Grandpa's '55 Chevy Ch. 05

Author's note: Thanks to Harga for an inspiring comment that made me rewrite much of this chapter. I think it's better for it.

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Gabe was sipping on a beer on the deck when he heard the rumble of Mindy's black Mustang come in the drive and the garage door roll open below him. She circled wide and headed for the empty bay but didn't drive in, parking outside the garage. She sat still in the car for a few moments before getting out, and heard Gabe above her asking if she'd like a beer. She looked up at him and smiled. "More than you could know!" she said. He had an open bottle waiting for her when she came up the stairs into the kitchen. She gave him a quick kiss and hug and took a big swig of her beer before suggesting they go out on the deck. Gabe waved his arm in that direction and they walked out.

They sat down and Gabe could see she was exhausted. He felt a little bad that he dragged her out here but he thought the evening's activity would be worth it. After a few minutes of chatting Gabe said, "I ordered a pizza and it'll be here in about 20 minutes. Maybe we could get the job in the shop done before dinner. You don't need your overalls."

"Let's give it a shot," she said so they went back down the stairs and down to the shop. Walking past her car sitting outside the garage spoke volumes to Gabe but he felt it was a bad time to talk about anything that important right now. Fear and doubt were settling in his mind quickly.

They walked to the shop's last stall and Gabe said he would appreciate getting the new tires on. He already had the hubcaps on each leg of the lift with the lugs nut in them next to an air impact wrench. He rolled a tire over and lifted it onto the left front hub. As he walked away she started spinning the nuts on and Gabe put the left rear on the studs and put those nuts on. As he heard Mindy tighten the nuts with the impact wrench he looked and there was a gorgeous woman using an air wrench like she knew what she was doing! Gabe put the right front and the right rear on as they both started lug nuts and Mindy snugged them all up with the air gun, popping the hub cap on each. He brought the lift down and the car sat on the ground for the first time as a complete car.

Gabe opened the driver's door and invited Mindy to sit in the driver's seat, closing the door once she was seated. "How's that feel?" he asked.

"It feels really close," she responded. Gabe walked around the car and got in the passenger's side. He looked at her and dangled the keys in front of her. She was obviously confused.

"Start it," he said. She took the keys as her eyes started to water. Gabe moved over and held her as she wept her emotions out. It was a deep sob and she held him tightly, like she hadn't in a while, and took a couple minutes to calm down enough to shakily insert the key into the ignition switch. She put the shifter in neutral and turned the key. The instrument panel came to life. Turning it further triggered the starter and the engine was instantly burbling at an idle.

"Can I drive it?" she asked.

"Yes, you can," Gabe told her. She revved the engine a couple times, stepped on the clutch and put it in gear. Mindy released the clutch and the car moved confidently forward. Her face was filled with wonderment as she drove out of the shop and up the hill to the house.

She drove to the end of the drive at the road and stopped, backed into the parking area in front of the house and drove back down the hill to the open bay door, rolling into the shop. She brought it to a stop and turned it off, still sniffling with tears running down her face. She reached over to Gabe and hugged him tightly and started sobbing all over again. "Thank you, thank you, thank you," was all she could say.

"Dinner will be here soon. We should go up," Gabe said, trying to divert her thoughts.

Mindy pleaded, "I don't want to get out. I want to drive it more!".

"C'mon, let's go eat."

As they walked back to the house the delivery driver pulled in the drive. Gabe waved and the driver continued down to them where he took the pizza and tipped the driver. They walked into the house garage, again walking by Mindy's car NOT sitting inside, and continued up the stairs. They hadn't had much of their beers so they put a couple slices on plates and walked out to the deck.

"I was so tired I really didn't want to come over tonight but I'm so glad I did. That was the most awesome drive I've ever taken. All five hundred feet of it," Mindy squeaked out, her voice still feeling the effects of her crying.

Gabe told her, "You still needed registration and insurance."

She said, "The insurance is in force and I'm waiting for the registration to come to my dad's address and should be here any day."

Gabe headed into the kitchen for another slice, pointing at her plate and she nodded. He slid two pieces onto his plate and put one of those on her plate.

The pizza slices were gone and they were both tired. Gabe figured there was no sex in his immediate future with all of the emotions already expended. He asked "How about I put some slices of the pizza in some foil for you before you head home?"

Mindy felt like Gabe was saving her from saying 'No' to sex with him for the first time. "Thank you. That would be great." They picked up the dinner plates and napkins and headed into the kitchen.

Gabe handed the foil wrapped pizza to her once she was in her car. She grabbed his arm and pulled him into the car and she gave him a hug and a long kiss before saying, "I love you, Gabe." It sounded like there was an unspoken 'but' at the end. He responded in kind but he was losing confidence. She backed away from the garage, put it in first gear and waved at Gabe as she drove by him standing by the empty garage, heading for the road. He watched her make the right turn out of his drive, afraid it was the last time as his woman.

Wednesday went as slowly as Tuesday had gone quickly. He had just a couple things to finish on the Chevy, the yoke seal on the differential and a u-joint, so he replaced them and declared the project done before noon. The only thing left was the paint and detail on Thursday.

The Mustang in the stall next to the Chevy was ready for tuning and Gabe had a 1:00 PM appointment at Scott's Performance to get it tuned up. He loaded it on the trailer and headed for Scott's shop.

He arrived at the tune up shop just before his appointment, unloaded the Mustang and drove it onto the dyno for the same work as the Chevy. Gabe assisted in tying the Mustang down to the dyno and told Scott he was going to get some lunch from the coffee shop up the street.

As he approached Starbucks his heart stopped. Sitting at a table on the patio outside the shop was Mindy with a good looking, well dressed mid thirties man. Gabe stood, frozen in his steps, and looked carefully to make sure it was really her. The more he watched the more confident he was that yes, it was Mindy and she and the man seemed familiar with each other. She sat not across from but next to him and when Mindy touched his arm, he put his hand over hers. As they talked and looked at each other it was clear this was not a business meeting.

Gabe took a few steps back to be out of sight, his mind flooded with emotions. The dagger in his chest damn near came out his back. He was deeply hurt and then angry. He was certainly a fool to have given his love freely to a woman who could so easily break her commitment to him. He suddenly felt conspicuous, standing like a statue in the open, looking wide eyed at the sidewalk with his mouth open. He turned and slowly started back to Scott's shop, not knowing what to do. He was completely crushed.

A few steps later Gabe stopped again to think. Initially, he wanted to walk up and confront her but he was self-aware enough to realize that he wouldn't react well. He would spit out his emotions like a bomb, sending retaliatory accusations in every direction. And this bomb would be worse than most. He was most confident when he had time to process situations and then react and this was definitely a situation. He turned away and resumed walking back to Scott's. He stopped at a deli that he'd passed on the way to the coffee shop to pick up a sandwich but realized he wasn't hungry anymore.

Gabe had walked aimlessly for almost an hour when he returned to Scott's and saw the Mustang sitting outside the service bay, ready to go home with him. He put on his happy face as Scott gave him a print out of the performance data, but Gabe wasn't paying attention. They loaded the car on the trailer after he paid the tab and he headed home. Gabe had to really focus on his driving because his mind was elsewhere, replaying what he had witnessed, unable to shut it off.

Mindy's Monster was back. It certainly explained her recent behavior.

The Mustang was unloaded and back in its stall in Gabe's shop, next to the wagon that, until an hour ago, had given him so much joy. Now it was a big green reminder of what a fool he'd been. Unable to focus on his work, he just puttered around his shop for the rest of the afternoon, putting away tools and giving the floor a good sweep.

Gabe didn't text or call her. He wasn't ready yet. He needed some time to put his thoughts together and lay out what he intended to say and do. He was having a hard time with the reality that 'cheaters always cheat' after convincing himself that she loved him enough to be faithful. That was at the bottom of his pain... that he wasn't good enough.

Mindy called late that afternoon but he let it go to voicemail. Her voice, which had been music in his life, was now another reminder of what wasn't to be. "Hi Babe!" she said sweetly. "Sorry I missed you. Give me a call when you can. Love you!" and with that she hung up. Gabe wasn't at all sure what to do. He didn't think he'd be able to talk to her without sounding angry and if he texted her she may call. He decided to text when he knew she'd gone to bed.

Gabe busied himself with making a big salad for dinner and buttered some warm French bread. He ate out on the deck, the place that usually gave him peace but tonight it made him remember how much they had enjoyed their time out here. As Gabe ate his dinner he looked out over the valley and it slowly began to work it's magic as he felt the pain start to subside just a bit. His anger served no purpose, he concluded, and would only make it harder for Mindy to hear what he had to say. And really, why was he surprised that she would cheat? She'd done it before to others so she had basically laid out what she was going to do to him.

Although he was still hurting badly, the sharp points and jagged edges on the hole torn in his heart were starting to dull a bit. He knew it was going to get better and worse before he was over it but this was a start. When the time came to confront Mindy he didn't want to be a crying, blubbering, angry fool. He wanted to be able to communicate his feelings confidently and calmly so she could see just how strong and together he was and what she missed out on, even though he may be that crying, blubbering fool inside.

A little after eleven Gabe texted Mindy. 'Sorry I missed you, was in the office with paper work. Talk to you soon.' His phone rang immediately. It was her but he ignored it again. This time there was no voicemail.

Thursday morning the paint and detail guy showed up with two assistants. They looked the car over and felt that, except for a couple small spots, they could resurrect the original paint nicely. The interior was going to clean up great since it had been well cared for over the years. Frankly, despite the good news Gabe had a hard time being happy about it. His pep talk last night only had a short term effect because today he was back to being hurt and angry.

There was paperwork and parts ordering to do for the '32 so Gabe retired to his office while the Chevy was being cleaned. A couple hours later he went up to the house for lunch and reheated a slice of pizza in the micro wave. It was as tasteless as the soda he had with it.

When he finished lunch, he went back to the shop just as the detail work was being finished. The car looked outstanding! The green paint glistened and the chrome shined brilliantly. There were still some faint scratches, small rock chips and tiny dents but they were the results of a car life well lived. It didn't look new but rather like an old piece of jewelry that had been worn regularly and carefully wrapped up and kept safe from the world. Real patina...

The best way to put things behind him was to get back to his routine. Gabe spent the rest of the afternoon scheduling new jobs and tracking down a couple hard-to-find parts for the '32 Ford pick up.

Just before heading up to the house his phone rang and it was Mindy. He hoped he could talk without getting angry so he answered her call.

"Hey, Hi. How are ya? He said in his cheeriest voice.

"I'm good. I've missed talking to you. I called last night after your text but you didn't answer."

"Sorry, I turned off the ringer and didn't see that you'd called," he lied.

"I'm sorry that I've been super busy this week. Would you like to come over for lunch Saturday at my folk's house for lunch? Noon?"

"Sure, see ya then." So that's when the deed was going down. Gabe tried to remain strong as he agreed to meet. He could already hear the 'you're such a nice guy but...' He hoped Mindy picked up that he wasn't interested in further conversation.

"Okay, see ya then. Love ya!"

"You too. Bye" and he hung up, half hoping he had fooled her, half hoping she knew he wasn't happy.

He was emotionally drained despite the short call. He had no idea what awaited him Saturday on the Wilsons' front porch but he had to muster all the strength he could between now and then. Gabe believed he was being shuffled into friend territory, watching the relationship of his lifetime unravel as quickly as it had developed. He hated all of the ghosts of relationships past flying around them both, getting in the way of what should have been an easy, wonderful connection.

Gabe decided to take a rare day off on Friday to try and smooth off some more of the sharp gashes in his heart. He went downtown to get a haircut and then treated himself to a nice lunch at an outdoor café, watching people walk by. He loved people watching. A walk through the mall after lunch netted him a new pair of hiking boots and a small chocolate chip ice cream cone before heading home.

There were no phone calls or texts that night. It seemed the withdrawl was nearly complete.

The time to leave for Saturday morning's meeting with Mindy arrived. Gabe decided to take his Jag because driving it always put him in a good mood. That'll take some doin' today. He pulled out onto the road, feeling like a convict walking to the gallows, and went through the gears to shove that feeling down. Fifteen minutes later he drove through the narrow gap in the blackberry bushes and up the drive. Mindy's black Mustang was parked in front of the garage just as it was the first day. He looked over and she was sitting at the table on the porch. 'God, she is beautiful,' he thought. 'It was sooooo close. I almost had her heart.'

"Hi Gabe," she said sweetly as she came down the steps, walking towards him with a nice smile on her face. He managed a 'Hey' as he approached her, like a sheep to slaughter. When she reached him she gave him a deep kiss while holding him tight around his neck. This was completely unexpected. "Baby, I reeeeeally missed you," she whispered in his ear as he held her close, memorizing how she felt in case it was the last time.

"I missed you, too." Gabe responded automatically. She released him and took his hand as they walked to the porch. This was the old Mindy again. 'What the fuck's with the Jeckel and Hyde?' he thought.

"Why don't you sit down and I'll be right back?" Mindy said as she went into the house. He sat down at the table and it looked just like that first lunch. There was a pitcher of lemonade, a plate of sliced tomatoes and shredded lettuce and sure enough, Mindy came out with a bowl of her chicken salad. Gabe smiled while reminiscing about their first meeting and Mindy smiled when she saw his smile, sure he remembered.

Gabe was very confused, unable to make the events of the last several days equate to what was happening in front of him now. A week of distancing, meetings with another guy and then bang! Like nothing ever happened.

Mindy poured lemonade for both of them and and asked, "How's my grandpa's car coming along? I can't wait to drive it again."

He told her, "The paint and detail guys showed up today and they made the car look great. They detailed the interior and it looks like a new car."

They made their sandwiches and when Gabe tasted his it was the same, delicious recipe. He complimented her on how good it was and she said, "I know how much you liked it so I made it again." Was she letting him down gently by being so nice?

There was a long pause in the conversation so Mindy set her sandwich down and took the opportunity to speak. "Gabe, I know I've been distant for the last several days and it's me, not you. I've been seeing a therapist for a long time but she and I recently felt the need to step up my work. I've seen her every day after work during the last couple weeks to make sure that I was ready for this relationship. I do not want to hurt you. I ran into some heavy shit this week and had to work through it myself. As good as it is being with you, and I love being with you, I couldn't do what I had to do while I was surrounded by you. I hope you understand that I had to go through this alone."

Gabe was about the confront her about her meeting when she continued. "I had old wounds that I had to reopen and clean out. Old relationships that I had to take responsibility and apologize for. It was rough, the hardest being a meeting with Paul on Wednesday..."

Gabe interrupted. "At Starbucks?"

Mindy looked at him, surprised but said nothing. He could see she knew she was busted.

"I saw you." Gabe said quietly.

"Oh my god," she gasped under her breath. "Now I understand..."

"I had some business up the street and walked there to get a coffee when I saw you with some guy."

She reached for his hand. "I can only imagine what that did to you. I am so sorry. I was only meeting with him to try to heal some damage inflicted by me in our relationship and divorce."

"You looked pretty cozy." Gabe wasn't going to hold back with his observations and Mindy could clearly see his anger and the deep hurt she caused.

Gabe stood up, quietly saying, "I need some time." Mindy knew she had to let him go. He walked down the steps heading for his car and to Mindy's relief he walked past it. Gabe walked down the long driveway and when he got to the blackberry bushes he walked out on the road's shoulder, looked both ways. He headed left to a large rock next to an ancient oak set back from the road, providing a place to sit with ample shade for sittin' and thinkin'.

He sat down, mindlessly watching the traffic go by and thought, 'What the fuck do I do?' Had the risk he took just gone sideways? He needed some time to process what she told him and what he saw. Like every important decision he made Gabe had to weigh the pros and cons and he wasn't prone to rash conclusions. She had weaseled her way into his walled up heart, busted it up and shuffled up the pieces before helping him put it back together and made it stronger. He had to admit that she had told him about meeting Paul before he was able to confront her so she wasn't trying to be dishonest. However, she had not told him anything about what she was doing for the last week.

He was back to the same emotional place he was when she confessed her cheating ways in previous relationships. He had to ask himself again, was it going to be better to walk away and go back to the shallow end of the pool or keep swimming hoping to keep his head above water with Mindy?