style="font-size:15px;"> “Celia, every time I see her, there’s a new episode. For years, I’ve kept a journal. It isn’t in any order right now, but I hope to write a book someday. The stories are ridiculous and quite comical.”
“You want to write a book? Think you’ll publish it?” Celia was intrigued.
“I’d love to, but I don’t know where to stop. What if I publish it and after it’s published, she does something stupendous? Then it would be too late to add the new chapter.”
“That’s what sequels are for.”
They both laughed.
The Shark
The mouth-watering menu at Soma had been in her thoughts all day. She was delighted to be out of work and on her way to dinner.
She thought about the menu choices the entire subway ride to her car. Should I have the scallops and pumpkin sage ravioli? Maybe salmon and homemade gnocchi, or homemade pizza covered with cheese, steak, onions, and arugula? I could try one of the pesto chicken or shrimp dishes. She could almost taste the delightful dinner on which she was about to indulge.
Remarkably, she arrived at the T parking lot on time. Celia walked to her car, unlocked the door, tossed her bag over the headrest into the backseat, slid into the driver’s seat, inserted and turned the key, and groaned. There was no sound: no whirr of the engine, no clicking. Nothing. She tried again. Nothing. Again and again she tried. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing. The car was dead. Her long, thick hair fell into her face as she dropped her head to the steering wheel. She paused for a moment and then called her dinner date to deliver the bad news.
“Hello?”
“Kate!” The panic in her voice resonated through the phone. “What are you doing?”
“Plucking! I’ve got some perfect plucking light coming in through the window.” Kate heard the anxiety in Celia’s voice and chose to ignore it. “I can see even the tiny, thin, blondish hairs on my chin. I love my new magnifying mirror! What’s going on?” She held her breath and waited to hear what she already knew.
“My car won’t start. Can you come get me? I’m in the parking lot at the T station.”
“Where are you?”
“Ahhh. Hellllo? I’m still at the T station parking lot.” She rolled her eyes.
“Don’t roll your eyes, Celia. I get that you’re in the parking lot. I want to know WHERE in the lot you’re parked. If I come to get you, how can I find you? Or perhaps I should ask if you’re in the same place as the last time?”
“Ha ha ha! Aren’t you funny? And I didn’t roll my eyes.” She lied. “I’m all the way down on the left side. A little farther from where I normally park, but in the same area. When you come in, take a left at the booth where you pay and go down to the end of the lot. You’ll see me. Do you have any jumper cables?”
“Will I have to pay to get in there?”
“Kate!” Celia’s tone was emphatic.
“I want to know if I have to pay? Is that an unreasonable question? You said I’ll pass the booth where I pay.”
“Have you ever had to pay before?”
“Come to think of it, no. They must know me as the pick-up friend for the idiot whose car always breaks down.” Kate secured her tweezers around a sprouting hair on the lower right side of her chin. She yanked out the hair. Her eyes watered from the sting of the pluck.
“I guess you want to hassle me, huh?” Celia didn’t wait for an answer. “Do you have jumper cables?”
“You asked me that already. Celia, since when have you ever considered jump-starting your car?” Kate held the magnifying glass up and inspected her chin.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. You don’t have any though, do you?”
“No. I don’t have jumper cables. I don’t even know how to use them. Would you like me to stop somewhere to get them?” Kate’s sarcasm was unmistakable.
“No, we don’t have time. We have reservations for dinner.”
“Yeah, sure. As if we’ll make THAT reservation. Why don’t I pick you up and we’ll leave your car there the same as we usually do? You’ve never considered jumping the battery, don’t start now. That’s why you have Brian.” Kate tugged a thin hair from her upper lip. This time, in addition to watery eyes, she winced in pain.
“Yeah. I’ll call him now. He can tow it to his garage. I’m sure it won’t be a problem to leave it.”
“Celia, it’s never been a problem before. It won’t be a problem today.”
“Okay, I’ll call him now.”
“Ahhh!” Kate paused. “Do you agree it might be time to get a new car, honey? Or at least buy yourself a pair of jumper cables?” Kate’s question and comment irritated Celia, but Kate could get away with it. She was the only one who could, considering Kate always came to Celia’s rescue.
Celia knew Kate was right. “Come when you’re ready! We can discuss my being vehicle-challenged later.” Celia was not in the mood to have a conversation about her car problems. She was anxious and excited to get to their fabulous dinner. Celia no longer was surprised or upset when her car broke down. Kate was more surprised when Celia’s car DIDN’T break down.
“I’ll head out in a few, but I’ve got to finish plucking. You never know when the light’s going to be this fabulous again. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”
After thirty minutes, Celia saw the big bright shark headed toward her. Behind the wheel was dependable Brian, looking exactly the same as always.
Brian was hot. There was no denying his splendor. He was tall, with muscular arms. His greasy T-shirts displayed the name of his towing company across his broad chest—Sharky’s Garage and Towing. Long black hair, slicked to the back of his head, clearly exposed his gleaming smooth skin. At all times, a cigar hung from his mouth.
Sharky’s tow truck was enormous, with a huge towing crane at the back. Except for a colorful shark’s face with big white teeth painted around the grill, the truck was bright red. It was fierce.
“You know, Celia, for what you pay to get this piece of junk repaired, you could buy yourself a jazzy little new car. I’ll bet you drop a pretty penny on repairs every month.”
She knew he was right but couldn’t bring herself to deal with monthly car payments. She owned this car outright for over eight years. The car was old, rusty, and falling apart, but she didn’t want to part with it. The cloth interior on the inside roof was coming loose from the body of the car. To keep it in place, Celia had purchased a package of star-shaped thumbtacks. The little stars were pushed through the fabric into the car’s ceiling. One afternoon, a thumbtack shook itself loose and found its way down the back of her shirt. She felt the sharpness on her back and almost crashed while she jumped around in the driver’s seat.
