Impress Me Not: The Handyman

Chapter 36

This was great. Absolutely fantastic.

He had a great night out, probably the best night that he had in a long time. He actually got to relax and enjoy himself, which was rare in his life. He had let himself just be in the moment, and he was happy.

He was actually happy.

But nothing could ever seem to go right for him. Even when it came to one night out. He didn't even have to worry about Maya that night.

And what happens?

His car breaks down, right as he was leaving.

"We could just call a mechanic to take a look at it tomorrow," Niko told him. Solomon had already popped open the hood and taken off his jacket The last thing he needed was for his suit to get all greasy. He rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt and got to work.

"I can handle it," Solomon told him. He was good and pissed off that it decided to break down just then. This thing never breaks down. It was the most reliable one that he had. He took care of it, and it took care of him.

"If you know how to fix cars, I'm surprised you aren't trying to make money as a mechanic."

"I just know the basics," Solomon said. He used a small flashlight that he had in his glove compartment to get a better look at the engine. "Not enough to be a mechanic."

"Have you had to fix cars before?"

"I've had to put in new parts and things like that," he screwed off a lid to check inside. "I've never had to do anything with the engine. I just know how to check for things."

"How did you learn it?"

"Trial and error," he said. Surprisingly, he got a little calmer once they started talking again. But he was still pissed that his car decided not to start. "I had a lot of beat-up cars in the past."

"So, you had to teach yourself then?"

"Basically." Crap. There was nothing wrong with the oil. Then again, that wouldn't have caused it to not even turn on. And he had just replaced the battery a month ago. There was no way that it was because of that. Solomon moved on to look at the engine a little more. "Reading the manual helps a lot too."

"You actually read those?!"

"Yeah," he grunted as he tried to get a better angle. He was beginning to see the problem. "It comes in handy quite a lot."

There was some silence, as Solomon tried to figure out what was wrong. He knew that there wouldn't be a point to all of this. If he needed a part, all the stores were closed by now. It was way too late to be dealing with something like this. But he was so angry that it had happened. And that anger fueled his determination to do something that he knew wasn't going to amount to anything.

"Fuck," he muttered under his breath.

"Did you find out what the issue was?"

"Unfortunately," he sighed and rested his head on his arms. It wasn't something he could fix himself, as much as he wished he could. He'd have to just call a mechanic tomorrow and get it taken care of. Just like Niko had said before he decided to try and figure it out himself.

"I'm guessing you aren't going to be able to fix it this time?"

"No," he sighed. "I'm sorry, I'll call to get it towed or something."

"Don't worry so much, Solomon," Niko put a hand on his back. "I don't care if it stays in here for the night. Why don't I give you a ride home instead?"

He didn't want to say yes. He was so annoyed and frustrated with his car at the moment that his anger was trying to get the best of him.

"That's okay," he said. "If you're willing to let me keep this here until tomorrow, I can just call a cab or something."