My boss and I have an understanding too. He knows it’s better for me to pick my own hours and show up when I’m able. When the thoughts aren’t so loud that I can focus. He doesn’t box me in on a schedule or chew me out for coming in at different times depending on the day. He lets me have my way with it, and I repay him by working forty hours every week and putting in extra time when the other guys need days off or get sick. And I always get the job done on time. Even if I come in at 3 am because I can’t sleep. He’s fine with it.

With my hands in my checkered jacket pockets, and in my blue jeans which are already stained, I walk outside and lock up, ready to head to work. The air still smells fresh and dewy as I walk, and it's a bit crisp.

I walk into the shop a little after nine in the morning. It’s full of familiar noises—wrenches clanging, guys shouting from the pit under the cars, the smell of oil, tires, and grease.

Rick, a barrel-chested guy in his early fifties, and wrinkles around his eyes that show every bit of his age, nods to me as he twists a rag around greasy fingers. He’s already been in the guts of a car this morning. Knowing him, more than one. The man’s a machine when it comes to fixing cars. He could charge a lot more, but he doesn’t.

“How you doing, Dean?” he asks.

“Good. And you?” I keep it easy as I always do. Waiting for my list and ready to get lost in whatever car they give me.

“Good as I can be.”

With a quick glance in the back I can see there’s plenty to do. There almost always is.

The way people talk about Rick means he’s never had to put an ad in the paper or post on websites or anything like that. People just keep coming back. They tell other people to come to our shop. That’s the dream, really. Rick has a guaranteed job. That means I have a guaranteed job. It’s steady income and I appreciate that.

One of the other guys comes to ask Rick a question. I pick up a clipboard hanging from a nail on the wall and look over the day’s projects. I pick the one that’s next up and get started, initialing next to it so they know I’m on it.

With that I head back, grabbing my overalls and minding my own business.