It's funny what the memory will cling to as we age. For me, it is the brief incidents and random missed chances that dig themselves into my brain. Last night one of them decided to come out and roam a bit and play in my land of dreams...
"Nice car," she said as her eyes travelled from the front fender to the rear quarter panel.
It wasn't really. Oh sure, it was a '69 GTO Judge 4 speed, but the body had a dent here and there, the paint was dinged and scratched in a dozen places, and the hood didn't quite line up or close right. Of course, as I was thinking this I did a double check. You don't usually hear a female voice at an emissions checking station.
"Thanks," I said as she came over to retrieve my paperwork. Her brownish blonde hair was pulled back in a pony tail that disappeared into the back of her heavy work overalls. It was impossible to judge anything in that outfit as it hid even hints of any curves. Her face had a couple of grease smears, one on her forehead, which looked mildly like a third eyebrow and another that slashed down across one cheek all the way to her neck. Her eyes were a brown, maybe leaning toward hazel. Her hands were more of a mess, despite wearing gloves. Her fingernails were short, and there was dirt or grease beneath all of them. If I had to choose a word at that moment, it would have been "plain". Not ugly, but certainly no model, just your average girl. I looked back up to her face as she finished entering my information into what passed for a computer at this place and as she moved toward me she smiled. All thoughts of dirt, grime, and plainness vanished under the force of it as it pierced through my early morning haze.
I probably stared at her the whole time as I got out of the car so she could run it through the test. She handled the manual transmission flawlessly, I noted. I'm sure that is probably a required job skill for a place that emission tests hundreds of cars every day. But the manual transmission of a 60's era muscle car is not the same as anything being built 30 years later, and she never missed or slipped a shift. After the computer guided test had run its course she got out to close the hood. When it didn't cooperate and simply descend straight down, she frowned briefly and then looked up and beckoned me over.
"Either the hinges are misaligned or they just need replaced," I said apologetically. I gently rocked the hood back and forth once to get the hood to close.
"It's still a nice car," she said as she moved over to the next computer to find out the test result and print it out. I got into the car and pulled up beside the second computer as directed so the next car could move into the test area.
While the printer was working she leaned on the side of my door and asked, "what's better, a '69 or an '88?"
I had never heard this one, so I rather nicely fell into her trap and gestured at my car and said "well obviously I think a '69. It'll be a while yet before an '88 is a classic."
"True, but an '88 is still better," she said with another great smile that seemed equal parts innocence and mischief. "Know why?"
"Uh, no," I said slowly figuring out I wasn't getting something. I hate missing my morning caffeine.
"Because you get 8 twice," she said as her smile widened into a rather smug, satisfied look. I smiled finally, but I don't think she saw as she was turning back to the computer as she delivered the punch line.
She tore off the paper from what looked like a dot matrix printer that had somehow managed to survive the 80s pc boom and came here to retire. She leaned into to my window and handed over the paperwork.
"Congratulations, you passed," she said enthusiastically. They always said this. I have no idea why. Last year when the car failed, I pulled up in front of all the lanes, removed the air filter, leaned out the fuel mixture and retested and still got an exciting "congratulations, you passed." My mind was obviously trying to wander, but her eyes were holding me as she handed me the printout. "So when are you taking me for a ride," she asked. I was a little more alert now, so I let the silence hang and allowed a small smile spread across my own face. I knew it worked when she started to blush and blurted out, "in the car I mean". I looked at the passenger seat, and then very pointedly and slowly looked in the back seat. She punched me in the shoulder and said "stop that". But she was smiling, and so was I.
"What time is your shift over," I asked.
"Three," she answered a little hesitantly.