Monday found Gabe starting to tear the Chevy down. The most time consuming project was the fuel injection and ignition upgrade to electronic and that was something he had to sub out so he wanted to make sure it came back in time. He was on the phone with the technician for about 15 minutes discussing options and costs. They could do the upgrade with completely hidden wires but the cost was half again as much as the standard conversion. He made the decision to go with the standard and save Mindy some money since hidden wires were usually just used on show cars but he wanted it and the valve covers polished. The tech told Gabe how to box everything up and where to send it to get it returned the quickest. Gabe thanked him and told the tech to watch for his shipment. He then made a call to order the front disc brake conversion and also ordered the two inch dropped spindles to give the Chevy a modern look. Gabe made another call for the new rack and pinion steering from one dealer and electric power steering assist from another. His last calls before lunch were to order a new wiring harness and front end suspension parts.
Pizza was being reheated when his phone rang. It wasn't a number he recognized so he answered, "Gabe's Restorations."
The voice at the other end said, "Wow! Aren't we formal!" and he immediately knew it was Mindy.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know your number but I'll save it right now!"
She laughed. "You'd better! I had a couple minutes before I had to go back to work and I'm going to be working late tonight and wanted to see if you wanted to have dinner with me tomorrow? Your place?"
"Let me check my schedule... I'm pretty booked up." Gabe hummed a little tune, as if he was going through his planner. "Oh, you're in luck I'm clear then!"
Mindy questioned him. "When? I never gave you a time!" There was a long pause on the other end.
"Ya got me!" he laughed.
Mindy said, "Even though you're jerking my chain I'll still bring Chinese at 6:30 if you think you can squeeze me in."
Gabe responded, "That sounds great if you think you can squeeze ME in."
Mindy snickered, "I see what you did there and I'll see about that tomorrow night!"
After lunch Gabe boxed up the fuel injection unit and valve covers and dropped it off at the shipper. He continued to work into the evening before locking up and heading up to the house for dinner. He had his routine.... dinner, dishes, a shower, the day's bookkeeping, a little TV and a night's sleep before doing it all again the next day. But now there was a potential interruption to his daily routine on the horizon. Gabe had dated several women over the years but there was always something in those relationships that he couldn't live with... or without... but Mindy checked all the boxes. As much as he was attracted to her, he wasn't going to rush into anything but he was going to enjoy the ride for as long as it lasted.
Mindy was in a similar quandary. She'd met a man of honor, honesty and humor. He wasn't impressed with the fake trappings of today's society, instead valuing the 'real' of whatever it was he was dealing with, be it a person, house or car. She had been duped by the handsome, by the rich, by the players and found herself alone at the end of the relationship. Even though Gabe had all of the confidence and qualities she looked for, the others had too, at the beginning. But Gabe was genuine, all the time. There was never a question of his character. She was going to focus on this man until he proved himself otherwise. She was scared but was willing to risk it.
Gabe's work days normally went by quickly, his mind occupied with problem solving and interesting challenges but neither of those could hold a candle to his anticipation of dinner with Mindy. He finished the electrical work on the Thunderbird so he could trailer it over to the upholstery shop. That would get one more project out of the way of Mindy's Chevy so he could be sure to have it done on time. It kept him occupied until 5:00 when he finished the wiring and locked up before going up to the house.
Gabe's day picked up when he heard Mindy's car pull up in front of his house. He walked out and gave her a warm kiss and tight hug when she stepped out. She reached back in and grabbed a couple bags of Chinese food, handing one to Gabe one as he thanked her for getting dinner. The aroma of dinner hung in the air around the door of the Mustang so Mindy got back in to roll the windows down a little to air it out for the trip home. Gabe had the table on the deck set up with dishes and utensils and when Mindy saw it she turned to him.
"Oh, thank you for setting us up out there. I love spending time on this deck."
The table was barely big enough for their plates, glasses and all of the cartons. "What would you like to drink?" Gabe asked as he opened the freshly stocked fridge. "I've got some sodas, diet and regular, iced tea, beer... "
"Beer!"
She cut him off to save him going through the rest. "I'm off work and could sure use one."
Another box checked, Gabe thought. He opened two beers and went back to the table. Mindy grabbed a pair of chopsticks and Gabe a fork as they started putting their favorites on their plates. Mindy easily ate with the sticks and teased Gabe for having to use a fork. She tried to show him how to use them but he dropped more back onto his plate than into his mouth so went back to the fork.
Mindy looked at him and winked in mock disgust. "I thought this relationship had real potential but now I'm not so sure."