Excerpt: The Stories of My Scars III: Confused by Shadows

A few minutes later, she heard the rumble of a motorcycle. She took her attention away from the engine and looked out at the street that ran in front of the shop. The motorcycle came to a stop in front of the driveway, jerking both driver and passenger forward a bit when the brakes caught. The woman on the back wore a jumpsuit identical to Lance's, and the helmet she wore made her look like an astronaut from some sixties B-movie.

The passenger yanked off her helmet and dark hair fell into her eyes. She thrust the helmet at the driver and said, "Fuck you, Tania, all right? Just go fuck yourself."

The driver lifted one gloved hand and flipped off her former passenger. She then turned, revved the engine, and laid down some rubber as she raced away.

The passenger kicked up a spray of gravel at the retreating bike, growled with her hands balled into fists, and finally turned to storm back into the garage. Her eyes were red, but the tears had either been wiped away or dried. Lance looked up as the woman stormed by. She looked at the woman's name tag and said, "Have a good lunch, Calico?"

"You can go fuck yourself, too," Calico snapped without breaking stride.

Lance watched her slam open the office door, and then slam it shut behind her. Lance shook her head and focused on the car engine.

That was her first conversation with Jodie Curran.

#

Calico returned from the office a few minutes later. Her eyes were still red, but she seemed to have calmed down a bit. She wiped the back of her hand over her cheeks, and Lance could see a ring of moisture around her collar. She had obviously splashed her face in the bathroom in an effort to cool down. Lance straightened and leaned against the car she was working on. "Hey. Sorry if I..."

"No, it's cool," Calico said. "Sorry. I shouldn't have bit your head off just because I have bad taste." She took a deep breath, sighed and looked Lance up and down. "You're new. Right?"

"Yeah, started today."

Calico extended a hand. "Jodie Curran."

Lance held up her own hand to reveal it was covered with grease. "Carmen Landry."

Jodie grabbed Lance's hand and squeezed. "Nice to meet you."

Lance smiled and pumped Jodie's hand once before releasing it. A black smear covered Jodie's palm. Jodie brushed it on the hip of her jumpsuit and Lance said, "Nice to meet you. Sorry about your, uh... situation."

"Don't worry about it," Jodie said. "Good riddance to bad rubbish."

"Amen."

By the time Lance finished with the Chevy, another car had pulled into the drive. Lance drove the car out of the garage, parked it in the back lot, and dropped the keys off with Daphne in the office. When she returned to the garage, she waved the next car in. Jodie walked past her and said, "You're lucky. Nice, steady business on your first day."

"Oh, is that what luck is?"

Jodie nodded. "Oh, definitely. Lots of work, and getting to spend time with me." She winked as she nudged the office door open with her hip. Lance smirked and gestured for the driver to pop the hood.