Early April
She was sitting cross-legged on the hood of an old riding mower toward the back of the garage. The thing looked as if it hadn’t run for years, only small patches of its original red paint were still hanging on. It has to be at least 20 years old, why does he keep it around? With the garage door wide open, the cool breeze brought in an early morning chill, along with the smell of freshly cut grass. She had found a pair of old work gloves on the seat of the mower and put them on to warm her hands. They were about two times too big and missing every other fingertip. And her hands were still cold.
“Why’re these gloves so busted up?” She asked him, idly picking at the loose threads.
“They got a lot of hours on ‘em. They were my old man’s.” His voice came from under the blue truck parked in the center of the garage. She still thought his accent sounded funny.
“Oh… mind if I wear them?”
“By all means little miss, they’ll keep your hands clean, if you feel like helping me out down here.”
“They’re full of holes, Mr. Lee.”
“All the best tools have a bit of wear and tear. Means they’ve been worth using.” A wrench clattered onto the concrete floor.
“But they’re full of holes.”
Lee chuckled, sliding himself out from under the truck. “You sure are observant. I’ll get you a pair that ain’t so old.” He stood up and went to a shelf in the back of the garage, rummaged through a few bins, and produced another pair of gloves. He tossed them over to Jo.
Jo smiled slightly as she put on the new gloves. They were still too big, but not as worn. Much better. “Thanks.”
“Of course, now slide down under the truck here and I’ll show you how to change her oil.”
“Why do you even have this old truck if you already have a nice new car that’s better? You’re always working on the truck. It looks even older than this tractor.” Jo knocked her gloved fist on the hood for emphasis.
“My Pop and I used to work on this truck together. She still runs alright but was in much better shape back when I was your age. Over the Summer I’ll be doing some bigger projects with her, but it’s just an oil change today.” Lee was already underneath the truck again, motioning for her to follow him.
“It’s dirty under there.”
“C’mon Jo, it’s real fun, you can watch the oil drain out. It looks something awful like a chocolate waterfall. That’s a lot more exciting than sitting on the couch watching TV.”
“Right. When did my Mom and Dad say they’d be back to pick me up again?”
“Your folks said they’d be back just around noon, so we’ve got enough time to finish this and then get cleaned up. Could you grab me that wrench on the other side of the truck?”
Jo hesitated for a brief moment, glancing at the oil-stained concrete. Beats thinking about having to go home. Mom and Dad aren’t going to be too nice if they went where I think they did this morning. Besides, if I pay well enough attention, maybe I’ll be able to help Dad with changing the oil in our car. He’d probably like that.
“Okay.” She picked up the wrench, then crouched down and slid herself under the truck beside him. She doubted they’d see anything remotely similar to a chocolate waterfall.
Is this from the game