Page 8 of Full Service

Hywel huffed but did as he was told. I assessed the best place to tie the tow cable and made quick work of getting the car hitched to the truck. Despite damage to the hubcaps, the tyres seemed to be fully intact.

I winched the car up so that the front wheels were slightly off the road and motioned for Hywel to follow me to the truck.

“Shit,” he said just as he reached the door. He ran back to the car. I rolled my eyes and got into the truck, revving the engine to get him to hurry. I actually had a very slow day ahead, but he didn’t need to know that.

“Sorry,” he said as he opened the passenger side door and climbed in. He showed me the phone that he now held in his hand.

“And that couldn’t wait ‘til we got back to the garage? That obsessed with Instagram? Or do you have to check your crypto stocks?”

“Actually, I’ve just texted my Uncle Prentis to come and pick me up from yours. I thought you’d want me out of your hair as quickly as possible.”

“Well. Yeah. Of course.” I focused my eyes on the road and took us back toward the garage. The lanes were narrow, and towing would make it difficult to reverse back into a lay-by if any stubborn tractor drivers challenged me for authority. Luckily we got back to the garage unscathed.

“Ah. Twenty minutes, perfect.” Hywel was looking down at his phone with a smile. That keen to be rid of me, was he? It rankled. Even if I was looking forward to being rid of him just as much.

“Great.” I turned off the engine and got out. “Help me move your car before then will you?”

Together, with Hywel leaning through the driver’s side window to steer it we pushed the car into the garage. “Goodthing about these antique beauties. They just go wherever you want them to without complaining,” I said.

“Who you calling antique?” Hywel asked. I chuckled despite myself. I hated how this man still pushed my buttons as much as when I was a moody teen.

“Where is Alun, by the way?” Hywel asked me.

“Gone.”

“Oh, back to one-word answers I see. Well, I’m sure two can play at that game. Where Alun? Caveman. Talk. Work?”

He thought he was being funny. I glared at him before finally answering. “He’s working on a business with his girlfriend Alaw, consulting in the town. To tell the truth…I’ve been running this place for the last couple of months. I pay him the rent to the landlord and take the profits. He’s going to put me on the lease in a couple of weeks.”

“And it’s just you out here?”

“Just me.”

“Alone?”

“That’s what that generally means. What is this, 20 Questions?”

“Sorry.” Hywel looked down at his phone again, but it seemed he was unable to keep his mouth shut. “How long do you think it’ll take to fix her? And how much?”

“Do I look like a magician to you?” There was silence and I realised I’d perhaps taken my grudge-arsehole-vendetta thing to a level I shouldn’t have. I was still a professional doing a job. “Sorry. I mean, I haven’t assessed it yet. The front panel has crumpled, but I might be able to hammer that out and repaint it for you. The puncture along the door means you’ll need an entirely new panel there and I don’t know the internal damage. I’ll have an estimate to you as soon as I can. The parts ordering is going to take a couple of weeks at least though.”

“Thank you,” said Hywel. He looked nervous for some reason. Did he think I was going to rip him off?

I heard the crunch of tyres on gravel and looked out to the yard. Prentis was pulling up in his old Volkswagen Polo. It was a steady, reliable old car that reflected its owner, showing its age but with no sign of going anywhere anytime soon.

“Hi, Prentis,” I said as he got out. John Prentis was a pillar of the community. Originally English, he had braved coming to the town back when being openly gay wasn’t so easy and had fallen in love with a farmhand. I respected him for the effort he’d put into raising his nephew even if I didn’t respect the nephew himself.

“Hello, Macsen.” Prentis was polite but looked behind me to Hywel. His eyes twinkled when he laid eyes on his nephew. “What a sight for old eyes. It’s lovely to see you, son.”

Hywel walked past me and pulled Prentis into a tight embrace. Prentis’ eyes widened in surprise but he returned the hug. “Are you alright? I wasn’t expecting you,” he said to Hywel.

“Yes. Yes, fine. Am I OK to stay with you for a couple of weeks? Sorry for dropping in on you like this, it’s just…” Hywel hesitated, and looked at me. I knew I should give them privacy, but this was my garage. I was going nowhere.

“Let’s go for a drive,” said Prentis.

Hywel nodded. “Shall I get my stuff now?”

“We’ll come back for it. If that’s OK with Macsen of course.” Like many of the older community in Hiraeth, Prentis often refused to use my shortened, preferred name.

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