Page 36 of Midnight Racers

My geese didn’t let anything within shooting distance of my house. Grandma always said they were better than a guard dog, and she was right. They even laid eggs with huge yolks.

“What type of cat did Charlie have?” Jordan asked randomly and I froze.

“A Siamese, one of the paler ones,” I replied, trying to get the image of Charlotte out of my head.

“Megan likes her,” Jordan continued. “Maybe I can speak to Charlie and get her to suggest a cat to Megan. I could live with its disdain as long as I didn’t have that nefarious rodent and his offspring eating my house.”

“Guys, if there’s nothing else, I have a meeting this afternoon,” I said.

“I think we’re all good,” Xavier replied. “We’ll try and stave off the next apocalypse without any more deaths.”

“Chat to you all later,” I said, pushing myself to my feet and waving on my way out the door.

Dad’s sister Aunt Cathy had phoned Mum again about me going to the hospital, which was where I was heading now. I didn’t want to face the asshole, so I was going directly to the nurse to be tissue typed. He gave me one sperm and now expected a kidney from me. It didn’t seem fair somehow, at least he got an orgasm.

“So have they spoken to you about the implications of being a live donor?” the nurse taking my blood asked.

I watched the red fluid squirt into the vial. “Nope. I’m only here today to stop my aunt ringing my mum.”

“Oh.” She sat back. “This is a big decision. You shouldn’t be coerced into it.”

“My dad hasn’t wanted to know me for twenty years, and now that he needs something, he remembers that I exist. If it was up to me, he could stay hooked up to a dialysis machine for the rest of his life.”

She tutted and shook her head. “Families are funny things. There can be unconditional love, and also selfishness that knows no bounds.” She set the vials of blood in a cardboard kidney-shaped container. “I’m going to be honest with you. This is a life-changing decision that you can’t undo. If this isn’t voluntary, then just say no and move on. Plenty of people refuse when it comes down to the wire, and they love their family member.”

“Thanks, I’m only here to stop Mum being harassed. Dad’s new wife has been leaving messages on my answerphone as well. Let’s cross our fingers and hope there’s not much of him in me.”

“Only fifty percent.” She smiled at her own joke. “The results will be back in a few days, and the doctor will let you know.”

“I imagine my stepmom will beat them to the punch,” I replied and wrinkled my nose in disgust at the thought of having to actually speak to that woman.

“Oh no, the only person who gets these results is you, and then you can choose if you wish to share them.” She pointed her pen at me. “Think about what I said.”

“Thanks, I will.” I shrugged my leather jacket on. “Have a good day.”

She waved and moved toward the back of the room to put the vials of blood into a bag with all my details on it.

I was in a shitty mood and I tended to go and fiddle about with a racing car or one of the older ones that was brought up for maintenance. For nearly two weeks I had avoided the place, and now I was going to have to swallow my pride and go and do some maintenance to straighten my thoughts out.

Declan’s car was at the front of the warehouse, with Charlotte’s car parked in the space she preferred around the side. I put my bike around the back and let myself in through that door so no one would see me. Jordan had wanted to learn some mechanics a while ago and this area at the back was where I taught him some of the basics. The cars we had been working on were still there.

I lost myself in the thrill of working on Grandpa’s old car, memories of the past replacing the turmoil of the present. Time was forgotten while I continued to work. It was only when I heard the door opening and a small figure crept around it with a crowbar in her hand that I realised how long I’d been here.

“Oh, thank God it’s you.” Charlotte held her hand to her throat. “I heard a noise and thought we had an intruder.”

“How many intruders did you have at your last job?” I teased. “You seem to think we’re constantly under invasion.”

How had I forgotten that I’d given her full security clearance so she could access my IndyCar? That included this room that was generally out of bounds.

“One,” Charlotte replied. “He made a mess and shit on the bonnet of Dale’s car.”

My eyebrows shot up but I didn’t comment. It was impressive to have that level of control of your bowels to be able to shit on command.

“Dale was furious. He blamed the mechanics for not locking the doors properly, even though there was forced entry to a toilet window.”

It certainly sounded like the Dale I had had the misfortune of meeting.

“What are you doing here, Charlotte?” I asked. We had agreed to stay away from each other, and now she was here like a mirage to a man dying of thirst.

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