Page 9 of Suits and Spark Plugs

I couldn’t tell him that he had, because the truth was that Blaine had no idea I painted. No one outside of my family and Kelly knew. It was something I kept to myself. I put a smile into my voice and told him I was free to chat, even if my eyes did wander longingly toward the canvas. Another thirty minutes would have been amazing.

“Great,” he said. “I wanted to see how your car is doing.”

“My car?”

“Yeah. I’ve been worrying about it ever since we went out the other night. It sounded truly terrible. I don’t think it’s safe for you to keep driving in its current state.”

This was unexpected. Were we to the point in our relationship where he suggested things like this? Who knew, but as kind as it was, I did not want to talk to Blaine about my beater car situation. “You’re so sweet to worry,” I replied as genuinely as possible, “but it’s not anything to be anxious over. I’ve been driving this same car for years now and it’s never let me down.”

“Yes, you mentioned you named it Old Reliable.” His tone was as dry as the Sahara.

“Right, I did. For good reason. She’s never failed me.”

“Listen, I really think you should take it into a shop and get the problems diagnosed. Maybe there’s nothing major wrong, and it’s just some creaks and groans from old age. I’d feel a lot better at least knowing that.”

Only someone living Blaine’s life would call my car old. It wasn’t that old. Nine years was not a big deal. People drove cars like mine all the time—sort of. They were probably running better, to be totally fair.

“Again, I appreciate your concern, but I’m sure it’ll be fine. No reason to spend money at a shop for them to tell me it’s something I can DIY.”

“I didn’t know you knew basic car repair.” To his credit, he did not say that sarcastically.

“We haven’t known each other that long, I’m still a woman of mystery,” I teased. I knew a few things. For example, I knew how to use a wrench to hit the engine in various places while wiggling wires until it started, how to jump it when the wrench technique didn’t work, and how to walk to work when all else failed.

“Well, aren’t you full of surprises.”

I laughed. “What are you up to today?” Redirection was a favorite move of mine.

“I’ve got a few meetings this afternoon and a lot of catch up planning to do tonight. I was hoping to get up to see you the day after tomorrow. What’s your work schedule?”

“Day after tomorrow? I work breakfast, six to two.”

“Hmm. Sounds like it’ll have to be a breakfast date at the diner then. Save me a plate of hotcakes.”

“I definitely will.”

“Oh, and Olivia?”

“Yeah.”

“Nice try, but we’re not done talking about your car.” His voice sounded amused, and I could picture him smiling at me.

I smiled back, even though he couldn’t see. “We’ll see,” I replied. The last thing I heard before he hung up was his laughter.

I put the phone down on my bed and went back to my canvas, but some of the magic had been lost with the topic of my car. It really did fine around town, and before Blaine had come into my life I hadn’t had much reason to travel more than the six-mile radius that made up our little community.

Obviously, I’d noticed problems with the car. It hadn’t been starting well, there was a grinding noise that was only getting worse, and it was anybody’s guess why there would be a knocking noise coming from my trunk. There was nothing to do for it but to drive the thing and pray for mercy from the car angels. No matter how I played it, I didn’t have the extra money to pour into automotive repairs. Blaine and I definitely were not at a point where I was going to tell him all of this. Heck, I still didn’t call him my boyfriend. I hadn’t even mentioned my car struggles to my mom or Kelly. It was my problem, and I’d figure it out.

Rather than continue painting, I cleaned and packed up my brushes. There was some peace in the mindless routine, and I appreciated it. When that was done I did a little tidying of my room and then made my way to the bathroom to get ready for work.

My eyes looked a little tight around the sides when I glanced in the mirror. I knew it was stress, but I didn’t linger over it. I wetted my hair and did the work of resetting my curls into some sort of order. After applying some light makeup and a good dose of deodorant, I was as ready as I could be for my work shift.

I was happy to see Kelly bustling around in the back when I entered the employee lounge area to put away my things and get an apron on. I always liked it when we worked the same shift. There was a reason we’d been friends for so long. Our personalities complemented each other. Kelly was outgoing and unconquerable, a total bright spot, while I tended to be more cautious and slower to warm up. Despite those differences we spoke the same language, and I often felt like she was the only one who truly understood me.

“What’s making your eyes all squingy this morning?” she asked as she tied on her apron.

“That’s not even a word.”

“When it comes to how your eyes look when you’re annoyed, then yes, it’s a word,” she stated.

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