Everything to Nothing by Mark Henthorne Page A

considering the horrendous night she was
having, considering how wet and bedraggled she was. He was sure
that he would see her again, but he knew that last night they had
shared some moments that would hopefully stay with them for a life
time.
    As the song
changed, he resumed his scrubbing and slowly the stain faded. When
he was happy with the interior of the car he sat in the driver’s
seat, not minding the wetness, and tried to start the car. The key
was turned three times until, with a cough and a splutter, the
dried out engine caught. ‘Yes! They don’t make them like they used
to! Can’t believe it started!’
    David closed
the door and took the Mini for a quick spin around the yard, loving
the wind blowing into his face through the window frame. He did a
couple of handbrake turns, enjoying the handling of the Mini, and
then he stopped outside one of the doors to the garages, wiping the
wind-tears out of the corners of his eyes with a big grin on his
face. ‘They really don’t make them like they used to!’ he exclaimed
again.
    Stepping out of
the car he opened the garage and then returned to the vehicle and
carefully rolled it in. Inside was everything a person needed for
the removal of dents, however, this was definitely not one of his
strong points. ‘Give me an engine to dismantle any day off the
week,’ he muttered to himself. However, he got to work, not
listening to the radio because he was worried about the power of
the battery, and removed the dents as best he could.
    David continued
working until he heard voices in the yard. He stopped what he was
doing and stepped into the enclosure and sucked in the crisp, clean
morning air. It was dark when he had entered the garage and now he
was glad to see it looked like being a glorious day. Two of his
work colleagues came across and he told them how he managed to
acquire another broken car since they had left the previous
evening. The only thing he did not tell them was a description of
Sally. He wanted to keep that image to himself.
    Leaving the
Mini for the time being, David had to carry on with the garage’s
work. Around 11am his boss arrived bringing bacon, sausage and
fried egg sandwiches with him for his workers. They broke off their
respective tasks and sat on chairs in one corner of the yard, ate
their sandwiches, and talked man talk. David’s two colleagues had
been out the night before and they talked about their successes
with the women, the copious amount of beer they had consumed and
they fight they had been involved in. David listened and laughed
along, but when he asked how much money they had spent he inwardly
winced. Going out, getting outrageously drunk and fighting was
something that had never interested him. He had always thought that
instead of drinking all his money away he would save it and spend
it on something worthwhile. He was interested in the women side of
their stories though.
    Knowing he was
not academically gifted, David finished his education at the age of
sixteen, knowing it was pointless to even try and attempt a college
course. Mechanics was something that had always interested him, and
he obtained an apprenticeship at this time. Due to him saving and
rarely going out, along with his male dominated profession he
hardly met any women never mind stunningly beautiful women like
Sally. Therefore, all his thoughts, as he feigned interest in his
work colleagues’ stories, was to make sure that he did all he could
to impress Sally and make her want to be with him.
    Eventually,
long after David was beyond bored with their success stories, his
boss came across and shooed them all back to work. With some more
overtime under their belts and the work done, his manager dismissed
them all, but David said that he was going to stay. His boss had
noted the Mini in one of the garages but had not commented upon it
until now. ‘Where did we acquire that Mini from?’
    ‘It is a
friend’s. She broke down last night. I picked it up. Been