Chapter 1
“Turn it over.”  Johnny directed after he tightened the battery terminal.
	The engine turned over easily but still didn't catch and start.  Johnny held his hand up and over to the side of the open hood so that Ray could see his signal.  Ray stopped cranking the engine once he got the signal.  Johnny resisted the urge to throw a wrench across the shop.  For days they had worked on modernizing the 66 Plymouth wagon with a fuel injected engine.  They had already switched it to power disc brakes.
“It was easy on the Chevy.”  Ray said referring to the 63 Chevrolet Biscayne wagon they had worked on the week before.
“I don't think we're getting fuel.”  Johnny removed the rubber line from the fuel rail expecting to get sprayed with pressurized gasoline.
Ray leaned into the engine bay.  “Dry as a bone.  I knew the pump wasn't coming on but you kept telling me you heard it.”
“I bet it's the rollover safety switch.”  Johnny noted that Ray look puzzled.
“Is that the switch that turns off the gas if the car rolls over?”
Johnny laughed.  “Speaks for itself.  By the way are you still having problems with Julie?”
“Yes, I love her but I don't know what I'm going to do.  I think she has one of those switches.  She rolls over and everything cuts off and nothing will get her started again.”  Ray sat back down in the car and looked around admiring the fresh, red, vinyl interior as he sat there.
Johnny laughed.  “I've never been in a relationship long enough for that to happen.”
“You can't tell me that you and Allie are still at it after 3 months.”
Johnny laid down on a rolling creeper and rolled under the back of the old car.  “I hope this is going to be worth it.  Ed said we needed a classic cab service.  I said a cab service alone would do it but no you agreed with him and here we are a month later, fresh interiors, fresh paint and only 2 of 4 cabs ready to go.”
Ray knelt down by the rear tire and spoke.  “I can barely hear you but if I followed you correctly you wish we didn't do the classic thing.  As the town grows and someone else gets the idea for a cab we will be unique hopefully.”
Johnny rolled out from underneath the car but still laid on his back on the creeper.  “The switch hung loose and flipped over.  The switch thought the car had rolled over.  I hope you're right and this is worth it.  Each one of these cars is averaging 4900 dollars.  We could have gotten old cop cars with lots of service left for 2500 each and there's no fuss or muss just a little cleanup and removing cop items.”
“Back to Julie, I would rather kill myself than harm a single hair on her head but she had me so riled up last night about money that I punched the wall beside her putting my hand through both layers of drywall.  It was right beside her head, she cried and cried that I could have hit her and hurt her badly.  I now have an upset Julie and two holes that need to be repaired.”  Remorsefully Ray stood up straight and looked down at his feet.
Johnny stood up.  “You're going to end up like your old man if you aren't careful.  This is the 6th time something like this has happened in a matter of a year and a half, that's one time every three months or so.  This time is awful close to the last.”
“I just can't handle the pressure.  She's not working.  She's calling who knows who and where and running the phone bill up.  She's got a cellphone and she can call after 7 or 8 and it's unlimited but no she rather talk at 5.  She leaves lights on all over the house.  She sets the thermostat on the air at 63 frigging degrees.  She buys clothes even though I know there are things that haven't even been wore yet.”  Ray put a pinch of tobacco between his lip and gum.
“I thought you quit that mess, you already shown me the white spot in your lip.  With Julie things aren't going to get any better until she gets a job.  In her defense I must say she does keep a tidy house and cooks well.'
“I want more than cooking and cleaning, I want it all like we had at first.  Now I feel like we're going through the motions, that she doesn't need me.”  Ray spit into the trash can.
“Women any more are strong enough to not need a man.  The days of the damsel in a dress are long since over my friend.  Enough chatter.  Let's see if this beast will crank up now.”  Johnny walked around to the front of the car.
	Ray had a seat in the driver's seat and turned the switch.  This time the motor started right up but ran raggedly.  Johnny automatically knew it was the used wires from the used Dodge truck engine causing the problem.
“Damn it's loud.”  Ray hollered over the rumbling of the engine since it had no exhaust.
“Shut it off.”  Johnny responded in an equally loud tone.
“Now we just need to have Ed pick it up and take it to the exhaust shop.”  Ray got out and admired the old car now that it was complete.
Johnny laughed to and at himself.  “To think I was going to skimp and use used cracked wires.”
“It's true, the more we spend the more we have to pay Ed back.”  Ray added.
“It's our business but it's Ed's baby so he'll keep up as long as we give him legit receipts.  Classicab sounds so good.  The next one two should be interesting.  I'm looking forward to the Monaco wagon.  I hope we can get the headlight covers to work.”
Ray went to the soda machine and bought two Pepsis.  “I brought home roses the other night even though we really can't afford it.  She looked up from her TV show for a second said they were nice and went back to watching.  She said they were nice, not beautiful, oh wow, kissy kissy, huggy huggy.  I hadn't brought her flowers in half a year except a few pansies to plant which I ended up doing.  I still love her but I feel like I'm just a paycheck and a place to live.  I think she still loves me but it would take a small miracle to bring it out.”'
“Allie said to cut off the long distance, buy a good rechargeable calling card around three cents a minute, put 30 bucks on it and tell her this has to last you the month.  It's a thousand minutes.”
“That solves the regular phone problem.  I still can't believe I punched so hard right next to her head.  I don't know why I did it.  I don't want to intimidate her like my father would have done.”  Ray said flatly.
“You need counseling by yourself and with Julie.  When Allie and I started to fight about Tommy we saw this fellow Murphy Simpson who is associated with Dr. Ellis and it helped.  My Dad was a dick to me sometimes but yours was a monster and you've never dealt with it not even in juvie.”  Johnny threw the ignition wires he had been removing into the trash.
“My father is in prison where he belongs.  To this day he still gets constipated and then diarrhea.  I love it.  He deserves that and more.”  Ray commented bringing up the memory of his fight with his father when he ruptured a portion of his father's intestine.
“It's been 8 years, let it go, Michelle has moved on, she's in this therapy group that would be ideal for Wednesday,”
	The sun's glare made it hard to see the little Smurf blue Neon pulling into the lot.  Johnny reached for his wallet and prepared to open it.  If his sister was showing up at the shop she needed money.  Johnny didn't mind giving her some because she was always so grateful.  Wednesday got out of her car and almost tripped over her shoelace.  Wednesday was striking in a forlorn sort of way.  She was tall at least 5 foot 7 and probably weighed 120 pounds but she stood slump shouldered so it was hard to tell.  She was ample of bust but it barely showed under the black loose fitting t-shirt.  Her shoulder length brown almost black hair hung limp and oily.
“Tie your shoe before you break your neck.”  Johnny walked out to Wednesday and gave her a hug.
Wednesday knelt down and tied the laces of her black All Stars high tops.  “There you happy?”
Johnny nodded.  “Need a cigarette?”
“Yes please.”  Wednesday said taking the cigarette she was being offered.
“Need some money?”
“Yes, I need to get a carton of cigs.  I just wish you wouldn't have your wallet out and ready it makes me feel like a bum.”
“Sorry.  30 should cover it.  Do you need more for gas?”  Johnny looked over at Ray noticing he was staring at Wednesday.
“Yes please.”  Wednesday noticed as well.
Ray walked toward Wednesday and Johnny.  “Sorry for staring but I'm not used to you looking up, usually it looks like you're studying your shoes.”
Wednesday let out a faint nervous laugh.  “Dr. Ellis is forcing me to make eye contact.”
Ray laughed.  “He's not forcing you, he doesn't have a gun to your head and he's not here.”
Wednesday looked down acting like she was paying attention to a grasshopper.  “It's not easy for me.  He told me to start using sunglasses at first but that seemed silly.”
Johnny stepped away leaving Wednesday with Ray.
“Whatever it takes.  There's no need to be scared of me, you've been around me for years.”  Ray turned away and used his index finger to clear his lip of tobacco.
Wednesday cringed.  “That is so gross.  You're going to end up looking like freaky Lou with no bottom jaw sitting on a bench in the park scaring little children.”
“I don't do it that often anymore.  You look nice today.”
Wednesday looked down at her clothing then looked Ray in the eye momentarily.  “It's just a black t-shirt, black stretch pants and high tops.”
“Yes but you're not all wrinkly and disheveled.”
Wednesday nodded her head then brushed her bangs from her face.  “Nice word.”
“What do you think of the old cars?”
“They look a lot better than when they came out of the field.  I like the gun metal gray one the best.”  Wednesday pointed toward the 66 Plymouth in the bay.
Ray turned to face the garage.  “I'm still not sure about the red interior but it was Johnny's choice.  I get to choose for the LTD and Ed gets to choose the Monaco..”
“I'd like to see the LTD in a putty white with dark green interior.”
“I must have heard you sometime and Ed agreed.”
Wednesday put out her cigarette and picked up the butt then walked toward the garage.  “Where is it?”
“It's still at the interior shop.”  Ray walked alongside Wednesday.
“Here it is September 17th and the tourist season is over and you're nowhere close to being ready.  Do you think you'll make it with just locals?”  Wednesday stepped into the shop and threw the butt into the trash.
Ray smiled warmly.  “Don't worry we're going to make it.  We have the detail shop and tune up shop for during the day while Freddie and Barry take care of the locals.  On the weekends we have the bars set up for a flat 100 dollar fee for taking patrons home for free.  Then Saturday morning we pick people up to go get their cars and we do the same thing Sunday morning.  At that point we collect standard fares.”
“No more DUI accidents is a good idea.”  Wednesday bit at her right index finger's cuticle.
Johnny stepped out of the office carrying a cup of coffee for Wednesday.  “Haven't you heard enough about the cabs and all that?  I've been living and breathing it now for the past month and a half.”
“Making small talk.”  Wednesday took the steaming cup of coffee from Johnny.
Ray found himself staring uncharacteristically again at Wednesday which Johnny noticed.  “I still haven't lost interest in the cars.  I still think 75 is too new but the LTD and Monaco are both are.”
“It was neat how that old farmer drove all these different wagons and parked them then bought another.”  Wednesday reached into her brother';s shirt pocket and took another cigarette.
“People used to do that back then.  I still don't understand why he had both a Ford and Dodge in 1975.  There was a 71 Chevelle Wagon we didn't pick up but he wants us to buy it.  All 4 of them were a little rusty from flooding and sitting but Ed took good care of that.”  Johnny replied lighting Wednesday's cigarette.
“Want to go for a ride in the 63?  It's around back.”  Ray offered.
“I'd normally prefer navy blue but I like the cayman island blue it is but that's not the one I like.  I want to ride in the Plymouth.”
“I haven't chose one to drive but my choice is either the Plymouth or the Dodge.”  Ray noted the mess Wednesday's fingers were because they were chewed to the nub.
“Freddie is going to drive the LTD, I've got the Biscayne, I figure Barry gets the Monaco and Ray gets the Belvedere.”  Johnny was getting hungry and it was after 6.
“Anyone want to go to Wong's?”  Ray offered an invitation.
“Sure but shouldn't you be going home to Julie?  Remember Julie?”  Johnny realized the invitation was really aimed toward Wednesday but couldn't figure out why he was showing an interest in her.  Maybe Ray was unaware of what he was doing.
“She's out with her sister tonight.”  Ray responded.
Wednesday started to chew on her right index finger again and Johnny smacked her hand away.  “I'm in the mood for fish.  How does Chips N Such sound?”
“I can handle that.”  Johnny replied lowering the bay door.
“What are you going to do about the plug wires?”  Ray stepped into the office and turned off the coffee pot.
Johnny closed the door behind him.  “I'll take care of those before it's picked up.”
	Wednesday finished her cup of coffee and threw the cup in the trash can in the office while Johnny set the alarm.  Johnny walked out the back door with Wednesday and Ray in tow.  Once they were in the back lot Johnny opened the gate so he could take the Biscayne out for a drive.  Wednesday waited to climb inside by the back door.
“What are you waiting for?”  Johnny asked before he got into the car.
Wednesday opened the tailgate so she could sit in the third row seat.  “I'm sitting back here.”
“Okay.  Do you see how the seat folds up?”  Johnny got back out of the car to assist Wednesday.
Once the seat was up Wednesday climbed in.  “It's hard getting into the third seat getting over the tailgate.”
“We won't have many passengers riding back there I'm figuring.”  Ray replied as he got into the passenger's seat.
	Once everyone was situated Johnny backed out of the back lot then closed and locked the gate.  Johnny became worried when the car start to miss and chug forward.  He knew that it was the old varnished gas residue in the fuel tank.  Wednesday grew anxious knowing that any moment Johnny might blow up in anger.  She wasn't prone to dealing with strife and anger very well.  In fact she was very fragile in that respect.
	Johnny got out of the car and went back into the shop.  He brought out a bottle of fuel injector cleaner and octane booster.  Once they were in the fuel tank Johnny got back in and started the car.  It started to miss momentarily but then it cleared up.  Wednesday enjoyed the view out the back of the car.  She wondered how long she could ride facing the rear of the car without getting nauseous.
“Can we eat in the car?”  Wednesday asked softly.
Johnny turned his head to face her but he was looking at the back of her head.  “There's no eating in the car and we only allow bottled soda.  I'm sorry.”
“I don't feel like going in.”  Wednesday climbed out of her seat and opened the tailgate.
Ray got out of the car and helped Wednesday the rest of the way out.  “These 9 passenger wagons aren't going to cut it for carrying the back 3.”
“Especially if they've been drinking.”  Wednesday added brushing her bangs out of her eyes.
“Think we should have gotten minivans?”  Ray followed Johnny into the restaurant.
Wednesday nodded.
“That's only 7 passengers.”  Johnny said stepping up to the counter.
“Welcome to Chips N Such.”  The cashier was lively and amiable.
“I'll take the 3 piece country fried catfish, 2 chicken tenders, large fries and a large Coke.  Put it all on the same tab.”  Johnny ordered first.
“I'll take 1 original fish, small fries and a small Diet Coke.”  Wednesday ordered after taking a pensive moment to decide.
“I'll have the same as the first order.”  Ray replied.
“You sure you don'/t want any more than that?  How about a chicken tender?”  Johnny asked his sister concerned over her small order.
Wednesday didn't like to eat in front of people.  “I'm fine.  I had a grilled tuna and cheese sandwich before I left the house.”
The cashier interrupted the conversation awkwardly.  “Your total is 16.75.”
Johnny paid the cashier with a twenty.
“The condiments and drinks are to your right, your order will be out momentarily, I'll bring it to you.”  The cashier passed Johnny the cups.
	Johnny was the first to get his drink and little cups of condiments.  Ray watched curiously as Wednesday worked the pump to the tartar sauce.  Her hands shook so much that she had to put the cup on the counter and let the thick sauce drop in to it.  Ray had noticed this before but wondered why she did now since she was seeing Dr. Ellis.  He thought that Dr. Ellis would prescribe her something for the shakes.  She faired better with the soda fountain at least.  Ray filled his drink but didn't bother with the condiments.
Johnny chose a booth near a window.  “I like driving that old Chevy.  It's nice to see that it draws attention.  Now if we could just afford some radio time on WPIG and WEAR.  It's going to take some time before folks knows about us.”
“Not as much attention as Baylie's 56 pink and black Dodge.”  Ray added moving his napkins out of the way when the food was sat down.
Johnny passed Wednesday her plate shaking his head in disgust at how little was there.  “I'm getting t-shirts made that read “Classicab:  Yesteryear For Everyday.  Reasonable Rates.””
Wednesday took a sip of her soda and held a finger up indicating she wanted to speak.  “That slogan sucks.”
“How about a Step Back In Time On The Way To The Future?”  Ray asked.
Wednesday shook her head slightly then spoke sheepishly.  “Too wordy.  How about :Classicab:  Yesteryear Today.  Reasonable rates.  Safe drivers.”
“That';s excellent.”  Ray said trying to make eye contact with Wednesday who was staring at her plate.
“That's basically what I said.”  Johnny took a french fry and tossed it at Wednesday.
Matter of factly Wednesday caught it and ate it.  “Thanks.”
“Do you want to help with the detail shop tomorrow?”  Ray asked Wednesday after taking a bite of chicken.
Johnny shook his head no.
“Why not?”  Ray asked.
“Why the sudden interest in Wednesday today?”  Johnny asked firmly making firm and steady eye contact with Ray.
Ray shrugged his shoulders.  “I'm not, I just have a lot to do tomorrow morning and you have a timing belt and 2 or 3 tuneups.”
“I'd just get in the way.”  Wednesday said timid as a mouse.
“Anybody can wash windows.”  Ray took another bite of chicken.
Johnny spoke firmly.  “That's the final word, I don't want her at the shop.”
	The drive back to the shop was tense and terse.  Ray felt so confused by Johnny's reaction.  Why didn't Johnny want Wednesday to work a little bit?  Was it something to do with him?  Johnny was supporting Wednesday but he never complained Ray concluded.













Chapter 2
	Wednesday sat in her car waiting for Johnny to get into his yellow pickup and leave.  She couldn't understand what had happened.  Ray who had glanced over her so many times was showing an interest.  What kind of interest was it was the question.  Was it because she made eye contact that she noticed this now?  Was he  paying attention to her before?  Maybe she was too blindsided to see it by her own timidity to see.  She started the car when she saw Ray get into his Volvo 240 wagon.  She followed him out of the lot down Croaker Street to Main Street.
	Wednesday wondered if it was obvious that she hadn't taken a shower in 3 days.  She had bothered to put on a clean set of clothes to go to the shop but her hair was still greasy and hung heavy.  She sat there for a moment staring into the mirror until another car came up behind her and blew its horn.  She pulled on to Main Street carelessly and almost got broadsided by an SUV.  She needed someone to talk to but she had so few friends and she hated to bother them because they had busy lives.
	Slowly Wednesday drove down Main Street to the outskirts of town to her old neighborhood.  She had moved 7 years ago right before her father's death but the old weathered and worn 2 story farmhouse still remained in her mind as home.  She drove past the quaint house and stopped at her friend Samantha's house.  She pulled into the driveway afraid she was blocking Samantha's husband's truck in.
	Wednesday knocked on the front door and started to turn away.  Samantha's husband Gerald answered the door in just a pair of shorts.  Wednesday wasn't comfortable with his state of dress and continued to look at her feet.  Gerald opened the screen door for her and ushered her in.
“Samantha's in the kitchen.”  Gerald pointed toward the kitchen then went and sat back down in the living room.
Wednesday nodded without making eye contact.  “Thank you.”
“Hey girl, chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting or chocolate icing?”  Samantha knew that Wednesday preferred cream cheese frosting but gave her the option anyway.
Wednesday sat down at the counter on a swivel bar stool then nervously turned a little left and right.  “Cream cheese definitely.”
“Is your car still acting up?”  Samantha said as she spread the frosting on the first layer of the cake.
Wednesday nodded.  “It's still sluggish.  Johnny thought there might be water in the oil.”
“Gerald's truck did that.  I'm not good with cars but I think it was a blown head gasket whatever that is.  I do know that it cost a lot to get it fixed but you have Johnny who will fix it for free.  So what have you been doing?”  Samantha reached into the silverware drawer and got a spoon then got a gob of frosting with it and passed it to Wednesday.
	Wednesday smiled briefly then she slowly ate the frosting from the spoon.  She felt like she was intruding even though her friend always made her feel welcome.  Samantha had been her best friend since kindergarten so there was no need to be nervous but Wednesday nervously moved in the chair causing it to creak.
“I went to Johnny's shop today and got to see another of the cars.  I really like this one it's gun metal gray with red interior.  I would as you know rather it have black interior but oh well.  Curiously enough Ray showed an odd amount of interest in me.”
Samantha sat the second layer on top of the first then started to frost it as well.  “He always has but you never noticed before.  It's also a guy rule, you never date your best friend's sister.”
“Hold up now, I don't think he's that interested.”  Wednesday yawned and stretched.
Samantha laughed heartily.  “You never know, if you take care of yourself you're a beautiful woman.  I can tell you haven't showered in a few days by looking at your hair.”
“You're right, I just haven't had the urge.  The antidepressants aren't helping completely.  We've changed them at least 4 times in the past 3 months.”  Wednesday was embarrassed by her friend's observation.
“Has it been that long since I've seen you last?”
Wednesday brushed her bangs from her eyes after nodding.  “Yes it has been.  How have things been going?”
“Gerald got a raise and was moved to quality control at the factory.  Hold on to something I'm 2 months pregnant.”
Wednesday looked up in shock.  “Why didn't you call me and tell me?”
“I wanted to tell you in person.  Everything is falling into place and the baby will be the final piece.  I want a boy but believe it or not Gerald wants a little girl.  He wants a Daddy's girl someone he can spoil.”  Samantha passed Wednesday the rest of the can of frosting.
“Thank you.  Back to Ray.  I never realized until tonight that his blue eyes are more of a blue gray very pretty.”
Samantha cut a piece of the cake and put it on a saucer.  “Be right back let me take this to Gerald.”
	Wednesday looked around the kitchen and dining room as she waited for Samantha to return.  The kitchen was in perfect order with canisters of dry goods on the counter.  A perfectly organized spice rack hung on the wall next to the refrigerator.  A lot of people would have put the spice rack over the stove but Wednesday remembered from home-ec that it was a bad idea to expose your spices to so much heat and variations in humidity.  Apparently Samantha remembered that as well.
Samantha entered the kitchen.  “Gerald is in there swearing that he said chocolate with chocolate.  I threatened to take it back from him if he was going to complain.  He took it from me and guarded it like a bear guarding a salmon.”
“I haven't baked a cake in so long I can't remember.  Of course the only thing I cook these days are TV dinners and Hot Pockets.  Mom does most of the cooking.”  Wednesday accepted the piece of cake that was offered to her.
Samantha passed Wednesday a fork.  “How is your Mom?”
“Not too bad, she had to take time off from the filter factory because she got textile asthma.”
Samantha tilted her head in curiosity.  “All the little particles from the materials get to her?”
Wednesday nodded taking a bite of her cake.
“I'm surprised Gerald has never gotten that.  He's worked there since he was 19, 4 long years.  It shouldn't be so bad since he won't be working on the line but QC is such a pain in the ass, measure this, measure that, check this, check that.”  Samantha had a seat beside Wednesday after cutting herself some cake.
	Wednesday had begun to feel more comfortable and creaked in her chair less but still she felt like she was a bother, an intrusion and an obligation.  What if this was a special evening for Samantha and Gerald?  What if that was the reason her friend had baked and made such a beautiful cake?
“You sure you and Gerald don't have anything planned?”  Wednesday asked taking another bite of her cake.
“No hun, relax, I just felt like making a cake, there's no special occasion.  If anything you coming here is the special occasion.  Maybe that was what fate was thinking.”  Samantha passed Wednesday a napkin.
Wednesday dabbed the corners of her mouth.  “That was a really good cake.”
“Good old Duncan Hines.  I haven't made a cake from scratch in 8 years since home-ec.  Remember back then we talked about opening our own bakery and making wedding cakes.”  Samantha sat her fork down across the saucer.
Wednesday let out a little sigh.  “I wanted it too but just never thought I was capable and you didn't want to go it alone.”
“We're only 22, the world is our oyster, we can bake a cake, make elaborate kites, open a left only shoe store.”  Samantha laughed heartily.
Wednesday laughed but with less intensity.  “We could open a right only  and a left only store.”
“It is so damn good to see you.  Are you still seeing Dr. Ellis?”
Wednesday nodded.  “Once a month.”
	Wednesday had been going to see Dr. Ellis the premier psychiatrist for Fellowesville since last November.  They had made very little progress.  Wednesday wanted to change psychiatrists and go with a state agency one to save Johnny money since he paid for her visits.  Dr. Ellis told her repeatedly that she needed therapy, intensive therapy to get better and that medication alone wasn't the answer.  Johnny offered to pay for her to see Murphy Simpson the therapist that helped Johnny with his relationship problems and other problems.
“Do any of the drugs help?”  Samantha asked taking the saucers to the sink.
Wednesday shook her head once Samantha turned around.  “Wellbutrin works somewhat.”
“When Gerald's grandfather passed away last year he was on prozac to deal with the grief.”
Wednesday nodded in agreement.  “I remember that.  He was really close to his grandfather.”
“Gerald is a child of divorce and his closest male role model was his grandfather.  At least he died once Gerald was grown unlike your father who passed away when you and Johnny needed him the most.”  Samantha reached into the refrigerator and passed Wednesday a Diet Coke.
“Thanks.  All of the medications have side effects.  Dry mouth.  Clammy hands.  Constipation.  Dr. Ellis wanted to put me on anti anxiety meds for my shaking but I don't want to get addicted.”
Samantha sat back down next to Wednesday.  “I saw you shaking as you ate and you know there's no need to be nervous around me.  If you need them and you're going to need them for a long period I wouldn't worry about addiction.”
Wednesday nodded.  “I know you're right but I also don't want to be sedated.”
“I'm sure there is something out there that isn't addictive and won't sedate you.  It's 2003 medication has come a long ways and it's just going to go better as time goes on.”  Samantha rested her hand on Wednesday's knee.
“I read the literature for one called Zylotan.  It's most frequent side effect was rectal leakage.  That's wonderful calm, collected and needing a diaper.”  Wednesday laughed for a moment then quickly stopped herself self conscious that that may not have been that funny.
Samantha smiled.  “Gerald's Dad is coming over tomorrow night for dinner and I have no idea what to make them.”
“Pigs in a blanket, deep fried tater tots and grape koolaid.”  Wednesday remembered how simple and basic her father was and smiled warmly.
Samantha laughed then took a sip of her soda.  “Um no, I'm thinking stuffed pork chops, broccoli, corn, and chocolate cake.”
Wednesday shrugged.  “I was just thinking of my Dad.”
“Vernon was lucky, it didn't take a whole lot to make him happy, you, your brother and Mom were all he needed, the meal, the entertainment, none of that mattered.  You were lucky.”
Wednesday nodded then brushed her bangs from her eyes.  “Yes I was.  I remember one time when I was 12 I tried to bake a cake from scratch.  It was dry, crumbly and took half a glass of milk just to choke down a small piece.  Daddy never once made a grimacing face instead he just kept smiling as he choked down that cake.”
“That was before you took home-ec.  I know for a fact that you can follow a recipe now and with a little practice could follow one from memory.  I still want to open a bakery but now that I'm having a kid I want to dedicate my life to being the best parent possible.”
	Wednesday wished she had stopped to get a carton of cigarettes or at least a pack.  She looked around for ashtrays and there were none to be found.  Wednesday wondered if Gerald and Samantha had quit smoking because of the baby.  She was uncomfortable around Samantha as she was with most people but not to the extent where she wanted to leave.  She hated to think of leaving just for a lousy, carcinogenic cigarette.
“Did you and Gerald quit smoking?”  Wednesday asked biting on her thumbnail.
Samantha nodded.  “As soon as I found out that I was pregnant I quit.  Gerald hated going outside to smoke so he quit too.  I still have cigarettes, ashtrays and lighters but I never could find anyone to give them to until now.”
Wednesday assumed Samantha meant her.  “Thanks.”
“Let me get them for you.”
	Wednesday expected a few packs of cigarettes, two or three ashtrays and a couple of lighters.  She was pleasantly surprised when she looked in the box Samantha brought into the kitchen.  In the box were one and a half cartons of Marlboro Light 100s.  So much for quitting smoking Wednesday thought to herself.
Wednesday spoke softly but not quite a whisper.  “Would it be okay if I stepped out onto the back deck and had a cigarette?  I haven't had one in an hour or two.”
“Sure, you don't need to ask.  You are always so polite.”
	Wednesday shrugged then took a pack out of the open carton and stepped outside.  Stepping out on to the back deck Wednesday thought about children and how they changed their lives.  Being 22 she knew she had plenty of time left to worry about that.  The truth of the matter is she had only  three boyfriends in 5 years and had only been intimate with 4 men her whole life.  She did date Larry for about two years but there was never a real connection and they hardly ever saw each other.  She also dated Ed's first cousin Kevin but that only lasted 5 days so it didn't count in her opinion.  They didn't work out because she couldn't communicate with him since he had a major speech impediment.  Wednesday finished her cigarette and stepped back inside.
Gerald stepped into the kitchen while putting a button up shirt on.  “Would ya'll like to go shoot pool?”
“No, thanks.”  Wednesday wished she had something to drink since she finished her first diet Coke.
“Come on.  We hardly ever get to see you and I don't want to let you go that easily.  We could go to the Rusty Nail.”  Gerald said taking a drink of Samantha's soda.
Wednesday shook her head.  “The tables at the bowling alley are better plus there are four of them instead of just two.”
“I didn't think you got out enough to know which was better.”  Samantha scratched her nose.
Wednesday shrugged.  “I don't normally but I have.  I just like being alone in my room listening to music.”
Samantha stood up and put her arm around Wednesday's shoulders.  “Tonight your room will have to wait for you.  I doubt it will get lonely maybe needs some time alone.”
“Okay.”  Wednesday smiled briefly exposing her canine teeth and laughed.
Samantha gasped.  “Oh my God, call the newspapers we have an announcement.  Wednesday smiled and she has teeth.”
Gerald laughed too.
	Wednesday got really uncomfortable because Samantha mentioned her teeth.   It bothered her because of the length and pointedness of her canine teeth.  Wednesday took a seat on a stool while Gerald and Samantha went to put on their shoes.  She didn't really want to go out.  Today was just an off day she didn't want to leave the house.  She only came out for a carton of cigarettes.  It started off with Ray asking her to go out to dinner.  Now Samantha and Gerald wanted her to shoot pool.  It was true that she was a natural at pool though.  It wasn't uncommon for her to run the entire table.
Samantha stepped into the kitchen.  “We'll take our car since your car is having issues.  If you want to bowl we can do that too but you'll crush me.”
Wednesday shrugged and bit her lip trying to be modest.  “It's all in the release.”
“You get the ball almost parallel with the lane.  It also helps that you use a fifteen pound ball.  I still don't know how you do that one.”   Samantha helped Wednesday off the stool.
Wednesday started to slowly walk toward the door.  “Johnny thinks I'd be better off with my own personalized twelve pound ball.”
	Once they were out to the car Samantha tried to get Wednesday to sit up front.  The back seat of the Ford Taurus was perfectly comfortable in Wednesday's opinion.  Wednesday relented though and sat up front next to Gerald feeling totally uncomfortable and awkward.  On the way back into town Gerald turned on the radio to WPIG and a new Toby Keith song came on.  Country music wasn't Wednesday's favorite because she preferred industrial metal music.  She did like to listen to country from time to time but even with heart break songs it wasn't dark enough or deep enough or emotional enough.  Being a Wednesday evening the bowling alley's parking lot was rather empty.
	Once they were inside they found that most of the lanes were empty and only two of the four pool tables were being used.  After a minor skirmish over who was going to get the change for the pool table was over, which Wednesday had won, they went to the table and tried out sticks for straightness.  Wednesday rolled a twenty ounce cue across the table which seemed true enough.  Gerald and Samantha weren't having such good luck and settled for the least of the evils.  It didn't matter because who ever played Wednesday was going to lose.  She was just that good and had that much finesse and skill.
	Samantha placed the dollar and a quarter into the table to release the balls.  She retrieved the rack from under the table and proceeded to rack the balls.  Wednesday reminded her that you arrange them solid stripe with the one ball being at the head of the rack.  Wednesday was to shoot first against Samantha.  They shot the cue ball to end of the table before releasing the rack to see who went first.  Wednesday shot the ball to the end of the table and it barely came back at all.  She had so much control over her game.  She had thought that to herself many times and wished she had that much control over her own life.
“I want Samantha to break first.”  Wednesday chalked her pool cue carefully.
Samantha shook her head.  “If you run the table that's fine with me because that's the way the game goes.”
“I shoot the winner.”  Gerald said sitting on a stool along the wall.
	Wednesday broke the rack once it was released from the triangle once it was rolled forward to make sure the balls were tight.  The fifteen and the seven ball went into the corner pocket.  Wednesday had her choice of solids or stripes.  After walking gingerly around the table twice she decided on stripes.  Bam in went the thirteen ball followed by the nine ball and the eleven ball.  Wednesday didn't have a shot so she tapped the fourteen then parked the cue ball behind the eight ball.
'Gee, thanks.”  Samantha' took over the table with her only shot being a bank shot on the four.
	Samantha noticed something funny.  When Wednesday was shooting she didn't shake.  Her grip wasn't overly tight either like she was fighting the shakes.  Samantha knew part of Wednesday's problem was self confidence not just self-esteem.  Samantha watched Wednesday work the table with such finesse and grace.  Her every movement was controlled with poise and prowess.  When a firm solid hit was required she did.  When just a little tap was necessary she did.  Samantha could have swore that Wednesday was smiling and enjoying herself.
	They played four more games with Wednesday being victorious on all of them except one which Gerald won.  It was cosmic bowling night and there was strobe lights and black light highlighting the lanes.  The only balls readily available were the fluorescent colored ones.  Samantha talked Wednesday into bowling a few frames.
“I'll take a size eight.”  Wednesday stood nervously not making eye contact with the attendant renting the shoes.
Gerald returned from getting sodas for everyone and stopped to get shoes.  “I need a ten and a half.”
Samantha hated to say her size because she had large feet for a woman.  “I need an eleven and a half in women's.”
	Once they had a seat and changed their shoes they setup the scoring monitor.  Wednesday was to bowl first followed by Samantha then Gerald.  Wednesday started to look for a fifteen pound ball with small holes which they had very few of.  Samantha found a nice ten pound ball.  Gerald stepped away for a bit and returned with two black balls a twelve and a fifteen.  Gerald chose the twelve leaving the fifteen for Wednesday if she wanted it.
	Wednesday crushed her friends at bowling.  The first game she annihilated them with a 220.  The second game she managed to get 217.  The third game she only got 197 but still in comparison to Gerald's 155 and Samantha's ninety-eight they were overwhelmed.  Samantha had watched in disbelief.  Wednesday showed so much grace with the ball touching the lane close to the floor and at the start of the lane.  The ball would curve slowly from one side of the lane to the middle then hitting the pins dead center.  Samantha wished these victories even though they were merely games would boost Wednesday's self confidence instead she just attributed her victories to luck.
“How do you manage to get so low without slipping and falling on your cartookus?”  Gerald had to ask as they left the bowling alley.
Wednesday shrugged her shoulders and put up her hands.  “I just can.  It starts off like warrior pose when I do yoga with Mom. Allie, Johnny's fiancee, comes over twice a week and we do yoga.  If you want you can join us.  It'll be good with your pregnancy.”
“Thanks.  I might just do that.”
Gerald pointed at his watch.  “It's 10:00 and I have to be up at 6.  Let's roll.”
	Samantha took the keys from Gerald and decided to drive so Wednesday would be sitting up front next to her.  Wednesday appreciated that because being around men even married ones like Gerald made her nervous.  After 7 years she still had a mistrust of men after what had happened with Owen Thompson.  It was beyond a doubt that she would ever be in that position again with Gerald or any other man since she kept herself so guarded..























Chapter 3
	While Wednesday was having a good time with her best friend Ray was arguing with his girlfriend of almost two years.  He found her cellphone bill and learned that she had run out of minutes early in the month.  Not only was she racking up the minutes on the home phone and running up the bill she was doing the same thing with her cellphone.
Ray paced back and forth in front of Julie who was seated on the couch.  “We can't afford 200 dollars worth of phone bills.  Hell we can barely afford the basic standard rates.”
“I guess this is the best time because you're already pissed I bought a pair of Avia walking shoes.”  Julie took a swallow and sat back as far as she could on the couch.
“Damnit.  I just spent 75 on supplies for the shop.  How much did they cost?”  Ray was about to blow a gasket himself.
“45.  You gave me 75 for groceries and I had 15 in my wallet so I still got 45 bucks worth of groceries.  We're not going to starve.”
Ray took a deep breath and blew out harshly.  “That's not the point, the point is you just bought running shoes,  You don't even frigging run and I doubt you're going to walk either.”
“Maybe I want to take an interest in my health.”  Julie turned up the TV trying to block out Ray but Ray took the remote from her.
“You're 5 foot 5 and weigh a buck 80, your only exercise is walking to the fridge and standing on your feet cooking.”  Ray noticed that Julie had tears in her eyes.
	Ray was pulling out all the stops to be cruel and he couldn't figure out why.  He had been having a bizarre day in the first place with the supply house sending him duplicates of waxes, rubbing compounds and other detail stuffs then telling him to keep them no charge.  Then at 6 Wednesday showed up and he found himself staring and paying attention to her.  He had never done this before in all the 17 years he had known Johnny and Wednesday.  At most he glanced over her but today of all days when things were so rough with Julie he did more than glance.  Maybe he was subconsciously wanting Julie to leave so he could pursue Wednesday and that's why he was being cruel.
Ray had a seat on the coffee table.  “I'm sorry I know you gained weight because of medications.  I really do wish you would take the walking shoes back and just walk in your running shoes.”
“Do you really think an I'm sorry is going to cut it?  We argue every day these days and this is the first time you hit below the belt.  You know how much my weight upsets me.  I try to eat healthy these days and I'm still buying junk for you which I end up eating.  Have you looked at yourself in the mirror you must be pushing 220 and you're only 5 foot 10 and a half?”
The legs gave out on the coffee table leaving Ray sprawled out on the floor.  “Go ahead, laugh it up.”
“I'm not like that and you know that.  That coffee table was weak from having feet propped up on it.”  Julie stood up and gave Ray a hand in getting up.
Ray gave Julie a kiss but it felt off leaving him feeling out of sorts.  “If you take back the walking shoes I'll go walking with you.  We'll go to the track when I get off at 8.”
“That's awful late. don't you think?”  Julie dabbed at her eyes once she retrieving the tissues from the floor.
“You know I'm working 8 to 8 Monday through Friday until this thing takes off.  It's going to be a while until Fellowesville gets used to having a new detail shop, another budget mechanic and a cab service.  We bought a radio spot on AM the sports channel but that isn't doing anything.  We need to get on WPIG and WEAR.  Freddie had an idea that we pay them through services to the staff of the radio station but I don't know how to get all that accomplished and Johnny stays busy.  Most of the detailing business comes from the cars Johnny works on.  Everyone is impressed with what I do I got a 20 dollar tip from one customer.  He was told by the Ford  dealership in Wilmington they would give him 500 more for the car if it was reconditioned.”
Julie was still hurt by the weight comment.  “I bet I can get back down to 140 before you can get back to 180.”
“It's not fair, I'm naturally doing more than you are physically, all I have to do is switch to a high fiber, low carb diet.”
“Prove it.”
Ray made a humf sound.  “I think I will.  I'll bankrupt The Beef Barn and Taco Bell.”
“They'll do alright without you I'm sure.”  Julie grimaced when Ray put a dip between his lip and gum.
Ray started to take the tobacco out from his lip but then stuffed it back in.  “I know I shouldn't be dipping but my nerves are shot.”
Julie wanted to let loose on him but knew it would do no good.  “How much are you spending on that mess?  Right there is more gas money and grocery money.”
“I'm only using a can every 3 days so it's only 5 bucks or so.”  Ray dodged Julie's maneuvering trying to put some of the extra expense on him
	Julie picked up the broken coffee table and carried it out to the porch.  Ray followed her out on to the porch to continue the conversation.  Ray wished he hadn't argued in the house because that negative energy was now trapped.  Julie will always remember being insulted in the living room.  Ray had promised his mother that he would be nothing like his father but he was still verbally abusive and mean.  He was afraid it was in his genes if there was such a gene.  Looking at Julie in the waning light he still found her attractive even with the poorly done home highlight job her sister had done.  Still he remembered Wednesday's smile, the pronounced canine teeth and the haunted blue eyes with a tinge of green.  He had never noticed either before.
Julie stepped back into the house.  “Uncle Joe stopped by today he wants his house payment tomorrow.  He's said it's been too long.  He'll take partial payment but it has to be at least 300.”
“He's talking trash.  Joe will never turn me out or foreclose on us, he's like a father to me and I'm like a son to him.  I”m closer to him than Junior is and he's his son.”
Julie shook her head and  went in the kitchen to get something to drink.  “He's being serious this time.  We're two months behind.  He said he could put this house on the market for 75000 and get it sold tomorrow morning.”
“I'll borrow part of it off Carl and ;part off of Johnny.  Johnny might be tapped because he just paid his rent and helped his Mom with her house payment.”  Ray let out a frustrated sigh wondering if he made the right decision in giving up his high school janitorial position.  He had benefits and a steady salary of 500 a week.
“I'll take the shoes back tomorrow night and I'll meet you at the high school track.”  Julie said making her way back into the living room with two glasses of sweet tea.
Ray took the beverage he was offered.  “Thank you.  We need to take Mom's advice and argue outside on the front porch.  She makes an interest point that no one will yell and cuss like they do inside worrying about their neighbors and what they think although our nearest neighbor is a 1/4th mile away.  It also lets the negative air disperse into the atmosphere instead of getting trapped in the house Allie said.”
“I wasn't the one arguing.  You were.  I was just being verbally abused.”
Ray let out a sigh and shook his head.  “I was not.”
“You were talking down to me and insulted me because of my weight.”
Ray stood up and pulled Julie closer to himself.  “I said I'm sorry.  I can't erase what's been said.  I need to go see Carl.”
	Ray stepped out on to the porch and stretched.  Being a bigger man like he was getting in and out of cars to detail them wasn't easy.  It was worth it though because Ray got to enjoy the sense of accomplishment.  It made him sad to think of the cars that he detailed will more than likely be a mess again in a matter of a week or so.  Of course every time they made a mess of them they will more than likely be back to be detailed again.
Ray found himself thinking of Wednesday as he jingled his keys in his pocket.  “I'm heading to Carl's and Johnny's.  If I'm not back by the time you go to bed I'll sneak in and sleep on the couch.”
“Just come to bed, you know you won't wake me.”  Julie stepped around Ray and put her arms around him.
Ray kissed Julie briefly and quickly.  “Okay babe.”
	Ray sat down in the Volvo and paused before starting the car.  It hurt his pride to have to ask Carl for money but he could see where Uncle Joe was coming from.  With Johnny it didn't matter much because between them money flowed like water.  Ray started the car and backed into the turn around spot.  Once he was  on his way Ray tried to figure out what to say to Carl.  The best he could come up with was the straightforward approach and ask him straight out.  It seemed to take less time than normal to get to Carl's even though he hadn't been speeding.  Getting out of the car Ray tripped over the garden hose and landed on his knees.
Carl saw this and came running to pick Ray up.  “Damn man, are you okay?”
“Yes, just a little ouchie.”
	Carl picked Ray up like a rag doll.  It was easy considering that Carl was 6 foot 5 and 4 foot wide.  He was a large black man who bore a similarity to Michael Duncan Clark, the man who portrayed Bear on the movie Armageddon.  It was hard to believe that he was a dental hygienist because most people were intimidated by him because of his size alone.  He knew he would never be a full dentist because his hands and fingers would have difficulty getting into a patients mouth.
“Thanks chief, how you been doing?”  Ray asked as he wiped the gravel dust from his pants.
“I'm doing alright.  I was getting ready to leave with Tamika to go to a late movie.”
Ray looked down at his feet.  “Carl I'll come out and just say it, I need to borrow 150 dollars, my mortgage is behind.”
“How many months?”  Carl leaned his backside against Ray's car.
“Two.  I'm 1200 behind but Joe will take 300 as a good grace payment.”
Carl pulled out his wallet and looked inside of it.  “The best I can do in cash is 80.  Let's run to the bank.”
“No that's fine.  I can come up with the other 70 and I'll be fine if Johnny has it.”  Ray felt so embarrassed asking his friend for money.
“I want to give you the full 3 and let Johnny give you 150 to get you 3/8th  of the way to 1200.”  Carl amazed himself with his quick math and figuring that to be 3/8th .
Ray felt shame that he had to ask a friend for money and his friend took pity on him.  “You don't have to do all that.  The detail shop is picking up slowly but I'll make it.  Johnny keeps telling me to take part of the mechanic shop's earnings but it's not right.  What I do doesn't pull in anywhere near the money that Johnny makes.”
“Your partners together the two shops should be combined and work together because eventually the two will end up feeding each other.  A 80 dollar shampoo and detail might lead to a 200 dollar timing belt job.  Someone might get work done their car and are so happy with it again they want to start taking care of it again.  You both do excellent work and you will get the word of mouth you need.”
“That's what he said.  He said offer package deals.  Get a tune-up and get a free wash and wax.  Jiffy Lube does an oil change and vacuum as part of their service.  Maybe Johnny's right.”  Ray concluded as he got into Carl's Grand Marquis, one of the few cars he could get comfortable in.
	Driving through town Ray noticed the number of people walking along the streets.  He thought to himself those are potential taxi customers maybe they would need more than 2 cabs between 8 and 5.  Carl pulled into the First Bank of Fellowesville then stopped at the ATM machine.  Carl's big fingers were almost too large for the buttons on the ATM.  Ray felt defeated as Carl passed him the 300 dollars.
“Count it.  I don't trust this ATM.”
“20, 40, 60, 80. . .”  Ray counted off making his defeat feel even more tangible.
Carl sensed Ray's defeat by the sound of his voice.  “It's going to be alright.  Take Johnny up on his offer and you will be making money hand over fist in no time.  You'll be able to afford 4 cabs running at all times until midnight.”
“Thanks bud, I appreciate this.”  Ray replied as Carl started the car.
“I'll take you out to Johnny's.  I haven't seen him in a couple of days.  Tamika has me so busy with painting.”
Ray coughed to clear his throat.  “I thought you would be done by now.”
“You forget moving furniture to get to the walls turns into rearranging the furniture.  I did the living room and next thing you know I'm painting the kitchen and our bedroom.  Any moment Tamika is going to want to paint the dining room and the other bedrooms.  That's why no one has seen me since Saturday night.  It's so much easier to work in a room that's empty.”  Carl offered a stick of gum to Ray.
Ray accepted the spearmint gum.  “You should have called me.”
Carl shook his head, looked over and placed his huge hand on Ray's knee.  “You got enough on your plate as it is.  Working all morning detailing then helping with the cabs.  Then once the cabs are up and running you will be working until 8 driving.  Julie must be going out of her head with you being gone all the time.”
“I barely work detailing.  Oh trust me she's keeping herself occupied with the phone.  We're talking 200 dollars worth of phone calls.”
“Damn son.  That's messed up.”  Carl removed his hand from Ray's knee.
“Today she bought another pair of shoes using part of the grocery money.  We got into an argument and I brought up her weight.  That lead to more arguing.  There are times I feel so cruel like my father and I have to bite my tongue.”  Ray looked at his watch in disbelief that it was already 8:30.
“You're nothing like your father, I've been around you enough to know.  Yes you have a serious temper but you don't mean to hurt, intimidate and dominate like your father did even though sometimes you do.  You've never really dealt with your issues concerning your father.”
“There are no issues.  I've come to grips with my father.  He was a piece of shit who tortured my mother, molested and raped my sister and dominated me until I was big enough to stand up to him.”
Ray shook his head as they pulled into Allie's driveway.  “There is still a lot of anger there.  So much anger that at one time you almost killed the man.”
“I don't want to think about that.”  Ray braced himself as he got out of the car because he knew what he had to do.
	He could just make the grace payment with the 300 dollars Carl gave him but he told Carl he would borrow 150 dollars from Johnny as well.  It was true that Johnny wasn't hurting for money since the mechanical shop was doing well and his girlfriend was an RN at Fellowesville General.  Johnny stepped out on to the porch and lit a cigarette as Carl and Ray came up the walk.
“What are y'all two up to now?”  Johnny asked as Carl stepped on the porch.
Ray leaned against the porch.  “Came to see you because I need a favor.”
“I haven't seen you in a few days so I figure I'd stop by.”  Carl looked suspiciously at the new swing wondering if it would hold his 316 pounds.
“Have a seat, it'll hold you.  It holds Allie and me just fine.”  Johnny offered Ray a chair.
Ray had a seat.  “I need to make a good grace payment to Uncle Joe.  I'm two months behind on my mortgage.  Carl loaned me 300 but he wants me to ask you for another 150 so that I'm paid up 3/8th of the way.”
“Damnit I told you half of my part of the shop is yours too just like half of yours is mine.  Tomorrow we will sit down and go through the past month and a half's receipts then give you half of it.  I have most of it in a savings account for you already.  You will find it's a lot more than 2 months mortgage.”  Johnny slowly rocked the chair.
Carl felt more certain of the swing and swung gently.  “That's what I told him, the shops work together.  Make some special deals.  Offer the radio station some of your services for air time.”
“I listened to Carl and I know you're right now.  Haven't we spent everything we made up to this point?”
“No, I have money set aside in a savings account with your name on it.  I guess you weren't listening.  I think it's up to date with all days included but we'll still sit down and go through them.  Last I checked it was 3400 dollars.  That's after rent's paid, insurance is paid and supplies are bought.”
“No way.”  Ray's jaw dropped from astonishment.
Carl was shocked as well.  “You don't need my 300 then.  You can pay your mortgage up to date and make payments on the van.”
Ray almost had his van repossessed, without that van there would be no band.  “To think I've been scraping by on the detail shop money.  I need to split that money with you.'
“We'll figure it out.  Either of y'all want a beer?”  Johnny stood up and pulled the wrinkles out of his jeans.
Ray started to laugh.  “Near beer?”
“You know I don't drink regular beer anymore, if it's not non alcoholic I don't drink it.”
“I'll take one if it's cold.”  Carl liked the taste of the O'Doul's even though it was NA.
Ray shrugged.  “Get me one too.”
	Johnny went in and got 3 beers then came back outside.  Ray didn't want to go home and tell Julie about the money Johnny saved for him.  She would want new furniture, more clothes, and new appliances.  It was hard for Ray to understand because he wasn't a large consumer.  It wasn't uncommon for Ray to keep a shirt if it was ten years old as long as it wasn't holey or extremely stained.  For the past four years he had been wearing a janitorial uniform so his clothes had very little wear.  It helped that he maintained the same weight basically since high school.  It was true that Julie had less clothes to wear now that she weighed more.
Carl opened his beer and took a swig.  “That is good and cold.”
“I still can't believe Georgia keeps this at the Rusty Nail now.”  Ray slowly opened his because it looked like Johnny had shaken it up.
“What can I say she loves me.”  Johnny felt bad about shaking up Ray's beer and traded with him.
Ray laughed when the beer sprayed Johnny.  “Yeah right, you're lucky she didn't ban you for life.  Starting that brawl then passing out in the bar.  She didn't know that you had ten beers before entering the bar.”
“I know you, ten beers and you're barely able to stand.  I have no idea how she didn't notice this and served you five more.  Then you swung at Chuck, the craziest bastard in Fellowesville and got knocked on your ass where you promptly passed out.  I carried you home that night and put you to bed.”  Carl was such a good friend to have.
	Ray remembered those days.  He clearly remembered missing his friend for ten days while Johnny dried out in the psych ward at Fellowesville General.  He could also remember the pain Johnny had at losing a child.  	Children were another bone of contention with Ray and Julie.  Ray didn't want children because he was afraid he would end up like his father.  The thought of his father molesting and taking his sister's virginity at age 13 made him so nauseous and so angry.  The thought of the physical and verbal abuse Ray and his brother endured also made him livid.  The suffering and abuse that his mother endured for 17 years was unimaginable.  If his father was capable of those horrors, would he be capable of doing the same thing.  He knew that he could be verbally cruel with Julie because tonight proved that as he had done before on numerous occasions.  He also knew he could be dominating and intimidating without meaning to be.
“Do you know that you can drink O'Doul's and still get drunk?”  Johnny broke the moment of silence.
Carl laughed heartily.  “Maybe if you drink ten six packs but you would get over hydrated first and get sick and dizzy.”
“I'm trying to fathom how much liquid ten six packs would be.  720 ounces.  That's roughly five gallons.”  Ray began to laugh too.
“Even though it's only .5% alcohol by volume I still can't drive around with an open one in my truck.”  Johnny finished his bottle off with one hearty chug.
“Tamika is probably waiting for me.  I want to save my get out of jail free card for this weekend.”  Carl stood up and towered over Ray who was still seated.
	Ray was glad that they were leaving because he started to think of Wednesday.  If Johnny knew he would have a fit.  Ray knew of the centuries old rule that you never date your best friend's sister.  If things didn't work out it would taint the friendship and possibly end the friendship.  Only a fool would do it because they could be left alone all alone without his best friend and his best friend's sister.  Could Ray be such a fool?
Ray laughed nervously.  “Tomorrow is going to be here early and there's a lot to do.”
“I still wish Ed hadn't got ahead of us and painted the cars first because now I have to worry about getting grease into the fresh paint.”  Johnny stood up and stretched then offered Ray a hand up.
“Better you than me.”  Carl finished his beer and passed Johnny the bottle.
Johnny lit a cigarette and offered one to Carl who declined it.  “It wouldn't be so bad but we're using low mileage motors from newer trucks so we can get the full fuel injection setup with them.  They can be a little greasy from minor leaks.”
“I know you told me.  I'm going to roll.  Take it easy.”  Carl walked off the porch.
	Ray followed Carl to the car.  Cold chills ran down Ray's spine thinking of Johnny and what he would do if he showed interest in Wednesday.  Ray wasn't worried with the physicality of things because in a fight Ray would win over Johnny because Johnny was tall and thin.  What concerned him was the cold shoulder and isolation he would receive.  That would hurt more than a thousand punches but still Wednesday was on his mind now.
Ray waited for Carl to pull out of Allie's driveway before he spoke.  “I noticed Wednesday today.”
“Yes, today was Wednesday.”
Ray shook his head even though Carl didn't see him.  “Wednesday Wills.”
“Excuse me, what do you mean by noticed her?  You've been around here since she was 4 of course you've noticed her.”  Carl turned off the radio that had been playing low.
“I noticed her.  I noticed that her eyes are blue with a touch of green.  When she smiles her canine teeth are very prominent like a vampire but her smile is very pretty.  Even under the slimming loose black shirt she has a nice pair.”  Ray felt a weight off his chest.
Carl coughed and cleared his throat.  “Don't even go there.  She's like a little sister to me and she should be to you as well.”
“I just noticed her that's all.  She's very pretty or would be if she livened up a touch.”
Carl lowered her voice and began to speak.  “Don't go there, don't ever go there, go home, get things straight with Julie.  If you mess with Wednesday I'm going to mess with you and you know you won't like that.”
	Ray looked over at the massive man beside him.  He noted to himself the size of his fingers and the first they made gripping the steering wheel.  One punch and Carl could break a jaw.  Another punch could break all his ribs on one side Ray concluded.  Still though he thought of Wednesday in a different way than before.  He noticed her and recognized her as a woman.
“I won't.  You and Johnny's friendship mean a lot to me.  Julie has been a good girl for the past one and a half years.  I know she wants to get engaged but we've been fighting so much lately.  Most of it is over money.  I know that will be over since the shops are going to work together but the arguments and memories are already there.”
Carl looked over at Ray and nodded.  “Money won't fix everything.”
“It will sure fix some things like overdue electric bills and mortgage payments.  I would let Julie go on a shopping spree for clothes.”
	Ray started to think of floral tops with v-necks, button up blouses, and pastel sweaters.  At first he thought of Julie in new clothes but soon he imagined Wednesday in bright and lovely clothes instead of the black garb she always wore.  He looked over at Carl paranoid because of his thoughts as if Carl could read them.  What was he going to do.
“Are those canine teeth natural or are those caps?”  Ray gingerly asked.
Carl coughed again clearing his throat.  “I told you not to go' there.  Don't think of her or her teeth, she comes your way you walk the other way.”
“She's still my friend and I can't just walk away.”  The car felt crowded all of a sudden.
“You know what I mean.”  Carl pulled into his driveway then turned to face Ray.  “Wednesday is special, she's not like the rest of us.”
	Ray was relieved when he got out of the car.  He knew by his tone that Carl was serious, grievously harmful serious.   Why was he even worried about this?  He hardly ever saw Wednesday.  The only time she came around was when she needed something from Johnny and that wasn't very often.  Matter of fact today was the first time he saw her in at least two and a half weeks.  Normally Ray was protective of Wednesday like Carl but now he felt like the wolf at her door.
	What about Julie?  There had to be some reason that he hadn't got engaged to her yet.  Was he afraid of marriage?  Was it because he heard horror stories of how relationships change once the couple gets married?  Could a little piece of paper make that much of a difference Ray thought.
“Later.  Remember what I said now.”  Carl said before he went into his house.
	Ray climbed into his Volvo and started it.  He didn't want to go home right away.  He felt like an ass.  At least he had good news for Julie.  She could keep her new shoes which Ray knew meant a lot because Julie was a shoe girl.  Ray only bought shoes when he needed them and then it was a special occasion.  He had to wear them out of the store even though Julie said that it was tacky and gauche.  He found himself remembering Wednesday's black Converse high tops.  He couldn't remember what he last saw Julie in just 2 or 3 hours ago but he remembered what Wednesday wore.  Of course that wasn't exactly a hard task considering Wednesday always dressed in black or some color close to it.
	Ray pulled into the driveway and noticed that all the lights were off even the porch light.  Ray walked slowly to the porch almost tripping over the railroad ties surrounding the driveway.  He tried the door and it was locked.  He unlocked the door then turned on the living room lights.
Ray called down the hall.  “Julie come here.”
“I was almost asleep.  I figured you'd be out longer than that.”  Julie pushed her golden hair back on her head.
“Tonight was all about finances.  I humbled myself and asked Carl for the money to pay Joe.  I asked for 150 and he gave me three.  We then went and saw Johnny for another 150.  Carl wanted me to pay at least 3/8th of the two back months.  Johnny talked me into taking half of the profits from the mechanical shop.  He'd been keeping track of it since we started seven weeks ago and placing half the money after expenses into a bank account for me.  I think he said there's 3400 dollars in there.”  Ray waited impatiently for Julie's reaction.
Julie's expression changed in a second as her jaw dropped to the floor.  “You've been arguing with me over phone bills, buying steaks, the mortgage which I shouldn't worry about since it is yours and we're not married, buying shoes, buying whatever and you were too proud to accept half of the garage's income.”
“Carl made me realize something.  The two businesses can feed each other.  He said we could run promotions,  Jiffy Lube offers a vacuum with every oil change.  We could do like a dash and console detail with every tune-up.  Any job over 200 dollars gets a shampoo and full detail.  He said after someone spends money on their car they are going to want to keep it and if you make the car nicer they are going to tell their friends and their friends will see.”
Julie started to laugh.  “I told you to take half the profits the 2nd week you were open.”
“It's a matter of pride.  I feel like I'm not doing anything in comparison to what Johnny does.  Detailing a car can be tedious and strenuous but it's nothing like replacing a timing belt or pulling a transmission to replace a seal.”
Julie shook her head.  “I've only known Johnny for a few years since I moved here from Phoenix and I know he doesn't think of a division of labor like that.”
“I should know better too.  Carl said to offer the radio stations services in exchange for air time.  WPIG and WEAR would be all that we need to get us started.  Get good enough and we will attract attention from Camp Lejeune and Wilmington.  We'll need assistants and work all four bays all the time.  Keep your walking shoes, buy the best steaks you can find tomorrow night and we'll have a cookout.”  Ray took off his shoes and had a seat.
“Can I buy new sweats to walk in?”
Ray smiled warmly.  “Yes.  I didn't realize how much Johnny had really done but he brought a lot of customers with him when he left Rapid Repair.  Tony is still doing a good business at Rapid Repair I've noticed when I drive by there.”
“Um you won't be home until after 7 or 8, let's try for Saturday.  I'll get Tamika to bring her famous hot and spicy pasta salad, Allie can bring homemade salsa and some chips, I'm not sure what else to make.”
“Buy good quality steaks use your judgment.  We'll need some A1.  Make a salad get some romaine lettuce, some Parmesan cheese, dressing and croûtons and make a Caesar salad.  It doesn't fit the theme but who cares.  It'll all taste good.”
“Before you come to bed, take a shower.”  Julie wandered toward the bedroom.
“You want a little of this.”  Ray laughed sinisterly.
Julie turned around and shook her head.  “No I just put clean sheets on the bed.”
“You know you want me.”  Ray stood up and removed his shirt revealing his hairy chest and back then laughed.
“Nope.”
Ray followed Julie into the bedroom.  “We haven't made love in weeks.”
“I've been bleeding for the past three weeks, I need to get the shot but we haven't been able to afford it.  It shows how observant you are.  I've been wearing a pad to bed every night and you've tried to get some every night and you've never noticed.”
Ray took off his pants then dug in the drawer of his dresser for a clean pair of underpants and a t-shirt.  “I haven't tried every night and I know there are nights you haven't had one.”
“Bullshit.  You're just as horny as you ever were.”  Julie took off her shirt and climbed into bed.
Ray walked toward the bathroom and turned around.  “You're just cold as you ever were.”
“I'm not cold, I'm just not always in the mood.”
“Schedule an appointment with your gyno and get the shot.”  Ray started to walk toward the bathroom when Julie started to speak again.
“Don't think that will solve my problem.  I also don't feel very attractive, earlier today you were just mentioning my weight which made me feel fat and undesirable.”
“Come on now I said I was sorry.”
“I hate the fact that you are so quick to say you're sorry like it's supposed to be magic and erase whatever you did or said.  I swear at times I'd rather you find it hard to say you're sorry.”
Ray remembered his father and how he used to say sorry frequently as if it rewound the moment.  “I understand.  I'm almost said I'm sorry for saying sorry too much.  Isn't that rich?”
“I know you can't help it it's how you were raised.  I know you fight your raisin' all the time and it has to be difficult.”  Julie climbed out of bed, went to Ray and embraced him tightly.
“I've been sweating all day so I know I'm a little rank.”  Ray kissed Julie softly.
“Nah you smell manly.”
Ray let out a little grunt then went and took a shower.
	In the shower Ray thought of how sweet that little kiss was then his mind was invaded by Wednesday.  He wondered what was beneath all that black.  He bet she was beautiful but very pale with perky firm high riding breasts.  Of course there was nothing wrong with Julie's 38Bs other than a little time wear and tear sagging even though she was only 25.  He wasn't sure what to do but he knew he couldn't go on like this so he did everything he could to avoid thinking of Wednesday.






















Chapter 4
	Johnny rolled into the shop at 8:55 surprised that Ed was already there to pick up the Belvedere.    When Ray got to the shop there was already a customer waiting for Johnny.  Ray felt like an ass apologizing for being late and telling the customer that any moment Johnny would arrive.  Luckily though the customer just needed to have his air filter replaced which Ray figured out how to do quickly.  He refused to be paid for it since the customer brought his own filter.
“Sorry I'm late.  I had to pick up the plug wires.”  Johnny showed Ray the box of plug wires.
Ray shook his head and let out a sigh.  “It took you almost an hour to pick up plug wires?  Advance Auto is not that slow.  Did they make them custom for you?”
Johnny opened the bay door then opened the hood of the Belvedere II wagon.  “It won't take me long then Ed will be on his way.”
Ed stepped inside and got a soda from the machine.  “Take your time.”
Johnny started to put on the plug wires then popped his head out from underneath the hood.  “Allie and I had a bit of a scuffle last night because she stayed out until 12:30.  She had talked to two of her co-worker friends about Wednesday.  They told Allie that Wednesday should get on disability and go to one of those state vocational schools for the disabled.  I got upset that she was discussing family business with strangers or at least strangers to me., well one stranger, the other was Camille.  You've been around her most of her life and Ed has for almost a year but these girls have never even met Wednesday.”
“Even though you probably didn't get to bed until 2, you still had a customer waiting for you.  You told them that they needed a new air filter and you would put it in this morning when they got one.  Now you're holding up Ed who probably has a ton of things to do.”
“I don't even know if you can go on disability for unipolar depression.  I promised Dad that I would take care of Wednesday and damnit that's what I'm going to do.  I'm not sending her away to some school for the disabled.”  Johnny ducked his head back under the hood.
	Wednesday had been on Ray's mind as he dreamed.  The dreams were bizarre.  He dreamed of vampires.  It was true that Wednesday had vampire like teeth.  One moment she was in the far back seat of the Belvedere then she was in the middle seat then she was in the front seat with him.  She never attacked him even though she bared her teeth in the dream.  In real life her smile,if she smiled, was partially closed so as not to expose her teeth Ray assumed.  He also assumed that Wednesday hated her teeth and had been ridiculed because of them before.
“Did you replace the plugs?”  Ed asked walking over to the old wagon.
Ray busted out laughing.  “No.”
Ed shook his head in disgust.  “I hope you weren't so addle minded and clueless with the Biscayne.  I'll run and get the plugs.”
Johnny popped his head out from underneath the hood.  “1998 Dodge 5.2 liter 318.”
“Okay, I'll be back.”  Ed shook his head again and looked at Johnny in disbelief.
“So I overlooked a few things.”
Ray put in a dip.  “Well I got to get busy.  I have appointments at 9:15 and 9:45.  Should I charge more to wash and wax the inside of the bed of a pickup?”
“I don't know.  We've never encountered this before.  What do you say Ed?”  Johnny had no clue whatsoever.
Ed was inspecting the front fender of the car looking for grease.  “You've done a good job of keeping the paint clean.  As far as pickup beds go I charge more for paint so it makes sense to charge more for waxing but not washing.”
“Ok, how much more?”  Johnny and Ray said in unison causing them to look at each other and laugh.
“25% to 50% more so if a wash and wax is 50, I'd charge 75 for a complete truck.  If you use paint sealant instead of wax charge another 25.”  Ed followed Ray into the office to discuss prices.
Ray moved the mouse to turn the screensaver off as he sat down at the desk.  “I've looked at prices online for this shop in Wilmington and my prices are dirt cheap in comparison.”
“I'm only charging 80 for a complete detail of the interior, they are charging 120.  I'm charging 120 for a seven passenger minivan they want 160.”  Ray yawned because he was still tired since his sleep was fitful at best.
“You'll get it all worked out, use their prices as a gauge and make them more reasonable what you think is right.  I'll be back.”
Ray chased Ed out to the rollback.  “Here take my car so you don't have to worry about parking the rollback.”
“Okay.”  Ed replied as he took the keys to Ray's Volvo.
	Stepping back into the office Ray promptly turned around and went back outside.  His first car pulled into the lot.  This was a 30 minute job just a half interior detail that included a dash and console detail, vacuum and inside windows.  Ray realized he shouldn't give quotes over the phone because sometimes the car is dirtier than expected.  The console was covered and coated in sugar rich coffee, food crumbs and cigarette ash.  The seats were stained.  It was a total mess.
“Hello Mr. Smith.  Sorry I'm late.”  The customer was only 5 minutes late.
Ray escorted the customer to the office.  “Mr. Mason I dont feel comfortable in doing just the dash, console and windows.  The seats are in dire need of a good steam cleaning and so is the carpet.”
Mr. Mason motioned so with his hands and a shrug.  “How much more is that Mr. Smith?”
“Please call me Ray.  Normally I charge 90 for a complete interior detail but for you I'll charge 65.  You'll be impressed with the difference.”
“That's 20 more than you quoted me.”
“That's because I quoted you a partial detail.”
Mr. Mason made a tick sound with his teeth and tongue.  “Okay give it the works.”
“I make the same sound when I talk and pause.”  Ray went to the soda machine and bought Mr. Mason a Pepsi.
	Ray looked at his appointment book.  The next one would be here in thirty minutes and he knew he wouldn't have time to do it all.  He really wished he could have gotten Wednesday to help him but that would upset Johnny.  He wish he knew why Johnny was so against it but it had to be because he noticed that Ray was taking notice of her.  Ray knew that it was fine to notice her and acknowledge her but only in limited quantity.  Still she could have done the rear windows while he did the dash, console, front carpet and front seats then switched rear to front.
	Ray took the keys from Mr. Mason then went out to the parking lot to retrieve the 2001 Toyota Camry.  He looked at the odometer and the car only had 21324 miles.  It was amazing how filthy the car was.  It also needed a wash and wax because it was dull and without gloss.  He felt sick looking at the molded box of donuts in the back seat.  The carpets all had ground in dirt and food.  Ray thought to himself 65 bucks my ass.  Ray pulled the car into the first bay.  He stepped into the office and told Mr. Mason it would take an hour.
Ray called his 9:45 appointment.  “Ma'am I'm running a little behind and I appreciate your busy schedule but is it possible to come in at 10:30?”
“Oh that would be just fine, will it be done by 12:15 because my daughter has a doctor appointment at 1 in Wilmington?”  The voice on the other end of the phone was calm and soothing.
Ray let out a sigh of relief.  “I'm new to this, only been doing it 7 weeks and I have trouble figuring out how long things take.”
“It's okay hun.  You do alright I'll tell all my friends about you and you'll be swamped.”
	Ray looked forward to being swamped because so far he was doing 2 details a day or 2 wash and waxes a day.  There were days he did nothing and most of the time he sat in the office playing freecell on the computer.  Sometimes he helped Johnny with major repairs but if it was a minor repair he knew to leave Johnny alone because he would get cranky.  Johnny finished the plugs and wires on the old Plymouth.  In a flash and a rumble it was loaded on the rollback and taken away.  Ray loved the name of the exhaust shop, Tigger's Exhaust.
Ray stepped into the office to ask Mr. Mason a question.  “Mr. Mason would you prefer ozone, vanilla or orange air freshener?  Ozone is the strongest and will keep the car fresh for a couple of weeks.”
	Ray got busy at getting the sugar coffee residue off the center console.  He still hadn't figured out which cleaner to use to get a sticky mess like that tackled.  He consulted Johnny who just shrugged.  Ray went back to the car and tried an industrial cleaner called PD-79.  It seemed to do a good job.  He read on the bottle not to be used on clear plastic so he would have to find something else to clean the gauges.  It took him twenty minutes just to get the dash and console cleaned and reconditioned.  Damnit he thought I should have done the windshield first because now he risked getting window cleaner foam on the finished dash.  Carefully Ray cleaned the windshield.  This is hard work Ray thought.  This was the worst car he had in the seven weeks they had been open.  He could understand why the shop in Wilmington charged so much.
Rick carefully picked up the box of green and white donuts and carried them over to Johnny.  “Want a donut?”
“Oh man, that's nasty.”  Johnny replied as he reached for a 12 millimeter wrench.
Ray smiled and laughed.  “How long had they been in the back seat to get that moldy?”
“Weeks.  I do not envy you your job because some people keep a very nasty, very filthy, very disgusting car.”  Johnny dropped his wrench.
“I need to get back to busy.”
	Ray continued to work diligently on cleaning the Camry but his mind kept slipping back to thoughts of Wednesday.  When he thought of her he thought of the isolation from Johnny and the pain of what Carl could do to him.  Still those blue green eyes haunted him because she seemed so childlike so lost.  Could he help her find her way again?  Ray couldn't even pinpoint when Wednesday became so dark and unintentionally Gothic.  Was it before her father's death or after?  Was it because her father babied her so much taking care of everything?  Ray knew that Johnny wasn't helping her like he thought was.  Ray knew that Wednesday hadn't been allowed to grow since her father passed on.  He also knew that it wasn't his place to help her grow but he wanted to even though the potential consequences were dire at best.
	It was an odd time to remember but Ray remembered the story of Isabella Nelson that was told to him by Baylie.  Baylie told the story very well.  Now that he was remembering he realized Isabella was very much like Wednesday.  They were both lost young women who were quiet and withdrawn.  They were both beautiful women with a similar height and build.
This is how the story goes:
“Fire, fire, get out, get out.”  Isabella's father cried out before the top floor fell on top of him.
	Isabella grabbed her sister and tried to make it down the steps before the dry wooded farmhouse was engulfed in flames.  She managed to get outside with only minor burns but her younger sister refused to leave her father and was burned to death as she tried to get her father free.  Isabella's mother had passed on that spring from rubella so she was all alone.  Isabella wandered to her neighbor's house who cleaned her up but she refused to talk.  They looked across the field and saw the O'Donnell's farmhouse had burned almost completely to the ground.
“Was your father still inside?  Your sister?”  The neighbor asked calmly.
Isabella nodded but said nothing.
“Let me see your legs, I see your nightclothes are singed.”  The neighbor gently pulled up the nightgown to find blisters but no charred skin.
	They took Isabella in for a few weeks but she never spoke a word.  She nodded, she shook her head, and  she made hand gestures but still no speech.  The family became growingly aware that there was nothing they could do for her.  They helped her with her wounds and did their best to stave off infection which they did.  Soon they realized she needed professional help.  This was 1872 and the only place for hundreds of miles was the Fellowesville Asylum.  They had heard that the conditions there were far better than any other mental hospital in the state and possibly the entire East coast.
	The father of the family took her from Rocky Mount, North Carolina to Fellowesville.  The 100 mile journey took several days.  He figured she would have rejected the idea and fought him but instead she complied without a word.  Every time they would pass a 2 by 2 farmhouse(the kind where there are 2 rooms upstairs and 2 rooms downstairs) he could see tears in her eyes.  He wondered if he was doing the right thing.
	The Dr. Ellis of that time told the father that there was nothing they could do for her other than give her a place to stay.  She would become one of the town's roamers.  Roamers were those that were mentally ill enough to need to be taken care of but not to the point they needed to be held and supervised all hours of the day.  Roamers would roam the town looking for something to do.  Isabella soon developed a routine.  Every day at 3 she would go to the Nelson's General Store and watch the old men play checkers.  Mr. Nelson first shooed her off but she continued to come back.  Mr. Davis Nelson had lost his wife in childbirth 2 years prior so he threw himself into the store.  He was hurting to but he still functioned unlike Isabella.
	Isabella began to hang around the farrier who was a lecherous man.  He tried to molest her one afternoon causing her to break down and cry.  She ran all the way back through the town and instead of going to the hospital she went to the general store.  Mr. Nelson felt pity for her because she was crying and wished that she would tell him what happened.  Mr. Nelson took her by the hand, sat her down on an unopened barrel of flour and gave him a peppermint stick.  This day became one of many to follow like it.
	After weeks of quiet time and peppermint sticks Isabella began to speak.  She told of the fire and how fast her house went up.  She told him about her father being crushed and her sister burning to death trying to get him free from the rubble.  Mr. Nelson understood why she didn't talk she too was crushed.  She was crushed by tons upon tons of guilt.  She couldn't forgive herself for allowing her sister to die with her father.  She wondered if she could have helped free her father and they all made it out alive.
	Mr. Nelson began to fall in love with her once she opened up to him.  He started to realize how beautiful she was but wouldn't move on his desires right away.  She had told him of the farrier and he didn't want her to associate him with the farrier.  She was a lost child at first to Mr. Nelson but soon he realized she was a sweet young woman.  She never did talk a lot but through simple communication they fell in love.  March 27th 1873 they were married.
	Ray freaked out when he found a dead rat under the seat.  He was surprised the car didn't smell worse than it did.  He had no idea how a rat that size could get into the closed cabin of a modern sealed automobile.  He wondered if all detail shops took out the front seats to steam clean the carpets or did they simply move them all the forward and clean that portion then move them all the way back and clean that portion.  On a car with a bench seat it would be hard for him to remove the seat all by himself.  The moisture of the steam cleaner activated the odor momentarily from where the rat was laying but then quickly removed it.  Ray thought to himself what have I gotten myself into.
	Mr. Mason was peering into the bays through the observation window to see how Ray was progressing.  Ray noticed and looked at the clock on the wall it was already 10:30 and he still hadn't steam cleaned the back seat or the trunk.  He had to remove books and papers from the back seat just to clean it.  He hated to think of what all was in the trunk.  The next customer pulled into the lot but Ray wasn't worried because she was so understanding on the phone.  He went into the office to greet her.
Ray wiped his hands on his pants so he could shake hands with the middle aged woman.  “Hello Mrs. Armstrong.  I'm running a little behind but I should be done in 20 minutes or so.  Would you care for a Pepsi?”
“Yes please.  Please call me Mary.  I'll forewarn you my daughter was sick last and she vomited in the van.”  The customer paused waiting to see Ray's reaction.
Ray did his best to hold a straight face.  “That's not a problem.  Once it's vacuum and steamed clean you will never know.”
	Ray thought to himself as he went to get the soft drink this job sucks.  The pay would be better once he had the jobs than janitor at the high school but damn this was nasty he thought.  He brought the soda to the customer then went and finished the Camry.  Luckily the trunk was virtually empty and neat as a pin.
“Mr. Mason your car is ready.  I found a dead rat underneath the driver's seat.”  Ray spoke softly so that the other customer wouldn't hear him.
Mr. Mason's eyes got large from the surprise.  “I told the wife to not leave the windows down when she pulled it into the garage.  I now need to see about having the garage exterminated.  Thanks for telling me quietly.  It's rather embarrassing.”
Ray shook his head.  “Don't be embarrassed.  I keep a very clean house and last year I still got roaches.”
“Oh.  Can you take a check?”
“Yes, make it out to Harvey's Detail.”
Mr. Mason curiously looked at Ray.  “I thought your name was Ray.”
“Harvey like the big white rabbit in the classic James Stewart movie.”  Ray wished he would hurry up because the minivan would take some serious time.
	Mr. Mason stroked the check and passed it to Ray.  Ray passed him his keys and away he went without checking the car out.  Ray took the keys from Mary afraid as to what he would find when he pulled the Caravan in.  Opening the door and having a seat Ray was assaulted by the potent smell of vomit.  If this wasn't his own business he would have quit.  He didn't know what Johnny was doing or if he could do it but he would entertain the notion of switching jobs for the next hour or more.
	As Ray vacuumed and scrubbed the vomit he thought of Wednesday working with him.  He was glad that Johnny didn't let Wednesday work for him.  She deserved better than molded donuts, dead rats and vomit.  This car wasn't so bad other than vomit in the 2nd row of seats.  The dash looked like it had been detailed recently.  The air conditioner vents were a little on the dusty side but other than that the dash would be a breeze.  Still on a van like this he could do for an assistant to wash windows while he steam cleaned the seats and carpets once he picked up the vomit.  On the back seat Ray found a black haired, very busty Barbi doll with blue green eyes which made him think of Wednesday.  He held the doll momentarily and imagined it in a baggy black band logo t-shirt.  Ray thought to himself damn her why must she have looked up.  It wasn't until 12:15 that he finished the Caravan.
“Mrs. Armstrong, your van is ready.”  Ray said wiping his brow with a white terry cloth towel.
Mrs. Armstrong walked to the desk.  “Please call me Mary.  That was 120.00 correct?”
“Yes.”
“Visa alright?”  Mary said pulling out her wallet from her purse and offering the card.
Ray nodded then slid the card through the POS point of sale machine.  “It'll show up as Harvey's Detail.”
“Ok.  Let me go take a look.”  Mary went out to the parking lot where Ray had backed it out.
	Mary opened the door and was pleasantly invited into the vehicle by a combination of ozone and vanilla.  She noted how clean and new the seats looked.  Even the carpet appeared new other than some wear on the driver's side floor mat.  Mary got back out of the van.
Ray walked over to the driver's side of the van.  “Sorry I didn't ask you which air freshener your preferred.”
“It's fine.”  Mary reached into her purse for her wallet.
“Have a great day.  I hope your daughter feels better.”  Ray started to walk toward the office but was stopped by Mary.
Mary pulled out 2 tens from her wallet and gave them to Ray.  “Thanks for the excellent service.  I'll tell all my friends.  The last time I got the van detailed in Wilmington it was 165 and they weren't as thorough with the seats or carpet or as fast.”
“This isn't necessary.”  Ray being the good guy he was refused the tip not thinking that it might offend the customer.
“Take it please.”
“OK.”
	The customer got in the minivan and drove away happy.  Ray was happy as well.  He just made 140 dollars in an hour and 45 minutes.  Half of the 120 was Johnny's but it didn't matter.  Ray wished he had more work for the day like Johnny did.  Ray stepped into the third bay where Johnny was steadily working on an older Nissan.
“Vomit, donuts and rats.  Oh my.”  Ray said mimicking the old lions, tigers and bears oh my from The Wizard Of Oz.
“Nobody said this would be easy but look at all the money you've made so far.  We'll go over the receipts and books to make sure it's 3400 dollars.  I'm pretty sure I'm right on the money.”  Johnny took off his mechanic's gloves so he could smoke a cigarette.
“None of the other cars were that bad really.  Should I remove the seat and steam clean or pull the seat all the way forward steam clean then all the way back and steam clean?”
“I think it depends on how dirty the car is but you can get most of the carpet by pulling forward and back.  On a bench seat car it will also be a hassle to remove the seat.  I'd have to help you and I might be covered in grease.”  Johnny was scaring Ray by smoking near an open gas line.
“Come over here and smoke you're making me nervous.”
“Okay, chicken shit.”
“I sure wish I could get Wednesday in here to do the windows.  I could do so much more if someone cleaned the back windows while I worked on the front of the car then on the front windows when I work in the backseat.”  Ray knew he was pushing his luck.  Ray also knew he was contradicting himself because earlier he had said Wednesday was too good to detail cars.
Johnny took an angry drag off his cigarette.  “I said no, she's not going to work with you.  She's not going to work anywhere, she can't handle the stress.”
“How much stress is there in washing a few windows?  On an hour job she'll work maybe 15 minutes.”  Ray avoided making eye contact trying to avoid Johnny's glare.
Johnny coughed and cleared his throat.  “Why all this sudden interest in Wednesday?  Normally you could care less if she was around or not, she's just my little sister.  Now she's a potential employee and whatever else you have in mind.  I hope there isn't that much more in your mind.”
“I just think it would be good for her to get out of the house and do something.”  Ray cowboyed up and talked eye to eye with Johnny.
“Perhaps.  I will give you the fact that at most she will work 15 minutes an hour and if she gets stressed out she can go sit in the office.  Still this ain't happening because I think you have other plans.  I ain't sure but I'm thinking it.  If you are you better step back.”  Johnny locked eyes with Ray.
Ray coughed and cleared his throat even louder than Johnny did.  “Are you threatening me?  You do know I can whoop your ass.  Don't you remember I'm the one who pulled you off Owen?”
“I'll have to grant you that but you know that I would kill, if the chance arrives, for Wednesday.  I promised on my father's grave that I would always take care of her.”  Johnny dropped his cigarette and stepped on it.
“You don't take care of her, you shelter her, you don't let her grow.”  Ray stared ominously at Johnny.
Johnny stared back even harder and more intensely.  “Why this sudden interest in Wednesday?  I know it has something to do with yesterday.  Damnit I should have never went in the office and got her a cup of coffee leaving her alone with you.”
“Oh so now I'm not to be trusted to be around your sister.  Are you afraid that I might treat her like a young woman and not like a fragile child?  Afraid I might just talk with her and make a difference in her life?”  Ray volleyed back.
Johnny let out a frustrated sigh.  “Leave Wednesday alone please.”
“I'm not going to do anything that is going to harm her.  I can't let her have feelings for me and vice versa because I'm with Julie.”  Ray made a tick sound with his teeth and tongue.
“For now.  I know about breaking up with someone to date someone else who you've been talking to.  It's called an exit strategy.  I won't allow Wednesday to become your exit strategy because that just leads to another and another.  I was single when I met Allie.”
Ray shook his head and sighed in disgust.  “I mean no harm when it comes to Wednesday.”
“For 18 years she was just my kid sister and now you have opinions about her.”
Ray ran his hand over his short haired head and gripped the back of his neck.  “I don't know.  I just saw something that I can't figure out yesterday when I was talking with Wednesday.  Carl has already told me that he will mess me up if I show any more interest in her.”
“I wouldn't want to tangle with Carl.”  Johnny steered clear of Carl when he was upset.  He knew that Carl could crush a beer bottle with his bare hand so hard and so fast that he wouldn't even cut his palm.
Ray shrugged.  “If I have to I will.  If I chose to pursue Wednesday as a friend.”
“A friend my ass.”  Johnny turned away from Ray before he got any angrier.
Ray walked around Johnny and stood face to face with him.  “I'm serious, I have Julie to contend with.”
	The phone rang just in time to avoid any more argument but unfortunately it was a wrong number.  Ray thought to himself the word contend was an odd choice of words.  Was Julie really a problem to contend with and take care of? It was true that they had their problems but nothing really relationship breaking.  She was faithful.  Still she didn't appreciate what he did for her or because of her.  He knew that Wednesday would be both faithful and appreciative, but would the appreciation die down as the relationship evolved.  He had been in 3 serious relationships so far and the first two were unfaithful extremely.  He hated the thought of leaving one woman for another.  Even if he didn't cheat before leaving, leaving like that just didn't seem fair or right.  Ray thought someone should break up and wait several weeks before dating again not back in the saddle overnight.















Chapter 5
	Ray used the buffer to buff the wax, on the light blue Subaru, smooth and shiny when Wednesday called.  He motioned for Johnny to come to the office or the tall desk to pick up the phone.  Ray quickly got back to what he was doing.  It was already 3:30 and he told the customer it would be ready by 3:30.  Fortunately for him the customer was 15 minutes late.
“Johnny speaking.”  Johnny lit a cigarette even though Ray told him it was unprofessional to smoke on the phone.
Wednesday softly spoke into the phone.  “Hi.  I have a problem.  My car blew up.”
“Blew up?”  Johnny asked calmly.
“Yes, it first started to overheat then the gauge went way up and a little alarm went off.  I forced it to make it home but now it won't start.  I desperately need to go to Walmart.”  Wednesday's voice quivered as she shook physically.
“What do you need so desperately from Walmart?”  Johnny sat on the tall stool looking at the LTD in the 2nd bay thinking the white wasn't right.
Wednesday cleared her throat and lit a cigarette.  “Female stuff.”
“Monthly stuff?”
Wednesday let out an exasperated sigh.  “Yes.  I'm almost out.”
“I'll send Ray to come pick you up.”
“Thanks.”  Wednesday took a drag off her cigarette.
“Bye,”  Johnny pushed the off button on the cordless phone.
	Johnny thought to himself what have I done.  I've just placed my sister in close proximity of Ray.  Ray was up to something Johnny thought.  With conviction he was convinced he was right.  Johnny knew that Ray wanted his Julie and Wednesday too but he could be wrong.  He knew he should keep them as far apart as they possibly could.  A light came on inside his head and Johnny decided to ask Ray to drive the Belvedere and have her sit in the third row rear seat.
“Make sure the tailgate is unlocked and the seat is in the upright position.  I want Wednesday to ride in the back facing away from you.”  Johnny's expression was stoic.
Ray expected any moment for Johnny to say gotcha but he never did.  “You forget something the tags aren't even on the car.”
“I thought you'd be dying to drive it.  I can put the tags on it in 5 seconds.”  Johnny crawled out from under the LTD wagon.
“Thanks but I'm not making Wednesday sit all the way in the back.”  Ray spat into the trash can.
Johnny grabbed a screwdriver and a pair of pliers.  “Damn that's nasty, I wish you wouldn't do that.”
“I swear this is my last can.”  Ray had said that so many times it wasn't even funny.
Johnny was proud of Ray for quitting for a month two months ago but they started the businesses and he started back.  “Okay make her sit in the back seat.”
“Good Lord all I did was make eye contact notice that her eyes had a touch of green and her canine teeth are very pronounced.  I'm not going to hit on your sister.  Dude you're my best bud I can't let that get messed up that way.”  Ray was frustrated but who wouldn't be with all the pressure Johnny was providing.
“You had to been really paying attention to notice those things.  I don't trust you now.”
Ray spit toward the flower beds now that they were outside.  “You don't trust me because your sister is opening up and looking people in the eye and I noticed a few things.  I probably noticed them before but never paid much attention.”
“Whenever you look at Wednesday think of Julie.  Drive careful.”  Johnny finished putting the tags on.
Ray let out a large sigh.  “Things are going to be fine.”
“You're not going to want to go in with her, don't ask what she's going for, you don't want to know.”
Ray laughed and shook his head.  “I know what you're talking about and after being with so many women it shouldn't phase you.”
“It doesn't.  I know Allie's brand and will go get them for her without question.  It's a fact of life, totally natural.”  Johnny lit a cigarette and opened the driver's door for Ray.
“I love this Plymouth's exhaust note, not too loud, not too quiet, nice rumble.”  Ray said as he sat down then started the old car and revved up the engine.
“I sure wish I could be the one picking up Wednesday.”
“No one says you can't take a break from the LTD.”  Ray was starting to get butterflies and felt uneasy all of a sudden.  He'd been around Wednesday dozens upon dozens of times or more.
“No.  I'm still fighting with the fuel pump and the rollover switch.  Thanks for helping me drop the engine in this morning.”  Johnny took a heavy drag off of his cigarette.
“Would it be easier if she just told me her brand and I went and picked them up instead of her?”  Ray took a nervous gulp.
“Now you don't want to be around her, make up your mind, I don't know whether to be nervous and worried or tickled pink.”  Johnny took his red shop towel from his back pocket and polished the chrome on the outer door handle.
“The chromers did a sweet job.”
“Go get her, take her to Walmart, let her wander around a bit.  I should be thankful that she at least is leaving the house.  Granted it's not the best circumstance.”  Johnny waved his hand in front of the open car window to keep the smoke from getting into the car.
“It's going to be rough not letting her smoke in the car.”  Ray pointed to the lighter and ashtray.
'No way, I don't smoke in the cars and neither will she.”  Johnny stepped on his cigarette and picked up the butt.
Ray nodded in confirmation.  “I won't let her.”
“Good, now get out of here.”  Johnny stepped back from the car as Ray pulled away.
	Ray spun the tires leaving the parking lot showing off how much power the fuel injected V-8 had.  Ray turned left on Main Street then drove to Seabass Drive and turned right where it turned into a two lane highway again.  In the blink of an eye Ray arrived at the Wills residence and pulled into the driveway expecting Wednesday to step outside immediately.  Ray didn't know if he should honk the horn like a cab would do or walk to the door like a friend.  After five minutes Ray walked up to the house and rang the doorbell.
“Come in.”  Wednesday politely asked pushing her hair back behind her ear.
Ray was surprised by Wednesday's state, her hair was wet and she was freshly showered.  “Need to dry your hair first?”
“Yes, please.”  Wednesday looked down and used her big toe to trace the grout of the ceramic tiles in the foyer
“I'll go wait in the car.  Did you notice I have the Plymouth you like and not the Volvo?'  Ray asked looking down at her toes and noticed her big toe was hairy like her brother's big toe but not to the same extent.
Wednesday nodded.  “Have you eaten yet?”
“No, I haven't.  I figured while we were out we would go to Taco Bell.”  Ray noted that she wasn't wearing eye makeup like she normally did and she actually looked better for it.  Normally she would wear so much eyeliner and mascara she looked macabre.
Wednesday scratched her nose.  “I'll let my hair dry on its own. Let me throw a little makeup on.”
“You look fine without makeup.  Just come on.”
Wednesday made brief eye contact with Ray then looked down quickly.  “You think so?”
“Yes, you're pretty.”
“Thank you.  Sorry I'm holding you up.  I bet you have a dozen things to do at the shop.”   Wednesday responded timidly.
	Wednesday wished her car hadn't overheated and died.  If she had been anyone else Johnny would have tore them a new asshole for pushing a car to keep going that is overheating.  She knew that all she had to do was call Johnny who would call Ed or Jim who would have brought the rollback wrecker to pick her up.  Now she was standing here nervous with Ray waiting on her.
“Actually I have nothing to do and neither does Johnny.  Johnny is wound tight as he was before setting up fuel lines, pumps, wiring harnesses, and all that.  He has a remote starter that is easy to use on a Ford so he doesn't need me to crank it over.”  Ray noticed what an unusual eye color Wednesday had when she looked up again.
“Okay let me get my bag and get some shoes on.”  Wednesday stepped inside and closed the door on Ray.
	Ray wandered back to the Belvedere and hopped in.  He turned on the radio wishing the dash hadn't been cut to accommodate the modern CD player.  One could barely see the speakers down in the kick panels by the front occupants' feet.  The speakers in the back were equally well hidden.  Wired For Sound was an excellent car stereo installation place that Baylie had found years prior.  Ray considered going back to the house and asking Wednesday to bring a CD with her.  Why was he being so considerate or planning on being so considerate with her?  Had the dark princess act affected him as well?
	Wednesday walked out of the house dressed in black twill pants, a dark burgundy almost black short sleeve blouse and black high top sneakers.  She still put on her makeup Ray noticed.  Ray got out of the car to help Wednesday into the third row seat.  Wednesday looked at him as if he was nuts when he dropped the tailgate.
“You want me to sit back here?”  Wednesday made a small sound that could have been mistaken for a laugh.
Ray smiled heartily.  “It was your brother's idea.  He said that I'm taking an interest in you and that ain't happening so you should be as far away as possible from me.”
“Oh fucking please, you've had years to show an interest in me, why would you all of a sudden now, you're damn near engaged or are engaged.”  Wednesday reluctantly climbed into the third row seat.
Ray shook his head.  “That ain't happening you look retarded sitting back there even though this car is marked as a cab.”
“I'll just sit in the backseat.  I promise you I can thwart your advances.”
Ray helped Wednesday out of the trunk.  “There won't be any advances.”
“Oh so I'm not worthy of your advances?  Asshole.”
“Easy with the language and I didn't say that but there's a cardinal rule you never date your best friend's sister.  You end up losing a friend and if it doesn't work out the sister too.”  Ray opened the passenger's side rear door.
“You were flirting with me yesterday.”  Wednesday spoke softly bit on her pinky fingernail.
Ray had a seat in the driver's seat and started the car.  “No I wasn't, I was just making eye contact.  It's what normal people do when they converse in person.”
Wednesday found a very simple seatbelt and put it on.  “Yes but your eyes didn't stay there, you were looking at me eye to eye, then eye to mouth and then eye to my breasts, then my feet and then back to my eyes.  You thoroughly checked me out.”
Ray turned on to Main Street.  “You're very attractive.”
“No, I'm not.”  Wednesday shook her head hoping Ray would see the gesture in one of the mirrors.
“I'm going in with you even though I know what you're going for.”  Ray turned the center mirror to face Wednesday.
“Oh my God, Johnny told you.”
Ray chuckled lightly.  “It's part of life, it happens to millions of women every day.  I can imagine the first time is scary but after that it should just become routine.  I still don't know how ya'll decide on the feminine hygiene.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know like pad or tampon.  Kotex, Carefree,  All Days, Tampix.  There's an entire aisle dedicated to that stuff in Walmart.”
Wednesday leaned forward.  “That's too personal to talk about.”
“I know Julie's brand.”
Wednesday went to light a cigarette but Ray stopped her.  “You're together as a couple though and sometimes you might have to make the run.  I feel awful and crampy and rather not come out but I don't have anyone.”
Ray laughed a little.  “Okay it is personal but how do you decide on that stuff?  There are all the happy commercials.  Mother and daughter on a swing happily discussing the brand in question.”
“I don't recall Mom and I having happy moments when it's our rime.  But the only way to decide is trial and error until I find out what works best for me.  I'll use anything other than a huge diaper like pad that's like sitting on a pillow.'
“I know it's not happy and I'm so glad men don't have that issue.”
“Yes but you have impotence to deal with.”  Wednesday surprised herself by continuing the conversation instead of letting it die.
Ray let out a big sigh.  “Oh yes, it really takes a man down a notch when the little soldier won't march.”
“Honestly I don't see why it's such a big deal.  Not having sex isn't the end of the world.  I haven't had sex in months and months.”  Wednesday's pallor turned even more pale as she realized that she told Ray such personal information.
Ray let out a hearty laugh trying to change the subject.  “You do realize we're in the parking lot of the Wal-mart already.”
“Yes and I hate going in there, all the crowds, people bumping into each other including me,   The checkout lines  might be the worst.  There might be only 8843 people in Fellowesville and the surrounding county but they have it planned so at one time there are always 150 people or more in there.”  Wednesday got out of the car and had a cigarette.
Ray exited the car and walked around to the passenger's side.  “I doubt the town council made such an edict.”
“Nice word.”  Wednesday walked to the front of the car and sat on the hood.
Ray ran to the hood.  “Get off, get off, the paint is still curing.”
“Oh please, that's bullshit, it was painted 4 weeks ago and it spent a full day in the heated paint booth.”  Wednesday gently slid off the hood.
“Sorry for freaking out.  Do you realize I've had the on duty off duty light on?”  Ray pointed to the white light fixture on top of the car.
“This car hasn't been calibrated yet and the meter isn't even installed.”  Wednesday took a deep drag off of her cigarette and flicked it away.
“Yes it has.  Ed carried it to the weights and measure office this morning after he picked up from Tigger's exhaust.  The meter is folded up.  It's down near the ashtray and lighter.”
Wednesday spoke softly but forcefully.  “What the hell, you have them but no one uses them.”
“I use the lighter to charge my cell phone and the ashtray to hold change.  So yes they are used just not their intended use.”  Ray looked deep into Wednesday's eyes and saw a spark, a little flame deep inside waiting to come out and set the world on fire.
“Shouldn't the meter be visible from the backseat too since most passengers will ride there?”  Wednesday asked as she walked toward the front doors of Wal-mart.
	Ray was slightly behind her and noticed how tight her glutes were,  For someone who was rumored to do nothing but sit in her room and listen to music she looked the contrary.  Just as Ray was raising his view back to the back of Wednesday's head she busted him.
Wednesday calmly revealed that she knew what he was doing.  “Step up the pace and walk beside me so you're not checking out my butt.”
Ray shrugged then stepped up the pace once Wednesday turned around.  “It's still very nice.  I don't know how you stay in such good shape since you don't do anything other than stay in your room.”
“I do go out for walks around the neighbor hood at dusk.  Sometimes I'll even run.  I don't tell Johnny because he will make a big deal out of it.  Wellbutrin has helped me out a good bit but it makes me hyper.  It's even cut down the amount I smoke.  I'm still depressed for the most part but I'm getting better I think.”  Wednesday stopped talking and got very quiet once they entered the department store.
“Why dusk?  Are you really a vampire?”  Ray chuckled as Wednesday retrieved a cart.
Wednesday let out a deep sigh.  “I know my canine teeth are long and very pointed but no I'm not a vampire.”
“I swear I was just joking and I didn't even think of your teeth.  Until the other day I never really noticed them in 18 years.  I was referring to your dark clothing and coming out after dark.  I'm sorry.”  Ray reached out and put his hand on Wednesday's shoulder.
Wednesday gently brushed Ray's hand away.  “I'm going into the aisle now, you might want to go look at the deodorants and shaving stuffs.”
“Are you saying I smell bad and I look scruffy?”
Wednesday shook her head.  “Now you're being the sensitive one.  No I just figured you wouldn't want to go to  down the woman's aisle.”
	Ray shrugged and walked the other way.  Today was the first day that Wednesday had really talked to him.  Her teeth were unusual and a tad scary to say the very least.  She didn't have an overbite and the large canine teeth sat in front of the bottom teeth but only they did.  Ray knew that her teeth had to be a part of her problem of talking down toward the ground and not making eye contact.  Ray also knew that a dentist could file them down and make crowns so they would be flat.  He thought that she was pretty the way she was and didn't need to see a dentist.
Wednesday quietly came upon Ray who was looking at electric razors.  “OK, I'm ready to go now.”
“Johnny told me to let you wander around a bit.”  Ray sat the electric razor sample back in the stand.
Wednesday quietly began to go toward the razors.  “I don't feel like wandering.  It's 4:30 and people are piling up at the registers already.”
“Check out in jewelry or the pharmacy.”  Ray grabbed Wednesday gently by the shoulder and turned her back toward the pharmacy.
	Ray noticed that she was shaking like a cowering dog when he touched her and held her on to her gently.  Ray began to wonder if she had been abused like his sister had but he knew Vernon, her father, was nothing like Caleb Smith.  There had to be some reason for a person to shake so.  The only possible reason would be Owen but this wasn't that sort of situation, she wasn't vulnerable and intoxicated.  In fact she was far safer than ever with Ray by her side.  Johnny was right Wednesday needed therapy more than medication even Ray concluded.  Ray laughed when Wednesday plopped four boxes of products on the counter, two of each different kind.
Wednesday paid the clerk avoiding eye contact with the young man at the register.  “Here take it out of a twenty.”
“Yes ma'am.  Anything else today?”  The clerk softly asked.
	Wednesday shook her head and took her change.  Ray expected Wednesday to want to go to the car right away but instead went to the bathroom in the front of the store.  Ray knew what she had to do so he ambled to the car and waited for her.  When he got to the car there was a small crowd hanging around the cab.
“Are you from Wilmington?”  A fellow in a blue plaid shirt hollered out.
Ray walked to the center of the crowd.  “No, I'm from Fellowesville and we're based in Fellowesville.  This is one of 4 taxicabs for Classicab.  Each cab is a 25 year or older 9 passenger station wagon.  This car is a 66 Plymouth Belvedere II.  The others are a Biscayne, a Royal Monaco, and a LTD Brougham.  Soon we will be offering service from 8 am to 8 pm two cars during the week and four cars on the weekend.”
“That's awesome, we've needed a taxi for a long while.”  A woman in her mid50s said.
“We hoped we would be a filling a need.” Ray said over the din of the little crowd of fifteen to twenty people.
“Why a 9 passenger wagon?”
Ray answered the question simple as he could.  “In case there is a large family with small children.  Adults too can fit in the trunk seat but not comfortably.  Take a look inside and you will see.”
	The crowd had to move out of the way for a pickup that was backing out of its spot.  Once they were reassembled they looked over the antique wagon with a fine tooth comb.  Wednesday motioned that she was going to go sit on the bench in front of the store.  Ray himself wasn't too pleased with the overwhelming crowd but it was a good sign that they were needed.  Ray unlocked the door and slid into the driver's seat.  When they heard the car start they stepped aside allowing him to back up.  He remembered that he had business cards with the cab company phone number.  He rolled down the window and passed out the cards.
“We won't officially be on the streets until Monday.”  Ray spoke loudly as he pulled away.
Wednesday got into the back seat of the car relieved that she didn't have to deal with the crowd.  “I see people are welcoming the cab company with open arms.  The thing is the cars aren't classics they are just antiques.  A classic is a Corvette, a 57 Chevy, a 4 door Lincoln convertible.  At first the novelty will be wowed but then folks will realize they are just old wagons with fresh paint, fresh interiors and rims.”
Ray stopped the car.  “Get out. . .”
“Excuse me.  You leave me here, Johnny will kick your ass.”  Wednesday spoke with as much authority as Ray had ever heard.
“and sit up front.”  Ray started to laugh.
“Why should I?”
“Because it's safer than talking to you in the mirror.”  Ray turned the car around and headed toward Taco Bell.
Wednesday climbed over the seat and got up front.  “Thanks for coming to get me.”
Ray reached out and put his hand on Wednesday's knee causing her to shake.  “Not a problem, no need to be nervous around me, I'm harmless as a puppy and almost as cute.”
“Remove your hand please.”  Wednesday felt uncomfortable with the familiarizing touch.
Ray shrugged and titled his head.  “Sorry.  I was just trying to reassure you.  We're going to eat in if you don't mind.  If not I'll have to carry it with me and eat it later.”
“Are you really hungry?  You should go in and eat and leave me here.”
Ray turned to face Wednesday and frowned.  “I can't leave you here like this.  Come in I'll get you a taco and some cinnamon crisps.  I know you don't like to eat around people.”
“You think you know me but you really don't.”
Ray chuckled lightly and smiled.  “I don't think we ever know everything about anyone.  We just know pieces and use those pieces as needed.  I remember you ordering a single piece of fish at Chips and Such.”
“Okay.”  Wednesday replied timidly.
“Please come in.”
Wednesday unbuckled her seat and opened her door.  “Okay but don't take long.”
	Once the food was ordered and served Ray sat at a booth facing Main Street.  It was unnerving to see Wednesday carefully looking down avoiding any eye contact as she quickly ate her taco.  Ray wished he could break down the barrier but only her brother and mother could break through.  Johnny broke through it more than their mother because he was as close to a father as she had had since she was 15.  At least when she started eating the cinnamon crisps she seemed to enjoy them and took a few seconds to eat each one.
“I don't think I'd trust a product called Always considering what it's for.  I wouldn't want to be always in need of one.”
Wednesday looked up briefly.  “You can always count on them to work when you need one is my best guess for the name.”
“What's the difference with a plastic applicator?”
Wednesday cleared her throat.  “Could we discuss this in the car please?”
“Sorry.  No one has ever told me about that or used that Always brand.”  Ray softly replied.
“You could also ask Julie.  I'm not all that comfortable discussing them even though it's natural etcetera etcetera.”  Wednesday finished her cinnamon crisp as Ray finished his steak burrito.
Ray unwrapped his second burrito.  “You sure you don;'t want something to drink?”
“I'll have some of yours if you don't mind.”
Ray looked at her funny.  “You don't mind drinking after me?”
“I know you don't have anything communicable but if you mind I can go get a small drink.”
“No, it's fine.  Here.”  Ray pushed his drink across the table to Wednesday.
Wednesday took a small sip.  “Thank you.”
“You have a lovely smile you should smile more often.”
“I do smile but only halfway because I hate when folks pay attention to my teeth.”
Ray smiled softly.  “It's no big deal, it makes you you, it's just another part of the unique package called Wednesday Wills.”
“Every 3rd generation Wills female has teeth like mine.  My cousin Anne had them too but she had hers filed and crowned.  You should have seen my great aunt, hers were even longer than mine.  I feel like a freak and it costs too much to have them taken care of.”
“Come on, give me a full smile please.”  Ray pleaded gently.
Wednesday looked up briefly and gave him half of a smile.  “There.”
“That's not a natural smile, give me a natural smile.”
Wednesday shook her head.  “Why are you concerned with me or my smile?  Your Johnny's best friend not mine.  We've gone on about 18 years barely making contact and now you're trying to make me smile.”
“Pretty please with tartar sauce on top.”  Ray got her to laugh causing her to smile for a moment.
Wednesday smiled a full smile for a second which Ray just barely caught.  “You have a very pretty smile.”
“You didn't put up with the vampire remarks when you were in school like I did.  I want to suck your blood was the most common.  For a while I made a joke of it and punctured juice boxes and Capri Suns but once you're in middle school juice boxes and Capri Suns were less used  and I lost the novelty it wore off.”  Wednesday couldn't believe how much she was talking.  She was talking as much with Ray as she did with Samantha.
“So you have unusual teeth, there's no shame in that, just be thankful your teeth are healthy and are a complete set.  I lost a back tooth already and I'm only 23.”
Wednesday let out a little sigh.  “You forgot my name and my pallor.”
“Pallor?”
“Yes, my complexion.  I have the same name as a TV character who is pale and creepy.  It's how I ended up being dark and macabre.”
Ray finished his third and last burrito.  “Macabre.  You have a much better vocabulary than I do.”
“Macabre is like dark, grisly, gruesome, pertaining to death.  I also grew to like the darker colors.  I wasn't associated with the kids that called themselves emo or goth.  My few close friends were very popular and looked out for me even though it jeopardized their position in school society.  Samantha was a cheerleader.”
Ray was enthralled with Wednesday and how open she was being.  “I played football and baseball and hung out more with the Future Farmers of America students than the jocks.”
“Let's go.  I want to go see Johnny.  Can we do that?”  Wednesday stood up and walked toward the exit.
Ray got to the door and opened it for Wednesday.  “We can do that but you'll have to sit in the trunk.”
Wednesday looked square at Ray.  “You can't be serious?”
“I am, Johnny is convinced I have evil plans when it comes to you.  You'd think I would have hit on you 5 or 6 years ago rather than wait for now when I'm with someone else.”  Ray opened the tailgate for Wednesday and helped her into the seat.
Wednesday let out a sigh of disgust and disapproval.  “It was fun the first time in the Biscayne but not now.  I feel  retarded.  I need my little helmet.”
“Damn I left it at the shop.”  Ray laughed heartily.
	Ray closed the tailgate then climbed into the front seat.  Looking in the mirror at the back of her head seemed really bizarre since it seemed like there was no one else in the car.  He turned on the radio to WPIG and listened to some country music.
“Country or light rock?”  Ray said loudly to be heard back in the third seat.
Wednesday hollered back.  “Doesn't matter.”
	Ray enjoyed the song Remember When by Alan Jackson that played on the radio.  It reminded him of his first lover who  was his first lover as well.  Ray thought of what happened to Wednesday and the tragedy of her first most intimate moment.  She had intercourse with a supposed friend who got her intoxicated and took advantage of her.  Johnny almost killed that man that night and probably would have if Ray hadn't pulled him off of Owen.  Ray knew what it was like to have so much anger and getting to the point of almost killing someone.
	Ray turned into the parking lot at 5:40 to find the old LTD wagon was already outside.  The only thing left at this point Ray assumed was to be taken to the exhaust shop.  The headlight covers were down hiding the headlights from view.  Ray was amazed that Johnny had wired the entire fuel injection system and ignition system then had time to repair the headlight doors.  Ray thought for a moment and remembered it was the Monaco that had the faulty headlight doors.  It was still a miracle for Johnny to get so much done in so little time.
Johnny stepped out of the office then walked toward the Belvedere II.  “Hey Ray!  How did she drive?”
“She drives great but she needs an alignment still, she really pulls to the left.”  Ray went and opened the tailgate and helped Wednesday out.
Johnny started to laugh.  “I was only kidding.”
Ray knew that he was lying.  “Oh, no harm, no foul.  Originally she sat in the back seat anyways.”
“I don't know how I did it but I wired up the entire system in an hour and a half.  She runs good, very smooth, smoother than the Belvedere and the Biscayne.  I hope that the little 302 can pull it around without much strain because if it's straining it's going to kill mileage.  So Wednesday what happened with your car?”
“I was coming up Seabass heading for the highway when I saw a lot of steam come out from under the hood.  The temperature gauge quickly rose and next thing I knew there was this audible alarm.  I had no place to pull over so I kept pushing it until I made it home.  At this point it was really running rough so I turned it off.  I went inside and waited an hour then came back and tried to start it and it wouldn't.”
“You probably busted a hose.  Now the head is probably warped and it has no compression so it won't start.  You had the perfect opportunity right on the corner of Main Street, Rapid Repair is right there but no you pushed it another couple of miles.  I know I don't work at Rapid Repair anymore but if you need Tony or his new assistant to work on your car do it.  Damnit now I have to get another head and hoped the overheating didn't do any other damage.”
Wednesday looked down at her feet avoiding Johnny's petulant stare.  “Yes but he's your competition.  I didn't think you would want me taking it there.”
“If you had a gash on your arm and you were bleeding to death and I was a doctor but I wasn't available would you bleed to death waiting for me or would you have the first available doctor take care of it?  Come here.”  Johnny put his arm around Wednesday's shoulders.
Wednesday apologized sheepishly.
“We'll get it straight don't worry about it.  It was already low on water and the head gasket was already leaking so it was just a matter of time.”  Johnny walked her into the office and made her a cup of coffee.
Wednesday lit a cigarette and blew out a smoke filled sigh.  “Y'all've done well with the cars so far but I just don't see the classic, I see antique.”
“Been nice to have your input before.”  Johnny passed Wednesday a cup of coffee.
“Close enough for me and they look good.  I like the old 5 spoke Cragar rims on the LTD.  I think the chrome smoothies were a nice touch on the Plymouth.  The Biscayne and Monaco have Rallye wheels.  It's the little extra touches that make a definite difference.”  Ray had a seat on the couch with Wednesday.
Wednesday timidly spoke hoping she wasn't interfering with the conversation.  “I came out of Walmart and found a crowd looking at the cab.  Everyone was excited about it and said that it's about time we have a service.”
“I told them that we had 4 classic wagons and that we should be up and running by Monday on 2 of the cars.”  Ray started to put a dip in after standing up and grabbing an empty cup but looked at Wednesday and put the can of tobacco back in his pocket.
Wednesday noticed Ray's action which made her curious.  “You don't have to put that away for me, do whatever you do normally.”
“I wonder how many people out of the crowd don't have their own vehicles and need a cab.”  Johnny removed the red shop towel from his back pocket and wiped down his face.
“That's an excellent question.  It has been a long day.  It was nice that I had 3 jobs today instead of 2 or none like before.  I can't believe that customer got the full package, that package goes for 150.  He wanted it to look its best since he was returning the car on the end of its lease.  It took me 3 hours”  Ray let out a deep sigh.
“I got up at 11.”  Wednesday added jokingly.
Johnny lit a cigarette and blew out making smoke rings.  “I suppose that's better than 2 pm.  The Monaco is waiting out back.  The engine is in the back of my truck.  All the fuel injection wiring and electronics are in the back of the Monaco.  It's only 6:00.  Want to get in the engine tonight or wait until tomorrow?”
“Tonight's fine but we're just dropping it in right?”  Ray looked over at Wednesday to see her reaction.
“I can do it myself if you want.  I know you've had a long day.  I never realized detailing would be such hard work.  Ed expected us to pick one of the 3 ideas he sold me for 5 bucks instead we detail, we do mechanical work and we have cabs.”
Wednesday held up a finger.  “I don't mean to interrupt but you're only going to be able to work 8 hours then drive a cab for 3 hours for only so long.  I know you've got an attachment to the cars but you're going to need full time drivers and part time drivers.”
“I know you're not volunteering to drive a cab.  Too much can happen to an attractive, young woman like yourself in a cab alone plus you would get bored.  You also couldn't listen to your CDs.”  Johnny talked down to her like she was a child.
“Margie comes in on Monday to man the phone and at 5 Abby comes in for the last 3 but I doubt we will get a lot of business at first without proper advertisement.”
Wednesday chewed on her ring finger nail and cuticle.  “You need to cruise town with the cabs slowly to show the numbers to folks who are walking and whoever else might be interested.  If someone flags you down turn around and pick them up.”
“She brings up a good point.”  Johnny stepped away for a second to get a Pepsi.
Ray motioned for Johnny to get him one too.  “Since the rear of the car is one large flat surface we could put the sign on the rear of the car too.”
“How is that supposed to work?”  Johnny asked passing Ray the soda.
Wednesday started to gnaw on her finger again until Johnny slapped her hand away.  “It's easy enough, folks that see the door signs and miss the number have another chance to catch the number.  Don't be so dense.”
“I was just thinking of direct viewing by fellow motorists riding behind one of the cabs not doing much good.”  Johnny felt a little dumb not catching the complete picture right away.
“Could we use the same stencil for the tailgates as we did for the front doors?  It might be a little small.”  Ray took a swig of his drink.
Wednesday choked on her coffee causing Ray to pat her on the back.  “That should be good enough.  You could use the remaining surface for stick on magnetic signs for advertisements.”
Johnny was surprised that Wednesday was being so proactive.  “Good point.  I would say we get the large rooftop advertisements but the luggage racks make those difficult to use.  The only one that doesn't have a luggage rack is the Biscayne.”
“It won't take long to establish yourselves.  Ask the hotel to put a small advertisement on the bedside table.”  Wednesday returned to her sheepishness and spoke softly.
“That's a good idea a little fold up tent like sign like Giuseppe's has in the Holiday Inn.  I say we call it a day, the LTD is ready for the exhaust shop.”  Johnny leaned back and cracked his back.
“Tomorrow I'll pick you up at noon and you can help with a few details if you want to.  I'll pay you 8 an hour, all you have to do is wash windows inside and sometimes help wash a car on the outside.”  Ray put himself out on a limb.
“I could handle that but why would you need me?”  Wednesday timidly bit on her nails again.
“I thought you might like to earn some money, buy your smokes on your own and other stuff.”
Johnny stood there stiff as a board.  “I told you she's not going to detail cars.  She's better than that.”
“Excuse me?  There's nothing wrong with detailing, it's an honest day's work if you get enough appointments to fill the day.  I say it's her choice, her decision and my detail business.”  Ray stood up so he didn't feel submissive  like he did sitting.
“She's my sister and I say she stays home where she belongs.”
Wednesday watched the battle of Wills literally.  “Where I belong?”
Johnny tried to backtrack and remove his foot from his mouth.  “You know what I meant.  You deserve better than manual labor.  You're going to encounter diapers and vomit and more.”
“Dad wasn't afraid of getting his hands dirty so why should I?”  Wednesday felt overwhelmed by Johnny's 6 foot 4 frame towering over her.
“I don't trust Ray, he's up to something.”
Wednesday shook her head.  “I can handle myself.”
Ray swished his soda in the can.  “What size t-shirt do you wear?  I'm getting polo shirts made with a white standing up pooka rabbit like Harvey.”
“Medium fits well but I prefer large so it's baggy.  What color?”
“You have a choice of cream or yellow.”
Wednesday cringed.  “No black, no navy blue, no maroon.”
“Okay I'll have a cream and a black one made for you but you have to wear the cream one every other day.  The rabbit will be embroidered over the left breast.”  Ray found himself looking at Wednesday as he said breast.
Wednesday started to laugh.  “I don't own a white bra, all I have is black and burgundy.  Do you think they would show through the cream colored shirt?”
“They are a high quality thick pique knit fabric.  They are Land's End.”
Johnny was growing impatient.  “You can talk like I'm not here all you want but I still do not agree with this.  You're talking shirts and she hasn't even tried out the job to see if she likes it or not.  You got the cart before the horse.”
Wednesday shrugged.  “Hold off on getting the shirts made until next week sometime and I'll get a white bra.”
“You sure your flesh won't burn if you put on a white bra and a cream colored shirt?”  Ray felt oddly at ease with Wednesday and hoped she was feeling at ease too.
Wednesday shook her head and let out a sigh.  “I'm willing to risk it.”
Johnny lit a cigarette and passed it to Wednesday then lit one for himself.  “I can't control you so I say if you do this do the best you can.  Ray, you know if she gets down she might not want to come into work?”
Ray nodded.  “Maybe this will give her enough to do that she won't feel as down.  Sitting in her room all day doing a little painting, a little this and a little that can't be good for her.  She needs to get out, be around people.  Maybe she will feel a little sense of accomplishment.”
“The she in question is sitting right here.  I'll be fine.  How hard is it to wash windows and stuff?  Why 12 why not 8 or 9?”  Wednesday turned to face Ray.
“I figure I'd let you sleep in.”  Ray pulled his snuff can from his back pocket and put in a pinch.
Wednesday cringed when she saw him pack his lip.  “I'll be fine.  Pick me up at 7:30.  I'll get up in time.  Should I pack a lunch?”
“The vampire is coming out during the day.”  Johnny teased Wednesday.
Wednesday frowned as she looked at Johnny.  “You know I don't like being referred to as the vampire.  You know I can't help it.”
“I'm just playing and you know it.  I think you have a pretty smile even though you never show it.”
Wednesday looked at her feet.  “I have fangs for God's sake.”
“I should have the money for your to have them filed and crowned like Anne did soon.”
Ray spit into his empty soda can.  “I think you look just fine the way you are.  You're going to change yourself physically based upon what a bunch of snots in high school said.  I say screw that be happy with yourself, be happy that you have teeth that are in good condition.”
Wednesday looked up and made brief eye contact with Ray.  “Adults notice it too but are too polite to say anything about it.”
“Fuck'em.”  Johnny replied ever so eloquently.
“Language.  There's a lady present.”  Ray's pet peeve was profane language in front of women.
Johnny laughed hysterically.  “She's got more of a foul mouth than I do.”
“But that's different.”  Ray spit into his can again.
“I think we should get out of here.  I'm done with the LTD, there are no other jobs so I say we blow this popsicle stand.”  Johnny put his cigarette out in the ashtray.
“I'll take Wednesday home.”  Ray offered cordially.
“No I got her.  I'm taking the Biscayne.  I'll drive around some tonight.”  Johnny winced almost as much as Wednesday did when Ray would spit.
“Think I should do the same with the Belvedere?”  Ray asked clearing his lip and sticking the tobacco into the can.
“Up to you but we don't start the cab business until Monday.  Freddie is coming in but I doubt we'll have many calls.  Margie will be here to handle the phones.  Go home get some rest.”
“I've got 2 interior details, 2 wash and wax and 1 complete detail tomorrow.  Wednesday will help with the washing and the windows inside on the interior details.  She'll get paid for 8 but probably work 3.  I won't push her that hard.”
Wednesday put out her cigarette.  “Ok.  Pick me up at 7:30 and I'll try not to burst into flames.”
“I'll pick you up.”  Johnny still wanted Ray to have as little contact with Wednesday as possible which was growing even more difficult since soon she would work with Ray.
“OK.  I'm going to head out then.  I'm going to take the Belvedere.”  Ray walked out the front door giving Johnny a chance to set the alarm and exit through the back door.
	Once Wednesday and Johnny were seated in the old Chevy Johnny just sat there staring at Wednesday.  He hoped that if he stared long enough he would see what was going through her mind.  In fact all he was doing was making her nervous.
“Why did you agree to work with Ray?  You know I'll take care of you and get you whatever you need and want.”  Johnny asked pleadingly.
Wednesday shrugged.  “Something he said about maybe feeling better getting out of my room.  You can't lock me away for forever.”
“I hoped I could so you would be safe.”
“I'm surprised you didn't wrap me in bubble wrap and keep me in the closet.  You still can if you want.”  Wednesday commented with her voice rich with sarcasm.
“Seriously detailing cars isn't easy or fun, you will encounter rotten food, vermin, vomit, blood, diapers and all other kinds of goodies.”  Johnny said before getting out of the car to close the gates to the back lot.
Wednesday waited for Johnny to get back in before speaking.  “It's a good starter job better than fast food and a lot less stressful.”
“I still don't trust you around Ray.  He's got his eye on you and I don't like it.”
Wednesday shook her head and sighed.  “For starters he's got a girlfriend, secondly I'm the same old girl he's known for 18 years, nothing has changed.”
“I know things about Ray that you don't.”
Wednesday rubbed her eyes because her contacts were getting dry.  “Like what?”
“I can't tell you but if the time comes for you to know I hope Ray will cowboy up and tell you straightforward.”  Johnny waited at the light across from the Rapid Repair where he formerly worked.
	Wednesday's curiosity was peaked now and she wanted to hear more.  She wasn't interested in Ray in any fashion other than friendship so she doubted the time would come.  Wednesday reassured herself that Ray's current interest was merely platonic and business related.  She told herself he's had the same girlfriend for a year or more and a little passing interest wasn't going to change that.  Wednesday looked over at Johnny who was obviously uncomfortable with the silence as they pulled into their mother's driveway.
“I'm not going in, tell Mom I'll see her on Saturday.”  Johnny said placing the gear shift in park.
Wednesday shook her head.  “You know Mom wants to see the car.”
“Okay, bring her out here.”  Johnny turned off the car, stood outside of it and waited.
Colleen Wills his mother stepped out of the house and gave the car a quick look over.  “Your uncle Dale had one like this when we were in high school but his wasn't this pretty or nice.  The taxi sign on top looks a little odd but she stands out.  I'm going to head back in before my casserole burns.  See you Saturday.”

Chapter 6
	Wednesday rolled over and stared, with out of focus eyes, at the alarm clock.  She went to bed at 11:30 but 6:30 still came so early.  As an adult Wednesday could only recall a few situations when she ever got up this early.  Wednesday rolled over, stood up and stretched then walked over and turned off the alarm clock.  She put on her bathrobe then padded down the hall to the bathroom and took care of business.  She looked at herself in the mirror and smiled softly trying to feign approval of what she saw.
Wednesday talked to herself.  “This is going to be a good day.  I'm going to work on the 2nd day of my period when I'm cranky, have cramps and feel generally awful.  My brother doesn't want me to work.  His best friend is showing a great deal of interest in me that makes no sense.  Oh yeah this is going to be a great fucking day.”
	Wednesday went downstairs and fixed herself some breakfast.  She found the Folger's instant coffee and made herself a cup.  She had a bowl of corn flakes with banana even though she really wanted sausage and eggs.  Sausage and eggs would probably stick with her longer but she knew if she got hungry Johnny would take care of her.  She finished eating and went back upstairs to take a shower.
	At 7:30 sharp Ray pulled into the Wills' driveway unaware that he had been followed.  At 7:35 Johnny pulled into his mother's driveway.  Ray and Johnny both got out of their respective cars and met in the middle of the driveway.  Wednesday stepped outside to find them arguing over who she was supposed to ride with.  Why was Johnny acting so crazy Wednesday thought.  She didn't see what Johnny saw when it came to Ray.
“Look, I can just as easily go back inside and go back to bed that's what Johnny wants.  I can ride with Johnny to appease him but Ray took his time to come pick me up as well.”  Wednesday looked at Johnny then Ray.
“Johnny was against you coming to work with me so I figured he wouldn't be here to pick you up.”  Ray explained.
Johnny walked up to his sister and gave her a hug.  “I figured if you insist on working I should support you so I came too.”
“Okay, okay”, Wednesday let out a sigh.  “I ride in with Johnny and come home with Ray.”
Johnny nodded his head demonstrating that it was fair enough.
	Ray noticed her outfit, black cargo pants, black Nine Inch Nails T-shirt and black high tops.  The shirt wasn't as loose as some of her others were making her ample bust more visible.  He was wondering why she was carrying her faded black trench coat.  Ray looked away before he was caught in mid stare.  Wednesday went and got into the old Chevy.  Once Johnny had backed out, Ray did the same and followed them out of the culdesac.  When they arrived at the shop customers were already waiting.  Ray and Johnny both looked at each other in astonishment once they got out of the cars.  “How may I help you?”  Ray asked cordially of the customer that stepped out of the black SUV.
“I have an oil leak that won't stop.  Johnny knew I was coming in.”
“OK.  So your Johnny's customer.”  Ray walked over to the maroon Honda Accord. “Hi ma'am you're here for an interior detail right?”
“Yes sir.”
“Please call me Ray.  It will take about an hour.  Follow me into the lounge.  Would you care for a Pepsi?”  Ray opened the door for the customer and lead her to the lounge.
“Yes, please.”
Ray retrieved a Pepsi for his customer.  “I have a choice of ozone, vanilla or orange air freshener or a combination if you like.”
“Vanilla please.”
“Turn on the TV if you like, there are magazines although most are car magazines.”
	Ray stepped out into the bay through the door by the office.  He raised the first door then proceeded to drive the Honda Accord into the bay.  Wednesday walked over to the car then started looking at the cart of detailing supplies.  She found a can of streak free foam window cleaner.  She unrolled a cloth like paper towel from the roll.  Ray noticed how quick and willing Wednesday was.
“Grab a few extra towels because once the towel gets soaked it will streak some.  Also you want to cover the finished dash when you are cleaning the windows over the dash I already detailed.”  Ray hoped he didn't seem bossy.
“You're going to have to remove the car seat, there's a ton of goldfish, fruit snacks and other toddler foods ground into the seat by the car seat.”  Wednesday was very observant which Ray appreciated.
“OK.  I'll start to work on the front while you work on the back windows.  On the back glass go left to right with your towel instead of up and down so you don't damage the rear defroster.”  Ray said walking around the car opening all 4 doors.
Wednesday looked around as Ray removed the car seat.  “This car isn't so bad, the back seat with the toddler wear is the worst part.”
“The console is pretty filthy too.  Well get to washing windows while I work up front.”
	Wednesday liked that Ray quickly adapted himself to the role of authority.  Wednesday liked when a man acted like a man, in charge and ahead of the game.  Her father was always in control of himself, the situation and even the outcome or so it seemed.  His death was so mysterious, so spontaneous and so out of control which made no sense to anyone.
	Wednesday sprayed the can too close to the window and it sprayed back on her.  A little bit got in Wednesday's mouth causing her to spit momentarily.  She reread the can hold 6 to 12 inches.  Ah she thought, 3 inches is way too close so she decided to try about 9 inches right in the middle between 6 and 12.  With a little elbow grease Wednesday finished both rear door glasses then she went to work on the rear window.  Once she was finished she turned around to watch Ray at work.  Ray didn't look comfortable working around the steering wheel with the seat halfway forward.
“Ray push the seat all the way back, I'm on the other side and I'm finished back here.”  Wednesday said softly almost inaudible over the country music playing in the background.
Ray must have heard her after all and pushed the seat all the way back.  “While I'm on this side wash the window on the passenger's side then when I'm in the back seat do the other side and the windshield then take a break, smoke a cigarette, put in a dip.”
Wednesday quietly laughed.  “It would require money, a considerable amount of money, to put a dip in my mouth.”
“Just like wintergreen candy with a little spit involved.”  Ray walked around to the passenger's side and had a seat once Wednesday was out of the way then finished the dash and the console.
Wednesday grimaced.  “That is so gross.  I'm going to do the driver's side now and start on the windshield.”
“I'll start steam cleaning the back seat then work on the carpets.  When you're finished can you pull the seats all the way forward so I can get to the carpet underneath.”
	Wednesday nodded, pulled the seat forward then went to the passenger's side.  She washed that half of the windshield then pull the seat all the way forward.  An aroma that she did not like assaulted her.  It smelled like ammonia combined with vinegar.
“Ray what's that smell?  I think the ammonia is the window cleaner but I'm smelling vinegar.”
“It's the solution that goes in the steam cleaner to keep things fresh.  I'm noticing that by using different products from different companies you risk a mismatch of scents.  It will all die down and then the air freshener will cover it.”
“I'm going to have a cigarette.”  Wednesday said then wandered down to the bay where her brother was working.
“What's up pumkin head?  What do you think so far?”  Johnny took the cigarette from her mouth and took a drag then put it back.
“Feel better now?”  Wednesday laughed momentarily, it was almost a giggle.
“Yes, I can't tell if this is a pan leak or a front main seal.  I've never seen a front main seal go out on a Toyota 4Runner V-6 but I suppose it's possible.  Having fun?”  Johnny stepped away from he truck momentarily and lit a cigarette of his own.
“It's not bad, it's not real exciting and I feel like I should be doing something more but that's all Ray wants me to do.”
Johnny took two steps forward and whispered into Wednesday's ear.  “I think he's having problems at home and he wants to exit that situation and enter a new one with you.”
“I'd never do that to another woman.  If he wants to be with me he has to be alone for a while at least a month or two.”
Johnny's eyes got big.  “You would consider dating Ray?”
Wednesday nodded.  “He's always been nice to me and seems like a nice guy.”
“I know him better than that and I know he has issues that you wouldn't be able to handle.”
Wednesday took a heavy drag from her smoke and blew it in Johnny's face.  “I might be able to, I don't have to always run and cry.”
“You shouldn't have to deal with issues like the ones I'm talking about.”  Johnny grabbed his soda from the tool cart.
“I know that won't happen anyway because of the guy code.  You never date your best friend's sister.”  Wednesday nervously stood there.
“For a woman like you I'd violate the code myself.  You turned out to be quite a woman, you're very attractive, got a nice figure, intelligent, funny when you're not down.”
Wednesday shrugged.  “I'll always be down some that's just part of my personality.  Not everyone is meant to be all yippee skippee.”
Johnny got into the SUV and turned it off.  “I need to raise this thing up and see where it's leaking from so stand back.”
“Better yet I'll wait over there at the desk.”  Wednesday walked away from Johnny when she heard him curse.
“I'm okay.  I can't tell where it's leaking.  I only think of them when I need them but I'd like to have a set of fluorescent dyes and a black-light.”
Wednesday had no idea what he was talking about.  “What would that do?”
“You put it in the oil then you inspect the car with a blacklight and the dyed oil will illuminate showing its source.”
“Wicked.  I can go get them if you want me to.”  Wednesday bit at her ring finger's fingernail causing Johnny to smack her hand.
“I'm going to break you from doing that somehow or the other.  Junior will deliver them if he has them in stock.”
Wednesday laughed lightly.  “Nervous habit, you've said that for years.”
“Wednesday come over here now.”  Ray called out forcefully.
Wednesday skulked over to him.  “Yes.”
“How did you manage to miss a patch of the windshield straight down the middle?  When I do a windshield I over lap the sides so that the whole glass is covered.  I fixed it but other than that they look really good.”
Wednesday shrugged.  “It's no streak glass cleaner so it ain't very difficult.  Bubba could probably wash windows with that.”
“Bubba who?”
“Bubba my cat.  Johnny got him for me last year.  He's a Maine Coon cat.  Johnny cut the breeder a deal on a head gasket so he cut Johnny a great deal on a cat.  Bubba grew fast he is about  37 inches long from tip of hose to tip of tail and weighs 23 lbs.”
“Damn now that's a cat.  I hope he's not mean.”
Wednesday shook her head.  “He's a lover not a fighter.  Just think Maine Coons ofter grow for the first 4 years of their life.”
“Wow.  Well the car is finished.  Care to back it out while I ring up the customer?”
Wednesday's jaw dropped and she stared at Ray.  “Are you insane?”
“I'll do it, chicken.”
	Ray backed the car out of the bay and parked it by the office.  He went inside and rang up the customer.  He charged his full price of 80 dollars for an interior detail and the customer was tickled pink.  She gave a five dollar tip for Wednesday.  Neither Ray nor Wednesday had noticed that she was watching through the observation windows.  Ray thanked the lady for her patronage and realized they were done 15 minutes faster than he expected.
“This is yours, your first tip.”  Ray passed Wednesday the five spot.
Wednesday took the bill from him, looked at it for a moment and smiled.  “I wonder why she gave it to me and not you.”
“Beats me.”
“It's 9:05 now and our next appointment isn't until 10 so read a magazine, play on the computer, whatever.  There are painted quarters in the desk drawer we use to get sodas.”
“Why are they painted?”
Ray reached out and touched Wednesday on the tip of the nose which caused her to flinch.  “To make you ask questions.  No so we get our money back at the end of the day.  The machine is just a formality because more often than not we offer a courtesy Pepsi.”
	Johnny got frustrated and went to the parts store instead of waiting for a delivery.  Johnny's customer was waiting patiently in the lounge area.  Ray offered him a second soda but he declined.  Wednesday stepped into the office and had a seat at the desk.
“May I play freecell or solitaire?”  Wednesday asked sheepishly.
“We'll take turns.  How about that?”
Wednesday nodded.
“You've been here an hour and you've made thirteen dollars more or less with tax.  That would have covered your purchase yesterday.  How does it feel?”
Wednesday shrugged.  “I'd rather be under my covers with Bubba.”
“I can do this without you but I rather not.  I want you to get out and be a part of life.”
Wednesday stopped playing her game and turned the chair to face Ray.  “Why are you so concerned with me?  Usually you hardly ever pay me any attention at all.  Now you're offering me a job, picking me up, driving me around.”
“Just friendship.”
Wednesday looked Ray in the eye.  “That leads to more?”
“I don't know.  I'm currently with Julie but who knows how that's going to turn out.”
“Don't you think you're going to jump ship and hop in my life raft.  I don't like that.  Johnny used to do that and it never sat well with me.  For me you better be on your own for at least four weeks.”  Wednesday who normally spoke softly spoke with authority and assertion.
“I can see that.”
Wednesday motioned for Ray to come closer so she wouldn't have to speak up with the customer sitting so close in the lounge.  “I love my brother to death but before Allie he was the biggest dog there was.  I've witnessed him break up with 1 girl on the phone after setting up a date with another one.”
“He says he does it that way so he's not cheating.  I was there when he called his former girlfriend using the next girlfriend's phone.  Now that's cold.  He tries that old it's not you, it's me, I'm just not good enough for you.”  Ray pointed out a card play on the computer screen.
Wednesday was shocked.  “Holy shit.  He called from the new girlfriend's house.  That is just so wrong.”
“At least he had the sense to use star 53 or whatever it Is to block the caller ID.”  Ray attempted to defend his best friend.
“Well that's all in the past, him and Allie love each other very much, I don't think they are engaged though, I think everybody assumes they are.”  Wednesday stood up and stretched after losing her game on the computer.
Ray had a seat and started a new game.  “Johnny's back.”
Johnny popped his head into the office.  “Wednesday come out here and check this out.”
	Johnny ran the engine for about 5 minutes after pouring in the dye.  He shut off the motor and raised the Toyota on the lift.  Now Johnny used a blacklight and looked at the area around the front of the engine.  The dye glowed purple in a trail from the front main seal on down.
“That's like one of my black-light posters.”  Wednesday quickly concluded.
“That tells me it needs a front main seal.  Can you say cha-ching?”  Johnny's eyes showed dollar signs when a job was this large.
Wednesday lightly laughed.  “How much is that going to cost?”
“Around 300 and will take 3 or 4 hours.  The customer isn't going to like to hear this.  This is a fluke because I hardly ever saw a leaking Toyota when I worked at the Rapid Repair.”  Johnny hated telling a customer they needed a large repair.  When he worked at the Rapid Repair Tony would relay the information to the customer.
	The first customer for a wash and wax pulled into the parking lot.  It was a black BMW 325i 4 door.  Wednesday got a little nervous when she saw that it was a Beemer.  Ray had the customer pull up in front of the first bay and shut it off.  Ray escorted the customer to the lounge where Johnny was telling his customer about the repair he needed.  Ray bought his customer a Pepsi.
“Wednesday, it's just another car, relax.  We'll wash it outside and chamois it outside but we will wax it inside so it won't get white spots from the sun like black cars do when they are waxed in the direct sun.”
Wednesday followed Ray out the bay door with buckets, brushes, mitts and towels.  “Okay this is a wash and wax what's the difference between a wash and a wax and an exterior detail?”
“Excellent question.  The difference is the use of a buffer to remove swirls and scratches.  With a wash and wax it's all done by hand.  It's not hard because I use a special PD cream wax that's easy on, easy off and shines like a new penny.”  Ray was impressed that Wednesday was taking such an interest.
“How do you know so much?”
Ray pulled the hose outside.  “Detailers' magazine.  I have two copies in the lounge.  The difference between this and doing at home is control.  You don't want to soak yourself or assistant because you can't go inside and change.  Also you will be doing this out in the cold so you don't want to get wet.”
“I'll probably abandon you when it gets cold.”  Wednesday smiled a full smile catching Ray off guard.
Ray smiled back and laughed.  “I probably will too.  Seriously cars get dirty and lose their luster all throughout the year so I'm in it for the long run.  I still don't know if I like this less or more than being a high school janitor.  Let's get working see if we can do a wash and wax in 30 minutes.”
It took 50 minutes to do a wash and wax of a mid-sized car including all the steps with the wheels, removing wax from trim and decals but Ray was sure they could do better with time.  “Sir, your car is ready.”
“How much will that be?”
“60.  I take credit cards and checks too.”
The customer passed Ray a credit card.  Ray processed the payment which took just a few seconds.  “It will show up as Harvey's D on your statement.”
“Thanks.  Let me take a look before I leave.”  Ray escorted the customer outside to his waiting chariot.
	The customer walked around the car twice.  He knelt down beside each wheel well to see how clean they were.  He checked out each and every rim.  He checked to see if there was wax left in the groove around the sunroof and there was none.
“I'll tell my friends.  You do an excellent job.  This is for you.”  The customer reached into his wallet and passed Wednesday a 5 dollar bill.
When the customer left the lot Wednesday started to laugh.  “Why are they tipping me?”
“Because you're young, pretty and a hard worker.”  Ray caused Wednesday to blush as he laid the flattery on thick.
“I put on vanilla dreams body spray this morning like I always do.  If I run out I'll just use the vanilla air freshener.”
“Before we got started I noticed you smelled good.  I think the body spray vanilla smells better it's not as overpowering.”  Ray and Wednesday stepped in the office to check the schedule.
Wednesday went and picked up one of the detailing magazines.  “What's next?”
“A full detail, interior, exterior, wash, wax, buff, polish, the whole shebang on, on a burgundy Mercury Grand Marquis with a half vinyl top and cloth interior.”  Ray took the magazine and turned it to the PD product page.
“Are these what you use?  Pacific Detailing?”  Wednesday took a second and perused the advertisement.
“Yes.  So far the product has been really great and the customer service is top notch.  They made the mistake of sending me a duplicate order and instead of charging me for them or having me send them back they wrote them off and told me to keep them.”
“Isn't a Grand Marquis a really large car?”  Wednesday knew it was but she wanted to make certain.
Ray nodded and passed back the magazine.  “It's a 160 dollar job.”
“Wow by the end of the day you will have made 440 dollars.”
Ray nodded in agreement.  “It still doesn't make up for the weeks where I sat here and did nothing for 3 or 4 days straight.”
	Wednesday didn't think Ray would do this very long.  He didn't seem like he enjoyed it to her even though he got excited about the money.  It was hard work to say the very least.  For Wednesday it wasn't as bad because she was smaller and thinner.  The best way Wednesday could describe Ray to herself is hammy, everything about him was thick and full.  He was a good looking man even though he was much larger than the men she had dated before.  She sat there wondering why she was thinking about Ray in terms of attraction.  His best features were his blue gray eyes and his smile.  His smile was jolly and jovial reminded her of Santa Claus.
	The Mercury pulled into the lot and the sun glinted off its shiny exterior.  Ray wondered to himself if this car really needed a wax much less a buff and polish.  Ray noticed how clean and neat the car was when the customer parked it by the office.  He would feel guilty about charging 160 dollars to detail a car that looked like it had been recently detailed.
Ray stepped outside the office and greeted the customer.  “Hello Mrs. Goodman.  Before we get started let me take a look at the interior.”
	Ray opened the front door and had a seat so he could look at the dash.  The dash was neat as a pin with only a little dust in the vents.  The plastic over the gauges was dust free too.  He looked at the front seat which didn't have a single stain.  He looked down at the carpet and there was a little debris like small rocks but no stains.  He got out and sat in the back seat.  The back seat was perfect.
“Mrs. Goodman, I wouldn't feel right charging you 160 dollars to detail an almost perfect car.  The only thing it needs might be a little vinyl protectant on the half top, vacuum the carpets and mats, and clean the wheels because of brake dust.  I'm seeing a 40 dollar job here ma'am.”
“Well I never, no one has been so honest with me before.  I still want a complete detail.  The customer is always right.”
“Ma'am I don't feel comfortable because that car is beautiful.  Let me get my assistant's opinion.”
“I will never do business with you since you are so adamant that you are right and I am wrong.  If I want a complete detail, I want a complete detail.”
Wednesday stepped up to save Ray's ass.  “My fiancee tries to give everyone the best deal.  I'm sorry for his rudeness.  If you want a complete detail a complete detail you shall get.  Ray will you please get Mrs. Goodman's keys and pull her Mercury in front of the first bay.”
“Yes.”  Ray took the keys from the 50something year old woman and stepped outside.
	Ray was so embarrassed that he wanted to his head in shame.  He had offended his customer by being honest and trying to save them money.  Luckily Wednesday was there and had enough confidence to correct the situation saving him a customer and potentially his reputation.  He still didn't feel right as he proceeded to wet down the spotless body of the Mercury.  He wondered if he would do more harm with a buff and a polish than good.
Wednesday stepped out of the first bay.  “Sorry but a woman like that has lots of friends, friends with money so it's best just to give her what she wants.”
“How do you know that?  You've never even worked before.  This is your first time dealing with customers and the public in general.”
“My aunt is like that, she won't buy something unless it's marked up.  Things must have intrinsic value as she put it.  That woman would have told all of her friends how rude you were and that you didn't give her what she wanted.  She came out expecting to spend 160 dollars and that's what she planned on doing.”
	Ray felt patronized and lectured to by Wednesday but his experience with the public was also limited in the dealing with customers.  Dealing with high school students was a whole different ball of wax.
“If you want you can start by doing the inside windows while I wash the exterior.”
Wednesday sheepishly replied.  “I'd rather help with the wash and wax for now.  I'm sorry for getting mouthy but I don't want you to lose customers and gain a bad reputation.”
“Don't get upset, you did fine.  I'm new to this too I must admit.  Wait until Johnny hears that I'm now your fiancee.”
Wednesday nervously looked down at her sneakers.  “I was thinking on my feet doing the best I could.”
“We're going to spend 2 to 3 hours pampering this poor car.”
	Johnny's customer was picked up by his wife around 11 leaving Mrs. Goodman to stew in her juices.  Wednesday hoped that Mrs. Goodman's anger would subside and she would find something soothing on the TV.    Wednesday tried to enjoy herself but it seemed so futile to redo what someone obviously already did not long ago.
“On a nice warm day like this you really should wear a white t-shirt.”
Wednesday rolled her eyes.  “I suppose without a bra as well.”
“That would be a nice touch I suppose.”  Ray started to feel at ease with the banter.
“Then you might accidentally spray me with the hose.:”
Ray fought the image in his head of Wednesday in a wet t-shirt.  “I suppose that could happen.”
“It could in a fantasy parallel universe but not in this world.”
Ray smiled and sprayed up inside the wheel wells.  “I wonder how much she payed the other detail shop and wonder if it was that shop The Last Detail in Wilmington.  They want 220 for this job.”
“Wow.”  Wednesday bit at her nail on her right pinky.
“Stop that.”  Ray sprayed her hand with a quick burst of water so as to not drench Wednesday.
“I can't help it.  Some days I'll be a mess and I'll be down and I won't be able to work like this.”  Wednesday said quietly with a touch of melancholy.
“I know you have depression issues but I will not pity you if you play it up to get attention.  Don't cry wolf.”
	After Ray said that Wednesday got very quiet.  She remained very quiet the entire time that they worked on the Mercury.  The 3.5 hours it took to finish it were miserable without conversation or interaction.  Once Mrs. Goodman had checked out her car to make sure everything was done she paid Ray with cash.  She left a ten dollar tip for Wednesday which puzzled Ray.
“I'm glad to see your fiancee was smart enough to see things my way.  I will tell all my friends to use Harvey's Detailing.  It was nice to meet you Harvey.”
“Actually my name is Ray.  Harvey comes from the old James Stewart movie with the big white rabbit with the fedora.”
“Clever.  Thank you.  The car looks and smells wonderful.”  Mrs. Goodman left the office happy and satisfied.
Wednesday pulled Ray to the couch.  “Look I don't act depressed to get attention, I don't cry wolf, if I'm down, I'm down.  I appreciate this day with you but this is the last.”
“Please don't say this, you've really helped me.”  Ray felt like getting down his knees and begging and he didn't know why.
“OK but remember some days I'll be here and I won't be as active and I wont have as much interest.  I won't be playing wolf I swear.”  Wednesday replied in a voice that was almost a whisper.
Ray sighed.  “Come on admit it's nice to have a little attention when you're feeling blue.”
“Yes it does, so OK maybe I do play it up a little but normally I already have Johnny and Mom's attention.”
“Is this hard work?”
“Not really and I can work at my own pace, we could have knocked out Mrs. Goodman's car in 2.5 hours but I had to learn how to use the buffer.”  Wednesday gnawed at her pinky again.
“You have chemicals on your hands now.”
“Oh.”
“Are you hungry?  It's 2:30 and I'm starved.  The next customer won't be here until 3:30.”
“Yes.”
Ray reached out and held Wednesday's hand even though she tried to pull away.  “Promise me wherever we go you are going to actually eat.”
“Lynn's then.  I'll have a sandwich and fries.  I'll also get my own drink.”
Ray smiled and started to laugh.  “You're buying your own, you're the one making all the tips.”
“You're just jealous.  I'll buy you lunch today.”
“You're on.  You're still sitting in the trunk of the car.”  Ray roused Wednesday.
Wednesday grinned and shook her head.  “Nope, I'm driving.”
“You're not on the insurance as a driver.  Sorry.”
“Damnit.”  Wednesday stretched her arms out.
“That buffer will get to you.  You should try the big buffers I used as a janitor.  Get the most abrasive pad on there and it would get some kind of ornery.”  Ray flexed his bicep.
“You're not real defined like Johnny.”
“I'm 40 to 50 pounds over weight.  I got a little more meat hanging on my bones.  If I lost weight I'd be more defined but I've always been fat.”  Ray's self-esteem dropped when he discussed his weight.
Wednesday shrugged.  “I think you're a good looking man.  We got lucky that God made us all different if not it would be real boring, attraction and infatuation would be things of the past.'
“You really think I'm good looking?”
Wednesday smiled briefly in confirmation.  “Yes, it's your eyes, your teddy bear build, your rugged face.”
“Thanks.”  Ray turned into the parking lot of Lynn's Country Cookin'.
	Wednesday stretched the best she could in the car.  She had been using muscles today that she hadn't used in a while or used for the first time ever.  Ray stepped around her and opened the door for her.  Wednesday did a little curtsy and walked into the restaurant.  The waitress came over to greet them and direct them to a booth.
“Hi Connie.”  Ray knew this waitress from previous visits.
“What would you like to drink?”  The waitress asked with her order pad in hand.
“Sweet tea.”
Wednesday spoke softly.  “I'll have the same.”
“I'll be right back.  Take your time though.”  Connie stepped behind the counter and poured two glasses of sweet tea.
“She's fast, watch this.”
In a flash the waitress returned to the table and sat down the drinks.
“I already know what I want.  I want a barbecue sandwich, coleslaw on the side, and french fries.”  Ray noticed that Wednesday was looking at the menu still.
“I want the same.”  Wednesday said passing the menu to Connie.
“While you wait there's a jukebox against the wall.  It won't be long though.”
	Ray wondered what Wednesday was looking for in the menu.  He hoped he hadn't influenced her to get something that was good but not quite what she was looking for.  Wednesday was far more interactive than he had expected.  She fielded questions with long, complex answers not short snippets.  She still shied away and talked sheepishly at times though.  Ray had no idea why he was taking such an interest in Wednesday.  Maybe it would be good for her to open up and interact.  It was true that Bubba was probably good company but he wasn't much of a conversationalist.
Wednesday nervously bit at her fingernails.  “Julie called Allie who called me.  I can't make it to your little gathering on Saturday.”
“How come?  It's just me, your brother, Allie, Julie, Carl and Tamika.  It's not a crowd of strangers, everyone is familiar.”  Ray came across very stiff and stern.
“I just don't.”
Ray nodded and took a drink of his tea.  “I won't push you but I thought you'd enjoy yourself.  We have horseshoes, croquet and badminton so we'll be doing more than eating.”
“Let me think about it I like playing horseshoes.”  Wednesday bit at her fingers causing Ray to reach out and smack her hand.
“Sorry but you could have such pretty hands but you gnaw them to pieces.”  Ray tried to remember what they put on his sister Michelle's fingernails to prevent her from biting them.
Wednesday leaned forward and spoke softly.  “My hands are none of your business.”
“Maybe you could trade off and chew on your toes for a bit.”  Ray laughed and smiled but Wednesday didn't find it funny.
“Here comes the food.”  Wednesday moved her tea out of the way while Connie sat down her plate.
	Wednesday took her first bite and savored it.  Everyone loved Lynn's barbecue.  It wasn't uncommon for folks to come from as far away as Rocky Mount  to get her barbecue.  Ray was enjoying his sandwich as well.  Wednesday looked over at Ray whom she expected to eat like a caveman with both elbows on the table but he instead he sat back, napkin in his lap and elbows off the table.  It was one of the few things Caleb Smith had done well for his children, he taught them good table manners.  Wednesday used both hands to hold her sandwich but she didn't rest her elbows on the table.
“Is it good?”  Ray asked making small talk.
Wednesday nodded then sat down her sandwich to get a sip of her drink.  “I've always enjoyed the barbecue here.  Please tell me this next wash and wax is a compact.”
“No such luck the wash and wax is a silver Tahoe and the interior detail is a Chrysler Town and Country.”
Wednesday sighed and shook her head.  “Are you intentionally bringing in as large of a vehicle as you possibly can?”
“No one takes care of the compacts like they do the larger more expensive vehicles.”
Wednesday shrugged causing a glob of barbecue to drop in her lap.  “I take good care of my car and mine is just a Neon.”
“You don't have to help with the Tahoe unless you really want to.”
Wednesday ate a french fry before talking.  “I appreciate that but I'd rather try.”
“I'm going to call Johnny a bold-faced liar, he said you can't handle stress, you've been under strain all morning and you've done just fine.”  Ray poured some ketchup on his plate.
Wednesday held out her hand which was shaking like a leaf.  “Trust me, I'm uncomfortable, I'm nervous, I want to cry but for some reason unknown to me I don't want you to see me fall apart.”
“You don't have to do all that for me.  If it's too much go sit in the lounge.  If that's too stressful and you need quiet time you can go sit in one of the cars.”
Wednesday halfway smiled like she normally did.  “I appreciate that.”
“Do you realize it's already 3:15?  You want a box for your fries and coleslaw?”
Wednesday shook her head.  “No thanks.  I'll probably be full until bedtime.”
	Wednesday paid the tab and stepped outside then lit a cigarette.  Wednesday dropped her cigarette and ran back in because she forgot to leave a tip.  Luckily Ray noticed this and had left three dollars under the platter.  Wednesday stepped back outside and picked up her cigarette.  Ray came out and got into the car causing Wednesday to rush her cigarette.  On the way back to the shop Wednesday turned the radio to 90.5 the college station that played music like Marilyn Manson and Jack Off Jill.
“What in the world are you listening to?”  Ray looked over at Wednesday then back at the radio then the road.
Wednesday bit at her nails again.  “Industrial metal.”
“I know there's death metal but never heard of that.”
“Covenant, Jack Off Jill, Marilyn Manson.”
Ray turned onto Sailfin Street.  “Goth music?”
“I suppose you could say that but I also like country and classic rock.  If the beat is just right and the bass is heavy enough I'll listen to dance and hip hop.”
Ray nodded his head.  “I see you're versatile.”
“Too much out there to restrict yourself to just one genre.”  Wednesday undid her seatbelt as they pulled into the lot.
“I'm not quite as versatile I pretty much stick to country.”  Ray turned off the engine and got out of the car.
Wednesday pointed to the silver Tahoe.  “It looks like it has larger than factory tires and rims.  We're going to need a ladder.”
“Uh huh, you don't have to fight with this, you can just chill in the lounge.”  Ray opened the office door for Wednesday.
“You have two hoses, I'll do the rims and tires and fenderwells while you work on the roof and hood.”  Wednesday looked down at her shirt and right in the middle of the logo there was a barbecue stain it upset her and made her eyes tear up a bit.
Ray noticed this quickly even though she kept looking down.  “What's wrong?”
“I got a stain.”  Wednesday pointed it out.
Ray bent down and looked up so he was face to face with Wednesday since she was looking down.  “It's going to be okay.  I bet PD-79 would take that right out.  I also bet Johnny has a spare shirt in his truck.”
The customer walked up to the two of them.  “Um excuse me, how do I get some service around here?”
“Sorry you looked comfortable and I thought you were watching something on TV.”  Ray grinned trying to assuage the situation.
The customer laughed.  “Yes, yes I was.  How long will this take?”
“About an hour and a half.  We should be done by 5.”
	Ray subconsciously freaked out he just realized he overbooked.  There was no way he could do the interior detail on the Chrysler unless he stayed over.  If the cabs were up and running that would have cut into his cab time.  He hoped he would get the hang of this and learn how to schedule things better.
“That's fine, here are my keys, I see your soda machine only has Pepsi.”   The customer assessed.
“Would you care for one?  My treat.”  Ray grabbed two quarters from the desk drawer.
The customer nodded.  “Yes, please.”
“Wednesday pull the Tahoe in front of the 1st bay.”  Ray waited to see Wednesday's reaction.
“Buh buh buh but I can't drive something that large.:”
Ray laughed.  “I was only kidding.”
	Ray looked at Wednesday who seemed generally upset.  Was it the stain on her old band t-shirt?  Was it his joking with her?  He knew she was emotional but hadn't seen it most of the day.  Maybe Wednesday was just tired because this was her first day at work doing physical labor.  Ray expected to find her at the first bay but instead she was sitting in the cab.  Ray pulled the Tahoe from in front of the office to the front of the first bay.  He then walked over to the Belvedere and had a seat in the driver's side.
“Are you okay?  Is it because of your shirt?  Too tired to work anymore?”
Wednesday turned to face Ray but mostly looked down still.  “Yes, no, no.”
“Come on, give me a hand then.”  Ray got out of the car then walked to the passenger's side and opened the door for Wednesday.
“Thank you.  What are you going to do when the minivan gets here for its interior detail?”  Wednesday was worrying more about it than Ray was.
“I'll offer her 15 to 20 percent off and a reschedule.  There isn't much else I can do.  I would do it tonight since the cabs aren't up and running but I want to get you home because I'm sure you're exhausted.”  Ray carried out a step ladder.
“Instead of doing the rims and tires would you like for me to hold the ladder?”  Wednesday inquired timidly.
Ray shook his head then solemnly carried the bucket, the hose and the wash mitt up the ladder.  “I never thought of this when I started this business and this makes me regret my decision.  It's hard work and dangerous work washing a truck like this or a minivan.  I'll get better as time goes on.  Please be careful working around the ladder when you do the rims and tires.”
Wednesday let out a sigh.  “Do you think I'm that foolish that I would work around a man on a ladder all willy nilly?”
“No.  Well let's get busy.”
	Wednesday got tired just watching Ray ascend and descend the ladder.  She showed him how to work from the ladder sideways.  It was a little less stable but it was easier to reach the truck.  Wednesday also passed him a soft brush with a 2 foot handle because no matter how hard he tried he couldn't reach the center of the SUV.  Wednesday was so worried about Ray's safety that she could barely concentrate on the rims and tires.
It took over two hours to finish the truck with a simple wash and wax.  If it had been an exterior detail it would have been much worse.  Ray wondered if the other shops did the roofs as well.
	Once the customer had paid and inspected his vehicle Ray wondered where the last customer was.  This customer left a five dollar tip for Wednesday as well.  He closed up the shop once Johnny had cashed out and left.  Ray was pleased with the day but just wished he was more efficient.
“You held up real good Wednesday I'm proud of you.  I bet Johnny is too.  It went from working 15 minutes every hour to probably 30 minutes every hour and you held on.  If you go home right away and spray the shirt with a little PD-79 it will remove the stain.  Here.”  Ray grabbed the bottle of cleaner and passed it to Wednesday.
“I shouldn't wear this shirt.  It's 7 years old and I think my father got it for me.”
Ray reached out and put his hand on her shoulder but quickly removed it when he felt Wednesday shake.  “It makes sense, you made yourself a little comfort zone by wearing it.  If you want I'll order the shirts tomorrow.  You don't have to wear a cream colored shirt, black will be fine.”
Wednesday brushed her bangs out of her eyes.  “Thank you.”
“Let's blow this popsicle stand.”
“I'm right there with you.”  Wednesday went and sat in the gray car.
Once Ray had closed the shop he jogged over to the car and had a seat.  “Want to cruise around a little bit?”
“Actually I would.”  Wednesday expected him to change the station to WPIG the country station instead he kept listening to the college station.
“I'm not hungry but I would like a milkshake.  I won't have one unless you one.”
Wednesday timidly replied, “OK.”
Ray turned left onto Main Street then drove to The Beef Barn.  “I bet you like strawberry.”
“Nope chocolate.  I bet you like chocolate too.”  Wednesday looked at the dash which was formidable and steel unlike the plastic dash in her 97 Dodge Neon.
Ray shook his head as a voice came over the intercom.  “Hi.  I'll take a pair of grand moo milkshakes, one chocolate, 1 strawberry.”
“That'll be 5.84.  Please pull to the window.”
	Once they had their milkshakes Ray turned right onto Main Street and cruised along at 20 mph even though he had a line of cars behind him wanting to do the normal 30 mph in a 25 mph zone.  He tried to pay attention to the sidewalks but was getting distracted by watching Wednesday with her shake.  He accelerated to 30 to appease the traffic behind him.  Turning onto Sailfin to go back to the shop Ray to grab the bottle of PD 79 a cop followed him.  The police car's lights came on as they pulled into Harvey's Detail.  Ray rolled down his window and waited for the officer.
“Sir, do you have your hack license?”
Ray reached for the glovebox.  “Yes sir, I do.  It doesn't expire until next September.”
The officer looked over the license.  “It's all in order.  Your light is on.”
Ray reached out his hand.  “Rayford Smith.”
“Officer Paul Martin.  This car is beautiful.  I'm surprised you didn't buy a bunch of used Vics(Crown Victorias).”
Ray shook his head.  “I wish we had, insurance is a nightmare, no air bags, no ABS, no seatbelts in the third row.”
The officer looked into the car and nodded when he saw Wednesday.  “You dared to be different and sometimes its cost a little more.  Is there also a blue Chevy?”
“63 Biscayne.  The other two cars are 75s, one's a candy apple red Custom Royal Monaco and the other is a putty LTD Country Squire Brougham.
“I wish you the best of luck.  Here's your license back.”
“Monday we officially hit the streets.  Tell everyone you know of about us.”
“Will do.”  The officer got back into his cruiser and backed out of the lot.
After taking a sip of her milkshake Wednesday talked finally.  “Apparently the old wagons do garner attention.”
Ray nodded.  “If Johnny asks we didn't have milkshakes in the car.”
“You run a detail shop if you make a mess you can clean it.”
Ray stepped out of the car because he saw a note on the office door.
For Harvey's Detail:
Susan Scranton 543 10th St Sorry I did not make it to my appointment.  I will call Monday for an appointment.
	Wednesday got out of the car to see the note as well.  Ray turned around and saw Wednesday noting a little trickle of milkshake had run down her chin.  She was so childlike, so innocent and so virginal even though she was a consummated young woman.  Ray stood there mindlessly smiling at Wednesday.
Wednesday felt all of her nerves shaking.  “Why are you staring?”
“You have milkshake on your chin.”  Ray pulled a white terry cloth out of his back pocket and dabbed Wednesday's chin.
“Oh.  You didn't get any calls today for appointments.  Are you going to need me Monday?”
Ray nodded his head.
“What am I going to do?  I can't sit and play freecell all day.”
“We'll have work.”  Ray got back into the car as did Wednesday.
	Ray drove Wednesday home.  He sat in her driveway watching her walk into her house.  She was so pretty and she didn't even realize it.  Ray noticed that she had left her coat and took it to her before she stepped inside.
Ray touched her on the shoulder and she turned around.  “You forgot your coat.”
“No, I didn't, I left it there so I could get it tomorrow.  It gives me a reason to come to the get together tomorrow.”
Ray laughed gently.  “Female logic at its finest.”
“Tomorrow at 6:30 right?”
“Yes.  Pick you up at 6.  Hold up you forgot the PD79.”
 “OK.  I'll get it tomorrow and bring it back Monday.”
Ray ran back to the car and grabbed it.  “The stain might set if you wait until tomorrow.”
“Thank you.”  Wednesday said softly thinking how thoughtful Ray was.
	Ray knew that the t-shirt meant something to her even though it was a simple Nine Inch Nails shirt with the letters NIN in white screen printed.  Ray was amazed that the barbecue could have hit so much black on the shirt but instead it landed on the 6 inch tall I.
	Wednesday walked into her house and sat down on the stairs wore out by the day.  She wanted to cry because she couldn't believe Ray and how much he had changed.  He wasn't supposed to be this supportive, this caring and this appreciative.  He was supposed to ignore her like he had always done before.  She liked being the best friend's sister and being untouchable, there was a comfortability and safety in that.  This new situation was scary and slightly out of control.








Chapter 7
	At 6 o'clock sharp Ray pulled into the Wills' driveway.  Ray rushed to help Wednesday with the bowls she was carrying.  Ray didn't expect Wednesday to bring any food and here she was with 2 bowls and a flat tray.  Ray opened the back door and sat the food on the floorboard.  Wednesday ran back in the house and brought out a large jug of sweet tea.
“You didn't have to make all that.  It's just a little meal, we weren't expecting to go seven courses.”  Ray started the car and put on his seatbelt.
“Momma didn't want me to go empty handed so she made potato salad, macaroni salad with tuna and rice krispies treats.”  Wednesday put on her seatbelt as Ray backed out of the driveway.
	Pulling out of the culdesac onto the highway, Ray passed Johnny who was turning onto the street.  He could have swore that Johnny didn't wave with all his fingers.    Sometimes they would flip each other off joking but this time seemed different because Johnny held his finger up a few seconds longer or so it seemed.   Ray paused before pulling out on to the highway because he wasn't sure whether to laugh or get upset.  He decisively chose laugh causing Wednesday to get nervous and scoot closer to the door since she had no idea what transpired..  Ray also laughed knowing Johnny's fiancee probably was giving him the riot act for the one finger salute.
“Has the choochoo fallen off the track?  Why are you laughing?”  Wednesday asked inanely and cautiously.
Ray looked in his rear view mirror and there was Johnny and Allie.  “Your brother flipped me the bird and just held it there.  I don't think he's kidding like normal.  I must give him credit for turning onto the street, downshifting and saluting me.”
“Take me home.”  Wednesday replied with a firmness that alarmed Ray.
“Why?”
“I don't want to destroy your relationship with my brother.  You've been buds since kindergarten.  Now he's all out acting like an ass.”
Ray shook his head and adjusted his rear view mirror.  “It'll calm down when he sees that you're enjoying life and embracing life.”
“I'm not some kind of project, I'm a real person.  Take me home.”
“No, damnit.”  Ray didn't mean to raise his voice.
Wednesday took a swallow and looked at him.  “Please.”
“You're going to enjoy this, there's good food, games, nice people, I know you like Carl.”
Wednesday pursed her lips and thought about it for a second longer as the road changed from highway 17 to Seabass Avenue.  “OK just don't holler at me.  I still don't understand why Johnny has to try and pick me up when you are supposed to pick me up.”
“I'm not sure either.  It's quite puzzling to me also.”  Ray spun tires at the light causing Johnny to beep his horn.
“I want the nice guy that I worked with on Friday not some machismo chest pounding ape.  It's obvious that this car has enough power to spin its tires so what did that approve.  The police are already watching this car.”
Ray made a tick sound then let out a sigh.  “You're right, I'm sorry,  I'll forewarn you Julie was being a shrew when I left the house.”
“Why?”  Wednesday chewed on her middle fingernail on her left hand.
Ray looked over, saw what she was doing and smacked her hand.  “Because I forgot the toilet paper in the Volvo and there are only 2 rolls left in the house.”
“That's it?  Does she expect to run out in a day?”  Wednesday continued to chew on her fingernail.
Ray honked when he saw a friend on the sidewalk.  “It takes very little to get her riled up.”
Wednesday looked in the backseat.  “I see you got it.”
“I bet Tamika and Carl are already there.  Johnny and Allie are right behind us.  It'd be nice if you had someone.”
Wednesday shrugged.  “I do alright on my own.”
“Pretty girls like you shouldn't be alone.”  Ray reached over and placed his hand on her knee.
Wednesday quickly brushed Ray's hand away.  “We're on the way to your house where your girlfriend is waiting and you're hitting on me.”
“I was just trying to reassure you because you have a nice personality and a pretty face.”  Ray turned the radio on softly then tuned it to 90.5.
Wednesday reached out and tuned it 97.3 WEAR, the classic rock to current rock station.  “You don't have to listen to my station.  I could tell that you weren't enjoying it.”
Ray turned and smiled at Wednesday.  “Thank you.  97.3 plays some good music.  I love this song Tuesday's Gone.  Lynyrd Skynyrd was a great band.”
“Daddy liked that song a lot.  Tuesday was his second choice for my name.”
Ray laughed heartily.  “Why a day name?”
Wednesday shrugged even though Ray couldn't see her.  “I've always wondered that and Daddy never could give me a reason.  He admitted to liking the show The Addams Family.  Somehow or the other I ended up like the character.  If I have kids they are going to have normal names.”
“My name is unusual.”
“Raymond?”
	Ray turned onto Lang Rd with Johnny in tow but as soon as they got to the first straight stretch Johnny passed him like a rocket.  It wasn't necessary because they weren't that far from Ray's house.
“It's Rayford.”
“That is unusual.  I bet Allie is tearing into him for that high speed pass.”
Ray wanted to put a dip in but knew that dipping made a mess in a car.  “As she should.  What if a child or a kitten or a puppy got into the road?  I know it's a sports car with all wheel disc brakes and all that but still.”
Wednesday rolled her window down a crack.  “I like her car but I like Baylie's car better.  They're the same car but one's a stick and one's an automatic.”
“If you're going to keep working with me you're going to need to learn how to drive a stick.  At least be able to take off in first and reverse.”
Wednesday prepared to release her seatbelt as they pulled into Ray's driveway.  “I don't know how long I'll be working with you.  I'm taking this day by day.”
Ray undid his belt and opened his door.  “That's all that can be asked of any of us.  Hop out, I'll get the food.  You get the tea.”
	Ray walked into the house to find Julie and quickly found out she was on the back deck.  Wednesday stood at the front door waiting to be let in.  Ray took the dishes he had and placed them on the kitchen table.  He ran back to the front door and invited Wednesday in.  The other few times that Wednesday had been over she stood at the door waiting to be invited in.
Ray laughed as Wednesday came into the house making her self conscious.  “Every time you come over here you wait at the door for me to invite you in. Vampires can't come in without invitation.  Are you absolutely sure you're not a vampire?”
“Take me home.”  Wednesday looked down at her sneakers.
“Oh come on, I was only kidding.”  Ray took the jug from Wednesday.
Wednesday softly laughed.  “Gotcha.”
Ray laughed then brushed Wednesday's bangs out of her eyes.  “Yes, you did.  Follow me out to the back deck.”
	Julie greeted Ray and gave him a kiss.  Because of the show of emotion Wednesday felt awkward so she walked back into the house and went to the bathroom.  She had to go anyway so she did her business then lowered the lid and had a seat.  She felt like an outsider even though they were all close friends and family.  Well maybe not that close to me Wednesday thought, including Johnny since he moved out in May, 2002.  Wednesday knew she couldn't stay in the bathroom the entire time even though it seemed like a good idea.  Asking to go home without eating dinner and trying to join the festivities would be extremely rude.  Wednesday could be described as antisocial, dark and maybe a tad creepy but never intentionally rude.
	As Wednesday stepped outside she realized that Julie had already setup the food on a picnic bench made for six.  Wednesday felt so out of place knowing that she was the 7th person.  As she approached the table Julie put a heavy, sturdy lawn chair at the end of the table.  It made for an awkward setup but it was functional.  Wednesday thought about finding another boyfriend every time she was in this situation.  The other night out with Samantha and Gerald she found herself thinking the same thing.  Being the third wheel or seventh wheel in this case was never an easy place to be in.
Carl was in charge of the grilling even though it was Ray;s get together.  “Wednesday is medium well good for you.”
“I hardly ever eat steak so I have no real preference.”  Wednesday was being honest because her mother hardly ever bought red meat other than hamburger.
“New York strip steaks.”  Julie added.
Carl placed her steak on the grille.  “Medium well it is then.  There's beer in the fridge, regular and non-alcoholic, Pepsis and your tea.”
“Thank you.”  Wednesday appreciated Carl's effort to make her fit in since the other three women were heavily into a conversation as were Ray and Johnny.
“I'll have a beer.”
Johnny stopped his conversation and dove into Carl and Wednesday's.  “You sure it's okay to have a beer with your new medication?”
“Yes, I'm sure.  I've had bourbon on my meds.”
“Don't mean it's the right thing to do.”  Johnny reached into the cooler and passed Wednesday an O'Doul's.
Wednesday let out a long sigh.  “I'd rather have the Coors Light.”
Carl stepped in and took the O'Doul's from Wednesday's hand, reached into the cooler and replaced it with a Coors Light.  “I doubt she's going to get shit faced, just a little beer amongst friends.”
Wednesday always liked Carl because he didn't protect her like others did he watched out for her and remained on her side of the situation.  “Thank you.”
“I heard you're working for Ray now.”
Wednesday nodded softly.
“Do you like it so far?”  Carl turned over the steaks and took a sip of his Pepsi.
Wednesday lit a cigarette after spotting a coffee can of sand for an ashtray.  “It's tedious more than anything.  Making sure every little detail is perfect but that's just rims for now.  Washing the windows inside isn't too hard since the cleaner is streak free.”
	Julie looked over at Wednesday with a bitter, vengeful look on her face.  Wednesday wondered if it was because she was working with Ray.  Wednesday thought to herself Ray had to have offered her the position first.  Her nerves were rattling to and fro like a lost peanut M&M in the heater vent like the one in her car.  She didn't want to cause friction and tension between Julie and Ray.  Of course she didn't know the whole story of how well they were getting along.
“Allie, you got off on a Saturday for this?”  Wednesday asked timidly.
Allie wet her lips before speaking.  “No, I got lucky on the rotation.”
“Oh.”
“Julie forgets that I work a rotation and often offers to do something when I'm on because she didn't figure it out.  I should make her a calendar with my days working marked.”  Allie reached over and grabbed a tortilla then picked up a little salsa.
“Is that hot?”  Wednesday turned her head and blew her smoke out to the side.
“It's not Mexican hot but it's a little spicy.  Mexican hot is what Johnny calls my usual intensity.  I love when he tries to macho and grabs a bite with a bit of habanero pepper and he starts to tear up and cry.”  Allie grabbed another chip with salsa.
“I can't handle habaneros.  I can barely handle jalapenos.”
“There's a small amount of habaneros in the salsa.  To really enjoy and handle habaneros you have to have grown up with them.”
“Excuse me.”  Wednesday went and put her cigarette out in the makeshift ashtray.
Tamika stepped up on to the deck.  “My pasta salad is hot and spicy but not that intense less intense than the salsa so try some salsa first.”
Wednesday timidly approached the salsa and chips like she was trying to sneak upon them.  “Here goes.”
Julie started to laugh.  “Bland person bland diet.”
Allie glared at Julie glad that Wednesday hadn't heard her or if Wednesday had she ignored her seamlessly.  “That was uncalled for.”
“That was hot but I could handle it.”  Wednesday grabbed a second tortilla chip and picked up some salsa then ate it.
Julie walked over to Wednesday who took a hearty swig of her beer.  “I haven't eaten rice krispie treats since I was a kid.”
Wednesday quickly picked up that she was ridiculing her desert implying that they were just for kids but kept it cool and didn't get upset.  “I guess we're just a youthful bunch, Mom makes them all the time.”
	Tamika wondered why Julie was so bitter and vindictive towards Wednesday.  Soon all of the women were standing around Wednesday bringing her into the conversations.  Wednesday was less comfortable with the attention than being the lone calf in the herd.  She did her best to keep the conversation going and direct it away from herself.
“Steaks are done, well not done, they're medium well.”  Carl chuckled and brought the platter to the table.
	Carl had a seat at the end of the table on the sturdy wooden chair knowing that if he sat on one side of the table it would tip.  Wednesday had a seat next to Carl and beside Johnny which felt very comfortable and somewhat relaxing.   Now that they were sitting across from each either more or less Julie was still glaring at Wednesday.  Wednesday kept looking down which alerted Ray who was sitting at the end of the table next to Johnny and across from Julie.
“Stop.”  Ray quietly said.
Julie then turned an icy stare at Ray.  “Whatever.”
“Here have a large steak.”  Carl said as he passed the platter to Wednesday.
Wednesday didn't choose the largest or smallest she chose one right in the middle.  “Thank you.”
	Johnny kept the platter going around the table then they passed the pasta salad.  Once the plates were piled full everyone started to eat but were interrupted by Ray.  Well every plate except Wednesday was piled full.  Ray insisted that they say grace.  Wednesday was already looking down she just needed to close her eyes.  Ray raised his head and caught Julie glaring at Wednesday again.
Ray cleared his throat then motioned toward Julie.  “Would you please excuse us?”
“Yes, excuse us.”
“I couldn't find the Worcestershire sauce.  Be right back.”
	Wednesday felt bad that Ray was taking Julie inside for a reprimand like a little child.  She knew that it was her fault.  If it wasn't for the fact that it was eleven miles by her rough guesstimate to get home she would walk it.  She focused the best she could on her steak that was so perfectly grilled so tender.  Ray had went all out on the steaks she could tell.
“What was that shit out there?”  Ray walked toward the living room.
Julie followed diligently.  “You tell me.  You're the one who brought your girlfriend.”
“She's Johnny's sister, I've known her since I was 5 years old and she was 4, we're barely more than acquaintances.  I just wanted to get her out and give her a good time.”  Ray spoke firmly with the intent to ingrain his words into Julie's mind.
“She looks like a goth reject, will the real Wednesday Addams please stand up?”  Julie was bitter as gall.
“I wish I could make you stay in here like a spoiled child while the rest of us have a good time.”  Ray made a tick sound then took a deep breath and sighed.
“You'd like that, why not send everyone home so you can be alone with her.”
“What the fuck have you been drinking?  She's like family to me, she's my employee and that's it.”  Ray had a seat on the couch and rest his elbows on his knees and his head at the temples on his hands.
“Aren't you afraid of what your friends are going to say?  That you can't control your woman.”
Ray stood up real quick and approached Julie then backed off and punched a hole in the wall.  “I don't want to control you, I just expect a little common decency, Wednesday isn't like you, she's more delicate.”
“Way to go asshole.  At this rate we're going to have holes in every wall.  I don't care that she's delicate, this was supposed to be for couples.”
Carl rushed into the house.  “I heard a loud thump, everything alright?”
“Yeah, everything's fine.  Tell everybody we'll be right out.”  Ray held his right hand because it ached a little from the punch.
“I'll reheat your steaks on the grille if you want.”  Carl was predictably accommodating and polite.
	Carl walked outside slowly waiting for another thump.
 “Screw this couples thing, I thought you were a decent person who would welcome an outsider in their midst.”  Ray continued to hold his hand.
“Okay, I'll go out there and be congenial but this is the last time she comes to our house.  She has designs on you and I know it.  Other than your temper you're a good man.”  Julie went into the kitchen and dug in the refrigerator for the bottle of Worcestershire sauce.
“Let's get back out there.  Remember civil, congenial, polite.  Please.”
Julie looked at Ray's hand.  “How are you going to explain that?”
“I'll tough it out.  I can handle a little pain.”
Julie shook her head.  “One of these days it will be me and not a wall.  Maybe I should let little Miss Delicate have you.  She'll be running to me by the end of the month to take you back.”
“I'd sooner slash my throat with a broken beer bottle than hit you.”
Julie took a deep breath and blew out trying not to cry.  “I wish I could believe you.  My sister says I should leave your ass before it happens.”
“Let's just get through this together.”  Ray stopped holding his hand and flexed his fingers causing him to wince a little.
	Ray stepped outside first holding the bottle of Worcestershire sauce.  The funny thing is that Ray preferred a dry steak but for this occasion he'll have to use sauce.  Julie came out and had a seat at the table without a word.  Wednesday knew something was wrong and had the gut feeling it was her fault.  More and more she wished she had stayed home and just had a ham sandwich.
“Carl, since you're right beside the cooler could you pass me an O'Doul's and a Coors Light for Wednesday?”  Johnny dropped a mouthful of macaroni salad.
	Wednesday finished her 1st beer and opened her 2nd shocked that Johnny was more or less encouraging her to drink.  Just a half hour or so ago Johnny was worrying about Wednesday drinking.  Good God this is confusing.  Dirty looks and mixed signals made for a truly delightful occasion.  Wednesday finished her steak and thoroughly enjoyed it at least.  She also enjoyed the Caesar salad but didn't care much for the spicy pasta salad.
	Johnny was the second one to finish but didn't get up afraid the table would tilt over with just
Ray sitting at the end.  Wednesday got up and smoked a cigarette trying to sooth her jangling nerves.  She wanted to go home, her safe haven, her fortified castle.  One by one in a balanced fashion everyone left the table.   Wednesday hated the type of table that had the benches attached to a common anchor.  She followed Ray into the yard causing Julie to go into the house.
Once they were at the horseshoe pit, Ray passed Wednesday the blue horseshoes.  “Okay, I know you can pitch.  You're going to whoop my ass.”
Wednesday threw her first shoe and bam, it was a ringer.  “Got lucky.”
	Ray winced when it was his turn to pitch because his right hand was aching.  He began to wonder if he had broken something this time.  Wednesday noticed this after his 2nd shoe didn't even make it to the far end pit.  She wanted to ask him what he did to his hand but she knew it was personal since he was trying to carry on as if nothing was wrong.  She knew it had something to do with her because of the loud thump she heard when Julie and Ray went inside.  As the game progressed Ray's hand was getting worse and it was unfair to continue to play.  Wednesday was making ringer after ringer in comparison to Ray's short throws.
Carl made his way to the horseshoe pits.  “You're not doing so well.  Your hand hurting?”
“Yes, yes it is.”  Ray knew to not lie to Carl because Carl was a truth bloodhound.
“I bet if I look in the living room I'll find another hole.”  Carl concluded this from a past precedent.  Wednesday felt bad knowing with at least 90% certainty it involved her.
Ray nodded and made a tick sound with his teeth and tongue.  “Yes, you will.”
“You need to get away from her before you hurt her if she's riling you up that bad.”  Carl grabbed a red horseshoe and pitched it.
Ray shook his head.  “No, that won't happen.”
	Ray didn't want Wednesday to hear all this but she already knew because he raised his voice to get his point across.  Wednesday was told by her mother to never date a man who can't control himself.  Several times Wednesday saw her father have the opportunity to lose his temper but he always maintained it.  Wednesday knew that she could be easily intimidated by a man and couldn't handle violence.  Witnessing the aftermath of what transpired between Julie and Ray Wednesday knew that she could never be with Ray.  She asked herself why am I thinking about dating Ray when he's still with Julie.
“What's up little girl?”  Carl said ruffling Wednesdays hair.
“I'm just stuffed but I still have room for a rice krispie treat.”  Wednesday looked up at the tall man, literally up.
“Sorry you had to hear my conversation with Ray but he needs to go to the hospital and have his hand x-rayed.  I hope this time he broke two bones so he'll remember the next time he goes to lose his temper.”  Carl grabbed the other red horseshoe and threw it to the other pit.
Wednesday lit a cigarette and offered one to Carl who politely declined.  “Why two bones has he done this before?”
“No, never broke a bone so that's why I hope this time really sticks with him.”  Carl took a drink of his Pepsi.
“It's because of me.”
“No, it's not fully, they've been having problems since the beginning.  Ray has been showing more interest as a friend and she feels threatened because you're beautiful and unique.”  Carl walked to the other pit with Wednesday in tow.
“I'm not beautiful, I might be pretty but that's it.”
“Look at your figure if you didn't hide it you would get more attention than you would ever want.  Julie put on weight because of medication so she feels less attractive.  Don't you worry about it hun.”  Carl pitched his first shoe and made it a shoe's distance from the post.
“Should I keep working for Ray?”
“Yes, you should.  It's good for getting out and you're with someone who will take it easy on you when you're having problems.”  Carl hoped he wasn't feeding Wednesday to the wolf.
“But what about Julie?”
Carl put his finger across Wednesday's lips.  “Shhhh.  She had the chance to work for Ray and she turned it down.  She was offered detailing, dispatching and driving.  She's lazy.”
Wednesday finished her cigarette, stamped out the butt and put it in her pocket.  “Tamika is considering dispatching.  Dispatching once the cab company took off would be very hectic.  Detailing you just do the parts Ray shows you and you're done until the next.”
Tamika came down to the pits and put her arm around Carl.  “What's my teddy bear talking about?”
“The shop, Julie, Ray.  One of us needs to run Ray to the hospital he's probably got a broken hand.”  Carl grabbed Ray, who was daydreaming, and spun him around.  “Show her your hand.”
Ray showed his range of motion.  “I think it's just sprained.”
“Allie come here.”  Tamika called out.
“Oh geez everyone is going to know.”  Ray wished he had a dip something to do to take his mind off the embarrassment.
Allie walked over to the group once she got a rice krispie treat.  “Let me see your hand.”
Ray held it out and moved it left and right then up and down.  “What do you think doc?”
Allie laughed.  “Physicians assistant.  I say we need to get you to the hospital and get some x-rays.  I think you sprained it or tore the tendon partially away from its sheath.”
“Okay.  I want Johnny to take me.”  Ray winced from the pain.
	Everyone walked back to the deck noting what a mess the table was.  Tamika took it upon herself to start putting away the salads leaving only the treats out.  Julie just shook her head and looked at Ray in disgust.  Wednesday didn't know what to think but one of the things running through her mind was who is going to take care of the detail shop on Monday.  She decided to not let Julie bother her about working with Ray because she had her chance.  If Ray was interested in her it didn't matter because she wasn't in him.  How could she be?  Other than Julie, there was the issue of his temper.
Ray took two treats and had a seat at the end of the table.  “You sure we can't wait until Monday and I can see Dr. Klausner.”
Allie shook her head.  “No, you must go.”
“He's afraid of hospitals.”  Wednesday sheepishly piped in.
“Oh.  What if we all take you to support you?”  Tamika asked.
Julie started to laugh and snort.  “Do you know how dumb we'd look 6 people for 1 broken hand or wrist sprain?”
Allie shrugged because she had seen funnier things in the ER.  “Well the big wagon is out there, I say we all pile in.”
Johnny took the keys to the Plymouth from Ray.  “Anybody else have anything that ails them that we can get taken care of while we are there?”
	Tamika and Julie carried all the food into the house and put the salads into the fridge.  Wednesday wished she could go home.  She expected to be there until midnight or later in the ER since it was a Saturday night.  Of course it was only 8 now she concluded.  Wednesday closed the lid on the treats after taking two.  She took one to Johnny who declined so she ended up eating both of them but of course there was no heartache in that.
“This is ridiculous we all can't go with Ray and Johnny.”  Julie felt she was being the voice of reason.
Johnny lit a cigarette and chuckled.  “He's afraid of hospitals so he needs all the support he can get.”
“If he wasn't such a dumbass he wouldn't have to go to one in the first place.”  Julie's compassion was non existent.
Carl spoke low and with authority.  “The men will go leaving the women here to do as they wish except Wednesday she'll go with us.”
“That's fine with me, let Ray have his girlfriend there with him.”  Julie said bitterly and with gall.
	Wednesday ran off and stood by the car.  She didn't want to be such a bone of contention.  Ray wasn't anything more than a family friend who offered her a job.  There's no reason for him to be interested in her now.  Not even her figure should spark an interest because she blossomed early and he didn't even pay attention to her then.  Wednesday reached into the car for her trench coat and put it on.  She always felt more comfortable in the old trench coat she bought several years ago in the church thrift store on 2nd Street.  Carl came walking around the house in long, steady strides.
“Okay Boo, tell me what's been going on with you and Ray?  Julie is some kind of upset and is directing her anger toward you.”  Carl put his arm around Wednesday's shoulders.
Wednesday felt some comforted and so smothered at the same time.  “He offered me a job, I work for him now.  We've gone out to eat once or twice.  I rode around with him in this cab but that's it.  It's all innocent.”
Carl nodded and ruffled Wednesday's hair.  “That's what I told her.  Ray knows not to show an interest in you, we've discussed that.”
“Is someone showing an interest in me so impossible to believe?”
“No, it's not impossible and that's why Julie is upset.  Their relationship is on it s way out and she's fighting to keep it going even though it doesn't do either of them any good.”  Carl motioned for Johnny to join them once he came out on to the front porch.  “I'm afraid when it ends, it's going to end badly.  Ray has a fierce temper on him and he controls it the best he can.  Punching walls is a childish temper tantrum but it's better than punching her.”
Wednesday bit her left index finger nail.  “My father never did that that I know of.  Dad and Mom got along very well and they communicated well.”
Carl turned to face Wednesday eye to eye then raised her chin to lock eyes with her.  “Ray knows that if he shows you anything more than friendly attention we'll have words.”
“I don't want all that.  I just want to go back to where Ray was just an acquaintance.  I'm going to quit the job on Monday then go back to things the way they should be.”  Wednesday pulled her coat tight
Carl shook his head.  “No boo, working is good for you and Ray knows you enough to let you take time off and work at your own pace.”
“I'm so confused.  Don't, do, don't, do, don't, do.  I admit I do find Ray attractive he's got a handsome face and he's built like a teddy bear.”  Wednesday was looking down so she didn't see Ray walking across the yard.
Ray walked toward them.  “Thank you.”
Wednesday gasped.  “Fuck, you weren't supposed to hear that.”
“Language, ladies don't cuss like that.”
Wednesday timidly laughed.  “Find me a lady and I'll remind her.”
Johnny jingled the keys.  “Y'all ready?”
“I'm going to stay here.”  Wednesday replied chewing on her index finger.
Johnny lit a cigarette and smoked it before getting into the car.  “Julie is being a shrew, I don't want you to have to deal with her shit.  Just ride along.”



Chapter 8
	Once everything was settled the men and Wednesday went to the hospital.  The trip to the hospital was quiet other than WPIG playing on the radio.  They were playing a block of Hank Williams, Jr.  Johnny sang along on A Country Boy Can Survive.  The old car seemed to be a lot larger in the back seat before than it did now with Carl occupying the seat beside her.  With Carl three people couldn't fit across the backseat.
“I wonder if you could sit back there.”  Wednesday said quietly pointing over her shoulder.
Carl started to laugh.  “The trick would be getting back out.”
“It's kind of fun, watching the road backwards, it made me a little nauseas though.”
“Can you picture someone drunk sitting back there?”  Carl put his hand on Wednesday's knee.
Wednesday acted like she was retching forward.  “Ralph and Earl.”
Carl wobbled like he was drunk making Wednesday laugh.  “You okay?  You got to be careful with laughter if you ain't used to it.”
“You realize I haven't seen you in 3 months.”  Wednesday put her hand on top of Carl's much larger one.
“You're the one who went into hiding, you know where I live.”
Wednesday shrugged.  “You know where I live too.”
“True.  How have you been?”
“So so, just started wellbutrin a month ago and I feel a lot better but still not perfect.”
Carl made a humming sound.  “Well it's like this, you have to want to be better to get better, you can't expect the medicine to just work instantly, all done, go on now, you need to work on being positive and happy.  Trust me I feel like shit some mornings and would rather stay in bed but I face it.”
Ray looked over his shoulder.  “Watch the language.”
Wednesday was getting frustrated by his gallantry.  “Fuck, shit, shit, ass, asshole.”
“That's not lady like.”  Ray made a tick sound and took a whistling breath in.
“So Ray you have nosocomephobia?”  Wednesday figured admitting your fears amongst friends was perfectly acceptable.
Ray turned around to face Wednesday.  “Yes, how do you know what that is?”
Johnny turned down the radio.  “Our father had it, he'd rather have bled to death then go into a hospital.  Luckily we were on good terms with the family physician who would come to his office at 3 in the morning if needed to take care of Vernon.”
“I hate when you call Daddy Vernon.”  Wednesday said in a huff.
“I also have coulrophobia but if anyone ever asks I'll deny it.”  Ray waited for a reaction hoping Wednesday wouldn't know.
“You have a fear or dislike of clowns.”  Wednesday wasn't prone to uncontrollable laughter but this seemed like an ideal time.
Ray reached back with his left hand.  “It's not funny, I'm going to smack you.”
Wednesday grabbed his hand and bit it.
“We better drive fast to the hospital, I've now got rabies.”
“It's two blocks.”  Johnny laughed.
“Can you carry me in Carl?”  Ray asked halfway facetiously halfway seriously.
“No.”
Wednesday told Ray to look at his hand.  “I'm so sorry.  I didn't mean to draw blood.”
“No biggie, I'll tell them I had one of my friends bite me to take my mind off the pain of my right hand.”  Ray held up his hand as they pulled into the ER parking lot.
“You didn't break the skin it's just a blood spot under the skin, it'll go away quickly or I could get a blood clot and die.”  Ray was trying to appeal to Wednesday's morbid side.
Wednesday got out of the car and lit a cigarette.  “You still think I shouldn't have them filed down and crowned?”
“Yes, you have a beautiful smile albeit a little unique.  I've seen your cousin Anne and her smile doesn't look natural, you can tell something's not right.”  Ray tried to move his wrist and it was even stiffer than before.
Wednesday grew worried.  “What happens to the shop Monday if you can't work?”
“I'll lose business and customers but what else can I do.”  Ray started to get out of the car.
Wednesday stabilized Ray as he stood up.  “I'll do what I can to help.  It's a shame you can't get Julie in there to work for awhile.”
“Geezy peach, that's like tying two cats together and throwing them over a close line.”  Ray said noticing the angry look on Wednesday's face.
Wednesday took a deep breath and blew out.  “I know what you mean but I hate when folks mention animal cruelty even if it is in jest.  Someone harms Bubba they will be astonished by this woman's wrath.”
“Anyways Julie and you together in the shop working together is a recipe for disaster.”  Ray started to walk toward the ER door slowly.
“It's going to be okay.”  Wednesday held Ray's left hand with her right hand after putting out her cigarette and picking up the butt.
Ray felt how soft and smooth Wednesday's skin was in his work hardened hand.  “You have nice hands.”
“You've only felt the one, I might have a nice hand and a rough hand.”  Wednesday timidly replied.
“Well that's possible I suppose.”  Ray paused before going into the hospital causing the electric doors to stay open.
Carl shoved Ray forwarded almost knocking him down.  “Triage desk first.”
	Wednesday looked around and noticed the lobby was fairly empty.  It was Ray's lucky day she thought.  She remembered coming to the hospital when her fraternal grandfather had a heart attack.  She remembered the rushing around in the ER to save his life and restart his heart.  This time wasn't life threatening so Wednesday had none of the anxiety and tension she had before other than her typical, general anxieties.  Johnny walked with Wednesday to the soda machines and bought her a Mountain Dew.  They then got settled in the waiting area since Carl was taking care of Ray.  Few people fought with or argued with Carl because of his size even though he was as gentle as a new born calf.
	It was probably thirty-five minutes before Ray was called back.  Johnny went with him leaving Wednesday to sit with Carl.  Ray was placed in examination room eight.  Johnny had a seat on a chair that was awkwardly placed in the room while Ray took a seat on the end of the gurney.  Ray started to try and move his hand but the swelling prevented it from moving as did the pain.  Ray laid back and rested his hand on his stomach when a doctor came into the room wearing a red nose and a bald cap with orange hair on the sides.
“You've got to be kidding me, I'm in a nightmare.”  Ray shook his head in rebellion.
“I'm Dr. Phillips”  The doctor scooted forward causing Ray to push against the gurney.  “Sir are you okay?  Do you need something for anxiety?”
“I'm afraid of clowns and hospitals, you've managed to make my visit to the hospital complete.”  Ray ticked and sighed.
“Oh I'm sorry I forgot,  My last patient was an 8 year old who broke his arm who needed a little laughter.”  The physician removed the bald cap and the nose.
Ray nodded in appreciation.  “Thank you.”
“So you think you broke your hand or sprained it?  How did you injure it?”
“Is that important?”
The doctor reached for Ray's hand and began to look at it carefully.  “You punched a wall, I can tell because the pinky and ring finger are red, instead of hitting solid with your index and middle finger.”
“Dr. Phillips, how I injured it isn't real important, it's what's going on now that matters.”
Dr. Phillips coughed and cleared his throat.  “It tells me where to look on the x-rays, where the injury might be, if not I'd waste my time focusing on the index and middle fingers.”
“OK.  So let's get the X-Ray.”   Ray wanted to get out of the hospital as quickly as possible.
“Easy now Champ.  I'll get a nurse to take you back.”  Dr. Phillips left the room in a flash.
	Johnny laughed when he recognized the nurse.  She gave Johnny a dirty look as she helped Ray into the wheelchair.  Ray felt so helpless and hopeless sitting in the chair.  Johnny wanted to follow them to radiology but knew he couldn't.
“Camille, before you go, I'm really sorry, you deserved better.”  Johnny had to stop them before they left.
“I know, you told me already, all the beer pickling the brain and causing you to lose memory.”  Camille started to push Ray out the door.
“Actually I quit drinking.  I'm with a good woman now and it hurts to think of all the potentially good women that have come and gone through my life.”
Ray nodded his head in confirmation.  “He hasn't had a real beer in at least a month and a half.  Can we go now?”
“Wow.  It's okay, we've discussed this before.  I just hope you keep being good to Allie.”
	Johnny apologized for holding them up.  Johnny could tell that Ray was a nervous wreck because he did like Wednesday did he put his arms across his chest and looked down.  Ray wished he hadn't hurt his hand and he could just go home or better yet could have stayed at home.  It throbbed and it ached  and he had to keep his hand turned up just a little bit to stave off some of the pain.
	Camille parked Ray next to the radiology door.  Ray sat there for what seemed like a small eternity when a burly woman opened the door.  She slowly pushed him into the x-ray room.  She positioned him by the table so his right hand was on top and accessible.  Ray wanted to go home so badly he could taste or he could if the smell of the hospital didn't overwhelm him.
“OK, lay your hand flat.”  The x-ray technician went behind the lead and glass wall then took the picture.
	She took 2 more pictures and sat Ray outside while they developed.  The side view of his hand on the right side was excruciating but he managed to hold it there long enough to take the picture.  Ray was proud of himself for being in the hospital and not having an injection of something to control his anxiety.   The radiology technician came out and wheeled Ray back to the emergency room.
Dr. Phillips stepped into the exam room with the X-rays and placed them on the viewing screen.  “Mr. Smith congratulations you've broken your hand.”
“Is this the real prize or the consolation prize?”
“Both.”  Dr. Phillips took his pen and pointed to the 4th and 5th metacarpal bones.  “See the cracks in those two bones.  I see these frequently with men your age who can't control their temper.  For now we are going to put you in a cast to keep your wrist and that part of your hand immobile and slightly bent.  Then on Monday contact our office to schedule surgery.  Once the swelling goes down we are going to use 2 long pins to pull the bones all together.”
“So I broke bones at my wrist.”
Dr. Phillips pointed to the x-rays again.  “Yes, your hand didn't hit solid and you turned your wrist to the right.  I suggest therapy for you as well.”
“You have no right to mention therapy.”  Ray got angry in a flash.
Dr. Phillips stood up to get the materials for the cast.  “I'm a physician and as a physician I'm responsible for your well being and part of that is your mental health but I'm referring to physical therapy although you could probably do for a little mental therapy as well if your temper is this bad.”
Ray remembered Johnny telling him to get therapy.  “Once I'm pinned will I need a cast?”
“At first yes but then you will need a device that is form fitted to your hand that is strapped to your hand to keep the muscles and bones in place.  You can take it off to bathe and anything else regarding water.”  Dr. Phillips wrapped the soft inner cotton part of the cast around Ray's hand and arm up to the elbow.
“Can we please hurry up, I hate hospitals, I'm scared of them.”  Ray said holding his arm and hand still even though it hurt.
“Nothing to be scared of.  Here this is magical butterscotch.”  Dr. Phillips passed Ray a piece of candy causing him to laugh.  Dr. Phillips then put the final wrap of the cast on and it got really warm as it cured and hardened.
“Am I ready to go now?”  Ray asked Camille who came in when Dr. Phillips left without saying another word.
“Just waiting for your paperwork and prescriptions.”  Camille smiled softly.  “I heard that you don't like hospitals.”
Ray started to laugh nervously.  “Yes but Dr. Phillips gave me a magic piece of butterscotch.”
“He's funny.  Did it work?”
Ray nodded.
'I'll be back with your paperwork and prescriptions in a jiffy.”  Camille backed out of the room which Johnny and Ray both thought was odd.
	Camille explained that the prescription for lorcet was for pain and the prescription for xanax was for anxiety.  She explained that he was to restrict himself to light duty and nothing wet.  Ray found himself freaking out thinking of his detail business.  He wondered if interior detailing could be described as light duty.  He knew that he couldn't wash a car or use a buffer.  What was he going to do?  Would he have to turn away business?  Could Wednesday handle an exterior detail by herself and would she know how to do it?
	While Ray and Johnny were back in the examination room Wednesday sat and worried about Ray.  She was concerned with both his well-being and his business.  Wednesday wondered if she would make Ray as angry as Julie did.  Wednesday was more passive and would more than likely be walked all over by Ray.  She wondered why she was even thinking about it.  Wednesday knew that Ray was with Julie and that was that.  If Ray did leave Julie for her, Wednesday would not let him date her right away.  He would have to be on his own at least a month before she would even consider him.  It would give him time to put together his thoughts and also show Wednesday his true colors.  Wednesday saw Ray's aura and it was tinged with black and red indicating that he had anger issues.
“Carl, would Ray and I be a good couple if things didn't work out with Julie?  I'm just being hypothetical.”  Wednesday nervously bit her lip wondering why she would ask such a question.
Carl shook his head.  “You're china and he's the bull.  He was raised rough and even though he's had some polishing over the years he's still rough.”
“I've seen his aura and there is a lot of anger.”  Wednesday brushed her bangs out of her eyes.
“For starters you shouldn't date Ray because he's your brother's best friend.  It will change the dynamic of their relationship because of sibling rivalry that neither of you will notice directly.”  Carl stood up and stretched slightly when Camille rolled Ray out to the waiting area.
Camille made sure that Ray stayed in the wheelchair until Johnny brought the car to the curb.  “Hello Carl, Wednesday.”
Johnny pulled up to the curb.
Wednesday followed the nurse out to the sidewalk and opened the passenger's side door for Ray.  “So he's going to live?”
“Yes.”  Camille replied laughing.
Ray sat down in the car, closed the door and rolled down the window.  “Is driving light duty?”
“Can you drive with your left hand mostly?”
Ray thought for a second.  “I can for the most part.”
“Okay then.  Y'all take good care of him.  Bye.”  Camille turned to go back inside.
“Bye.”  Wednesday thought that she might have went to school with Camille because she seemed familiar.
Carl waited until Camille went in.  “Johnny dated her a couple of years ago.”
“I knew she looked familiar.  It must be uncomfortable for Johnny to be with Allie knowing that his exes can give the dirt on him at any time.”
Johnny started to light a cigarette but quickly stopped himself remembering that he couldn't smoke in the car.  “All the dirt was distributed a couple months ago now.  All that's left now is a nice flowerbed.”
“It's nice to take all the skeletons out of the closet, dress them in the finest and serve them tea.”  Wednesday said so softly that only Carl sitting next to her could hear her.
Carl coughed and cleared his throat before speaking.  “Wednesday said it's nice to take all the skeletons out of the closet, dress them in the finest and serve them tea.”
Ray nodded in agreement as did Johnny.  “It just dawned on me, there's no pharmacy open this time of night unless we go to Wilmington.  My hand is swelling even more and this cast is feeling mighty tight.”
“Road trip!”  Johnny and Ray said in unison.
“Can y'all take the highway so you can run me home?”  Wednesday wanted to go home because she was drained by the day even though she really hadn't done anything.
Ray spoke up instead of Johnny.  “No, we're taking the interstate.  It's only 10:07 you'll be fine to stay up for a little bit.”
“Shouldn't y'all call your girlfriends?”  Wednesday quietly asked.
“Speak up.”  Johnny wished they could stop for a cigarette.
Ray reached over and turned the radio off.  “Let's pick up the girls.”
	Wednesday shook her head in disbelief knowing that she would be stuck in the 3rd row.  The novelty quickly wore off because the way the seat was built it wasn't very comfortable.  It was made for small children she figured.  Wednesday realized they really were going to get the other women when they passed the on ramp to the interstate.
	Pulling into the driveway Carl expected Tamika to have taken the car home but instead all the women were present including Julie.  Wednesday grimaced at the thought of facing Julie's stares and glares.  She realized if she let Julie sat in the front and she sat in the trunk facing the other direction she wouldn't have to deal with her.  The third row seat was looking pretty good about now.  If only they could find 2 more people and fill the car to its maximum capacity Wednesday thought.
Johnny motioned for everyone to stay there while he got the other women.  “Be right back.”
	Johnny stepped on the porch and was quickly greeted by Tamika.  She was drinking a glass of tea, her shoes were off and she looked relaxed.  Apparently the women were no worse for the wear for not coming along.  Wednesday on the other hand would have gone insane dealing with Julie.
“Well we have to go to Wilmington to pick up Ray's prescriptions.  I wanted to know if ya'll wanted to come with us.”
	Tamika followed Johnny to the car but Julie and Allie declined the offer.  Once they were in the car and situated with Johnny, Wednesday and Ray up front Julie came running down to the car.  She all of decided and wanted to go.  She expected for Wednesday to move to the back seat but Ray motioned for her to stay put.  Julie was fighting mad when she sat beside Tamika.  Wednesday could feel Julie's stares on the back of her neck with the intensity of the sound of nails on a chalkboard.
“I'll get sick if I sit in the back of the car.”  Julie objected to her position.
“Just last week you let your mother sit up front when we went to Wong's and you didn't get sick coming or going.”    Ray calmly spoke and didn't raise his voice.
“Well I'm crowded.”  As Julie spoke Allie came down to the wagon to join the party.
“It's crowded up front too so don't go there.”  Ray motioned for Allie to come there and got out of the car.
Allie tried to decline but Ray basically shoved her into the car and closed the door.
“I'm sitting in the trunk all by myself, no concern of who is sitting next to me.”  Ray clambered over the tailgate into the seat and waited for Johnny to close the tailgate.
“OK, now we're all situated.  We're off to see the Wizard.”  Ray declared then Johnny backed out of the driveway.
	Wednesday felt bad knowing that Ray was in the trunk because Julie made it an issue that she was sitting beside Ray.  What was she going to do to or with Ray in a crowded front seat with her brother right there?    Wednesday wished she had ridden back there.  Maybe it's not that uncomfortable and maybe I wouldn't get sick traveling viewing the opposite direction Wednesday thought.
	It wasn't until 12:30 that Wednesday finally made it back home.  Ray brought her home in the wagon even with the objections made by everyone.  It was true that Ray hadn't taken a pain pill before he took her home.  Maybe it wasn't just Julie being paranoid Johnny and Carl both wondered why he was so interested.  It was obvious that he was in pain from the swelling in the cast but instead he drove her home.  Granted the car had power steering and could be driven by one hand fairly easily so the how was obvious but the why wasn't.  What was Ray thinking when it came to Wednesday?  Why all of this interest in Wednesday all of a sudden?


Chapter 9
	Wednesday lied in her bed unable to sleep at two thirty in the morning confused by the day's events.  Was there really a good reason for Julie's bitterness and for her to feel threatened by Wednesday?  Was Ray merely using the detail shop as a way to get close to her?  Would she still work for him on Monday?  To the last question she said yes because she couldn't leave him high and dry.  He injured his hand out of anger which was sparked by an argument with Julie over her she concluded.  There was no way she would ever marry a man like Ray that had so much pent up anger and rage.  Could she date him if he got counseling and learned to work through his hostilities?  The more Wednesday looked at him and noticed him the more handsome he became.  After feeling like an outsider at an obviously couples function Wednesday wished she had a boyfriend but at the same time she really preferred to be alone.  Alone no one made her nervous, there was no pressure to be open and friendly, she could be as grouchy, down, depressed, and antisocial as she possibly wanted.
	Wednesday threw back the covers and got out of bed then went and got the cordless phone.  Samantha always told her to call her anytime day or night and she would be there to talk to.  In all the years of knowing her the only times she called this late at night were after her father died.  When she needed someone night or day Samantha was there for her.  Her other friend Kat was as reliable but not as close and her normal hours were to go to bed at 3 since she worked until 12 at the filter factory.  Was this confusion and angst really a good reason to wake a friend out of probably a dead sleep or keep another friend up past her bedtime?
	Wednesday dialed  6 digits of Kat's number and put the phone down.  She changed her mind and called Samantha instead of Kat.  She knew what Kat would have said.  Kat would have told her she's reading more into the situation than was really there.  She would have said that Julie and Carl were reading more into as well.  Kat dated Ray, knew Ray and knew from experience that Ray wasn't a man to work with ulterior motives.
	Wednesday dialed Samantha's number expecting it to ring 5 or 6 times and go to voicemail.
Groggily Samantha answered the phone.  “Is this Wednesday?”
“Yes it is.”  Wednesday answered with much trepidation.
“What's wrong hun?  You haven't call me this late in at least 2 years.”
Wednesday thought for a moment.  “Ray is showing more interest in me than ever.  Everyone is noticing this.  I work for him now at his detail shop.”
“So he just gave you a job and is looking out for you.”  Samantha quickly responded.
“Yes but why?  I was just Johnny's macabre and morose kid sister and now he's giving me a job, giving me rides, making eye contact with me when I do look up.  I've caught him checking me out.  It doesn't make sense.  Julie, his girlfriend, is noticing this too and is bitter as bitter can be.  Gall should be so lucky to be this bitter.”  Wednesday lit a cigarette glad that her room was the only room in the house one could smoke in.
“OK.  For starters let's go over this checking you out thing.  You've been told before you look a lot like Jennifer Love Hugetits including the bust.  If you wore normal clothing that conforms to your body tons more men would be checking you out.”  Samantha quietly got up and carried the cordless phone to the kitchen when Gerald started to stir.
“All I hear is dead air.”
Samantha got herself a glass of milk.  “Gerald was starting to wake up so I stealthily went to the kitchen.”
“Julie was offered every job that the new businesses created and turned them down.  Now she's jealous because I'm helping detail.  Ray is paying me 8 dollars an hour and he asks very little of me.  All I really do is inside windows, tires and rims.  I'm getting paid for doing basically nothing unless it's like a minivan with a bunch of windows.”  Wednesday took a drag off of her cigarette.
“Stop that, you're making me want one.”  Samantha was referring to Wednesday's cigarette.
Wednesday timidly apologized.
“So Ray is acting different.  We just watched Beauty and The Beast, one of Gerald's favorites believe it or not.  Remember any of the songs?”
Wednesday took a moment to respond.  “I remember them a little.  I remember the Be Your Guest song mostly.”
“I'm referring to the original main song, just a little change is all it takes.”
“Are you likening me and Ray to Beauty And The Beast?”
Samantha let out a sigh.  “From what I know of from Kat Ray can surely be the beast.”
“He raised his voice to me but quickly cooled back down.  He's soft and tender around me.  I bet I could get him to open up about anything and everything.  I bet I could get him to talk about his father and going to juvie.”  Wednesday was confident that Ray would share things in deepest confidence.
“I don't think you want to open that can of worms.”
“We, Johnny, Carl and me took him to the hospital.  He broke the bones in his hand at the wrist.  He did it because of me and it really upsets me.”  Wednesday took another deep drag off of her cigarette.
“What do you mean because of you?”  Samantha knew that sometimes with Wednesday, one had to drag information out of her.
“Julie kept staring at me and giving me evil looks.  Looks that may not kill but surely maim.  Ray took her inside and scolded her like a child from what I could ascertain.  Five minutes went by and we heard a very loud thump.  It was obvious that Ray punched the wall.”
“If Ray keeps up like this, he's going to end up all alone, alone with his anger and memories of what he could have had.”  Samantha burped after drinking her milk too fast.
Wednesday laughed.  “I want someone like my father who controlled his temper.  Trust me there were stressful times when money was tight but he maintained his composure.  I can only remember 2 or 3 occasions that Daddy and Momma went outside to argue.  Argue outside so the negative energy doesn't get trapped inside the house.”
“Gerald and I have been together for almost 2 years and we haven't had a serious argument yet.  We've had our disagreements but we remember what the preacher said at our wedding,”when you argue and you will, you should care so much for Gerald that you take his side of the argument and Gerald should do the same for you”.”
“Larry and I had plenty of disagreements.  That's great advice but sometimes it's hard to assume the other person's point of view because their heads are so far shoved up their ass sometimes.  ”  Wednesday softly laughed.
“He always had his head up ass, I doubt there was room in there for yours anyways.  So how bad is Ray's hand?”
“Ray has to have bones in his hand pinned back together.  Right now he's in a cast that goes from his knuckles up to his elbow.  If he can hit with that much force, what could he do to me if he lost control?”
Samantha yawned..  “Work for him and don't let it go any further.  I'm going back to bed now.”
“Thanks Samantha.  I love you.  Buh bye.”
“I love you too.  I'm glad to see you're working.  Buh bye.”
	Wednesday turned off the phone and sat it on its cradle.  It was now three in the morning and she felt wired.  She wondered if she was manic even though she was classified as unipolar and not bipolar.  Wednesday started to feel really bad about Ray's hand.  If she could only take back the day and not gone to the picnic.  She had fun but not that much fun since it was spoiled by a nervous, heavy, suffocating tension.  If Ray was flirting with her or showing her undo attention at the function she didn't see it.  It's not like he made eye contact with her at dinner because he was sitting on the same side of the bench and Johnny was in the middle.
	Wednesday lied back down and tried to go to sleep after turning her alarm clock off.  Every time she started to drift off to sleep she saw Ray with his blue gray eyes and cockeyed smile.  What was she going to do?  Talking with Samantha, Wednesday said with much resolve that she was going to work with Ray.  She knew that Ray couldn't wash a car with his hand in a cast and he probably couldn't run the buffer either.  She might have to do more than just windows and wheels.  Wednesday concluded that she would have to wash cars and buff cars.  When it came to buffing she wasn't certain that she was capable of doing it properly.



Chapter 10
	Wednesday forgot to reset her alarm clock for Monday.  On Monday at 7:30 sharp Ray pulled into her driveway and blew the horn once expecting her to come outside immediately.  Ray waited for 10 minutes and started to back out of the driveway assuming that Wednesday wasn't coming to work today.  He got to the end of the street and turned the car around thinking that she may have overslept.
	Once he was back at the Wills' residence he went to door and rang the bell twice.  The second chime was for good luck Ray thought laughing to himself.  Colleen answered the door in a bathrobe.
“Hey Ray, are you here for Wednesday?”  Colleen hoped that her morning breath wasn't obvious.
Ray nodded.  “Yes ma'am, I was thinking that maybe she overslept.”
“I'll get her up.”
Ray stepped back off the stoop.  “I'll wait in the car for her.”
	Fifteen minutes seemed like hours for Ray knowing that he was going to be late opening the shop.  It didn't matter that much because he had no appointments other than a potential one for a Ms. Mary Scranton.  Wednesday came out the door dressed in olive drab pants, a dark gray sweatshirt, her black trench coat and her black high tops.  At least her outfit wasn't all black this time but at the same time it was still not very cheerful.  Wednesday halfway smiled as she walked toward the car.  It caught Ray off guard..
Wednesday got in the car slowly.  “I need to talk to you.  I need to know why you're being so nice to me when normally you would pass over me like yesterday's newspapers.”
“I have no clue why.  When I'm around you I feel different and I don't even know if it's a good different.  You've asked me that before.  Carl wants to kick my ass if I show too much interest in you, Johnny wants to give up on me and yet here I am.”
Wednesday shrugged.  “Not good enough of answer, you know why.  I'm heading back in.”
“I'm attracted to you but I don't know why.  It's more than physical and I don't know how to deal with that.  I've been with Julie for a year and a half and now I could care less.  With you I'm tender, I'm kinder, I feel different.  I'm so sorry for raising my voice on Saturday when I picked you up.”  Ray was being as honest as he possibly could.
“I won't be the reason that you leave Julie, if you leave her, you do it on your own accord for your own reasons.  After a period of time has elapsed I will consider dating you but for now I am your employee and friend.”  Wednesday shocked herself with her assertiveness and confidence as she had spoke.
“OK.  We've cleared the air, let's get to the shop and see if we can't stir something up.”  Ray started the car and waited to see if Wednesday was going inside or getting in the car.
Wednesday climbed into the car and buckled her lap belt seat belt.  “I can see why the insurance company had a fit because these cars don't have 3 point seat belts.  You know that people have actually broken their back with this kind of seat belt.”
“I know and it troubles me but the key is just don't get in an accident.  Have you eaten yet?”
Wednesday shook her head.
“Was that a yes or a no?”
“No.”
“Care to stop at the Beef Barn for a biscuit or two?”  Ray looked at the clock on the dash and was bothered by the fact that it already said 8:10.
“OK.  I'll have two ham, egg and cheese biscuits.  One for now and one for in a couple of hours..”  Wednesday noticed the putty white LTD as it passed them.
Ray pointed it out for Wednesday but she spotted it first.  “There went Freddie.  Classicab is in business officially now.”
	Once they had went through the drive through Wednesday started to eat her biscuit but quickly remembered that she wasn't allowed to eat in the car.  Ray kept looking over at her.  She was growing more nervous by the moment.
“Ray what are you staring at?”  Wednesday asked timidly.
“You, you don't have any makeup on and you're beautiful.”
Wednesday softly smiled.  “Thank you.  I have my makeup in my pocket to put on when we get to the shop.”
“As your employer I forbid you from wearing dark makeup when you work.  No dark gray eyeshadow, 4 coats of mascara and enough eyeliner for 4 women and Marilyn Manson.”  Ray sat there waiting for Wednesday's reaction as they pulled into the lot.
“You forbid me?  I can quit at any time and I'll be just fine.”
“OK.  Would you go for kindly suggest that you don't?”
Wednesday laughed and smiled.  “That's better but I'm used to my makeup.  It's part of my comfort zone as Dr. Ellis puts it.  It's a part of my armor.”
	Wednesday went inside and sat in the lounge eating her biscuit.  She was very hungry and decided to eat both of them assured that Ray would take her for lunch later in the day.  Wednesday laughed when she realized she had walked right past Margie.  Margie was Ed's 2nd cousin.
Wednesday sat down her second biscuit and walked to the desk.  “Hi Margie.  I'm Wednesday.”
“It's not Wednesday, it's Monday.”
“Not funny.  Nice meeting you, real nice.  I work with Ray detailing.  See you later.”  Wednesday moseyed to the bathroom and applied her makeup.
	Ray went into the 3rd bay where Johnny was diligently working on a car.  He hated to disturb him so he went to the office to speak with Margie.  He met Wednesday at the office door and let out a sigh of disgust when he saw that she had already put her makeup on.  Ray though to himself that's just part of Wednesday that as an employer and a friend he will have to deal with.  Would he be willing to accept it as a lover he questioned himself.  Ray chastised himself for thinking of her as a lover.
“You got your war paint on I see.”  Ray laughed and started to reach out to ruffle Wednesday's hair but that would have been very unprofessional so he stopped himself.
“Please don't call it that.  It's just makeup and it's how I prefer it.  Would you rather I look like Mimi from the Drew Carey show?  She's colorful.”
Ray shook his head.  “Um no.  Let me go talk to Margie to see if we have anything.”
Ray stepped into the office.  “Morning Margie, how are you?”
“Well I have this awful rash.”  Margie cackled like a chicken when she laughed.
“Funny but seriously.”
“A Ms. Scranton called to reschedule and made an appointment for 3:30 today for an interior detail.  You have a wash and a wax on a Ford Focus hatchback coupe at 10:00.  At 1 you have a wash and a wax on a Camaro.”  Margie noticed the defeated look on his face.
“I can't wash a car right now.  My hand is in a cast.  I guess Wednesday will earn her keep for a while until I'm out of this cast.”  Ray held up his bright orange cast.
Margie wondered if she should pry and decided to after a moment of deliberation.  “How did you break it?”
“Long story.”  Ray politely changed the subject.  “Tomorrow I won't be here because I have to go in for surgery.  That reminds me I need to call a surgeon.  I sure wish I had insurance still.  We'll get insurance soon enough though and hopefully we can find one with low premiums and low co-pays.”
Wednesday stepped into the office.  “What do we have so far?”
“You're going to be a busy woman.  We have a wash and wax at 10 on a Focus then another wash and wax at 1 on a Camaro.  At 3:30 Ms. Scranton will be here for an interior detail.”  Ray tried to gauge Wednesday's reaction but she was looking down at the time and her body language didn't change.
“I can handle a wash by myself but I doubt I'll be as neat as you are.  I'm going to have work for my money for a while ain't I?”
Ray nodded his head.  “Unfortunately yes.  I can still wax because my fingers stick out of the cast.  I can also do interior details still.  As long as my wrist remains immobile I'm fine and it will because of the cast.”
“I wash you wax?”
“Sounds like a plan.  Think I should help chamois?”  Ray walked to the soda machine and got two Pepsis once he got two green quarters out of the drawer.
“Too much moisture still, I wouldn't risk it.”  Wednesday bit her pinky nail.
Ray passed Wednesday one of the Pepsis.  “Don't your fingers get sore and infected from all the gnawing and chewing you do to them?”
“Not really.  Can I smoke in the lounge?”
Ray hemmed and hawed for a second.  “You can, there's an ashtray but I'd rather you didn't.”
Wednesday stepped outside to get a cigarette then wandered back into the shop through the center door.  “Hi Johnny, going to be a busy day for you you think?”
“I got a fuel pump, a timing belt and a tuneup so yeah my dance card is full.  Stay back from the cars with your cigarette until I tell you it's okay to come close.”  Johnny walked over to Wednesday and removed the cigarette from her hand.
“Give that back.”  Wednesday gently punched Johnny on the top of his arm.
“Light another one.”
“Okay.  Don't worry about Ray, I can handle him.”  Wednesday said with feigned confidence.
Johnny took a long drag and blew out.  “I seriously doubt you could.  He can be pretty rough sometimes.”
“He's kind and considerate around me.”
Johnny looked away for a moment.  “I can't say anymore, I'm not going to disrespect my friend and talk behind his back.  If you want to know how rough he can be you need to ask him.  Remember that bright orange cast on his right arm as evidence.”
	Wednesday lit another cigarette and finished it outside.  She walked around the parking lot while she smoked.  In Wednesday's mind there was so much conflicting information, with her he was so cordial and polite other than the one moment where he raised his voice temporarily but with Julie he was apparently very violent and very angry.  Wednesday did know that people tend to change as a relationship grows because Larry started off being very talkative and very sensitive and in the end he was very sullen and hardly talked with her.  To make it worse it was a long distance relationship.  She remembered phone conversations that went on for hours at first.  Toward the end it was mostly dead air on the phone.  Larry confessed that he was starting to see another woman in Savannah but he never had sex with her or so he said.  Wednesday tried to cry and be upset when it was over but there wasn't anything to cry about.
	Wednesday took a swig of her Pepsi then walked back into the shop through the center door between the bays.  She had a seat at the tall desk hoping the caffeine would give her a boost.  Going to bed at 3:30 and getting up at 8 wasn't exactly the recipe for pep, vim and vigor.  Wednesday thought about her brother for a moment and wondered if he had ever punched a wall because of a woman.  She knew her brother to be wild and woolly when it came to running around but mostly he was in full control of his emotions.  Wednesday laughed thinking to herself that it's a good thing to because Allie is a master of aikido.
	Wednesday wasn't a big eater but lunch was at least something to look forward to.  She had no trouble washing and waxing the first car.  As a matter of fact she almost did it all by herself including the waxing.  She was very proud of herself felt like she really accomplished something.  She knew not to get too cocky because out there somewhere were large SUVs that needed a wash and a wax too just waiting to torture her.  She remembered the difficulty that Ray had with the Tahoe.
“I'm going to order pizza.  What would you like?”  Ray asked Wednesday who was sitting there barely alert in the lounge.
“Cheesy bread, pepperoni mushroom pizza.”  Wednesday laughed lightly realizing how much of a pig she must sound like.
“Pepperoni mushroom is my favorite too and sometimes for variety I'll add those yellow banana peppers.  Okay Johnny wants a medium sausage extra cheese.  I'm going to get an extra large pepperoni mushroom and a double order of cheesy bread.”  Ray held the phone and got ready to dial Giuseppe's number the put it back down.
“Two orders of cheesy bread?”
“Margie is here too and Freddie might stop by.”  Ray wiped his face with a soft terry cloth towel.
“I feel sorry for Freddie.  He's been out driving around all day and has only had two passengers.”  Wednesday cringed when Ray put in a large pinch of tobacco.
Ray shook his head and smiled fondly at Wednesday.  “How do you know that?”
“I eavesdropped on Margie's conversation afraid we will get more jobs for the day.  I can handle three a day fairly easy but when we get to four I start to get stressed and at five I'm spazmatic.”  Wednesday lit a cigarette and stepped into the shop.
“5 or 6 interior details aren't so bad, it's the exteriors that get you on time and level of effort required.  If my hand wasn't bad I could probably get 7 or more interior details done in a day.”
Wednesday noticed Ray's scruffy beard growth.  “You didn't shave today.  You'd look good with a mustache and a goatee.”
“I couldn't find my razor believe it or not.  I checked the shower to see if Julie had used it but it wasn't there.  I checked the trash so before I go home today I have to pick up another razor.  It was a Gillette Sensor Excel.”
“I have one at the house you can have.  It's a disposable but it will work until you find yours.  Are you going to call Giuseppe's?  I'm getting hungry.”
Ray feigned a look of shock.  “Alert the press, Wednesday is legitimately hungry.”
“I eat when no one is looking.  I'll take my pizza out to the back lot and eat in a car.”  Wednesday laughed seriously.
“Any car but the Monaco.  No seriously no one here is going to judge you by how you eat or how much you eat.  If you're hungry eat damnit, excuse my language.  I'm calling Giuseppe's now.”
	Ray hoped he comforted Wednesday and reassured her that it was okay to be herself and to eat.  Wednesday listened as Ray placed the order.  He ordered a two liter of Sprite as well she noticed.  Wednesday noted that the clock said 11:52, in an hour the Camaro would be here for its wash and wax.  She hoped that it wouldn't take long for lunch to arrive because after getting full she got sluggish and she would need a few moments to recover before working again.
	Wednesday could tell that Ray was hurting because he kept raising his cast to his chest to hold it level or above his heart.  She tried her best to understand how someone could get angry enough with another person to rage momentarily like that.  Wednesday had gotten mad at her friends before and mad at her parents but she never had that violent urge, no need to find an outlet for it either.  A good hearty scream is all she needed to release her anger.  Wednesday remembered the last person she got angry with was Dr. Ellis because he told her what he felt.  He felt that yes Wednesday was depressed and yes she had more anxiety than most but he also felt some of it was an attention stunt.  Oh wait she thought it wasn't Dr. Ellis, it was Ray that made her angry last.  He had said the same thing that Dr. Ellis said except he called it crying wolf.  Dr. Ellis had told her it was psychosomatic.
	Once the pizza had arrived and was eaten Wednesday wished she could take a nap on the couch in the lounge area.  Just as she got comfortable the red 99 Camaro convertible pulled in.  She grimaced and grumbled as she got up to get back to working.  The first day was a lot easier than this day but Ray wasn't hurt then.  It didn't matter how he got hurt what mattered was that he was hurt and Wednesday was a compassionate person.
“Ray come here please.”  Wednesday said stepping into the shop as she lit a cigarette.
Ray ended his conversation with Freddie and met Wednesday halfway across the shop.  “What gives.”
Wednesday timidly asked.  “What do we do with a convertible top?”
“Wash it like normal, then use this special dressing for tops, there's one for vinyl and one for cloth.  It's going to be alright you look scared.”
Wednesday nodded quickly.
“You won't screw it up, I trust you.  I'll help with the dressing, you'll be fine.”  Ray reached out and moved Wednesday's bangs away from her eyes, revealing those beautiful blue with a touch of green eyes.
“Freddie got five fares at an average of four dollars per run so he made twenty bucks.  He's getting paid eight an hour so at the current time we're in the hole like twenty bucks.”  Ray chuckled heartily.
Wednesday looked at him as if he had gone daft.  “Why are you laughing?”
“Because if I didn't, I'd cry.”
Wednesday put her hand on Ray/s shoulders which felt odd and uncharacteristic of her because she wasn't prone to being touchy feely.  “It'll pick up and you'll need more drivers I swear.”
	Ray felt the urge to turn toward Wednesday and give her a kiss on the cheek to thank her for her comforting words but it wouldn't be appropriate.  He gave her a hug instead causing her to shake in his arms.  The hug lasted longer than it should have causing Johnny to clear his throat and cough to get their attention.
“Sorry, I just needed a hug.”  Ray apologized to Johnny.
Johnny came out from underneath the hood of the Ford Taurus.  “That was a lot too friendly.”
“Mind your own business.  It was just a friendly hug that lasted a little long.  If it bothered Wednesday she would have pushed me away.”  Ray stood solid as stone to show Johnny that he wasn't scared of him physicality instead the truth of the matter was he was scared of Johnny mentally.
Johnny turned to face Ray and straightened up.  “I know that Wednesday doesn't like physical intimacy so don't force yourself upon her.”
“She shook a little at first but then she relaxed and then I released her.  I wanted to show her that a little friendly affection wasn't going to kill her and actually felt good.”  Ray failed to realize Wednesday was standing over her shoulder.
Wednesday sighed heavily.  “If you're going to talk about me,  please let me into the conversation because I'm the greatest authority on the subject of Wednesday Wills.”
Ray turned around to face Wednesday.  “Sorry..  We need to get back to busy.”
	The end of the day came quickly with only three jobs the entire day but they did make 240 dollars.  Johnny offered Wednesday a ride home before he drove around town to get more businesses instead she insisted on riding around with Ray.  Stacy had replaced Margie as dispatcher so they put two of their cabs out on the streets and waited for calls.  Because Fellowesville was small Johnny went east to west down Main Street while Ray went north to south on Seabass Drive and route 17.  When they met at the corner they switched directions so they were always going in opposite directions of each other.
Ray turned the radio on but quickly turned it off.  “You and I never were exactly close as children or as teens.  Now that we're young adults, we can catch up on all that.  I have a lot to tell you, personal stuff that few people know about me.”
“Why?  Why now though?”  Wednesday asked pleadingly.
Ray shook his head and sighed deeply.  “Your guess is as good as mine.  I noticed you last Wednesday and something clicked .  I saw your eyes, I saw your smile or half of it I should say.”
“Last Wednesday my makeup was smudgy, my hair was greasy and heavy and I probably had bad breath from the tuna I ate.”  Wednesday wished she could have a cigarette.
Ray sighed again.  “It was more than physical even though you are very pretty.”
“My friend Samantha thinks I look like Jennifer Love Hewitt but I'm more plain I think.”  Wednesday's inclination to self deprecation was showing through.
“Yes, you do look some like Jennifer Love Hugetits.”
Wednesday found herself laughing more at the play on words with Ray than she did with Samantha.  “That's what Samantha calls her too.  I'm just as busty as she is but I keep my boobs well hidden.  I bet you could never guess my bust size.”
Ray paused and thought for a moment.  “Let me get some points of reference, Ashley Heart is a 36DD and Julie is a 38B and Melanie Walker is a 34A.  You're somewhere in the middle I say a 36C.”
“Nope and I ain't tellling you”  Wednesday smirked gleefully.
“Pull open your coat and pull your shirt tight.”
Wednesday shook her head.  “Nope I can/t do it.”
“Sorry.  I didn't mean to try and objectify you.”
Wednesday shoved Ray toward the car causing him to jerk the wheel a little.  “You don't need to apologize for everything.  It's a natural male curiosity that I never did understand.  I don't know what difference knowing a woman's bra size makes.”
“It doesn't, it's just trivial information, it's no way to judge a woman because the world';s biggest bitch could have 34DD and she still wouldn't be worth dating.”
Wednesday started to laugh.  “Bingo!”
“You're not the world's biggest bitch or at least that I've seen thus far.”
Wednesday kept laughing.  I'm a 34DD,”
Ray took a huge swallow and blew out his breath.  “I can't believe a large t-shirt can hide all that.”
“It's the miracle of black.  If the t-shirt doesn't do it there's always the overcoat.”
“How long have you been hiding them?”
“Since I was fourteen when they first started to blossom.”
Ray started to laugh.  “Now I'm only kidding so don't get mad.  Can I please please please please see them?”
“I might if you weren't driving, I don't want to cause an accident.”  Wednesday laughed when Ray pulled into The Beef Barn and parked in one of the rear parking spaces.
“Now?”
	Wednesday shook with her nerves jingle jangling but at the same time she felt like having fun with Ray.  She raised her shirt up to the bottom of her bra exposing her belly and navel.  She quickly put it back down and started to laugh hysterically looking at how disappointed Ray was.  This time she raised her shirt to expose her bra and slowly put it back down.  If Ray tried to walk, he would have tripped on his bottom jaw and tongue.
“I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy, I'm not worthy.”  Ray acted like he was repeatedly bowing down in front of Wednesday.
“They're just boobs, everybody has two even men.”  Wednesday couldn't believe what she had done and felt a tad ashamed.
It was as if Ray was reading Wednesday's mind.  “Nothing to be ashamed, you did nothing wrong.  If you were wearing a bikini I would see more than that.”
Wednesday bit her fingernails or what was left of them at least.  “True but I shouldn't act like that, you're my brother's best friend and you've got a fiancee.”
“Not fiancee, I almost got engaged 4 months ago but then she started to become a shrew.  There are days I swear she'll bitch at me for the color of the sky or something else I can't control.  My relationship with you as a friend should have no effect on my relationship with Johnny.”
Wednesday pursed her lips and blew out.  “It does though.  How's your hand feeling?”
“I sure wish I had my pain pills.”
Wednesday rattled her coat to indicate she had pills.  “I have Pamprin.  It contains acetaminophen, a diuretic and an antihistamine.  It would make it feel some better.”
Ray busted out laughing as he turned into the Happy Mart.  “Would you like a soda?”
“I'll have a tea .”
	Ray went into the convenience store and noticed that someone was standing out by the car when he looked outside.  He quickly grabbed some refreshments and paid for them then jogged out to the car.  He hoped it was a fare.
“Hi.  Can you take me out to Crawford Road?  I'll pay you 25.”  The soon to be passenger asked.
Ray nodded.  “I'm Ray Smith and my cohort is Wednesday Wills.”
“I know Johnny Wills.”  The passenger said as Ray backed out of the parking space.
“He's my brother and his best friend.”  Wednesday pointed to Ray.
The passenger let out a little gasp.  “Your brother lets you ride around with his best friend, that's just not cool, you never mess with the sister.  If my best friend messed with my sister, I'd have his testicles dangling on a necklace.”
“We're just friends.”  Wednesday said timidly.
“Oh.  I might need a ride back into town.  If I do I can stop at the ATM and get more cash.  The bitch kicked me out for the night for drinking too much.  She got me on a domestic violence charge.  She called the police because I smacked her one time.”
	Ray took the two pills from Wednesday and washed them down.  Wednesday wondered if Ray would ever hit Julie or would he continue to pound the walls to get his frustrations out.  Would he remain this gentle with me Wednesday wondered.  She didn't know why she was thinking of Ray in such a manner knowing that it would never happen.  She knew that she couldn't handle the situation if he were to hit her.  She would probably be one of those women who went berserk and burned down the house.  Wednesday figured her story would make an excellent Lifetime channel movie.
	Ray turned up the radio hoping that the conversation about spousal abuse would cease and there would be silence all the way to the passenger's house.  When they turned onto Crawford, Ray realized the passenger was Johnny's neighbor.  He couldn't believe that they fought because he had never seen a cop car there or heard anything when he stayed over at Johnny's.
“There's where my brother used to live.  He wants me to live there but I don't want to leave Momma alone in that large house.”
	Ray thought to himself as he turned into the passenger's driveway Johnny makes no sense.  One moment he wanted Wednesday independent and living in her own trailer and the next he wanted her living with their mother.  He expected her to live on her own without any money of her own and relying upon him.
“My uncle owns that property and trailer.”  Ray volunteered the unnecessary information like Wednesday would do when she was nervous.
“Here's the 25.  Can you please wait for me?”  The passenger paid, turned and went toward the house.
	Ray decided to be a nice guy and turned the meter off.  He turned away trying not to stare at the porch because he knew he wouldn't want observers in such a situation.  Wednesday felt the same way and continued to look down at her feet.  Ray looked back at the trailer and noticed that they had went inside.  He hoped this was a good sign and it was so far.  Ray waited 10 more minutes then backed out of the driveway.
“Dagnabbit, I forgot the business cards at the shop.”  Ray bumped the steering wheel with his good hand.
Wednesday shrugged and threw her hands up.  “Too late now.  Has Julie ever called the police on you?”
“No but I'm fighting apples.”
Wednesday looked curiously at Ray.  “Fighting apples?  I never had that much of an issue with apples.”
Ray chuckled and turned off the radio.  “They say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree and I'm fighting my apple to get as far from the tree as possible.  My father was a bastard, he tortured everyone in his family.  My Mom never had the guts to call the police.  The abuse started at three or four and continued until I was 15.”
“I know I didn't see you for a year when I was 14 and I could never get Johnny to tell me why.  Can you tell me why now?”  Wednesday hoped she wasn't prying too much.
Ray nodded as Wednesday turned sideways in her seat the best she could with the seatbelt.  “My mother was battered and belittled every day of her life for 16.5 years.  One night it came to a head.  He didn't want corn and lima beans and he didn't want pork chops so he threw the food on the floor.  Mom rested her hand on the table and Caleb took the plate sideways like an axe and came across my mother's fingers at the knuckle.  It crushed the bones of the 3 middle fingers and she started to cry.  My father called her a bitch, told her she wasn't hurt that bad and to get in the kitchen and fix him some chicken.  I told Mom to sit down and don't move.  Caleb stood up and instead of cowering I stood up too.  I was 15 but I was already 5 foot 8, 175 lbs which was still small compared to Caleb's 6 foot and 230 lbs but I came around that table charged him, knocked him out with one punch and then got him against the wall.  I started to pound him in the stomach so hard and so fast he came to and started to vomit on me as he tried to slump over.  I just kept pounding and pounding and pounding until Michelle, my sister, and Darryl, my brother pulled me off of him.”
“Oh my God, did you kill him?”
Ray started to tear up a little.  “No but I should have.  The police came and arrested me for attempted murder.  Caleb was taken to the ER as was Mom.  The social workers took Michelle and Darryl to Wilmington.  I had ruptured Caleb's intestines and he had to be taken in to surgery immediately.”