you haven't spent a single dime on it as of yet. In truth, it never belonged to you in the first place, and you knew that upfront that the car belongs to him, not you, and certainly not to you, Susan."

My father, Jim, growled. "I never asked him to buy us a car, nor did I ask him to make any repairs! He did so all on his own. He didn't have my permission, so that's on him, not me!"

Bishop Earl growled back. "That's because Jim the car is his, not yours. He is only loaning it to you until you can get one on your own until he has his license and has graduated from high school as agreed."

He said. "I wasn't the one who agreed to it. Hell, no! Nothing here belongs to that Goddamn brat! Or ever will!"

Bishop Earl said. "No, but your wife was considering she'll be the one driving it, not you, and certainly not Susan or anyone else without his permission." My father growled and mumbled something under his breath, but was nothing we could understand so we dropped it, for now anyway.

My mother offered him the option to stay at the church house if he didn't like it, but he stubbornly refused for two reasons. Firstly, he didn't trust me or the Earls as far as he could spit. Secondly, he had made considerable efforts to uncover the identity of the next Bishop, yet he remained clueless. He demanded that we disclose this information so that he and his friends would have sufficient time to take action. Frustrated, he forcefully pressed his clenched fist into the arm of the couch when we denied his request and told him to go straight to hell.

Becky, of course, demanded her money, afraid I would welsh on the deal we had made. As I fished it out of my wallet and gave it to her as she grabbed it so quickly out of my hands. To my surprise, I avoided a paper cut; Susan glared at me. I didn't say a word about it. I just made sure the girls were comfortable in my room. Before us boys left the house with Bishop Earl in his car. We had promised the people that we would help install the appliance that the Earls was donating to those families that needed them before we turned in for the night.

Bishop Earl asked my father if he would like to help, considering he was a fairly good plumber, and the items we were installing needed to be plumbed, but he refused. We knew he would, but Bishop Earl wanted him to know we could use the help, that he would be helping someone in need and giving him the opportunity. Yet my father is a cruel man and only believes in helping himself not others. The fact the church was helping him and the people he had refused to help were helping him. He refused to do any kind of service to say thank you. He said. "I can't wait until you are gone! You were the worst Bishop I have ever known, always getting into my business where you don't belong!"

Bishop Earl smiled and said. "Glad to hear I made a difference in your life, Jim, that you will remember me." My father slammed the door in his face. Yelled at my mother that she should have said no and demanded to know where his dinner was.