Joann’s Honda Civic had been making sounds like a dying seal for three weeks straight. Every morning, she’d turn the key and listen to it wheeze, sputter, and squealing like a pig. Her neighbors had started closing their windows the mornings when she left for work.
“This is it,” she mumbled to herself, pulling into Tony’s Auto Repair. “Either you get fixed or I’m trading you in for a bus pass.”
Tony came from under the hood of a pickup truck, wiping his hands on a rag that’s already dirty. His coveralls were a masterpiece of automotive oil stains and grease marks from the Bush administration.
“What seems to be the problem, my friend?” Tony asked, popping the hood of her Civic.
“It sounds like it’s about to die. And it smells weird. And sometimes it just… stops.”
Tony looked in the engine, poking around deep in car engine. He pulled out the air filter, held it up to the light, and squinted his eyes while examining it.
“Well, there’s your problem right there,” he said, shaking his head. “Nothing wrong with your car, love. Just shit in the air filter.”
Joann blinked. “Just brilliant,” she said, her voice rising sounding like enthusiasm rather than shock. “And how often do I have to do that?”
Tony stopped mid-motion. He looked up at her with the expression of a man who’d just heard someone ask if do a fish swim in water.
It went silent through out the shop you can hear a wrench hit the floor. Tony’s mouth opened slightly, then closed again.
“Lady,” he finally said, “I think we need to start this conversation over.”
But Joann was already three steps ahead. “I mean, should I schedule regular appointments? Is this like an oil change situation? Every 3,000 miles or every three months?”
Tony set the air filter down on the workbench. He pulled off his baseball cap, scratched the spot where his hair was thinning then slowly putting his cap back on.
“You know what?” he said, walking toward the office. “I’m gonna go get some coffee. When I come back, we’re gonna pretend this whole conversation never happened.”
“But what about the scheduling?” Joann called after him. “Do you take appointments, or how much shit goes in the air filter for this situation?”
Tony paused at the office door.
To be continued……