My uncle might act like a teenager but give him an Instagram account and his age really shows. I snicker at a comment he made on the picture I posted twenty minutes ago while I worked on an oil change. I'll applaud him for the effort.
MechanicRob75: Hey HOT SHOT! Get back to work and stop documenting every moment on social media. #live #in #the #moment. Did I do that right?
That's not something Rob would've said prior to dating Monica.
I like her, and not just because she made us a huge breakfast this morning with eggs, bacon, and my favorite Long Island bagels. She's changed Uncle Rob and he doesn't even realize it. It's good he found someone like her who brings out a side to him that he didn't even know existed. It's always been there, he just needed someone special to draw it out.
This morning I watched as they both moved around the kitchen like they'd been doing it for years. My parents, even when they were in love, never seemed to be in tune with each other. I have to admit Rob has never looked happier and he deserves it. After all, most of the family thought he'd never amount to anything
"You should just stick to Facebook, old man," I tease from across the shop.
Rob gives me an amused look and sends a crude gesture in my direction. I shake my head at him and get back to work. This car is a hot mess, it's gone so long without an oil change that it's turned into a thick sludge. That means more work for me, but I like it that way. Less time for my brain to think about other things, things I'd rather not think about.
My phone chimes again in my pocket and I pull it out before I get my hands dirty. I'm not expecting any messages or calls and already caught up with Mom this morning. We didn't talk long but she sounded okay, and that put my mind at ease. She laughed when I asked her about the pedicure and the sound lifted my spirits.
Instead, it's a notification from Instagram. Rob's at it again.
He's in the corner of the shop with some other workers laughing about something. They are all staring down at his phone.
MechanicRob75: I've got a mission if you choose to accept. #damsel #awaits #a #tow. I'm such a noob, but I think I've got this!
This is the first year I've been able to officially drive the tow truck. I'd gone on runs before with other workers to help them, but now I have my actual license. I don't mind getting out of the shop, sometimes the fumes get to me, and I need to break out of here, which is why this mission doesn't feel like a chore.
I peek at my phone one last time. Dan replied to my uncle. He always treats my friends like family. The two of them can go back and forth for hours on end. They butt heads all the time but it's all in good fun.
My eyes roll at the comment he's left.
Dan_The_Man311: I expect a picture of this damsel. I need something to stare at other than Ray's butt crack all summer.
Dan adds a puking emoji to his comment, and I laugh. I feel bad for him, he's stuck working in a hot food truck all summer. Ray is the owner, and Dan says the man was born to be a plumber by virtue of how low his pants sag.
I make it to the front office and Margie, the receptionist, is waiting with the keys for the truck dangling from her fingers. She was here before my uncle took over and stayed because she enjoys working for him and because she knows her shit. She could probably change a tire in less time than half the younger workers on staff, myself included.
"Hey doll," she says.
"Margie. So, who is the damsel that my uncle needs me to save?"
She gives me an enigmatic smile and a piece of paper with the name Alexa Bradford written on. Underneath is the location of where she broke down. I thank her as a customer walks up the desk.
Finally, I slide into the cab of the truck and turn it on. "It's just you and me today."
I put her in drive and headed out of the lot, making a left onto Montauk Highway towards Old Country Road.
I love riding around the Island with the windows down and music blasting. It keeps me from going into my own head. Who knows, maybe I'll rescue someone like Anna Kendrick after her expensive car breaks down while out on vacation. It would be better than running into Lennox Taylor, again.
More than anything it makes me think of Mom. She has never visited but I think she would love it. I wish there was a way I could bring her out and show her everything, from the Orbit Theater to the south shore beaches, and New York City. Maybe one day I'll be able to buy us tickets so that she can see why I fell in love with Long Island. Who knows, maybe she'd love it so much that she'd want to stay. I wouldn't mind.
I've thought about it so many times over the past few years. Maybe she needs a change of scenery to crawl out of the darkness. In just over a year, I'll have that opportunity, but I wish I could somehow convince her too.
It doesn't take me too long to find the damsel and she's not alone. I smile thinking about what both Rob and Dan would say about this.
I hop out of the truck and as I slam the door both girls look in my direction. The one bent over the engine straightens, tossing her bright red hair over her shoulder, then leans down to whisper something in the other girl's ear.
As I get closer and the second girl pales like she's seen a ghost. I do a double take at how familiar she looks but I dismiss it. There's no way I know any girls in this town other than Maya.