Follow the link below to read part 4 of this short story.
short story: the comedian, part 4
“Oh… sorry, man. I didn’t mean to wake you.” It was Junior. And for the third time in two days, Mason was awake before he wanted to be. At least he knew there was coffee. He could smell it. And…
“Junior… Is that sausage, Junior?” Mason asked, his thoughts forced into verbal existence by the wafting of pork.
“Yeah, man. I felt so bad about yesterday… I figured breakfast was the least I could do. I’ve got eggs, too. I hope you like a well done scramble, because that’s what I have.”
“That’s exactly what I like, Junior. The deader, the better. Do you have ketchup?”
“Oh yeah. Just bought a new container. This is all ready when you are.”
Mason arose from the couch and made his way to the kitchen. Everything was overcooked. Just the way he liked it. He knew right then that he and Junior would be fast friends.
Mason made a plate and followed Junior into the living room and back to his comfortable spot on the couch.
“Junior…” Mason tried to fill the silence between bites. “…if I wasn’t already a married man…”
Junior laughed, “You’d be out of luck.”
The small talk continued through breakfast, and when they were both finished, Mason helped clean up. It was pretty easy. He wasn’t sure how, but Junior had managed to bring in groceries, clean, and cook while Mason slept.
“Come on. Time for the dishwasher to earn its keep,” Junior motioned towards the living room. “I’m not on call today, so I can show you around Jacksonville if you’re interested,” Junior paused while he considered other options. “We could drive out to the beach. Rent some jet skis. Do some fishing…”
“I don’t want you to put yourself out, Junior.”
“Oh… do you golf? There’s a decent 9 hole golf course not far from here. They have a driving range, too.”
Mason decided about 20 minutes into the drive that he and Junior differed somewhat on the meaning of “not far.”
“Let’s do that! My clubs are still in the car from my last trip.”
Mason decided about 20 minutes into the drive that he and Junior differed somewhat on the meaning of “not far.” Still, he used the time to find out a little more about his new friend.
“Is there a story behind your name?”
“Not really. My parents named me Junius, which I detest, so I asked to be called Junior when I started school, and it’s too late to change it now. Besides, I’d still rather be called Junior than Junius.” He paused for a moment to give Mason time to process then continued, “I mean… wouldn’t you?”
Mason laughed, “I guess I would. I was planning to zing you pretty good about your name.”
“I know. Everyone does. Just don’t call me Junius. Consider yourself warned.”
“Noted. Hey… you said you weren’t ‘on call’ earlier. Do you have a second job?”
“Naw. One keeps me busy enough.”
“I’m confused. You’re an on call comic?”
Junior laughed, “No! I manage a garage. We have a tow truck. There are three of us who share that responsibility. This week was a mess. One of the truck drivers took off a few days for vacation. After he left, my other driver got a call from his wife that she was going into labor… a month early. That left me. These two guys also help in the garage, so it’s been all hands on deck this week, and I’m the only driver.”
“That sounds stressful.”
“It has been. That’s why my place was such a wreck when you got here. When I wasn’t working or driving, I was crashing. Yesterday, I came home for lunch and took a nap afterwards. Well, I slept through the damn alarm and about three calls from the garage, so I had to leave in a hurry.”
“No need to explain.” Mason thought again how lucky he was that Madison was home this weekend. “Believe me. I understand about stress and putting out fires.”
“I had planned to be here last night when you got back from the club, but I got a call for a pickup way the hell out of town and they wanted it dropped even further away. I stopped at a buddy’s house on the way back to catch a few winks, then hit up the grocery store on the way back home this morning.”
“How do you know my sister?”
“I helped her out of a jam once.”
“Car trouble?”
“No. She was here for a show and needed some weed, and I had some.”
Mason laughed, “Figures.”
“I know a lot of comics though. I’ve helped a lot of THEM out with car trouble. And they’ve helped me with other things I’ve needed.”
“Mutually beneficial relationships are nice.”
“They are. But they’ve also become good friends, too. I’ve met all sorts of people in this line of work. Entertainers, businessmen, politicians, vacationers from all over the place.”
“I guess most everyone needs a tow or an oil change at some point.”
“Or a transmission. I always make a new friend when they need a transmission,” Junior laughed.
“Ha! I bet.”
Junior was far more interesting than Mason expected. The conversation was easy, and he enjoyed hearing about the people he’d met in his line of work and the crazy stories that usually came about as a result. After a few hours of golf, they headed back to the apartment, stopping for lunch along the way.
As they made the turn into Junior’s apartment complex, Mason decided now would be a good time to ask another burning question.
“Hey, Junior. I don’t suppose you have any weed at home?”
Junior laughed, “Let me check in with the shop first.”
Featured image: “D&W Autos – Mechanic At Work 2” by Jonesemyr is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0 . Creative Commons. Image licenser has not endorsed this content.