Epilogue 1

ASHTON

Two weeks later…

“There you go! As good as new!” I slapped the hood of the car then beamed at it like a newborn. In a sense, it was a newborn, considering how many changes it’d gone through.

Mrs. McFadden was skeptical though. The elderly woman had one eye closed has she circled around the car. She had every reason to be suspicious. The thing was as beat up as a car could get. Short of being on fire and exploding, it was a minor miracle I was able to get the thing running. As the smile slowly grew on her face, she came to the realization that even an asshole like me had to be telling her the truth.

“Is the same car?” she asked. “It looks a little different.”

“I threw in a wash and a polish for free. You know, a car can look a lot better if you just get rid of all the rust. I told you this car was a classic. Not too many Studebakers on the road these days. If you think it looks good, you should see how this baby runs.” I leaned into the car and started the engine.

Mrs. McFadden took a step back, her hand on her chest. “It doesn’t sound like what I brought into you. You didn’t change the engine, did you?”

“Didn’t change a thing. Cleaned it out and fixed it up. The process was a lot harder than just having the thing replaced but I had a good time doing it.”

“A good time. You don’t fool me for a second. You put a lot of hours into this. Don’t pretend like it was a grand old time getting underneath this hunk of junk.”

“I always tell people there isn’t any place I’d rather be than underneath the hood of a car. People think I’m crazy but that’s the truth. I’m one of the lucky ones who gets to do what he wants. Besides, I am being compensated. That’ll be 20 dollars.”

The older woman’s kind smile was as satisfying as anything. She reached into her purse and pulled out some money. “It’s a shame you’re doing this for so little money.”

“Don’t worry about me now. I’ve got plenty of money in my bank account.”

“Still… You deserve a little more compensation. I got something else for you.”

“Mrs. McFadden… You don’t have to…”

She cut me off as she held out a plastic container. I narrowed my eyes at it and smiled.

“Peanut butter chocolate chip,” she said. “My personal recipe. You enjoy these.”

“If you’re gonna pay me in cookies, make sure you come back to me when anything goes wrong with this car.”

“Knowing this thing, it probably won’t be long.”

“Let’s hope not.”

I opened the door for her and she got inside. It was nice to see the enthusiasm as she rolled her car out of the garage. I watched the old ride move down the street and join the rest of the traffic. It was a sunny day in Ivory, perfect for an afternoon drive.

I opened up the container and pulled a cookie out.

“I hope you don’t get used to that.” Grant had his head down as he tuned up a ride. “Word gets out we’re taking cookies for payment and we’ll be out of business. Or fat.”

I munched on the cookie and smacked my lips. “Mrs. McFadden is an exception. You see that smile on her face? You won’t get that anywhere else.”

“I’ll make an exception for her. Just don’t be too kind on these folks. Doc will be wondering what’s up with your dues when you pay him with something you got from the donut aisle.”

“A man like Doc will understand more than anybody else.” I leaned up against the workbench and helped myself to another cookie.

Grant dropped his wrench on the ground and stood up straight, muttering to himself.

“What’s up?”

“He overgreased this lugnut. Thing’s tearing up my hands.”

“Get a towel and wipe it down.”

“I know, I know… Just wasn’t expecting it.” He moved over to the workbench and cleaned his hands off. I looked out into the streets while I ate in the silence of the garage. Grant had his eyes on me.

“What is it?” I said.

“Nothing.”

“Don’t gimme that shit. You’re staring at me for a reason and it’s got nothing to do with McFadden.”

He leaned up against the bench next to me and sighed. “It looks like your man Joey kept his word. Haven’t heard a peep from Picardo.”

“Just like he said… I don’t think we’ll be hearing from him any time soon.”

“How’s Rose doing?”

“Perfect. She just got a job. Some lab up near Golden Hills. About as fancy as you can get in a shithole like Ivory.”

“No kidding? Good for her. I always figured a girl like her was something special.”

“That’s an understatement. Rose is…”

“You don’t gotta say it, brother.” Grant put a hand on my shoulder and squeezed.

He’d been with me through everything. I could count on him even when I was at the bottom. He knew what I was thinking just by looking at me, so there was no point in saying anything. I could spend the rest of my life thanking him and it wouldn’t be enough.

“What do you think?” he said.

“About what?”

“Picardo was a big job but it got us into a lot of shit. From here on out, nothing but honest work. Anything suspicious, we tell the motherfucker to go fuck himself.”

“If we can’t get by with honest work, then it just wasn’t meant to be. Shit, these cookies are better than anything Picardo could ever pay us.”

I held the container up to him. He chuckled and nodded before taking a cookie. I watched as he chewed on it, the approval slowly appearing on his face.

“Damn… These are good. Maybe you should ask McFadden for the recipe so you can open up a shop. Get your car serviced and have a cookie while you wait. Sound like a good idea?”

I looked out into the streets and smiled. “From where I’m standing, everything sounds like a good idea.”