Chapter 7 : Knocked Engines And Chicken Pot Pies

The day at the office came to an end a little earlier than usual, and you were more determined than ever to get home and have a talk with your wife. To have an actual conversation with her, and not the usual stale pleasantries that now governed your dwindling marriage.

'Try to pretend she's the mirror', you humourously mumbled to yourself.

You pulled out your phone, about to send her a message to say you would pick her up from work, when you saw Aya standing in front of her open car hood with an exhausted look on her face.

'Car trouble?' you asked.

Immediately she heard your voice, her face lit up. 'Last time I buy parts on eBay' she responded, 'I think my engine's knocked of something. I don't know. I'll have to wait an hour or two for the mechanic to get here.'

The thought of buying car parts on eBay burdened you with struggling to hold in a crisp burst of laughter, curious to know if she was joking or not. You weren't even sure why why you found it as funny as you did. You managed to compose yourself enough to respond naturally, however.

'Knocked? Gosh, I hope not.'

You were tempted to offer her a ride home, and leave her keys with security, but you had to pick your wife up. Another one of the classic, internal dilemmas, you should've be given a prize in creating for yourself.

'Well let me see if I can help... '

You looked around the engine block, but your limited knowledge of auto mechanics rendered your curious gazes nothing more than what they were.

'Have you tried filling the tank with Chicken Pot Pies?', you asked with a straight face.

She stared at you with a confused look on her face, which quickly turned into a frustrated one, which she couldn't hold for long because she failed to restrain a burst of genuine laughter.

You laughed with her, and you quickly found yourself laughing about that eBay thing as well.

'You suck', she said, recovering from her laughter.

'You sure? It seems like you needed that.'

She chuckled softly, and gently nudged you. 'Thanks.'

You shared reassuring smiles, but the thought of your wife suddenly crossed your mind.

'Tell you what... I know a guy who can definitely help. He's a lot closer than an hour or two. Call off your guy, let me quickly call mine.'

'Oh, okay okay... sure', she said, as you turned away and placed your call, which really should've been to your wife.

About 10 minutes later, your mechanic, Davie, came to the rescue. After diagnosing the car, he said he could get it running in just over half an hour. Turned out it wasn't as bad as it seemed.

You told Aya you had to go, and that she was in safe hands. She happily said bye, and thanked you again.

You got to your car, and could finally take your time to send your wife that message. While composing it, you suddenly remembered you needn't sound too eager. 'She's a smart cookie, she'll know something's up', you said to yourself.

Finally settling with 'Hey, I'm off work a little early today, I'll come pick you up from your office in a bit', you tapped send.

Just over two minutes later, her response lit up your screen. Upon seeing it, you felt your throat go dry.

'Hey, sorry, but I'm carpooling with Norman today and already on my way home. He always drives me, remember?'

Your chest felt tighter as you read the message over and over again.

Norman... him and your wife were awfully close. It suddenly occurred to you that he probably fancied her, and it's not just from the way he looked at her. In his defense; who wouldn't. She was southern bell to say the least.

What you didn't like about Norman, was how your wife was around him. She was happy and expressive, things she never was with you.

You struggled to come up with a response that wouldn't reveal your increasingly furious reaction. You ended up saying nothing in response, and just locked your phone.

You sat in your car, motionless for a good five minutes. 'Why do I even try?', you whispered to yourself. 'What's the end game here?'. You thought back to earlier in the day, when you felt cocky enough to drive to your wife's workplace and have your way with her in the restroom. How the day had slumped to that very moment. The sheer contrast of it all had somehow reduced you to a hopeless, stressed out, pile of crap. It's always the little things that got you. Suddenly you didn't feel like going home. And the thought of Aya wondering why you hadn't driven away yet crossed your mind, and brought you back to earth.

You gave yourself a couple of minutes to recover. Looked at yourself in the sun-visor mirror to make sure your eyes weren't misty, or gone red, from what felt like one of the greatest betrayals on a popular television show.

You finally felt calm enough to talk to someone, so you got out of your car and walked back Aya, approaching her with a rather flirtatious smile.

'Hey', she said as you got closer, 'You're still here'.

'Yeah.'

'Why?', she asked, tilting her head to see past you, 'Is she low on Pies?'

You gave a wide smile, and you felt a warmth in your chest.

'Very funny.' you said, with a chuckle.

She covered her mouth as she chuckled too.

'I'm here to offer you a ride home.'

'You sure?' She responded, as considerate as ever.

'Of course. Davie can bring your car to you when he's done, and I'll get him a cab.'

Davie paused, and made eye contact with you. You raised your eyebrows and he nodded in approval, with a quick thumbs up for clarity.

'Oh okay.' She responded politely. 'You've already helped a tonne, though. I don't wanna interrupt your schedule.'

'No it's fine, really.' you said briskly. 'And besides, it's not like I'm rushing for anything.'