Page 32 of On the Bright Side
I tell him my boring plans, wishing I had something more interesting to share. “I’m supposed to take my car for an oil change. It’s long overdue for one at this point.”
“See, another thing I don’t have to worry about without a license.”
“Oh, but you’re missing out on all the fun maintenance chores…” I sigh. “I’m all about being a strong, independent woman,butit can be really hard to hear people, and I don’t feel like dealing with that, which is probably why I keep putting it off.”
One reason, at least. The one I feel comfortable sharing with Jackson right now.
“Maybe I’ll tag along,” he says casually, but he grows more confident when he notices my eyes light up. “See what the fuss is about.”
Oh, hey, things between us seem to be just fine.“Only if you really want to.” Wanting to encourage him to say yes, I add with a smile, “I’d definitely appreciate it.”
“Awesome, I’m down. But…” He steps from side to side with his soaked feet. “Any chance you finished knitting those socks yet?”
I wince sympathetically. “Enough to maybe cover one set of toes?”
He nods to the school. “I’ll run in and change in the locker room. Want to get your doughnut and meet me back here?”
“Sure,” I say and sign. I watch him jog away, then head over to the refreshments table, where I find Shay again, helping herself to a hot chocolate.
“Where’d you run off to with that boy?” she asks with a knowing grin.
“Nothing like that…” I sign back, taking a bite of my glazed doughnut.
She purses her lips, likemm-hmm. “I’ve got to run, but want to tell me about it tomorrow? My friends and I hang at the Coffee Garden on Sunday afternoons. You know the place?”
“Yeah, I’ve driven past it.”
She holds out her phone for me to share my number. “Cool, I’ll text you once we know the exact time.”
When Shay heads home, I wait near the school doors for Jackson. He shows up a few minutes later, changed into his dry gym clothes.
“Feeling better?” I ask.
“Much.”
Does he really want to go with me to get an oil change? I don’t question it too much because I need to get this done before my car explodes or something. We walk through the thinning crowds over to my little old two-door sedan, and I drive us to the auto shop a couple minutes away.
Jackson fiddles with the radio trying to find a decent song but gives up as we pull into the parking lot. “So, what do I need to ask for?”
“Just a regular oil change.”
All right, admittedly, the main reason I haven’t taken my car in for service is that I’ve never had to do it before. Ever. Cody used to always do the work himself since he had an uncle who taught him everything about cars, which is why we thought about opening our own shop one day. Cody could probably still go ahead with the plan if he wanted. He never really needed me. Someone else could handle the management stuff.
I park at the end of the check-in line, and a worker arrives with a clipboard. I’m happy to let Jackson do all the talking for me. We wait at a table inside, where a TV is blasting local news. A few minutes later, Jackson nods toward the desk, letting me know there’s a worker calling us up. I glance at the invoice and hand over my card. Gotta say this whole thing was much cheaper when my ex did it for free.
As I sit back down, Jackson asks the worker something, getting a nod in response, after which he reaches up to turn off the television.
“Oh, thank you,” I say in relief.
“And they said only a few more minutes,” Jackson adds, taking a seat beside me.
“That’s pretty fast.”
“Yeah.” Jackson taps his fingers on the table.
We wait in silence for a bit. “Thanks again. I was really dragging my heels on this.”
“Anytime.” He gives a soft smile.
