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.
