the telephone

"Hello?" you sleepily answer.

"John, it's Jess. I have a favor to ask of you," the voice on the other end says.

"What is it?" you ask impatiently.

"I think my starter went out on my car, and I was wondering if you'd fix it for me. I don't have anyone else to call and I have to be at work at 6. I'll pay you," she says.

"Ok," you say. "I'll be there in a bit." You get up and throw an old pair of work jeans on and t-shirt on, and drive to Jessica's house.

You get the feeling that she didn't buy a starter, so you stop at NAPA and buy one for her car. As you pull up into the drive, she's standing there waiting. She gives you a hug, and says, "Thank you so much for this. I owe you one."

"You're welcome," you say, hugging her back. You get into her car and try to start it. It grinds at you. You check the battery, and it pings over to good. So, you take the jack out of your car and take the old starter off.

You finally manage after an hour of cussing to get the new starter on and bolted into place. Just as you're sliding out from under the car, your cell phone rings. You sit up to answer it and hit your head on the motor support. "OW, FUCK!" you say as you answer your phone.

"What?" Amy says into the phone.

"Sorry, babe, I hit my head and didn't realize I hit the talk button," you say.

"Where are you?" she asks.

"I'm at Jess's house. Her starter went out and she asked me to fix it for her," you reply.

"Uh huh.. is that what you call it these days?" she asks sarcastically. You go to reply, only to hear the beep indicating an ended call.

"What the fuck?!" you say as you get from under the car. You open the car door and turn the key. The car starts up. So, you lower her car and throw your jack into your car.

Jessica hugs you again. "Thank you so much," she says. "Here's $200 for helping me."

"You're welcome," you say. You get into your car and speed off toward home. You get to Amy's house and knock on the door, and, getting no reply, you call her cell phone.

"I have nothing to say to you," she says before she hangs up. You go into your house and slam the door hard enough to shake the window.

"I never should have told her I was with Jess," you mutter to yourself.

You go into the bathroom, shower and get dressed. "Fuck it," you think. "I've got a bottle of Jack to kill and Jessica's phone number. Maybe I'll have company after all."