More car saga

Thursday, 2:20 pm

By Kate

Jan

10

2008

The car saga is not completed yet. Maybe today will be the final chapter. We shall see. In any event, I returned my car to the mechanic today. I took it over yesterday, but Joe had the day off so they told me to enjoy another day with it. The replacement part is in, though. They showed it to me. It’s a very small part and should take all of 20 minutes to install it.

So, I did return my car today and Joe reclaimed my car key that still had the shop’s tag attached from last week. He said it might take a few hours to get to it. They are very busy today. He asked if I had a ride home and I said, “No, I was going to walk home.” He waved to a seat in his waiting room and said he’d have one of the guys take me home. Fine with me.

While I waited, I watched an older man wandering around the garage and office. I wondered who he was. He knew everyone in the shop and they all seemed to like him a great deal. I was making up stories about him in my head...thinking...every good mechanic’s shop seems to have an older fellow hanging around making friends with the mechanics and passing the time of day with the customers. I’ve seen it more than once. But I didn’t know for sure. Just seemed like a fitting story.

Then an older woman walked in. She gave the fellow a kiss and then gave Joe a kiss. Huh, I thought, my story is obviously not correct. I was really curious, then, especially when the woman handed Joe a box of vitamins. That seems to suggest a certain intimacy.

They both kissed Joe goodbye and walked out to their car. Joe looked over at me and said I should follow them...they’d take me home. Well, okay. They seemed like nice people.

Once in the car, I learned that the man and woman were Joe’s in-laws. And boy do they love him to pieces. Mama-in-law raved about him and told me that he is the best husband and the best father any woman could ever hope for. And smart. Did I realize how smart Joe is? Well, actually, yes. I’d picked that up some time ago. He is a bright guy and it’s pretty clear that he runs a tight ship, has a spot-on business sense (he owns the place plus a couple of others), and he’s good at what he does. But wow, you know a man must be something special when his mother-in-law thinks the sun rises and sets over him and doesn’t hesitate to tell everyone in the world about it. Somehow or another, that made me even more confident in my confidence in him.

So, I’m home sans car, again. I will be very happy when this whole thing is settled once and for all. But, my car appears to be in the hands of the most perfect guy in the world, so I shouldn’t worry too much, right? Well, I am concerned, obviously, but I’m also amused in a good way. I wonder if Joe knows that his mother-in-law goes on and on about him like that. I’m sure he’d just smile in his self-deprecating way and say that they give him too much credit, but they really are wonderful people.