“So ma’am did the vehicle in question come with or without onions,” Ofc. Joseph Lupo asked.
He rubbed his chin to hide his smile.
Andie Shepherd tossed her oily rag at Joey and turned to walk away.
“Ma’am was sauerkraut involved because we may have to bring in interpol.”
His serious tone simmered before boil over into laughter. Joey gave into the ridiculousness of the situation. Holding his sides, he bent over guffawing.
Suddenly Andie was back in high school middle of the year but her first day. Seven schools in three years Andie was always the new kid with thrift store clothes and rundown sneakers. Standing in a crowded cafeteria with a tray of tater tots and Salisbury steak, Andie was alone in a sea of faces. Then Joe was there, all smiles and jokes.
“You scored vintage Chuck Taylors and the last of tots. What’s are you smart or lucky?” Joseph asked.
Andie remembered putting one hand on her hip and countering with, “You’ll just have to find out.”
Thus began their odd couple friendship popular jock and geeky loner. Throughout high school and beyond Andie and Joey were each other’s home base. He was her stability and she, his resilience.
Watching Joey laugh was her favorite thing in the universe. Andie felt her face heat. She headed to the sink to rinse the nonexistent grease from her hands.
“This is serious Joey that Oscar Meyer Wiener mobile has to been in Phoenix by ten am,” Andie said. The bitter citrus of the garage’s pumice soap cleared her head. “I bet they ripped off the catalytic converter and those are a bitch to replace. I’m having the company ship down a replacement tonight just in case but you have to retrieve it.”
“Hey Chucks I promise you I will not miss a 27 foot hot dog shaped vehicle. What do I look like someone who can’t see the biggest thing right in front of them?”
Hands on hips, Andie looked at him and said, “I’ll just have to find out.”
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