When he opened the door, Redneck Larry said, “You’ve got to take it up with him.” The white man turned to Ethic and blew out an exasperated breath. “The car isn’t ready. There’s a ton of more work that needs to be done, but we’re closed, and I’ve got to get home to the wife.”

“I’ve got it from here,” Ethic said, as Larry gathered his belongings and rushed out the shop.

“I need my car,” Alani started in, bringing the static directly to Ethic. He found it amusing that she was demanding a rush on a car that was being fixed for free. He knew better than to point it out, however. Ethic wanted no parts of this mad, black woman. The fire in her eyes told him that she would sear him alive, if he did anything other than see things her way.

He turned to look at the notes on the clip board.

“It would be wiser to invest in a new car. The fellas have fixed the alternator, your starter, and exhaust pipes, but there is a crack in your engine block and the transmission is slipping. It’ll take about five days or so to get all that repaired,” Ethic informed. “Even still, you’re only putting a Band-Aid on it. This car won’t last you another year.”

“Well, I need every day of that year because I can’t afford a new car. It was supposed to be done today. I was supposed to be at work 30 minutes ago. Is it drivable?” she asked.

“If you want to breakdown a couple miles down the road,” Ethic informed.