Authors: Michele Reed
Mercedes headed outside of the trailer and towards her work crew that was already gathering together that morning; she needed to concentrate on one thing at a time, and right now she felt she needed to concentrate on the project. She got the workday underway, but there was something incredibly off about her that morning. Clearly, she was sick. Sweat dripped down her forehead and the back of her neck despite there being a descent breeze out that day. She was being slightly forgetful, was hardly able to concentrate, and occasionally she had to sit down to avoid an onset of nausea. It was looking as though it was going to be a long day. She was not sure if she was going to be able to push through it, and she was not the only one who thought that. Every single one of the workers knew that she was off her game that day. Al approached her about an hour after arriving back from his lunch break, pulling her aside to talk. She herself had skipped lunch, fearful that it would wind up in a drain along with her breakfast. Al had become her number two after their initial confrontation on site. He turned out to be a half-descent human being who she could actually work with. “You all right, boss?” he asked her as the two of them stood over by one of the cranes that was not currently being operated so as to have a private conversation. He had an honest look of concern about him.
“Not feeling so hot today,” she grumbled.
“You don’t look it either,” he scorned her. “You look sick. I know you’re a control freak and all, but I think you should go home.”
“I’m not a control freak,” she said.
Al laughed, “Then go home.”
“I can’t go home,” she argued.
Al rolled his eyes. “Yes, you can. We can handle a day without you. We know what needs to get done. And I can call you if anything comes up. Go home and sleep it off.”
Mercedes was not at all interested in leaving everything to Al, but after the morning she had had she knew she was not left with much of a choice. Her head ached, her stomach churned, and she was having to do everything she could to keep her vision straight. The sun, despite being behind the clouds most of the day, was getting to her too. She had tried drinking water, wondering if perhaps she had gotten dehydrated from the hot day before, but that was not helping either. Al was giving her the stare down, his arms crossed. He was actually concerned about her.
Funny,
she thought in regards to his sudden care as she recollected their first interaction. Who would have known that she would have found a friend in a brute like Al? Mercedes exhaled loudly, wanting to be sure that Al knew she was not pleased with being pressured into leaving work. Then she crossed her arms and grunted, “Fine. I guess you boys can handle an afternoon without me. Honestly, I feel like I’ve been hit by a bus. I’m going home. Will you please, though, call me if anything gets out of hand? I don’t care how small of an issue it is. Call me if something comes up.”
“You got it, boss.” Al said and gently nudged her arm, “Get out of here. Go home. Sleep.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah.” She headed towards the trailer where she had dropped off her purse and phone that morning. As she entered inside she spotted Kerry sitting on the couch, his nose in a magazine. “You’re still here?” she questioned.
“Looks that way.” He put down the magazine and looked up at her curiously.
“Do you ever actually go to your own office anymore? I mean, what you did before you met me?” she asked.
Kerry chuckled, but he ignored her banter. “Is everything all right, Mercedes? You don’t look so great.”
“Geez, thanks,” she said, but she informed him on what was going on. “I’m sick. Al’s going to look after things today. I’m going to home to sleep off this bug.”
He stood up, “Sick? What’s wrong?” his overwhelming concern was almost cute to her.
“Mostly nauseous,” she admitted.
“Let me drive you home,” he said pleadingly.
Mercedes shrugged her shoulders. He did not have much of a reason to say no. It would take Yury at least half an hour to an hour to get to the site to drive her, and she certainly did not want to wait. Kerry, on the other hand, was already searching for his car keys and it was not as though she was still uncomfortable around him after their shared moment in her office the day before. “All right,” she said, eager to get off site as soon as possible.
She grabbed her things, and he escorted her off site and towards his car. He even insisted that she wait a moment to get in so that he could let the air conditioning run for a moment. He was quite the gentleman, but she supposed she should have expected that. Kerry opened the door for her and helped her into the passenger’s seat. Almost instantly she fell asleep after Kerry insisted that she lay her seat back and close her eyes. It would be a long drive since according to the radio, traffic was backed up.
Mercedes woke up some time later to Kerry playfully tapping her cheek. “Wake up, beautiful,” he said.
She woke up and rubbed her eyes, taking note that they were not outside of her apartment but were out front of the mom-and-pop diner where she had signed her employment paperwork some time ago. “Why are we here?” she grunted and sat up, feeling somewhat refreshed after her nap.
“You haven’t eaten, have you?” he questioned her.
“I skipped lunch,” she admitted.
“That’s what I thought,” he said. “You need food. It’s no wonder you’re sick. You need to take better care of yourself than that.” He hurried out of the driver’s seat and came around to help her up and out of his car. “Feeling any better after your nap?” he asked.
“A little bit, actually.” She caught herself smiling at him, so she quickly hid the facial expression.
“Now imagine how much better you’ll feel with some food in your stomach.” He led her inside. The diner was surprisingly busy, a late lunch rush it seemed. They had to stand and wait for a few minutes, but they were soon rushed to a table where they each ordered a stack of pancakes. Mercedes thought it would be best to avoid the greasy hamburgers they had enjoyed last time. While they were waiting on their food to arrive, Kerry was eyeing her carefully with an excited look about him. It seemed as though he was always up to something. It was both annoying and endearing.
“What?” Mercedes questioned, knowing that he had something to say to her.
“I have a surprise for you,” he said elatedly.
“Oh?” she once again felt the corner of her lips turning up, but she held back the smile, “And what would that be?”
“It’s a secret,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “I’m going to show you after we eat. You need to eat.”
“I’m starving,” she admitted. “I’ve been too afraid to eat after losing my breakfast. I’m feeling better already, though. I guess a nap was called for. I went by the garage last night and wound up falling asleep in my uncle’s office on the concrete floor. I spent the whole night there. I didn’t feel like I had slept at all.”
Kerry laughed at her. “You work too hard.”
At last, the pancakes arrived. Mercedes felt herself salivating and she could hardly contain herself as the plate was placed in front of her. The owner himself brought the food by, smiling and carrying on with Kerry for a moment before departing. Mercedes was glad when the man finally stepped away so that she could dive into her incredibly late lunch. The soft, fluffy pancakes and syrup tasted like heaven on her lips. She realized she probably looked a little rude with how violently and greedily she was stuffing her face, but she could not care less. She was starving and was eager to relieve the empty feeling in her stomach.
She could not help but to notice that Kerry was watching her eat. It made her only slightly self-conscious, but she was too hungry to care. After his staring continued for some time, she at last snapped at him, “What? Do I have something on my face?”
He had his chin propped on his hand, his elbow rested on the table. As always, he was smiling, “I think you’re beautiful,” he said, “Even just sitting here… you always look beautiful even in the most normal moments.”
Mercedes rolled her eyes at how cheesy he could be and laid her fork down for the first time since the arrival of the food. She stared at him, “You know, it’s easy to find someone beautiful who wears tight jeans and midriffs to work.”
Kerry laughed at her and sat back in his seat. “That’s not why I find you beautiful, Mercedes.”
“Then what is it?” she asked.
He winked at her and said, “I’ll tell you what it is after I take you to your surprise.”
Mercedes shook her head, deciding to ignore him until after finished her food. The pancakes were incredibly deserving of her attention. Kerry nibbled on his own stack of pancakes, not nearly as ferociously as she was doing. When they were finished Kerry paid the tab and walked her back out to the car. “Ready for your surprise?” he asked playfully, opening up the passenger’s side door for her.
“Ready as I will ever be, I suppose,” she said as he closed and door and ran around to the driver’s side door. He seemed overly enthusiastic about whatever it was he had to show her.
He scooted into his seat and started up the car. “Feeling better?” he asked as they pulled out of the small lot and out into the street.
Mercedes nodded. “Much better.” She tapped on her knee, feeling a little bit of excitement inside her. She honestly wanted to know what his supposed surprise was. A part of his little game reminded her of her youth. She could hardly remember the last time a man had honestly gotten her so giddy about something. Kerry was rather exceptional, she had to admit it. She could see honesty in his eyes, and she knew that this man truly cared about her and wanted to make her happy. With everything going on in her life, she started to wonder if it would actually be nice to have someone to be her support through it all. Ernie had been that person once, but he had lost his chance. She did not want to be with someone who robbed convenient stores for extra cash. Ernie was a boy; Kerry was different. Kerry wasn’t some rich playboy either. He had an impoverished background like herself, but he had made something of himself, and that was something to be proud of. After her mother had left them, rich men in suits had always given her the creeps. She thought they were judging her, but now she realized that she had been just as guilty of making assumptions. Kerry was a good man. She knew that now.
Maybe
, she thought,
there really is something here?
She took a leap, reaching over and grabbing his hand. She could not bring herself to look at him when she did this so instead stared out the car window - although she was certain he had that stupid grin of his on his face as they held hands like a high school couple.
He knew she was embarrassed, so he did not tease her about reaching out for his hand. Instead, he just squeezed her hand in his and continued the drive in complete silence. They pulled up in front of
Benny’s and Tito’s
, much to her surprise. “What are we doing here?” she questioned.
“You’ll see,” he said as the two of them piled out of the car. He was practically jumping. She could not take him seriously.
They walked close together as they headed to the garage door. It was unlocked, but she did not see Tito anywhere. “Where’s Tito?” she wondered aloud. It looked like the garage was closed.
“Your uncle?” he asked to be sure.
“Yeah. It’s not like him to leave the garage unlocked,” she said.
“Oh, well, I called and asked him to,” Kerry said as he pulled up the garage. “I told him we would be headed this way after grabbing a bite.”
This was news to Mercedes. She had not realized Kerry had ever spoken to Tito. “Should I be concerned that you are calling my family for interviews?”
He laughed at her, “Well, he did give you an excellent review.”
She laughed as they entered into the garage. She located the light switch and the flickering florescent came on as they closed the garage door behind them. Mercedes looked around, noting that there was a car in the center of the garage covered with a tarp. “You did not bring me here to work on an engine or anything, did you?” she asked.
“Maybe I did,” he said as he reached for the tarp. “But this one is special.” He yanked the tarp back in one strong swoop, revealing a 1950s cruiser with identical color and aesthetics to that of her father’s chopper. She stared at the vehicle, hardly able to believe what was sitting in front of her. She knew exactly what she was looking at, and she could not even comprehend it at first.
“Kerry…” her voice trailed off; she was unsure of what to say.
“So I should be honest with you about something,” he said. “Before I hired you I did a lot of research on you. A lot more than I normally would. I found out a lot about you and about your family. I’ve even been talking to your Uncle Tito some.” He looked over at the corner where the bike was sitting, still covered by its own protective tarp. “I found out that your father had purchased a bike from an old James Dean movie - the bike had been custom made just for the movie, but it had been replaced with the car in the final cut.”