“Should be all good now, Mrs. Wright,” Wyatt says, closing the hood of the light blue Lincoln. Mrs. Wright is one of Wyatt’s favorite regulars. She comes in every fourth Tuesday, of every third month like clockwork for routine maintenance. And every time, Wyatt listens with a smile as she tells him all about about her late husband getting the car for her on their 20th wedding anniversary more than 30 years ago. The 1989 Town Car is in pristine condition and Wyatt can change its oil, rotate its tires, and replace all the necessary filters with his eyes closed. There was a dedication to the upkeep that Wyatt respects.
Wyatt holds the keys out for the older woman. But Mrs. Wright quickly ducks into the trunk of her car and tugs out a small plastic container. “Since you won’t let me tip you in cash,” she says with a wink pushing the box into his hand before she’ll take her key. “Blueberries. My granddaughter made the chocolate last night. Works wonders for the arthritis.” To demonstrate, Mrs. Wright flexes her fingers between them before retrieving her keys.
And this is, truly, why Mrs. Wright is Wyatt’s favorite customer. Over the last few months he’s gotten all kinds of cookies, brownies, and one time some cupcakes with some funky green frosting. He waves a goodbye to her as she backs her car out of the garage. He pops open the lid as he steps into the door of the main lobby. There’s a distinct earthy smell that escapes the container as he picks up a blueberry and pops it into his mouth.
“Mornin’, Ma’am,” he says, noticing for the first time that Reina Thane is waiting in the lobby. Quickly Wyatt tries to shove the lid back onto the container. Rationally, he knows he she likely wouldn’t approve of this exact kind of snack on the clock. And worst case scenario she tells her husband. Ro certainly would have. “You lookin’ for Jackson? Haven’t seen him today.”
Once again Rhea has decided she wants to stop by the shop and once again, Reina’s dragged along with her thanks to the older woman’s inability to go by herself. Reina knows it’s not fair of her to be annoyed — Ma’s deterioration isn’t her fault — but she is and she can’t help it. This time she doesn’t even make it past the lobby before she’s crossing her arms and impatiently tapping her foot, waiting for the woman to be finished with her socializing. Jackson’s not even there for her to harass, so she ends up just standing there like an idiot, though she’s thankfully alone until Wyatt steps through the door and she suddenly has company. Fantastic. Ignoring his greeting solely because he ended it with a ma’am, Reina scowls at him briefly before rolling her eyes. “My mother in law wanted to come by, actually.” Not that she owes him an explanation.
She eyes the box in his hands with some mistrust, if only because he shouldn’t be eating on the job and he knows it, but that rule is rarely followed. “What’s this?” Reina doesn’t wait for him to answer before she snatches the container from him and inspects it, though obviously not enough because the only thing she can infer from the box is that they’re chocolate covered blueberries. “Interesting snack choice.” Normally, Reina wouldn’t dare eat something with chocolate in the name unless she’s drunk or desperate, but blueberries are at least healthy and honestly, she’s a little intrigued. But really, the reason she pops one in her mouth is because it’s a power move, and Reina will take any chance she can to show that she do whatever the fuck she wants when she’s in the shop. “Not bad.”
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