One Man's Opus (Book 3): Opus Adventure Read online

  “Oppy!” Owen said, petting Opus’ head and grabbing a handful of ear, yanking.

  Opus shook his head, breaking the grip, and put one paw up. Owen laughed and tried to put his own foot up and fell backward on his padded rear end. Opus wasn’t sure why this human felt the need to catch his waste and hold it close to his body, but his humans kept dressing him that way. One more mystery and one more reason why humans needed a firm and thoughtful owner.

  “Hey!” Rick called, coming out of the roll-up glass door that the van was being backed out of.

  Ophelia took off like a shot, followed by Sarge. The human Tina called a halt just as Opus was about to run over and make sure nothing had happened to his person, and Opus stopped, as did the others.

  “Dayee!” Owen called as Rick jogged over, followed by the dogs.

  “Hey, buddy,” he said, sitting down in the rough grass.

  Opus watched as everyone gathered near while a strange human parked the van on the side of the building.

  Tina wasn’t happy with the news she’d just gotten. It was getting late in the day, and she’d relentlessly been checking airlines for cancellations. She had memorized Rick’s debit card numbers and three digit code on the back in case she’d ever needed it. She was almost in a panic mode as she saw that he didn’t have an outright grin on his face.

  “They can’t get it in in time?” she asked after he’d sat down and the dogs had encircled them.

  “No, but the manager found one at a salvage yard. As soon as the taxi gets here, I’m going to pick it up. I should be able to put it in no problem when I get back.”

  “Why are you putting it in?” Tina asked.

  “Warranty and liability reasons,” Rick told her.

  “You mean, they won’t put in a used part and…”

  “Right,” Rick told her, knowing where she was going with it. “I’ll leave the keys with you guys. Pat, the sales manager, said you five can go inside and cool off while you wait. They have a TV, microwave, and a bathroom.”

  “That…” Tina said, standing up and scooping up Owen, “sounds like the best thing I’ve heard in the last ten minutes. So they really have the part?”

  “They really have the part,” Rick told her. “They’re pulling it as we speak.”

  He pulled open his wallet and pressed a few bills into her hand. She looked down to see they were $100 bills.

  “Just in case you need anything or… I’m sorry I don’t have smaller change.”

  “I’ve got money,” Tina said with a grin, but pocketed it, despite a squirming Owen.

  A yellow taxi inched alongside the road, it’s blinker on. Tina nodded to it.

  “Ah, looks like my ride. Depending on traffic, I should be back soon.”

  “I love you,” Tina called.

  “Love you both more,” he shot back and started walking. Opus and Ophelia started walking beside him.

  “You can’t go with him,” Tina called, making Rick stop and turn.

  “They should stay here,” Rick told her.

  Ophelia whined and Opus made a disgusted sound, sneezing repeatedly.

  Rick sighed, “Let me make sure the cab driver doesn’t have an issue,” he said as the car started to park, but then must have noticed them, because it turned in their direction.

  “You the ones going to the scrapyard?” the cabbie asked through a window that was cracked open.

  “Yeah, is it ok if I bring—”

  “I can’t fit six of you’s in here,” he said, with a heavy Jersey accent.

  “Just me and one of these goofballs is all?” Rick asked.

  “Oh, yeah sure. I’m only rated for five though, and I really can only fit three. As long as the dog doesn’t shit all over the place, I’m fine.”

  “It!” Owen cried happily, making both parents wince.

  “Ok,” Rick said, opening the backdoor.

  Opus jumped in, turning back to look at Ophelia, almost daring her in a glance to try to get in. Rick grinned at the antics.

  “Ophelia, you stay here and make sure Sarge behaves. I need you to take care of Tina and Owen for me while I’m gone.”

  Ophelia audibly whined again, but Tina walked over, petting her. Sarge stayed sitting where he’d come to rest, panting in the late afternoon heat.

  “You sure you don’t want to take her instead?” Tina asked. “She’s been really anxious about being away from you lately.”

  “I know,” Rick told her. “I… It doesn’t matter to me, or they all can stay with you?”

  “Meter’s running,” the cabbie said.

  “Oh, go ahead. She’ll be fine.”

  Rick gave them both a quick kiss on the forehead and got in the cab, slamming the door. They watched as it pulled out of the parking lot, to nearly come to a standstill as they merged into northbound traffic. Tina mused that it might take a while to get there, but the trip back would be easy as everyone seemed to be heading north.

  “Let’s go inside and cool off,” she said.

  Right away, Patrick showed them to the lounge area. The shop stayed open until 6pm, but they were staying later tonight to try to finish as many jobs as possible. Still, the place was mostly silent except for the drone of the weather channel on TV and the sound of air tools being used.

  “Patrick?” Tina asked as he had turned to leave the waiting area.

  “Yes, ma’am?” he said, turning, surprised to see a dog on either side of her and Owen.

  “I know you can’t install the radiator, but I was thinking… do you have someone to spare who could pull out the old one? That’d save us some time and we can get on the road faster?”

  “That’s not a bad idea. Actually, I’ve got a guy who’s free right now. No warranty on a tear out, but I’ll have him label all the parts and where they go in Ziploc baggies if that’d work?”

  “I’m sure that’d be perfect. Rick knows what he’s doing. I probably could as well, but I’m not strong enough to do some of that stuff. Short girl problems.”

  Ophelia whined, then stuck her nose in Tina’s side, then rubbed her head against her.

  “That won’t be a problem,” Patrick said, then walked past the glass door into the mechanics area, calling somebody over.

  “I forgot to get the keys from Rick,” Tina told Owen.

  Lightning flashed outside and thunder rolled immediately. Owen startled so badly, when he turned to look outside, he almost fell off the chair he’d been standing on. Sarge already had his head down, but moved it just as Tina and Owen were in motion. Owen’s butt impacted with the edge of the chair and Sarge’s head just as Tina scooped him out of the air.

  Owen let out a surprised squall and started to cry. Tina held him close, rocking slowly. “It’s ok, buddy, you didn’t fall, shhhhhh.”

  Sarge got off the chair and stretched, sniffing the air. Once again, rain started falling, but the wind seemed to have died back.

  “Wan Dayee,” Owen said, squirming.

  She held him close. “I do too. Listen, do you hear that?” she asked as the sound of a familiar motor fired up and pulled in the last bay, farthest away from them?

  “Dayee?” Owen said, looking as the behemoth van was pulled inside.

  “No, not yet. He’ll be back soon.”

  “I wan Dayee!”

  Tina sighed and put him back in his seat and bent over to dig in his diaper bag she’d brought in with her for snacks or a toy.

  23

  Rick

  “So what you getting at the scrapyard?” the cabbie asked.

  “My radiator sprung a leak,” I lied. “I need to get it put in before tomorrow’s evacuation goes into effect.”

  “Sounds like a good idea. That last hurricane has everybody worried. I had those fancy storm shutters put on after the last one. Locked my house up tight yesterday, just in case.”

  “You going to ride out the storm?” I asked him, incredulous.

  “That’s right, I got plenty of work to do, people to get to
the airports. I’ve never been married, no kids, and I know where to go inland on higher ground when these things happen. This cab is a newer one, I have three payments left. Just staying around when people are wanting to head to places before a big event like this… I could pay this thing off in the next day or two.”

  “You an independent?” I asked him, curious, because he had a company logo on the outside of the cab.

  “Naw, I own this chain. Too cheap to bring in extra drivers for hazard pay. I let the guys off who wanted tonight off, but I’m still making money any way I can.”

  I grinned at that. He wasn’t being greedy, just realistic.

  “Who’s your furry buddy back there?” he asked.

  “Opus,” I told him, and hearing his name, Opus snapped to attention.

  “Opus, Hm… like a masterpiece type of thing?”

  “I guess so. My wife named him,” I said. “Hey, can you stick around the junk yard and give me a ride back?”

  “As long as you’re paying, I have no beefs,” he said, grinning in the rearview mirror.

  I pulled my wallet out and dropped $100 through the partition. He picked it up with his right hand without looking, then brought it up to his face. He grinned and stuffed it in his shirt pocket, then put the blinker on. I looked and we’d traveled the eight miles to the scrapyard. When I looked at my watch, I saw that it had taken a lot longer than I’d been expecting.

  “This sort of covers the first leg,” the cabbie told me, “I’ll get you an exact price when we get back to the tire shop.”

  “Thanks,” I told him as we pulled in and he put it in park. “We’ll both be right back in a second.”

  There were two radiators waiting for us at the counter when I walked in. There were very few passenger vehicles that had a motor as large as mine. I walked up to a guy who was gnawing on a stub of a cigar, his sleeveless shirt covered in grease. His hair was close cropped and shot through with silver. I put him to be in his sixties, judging by the lines on his face. Still though, he looked to be in great shape.

  “Help you?” he asked, looking down at Opus.

  “Patrick called here about getting me a radiator for a Dodge Ram Van?” I said, seeing the name tag that showed the name George.

  “Yup, got two to choose from,” he said, hooking a thumb at the two on the counter. “I pulled both. Haven’t pressure checked either of them though. Neither looks like it has coolant stains coming from any of the fins or welds. Florida vehicles. Take your pick, $150.”

  Opus chuffed, and I put my hand down to pat him on the head.

  I lifted one up on the counter, looking at the front and back, noting the mounting brackets looked to be in the exact same spot mine were in. Then I checked out the other. I took a deep breath and considered last time I’d been stuck with the van. Bad things had happened, and I didn’t want to ever be in that situation again, no matter what. Two is one and one is none… and only having one was the reason I was in here. Of all the things I’d put away for my van, a radiator was the last thing I’d expected to need a spare of. Now that I thought about it, a water pump would have been good to store also…

  “I’ll take both,” I said, surprising the man.

  Opus made a growling sound, but his tail wagged as I pulled my wallet out. He apparently agreed with my sentiment. I pulled out three one hundred dollar bills and put them on the counter. “Any tax?” I asked.

  The man looked side to side then shook his head, grabbing the bills. “Cash sales are final, no refunds.”

  “That’s ok, we’re heading out tonight,” I told him, “before the evacuation.”

  “Everybody losing their damned minds about this hurricane suddenly. Ain’t like it’s the first to hit down here.”

  “Yeah, I guess the last one has people jumpy,” I said.

  He grunted again and pocketed the money then picked up one of the radiators. “That your cab?” he asked, nodding outside.

  “Yeah,” I told him, picking up the other radiator.

  “I’ll give you a hand. Grab that sheet of cardboard there.” He nodded to a half clean one leaned against the side of the counter.

  I did, almost losing my grip, but was able to juggle it. He followed me out, and seeing both of us, the cabbie popped the trunk. He got out and was about to object when George put the clean side of the cardboard down in the trunk, then his radiator. Then he folded over the cardboard and loaded the radiator I had been holding. Opus watched us from several feet back.

  “That does it, thanks,” I said, holding out my hand.

  “You be safe,” George said, shaking mine. “Tell Patrick to have his wife and kids give me a shout when they get back into town, my Susie has been missing them.”

  “I will,” I said, not quite sure what that meant, but figured these two knew each other the way the hardware guy had known Joe’s Towing.

  It was just a little after closing at the tire shop when we pulled in. Traffic had picked up quite a bit. The trip south that had looked easier before took almost as long as it did getting there. We had to wait almost five minutes with the blinker on to turn in before traffic would stop enough for us to sneak in. I peeled another bill out of my wallet, noting that I was tipping him well. I saw the van at the far end in front of one of the roll up doors. I pointed, and he pulled over there.

  “Thanks!” I told him as he popped the trunk.

  “No problem. Feel free to call us again,” the cabbie said, patting his breast pocket where the cash resided.

  Opus let out a sharp bark and followed me.

  “I’m kind of hoping I won’t need to,” I said, pulling the first radiator out and leaned it up against the tire of the van before going back for the second one and cardboard.

  “Thanks!” the cabbie called after I closed the trunk.

  “No problem,” I called as he took off.

  “I wonder where your mom is?” I asked Opus, seeing the lights of the shop off.

  Opus was silent as normal, so I walked over, opening the side door. Sarge and Ophelia barreled out, swarming me and sniffing me all over. I could see Owen’s diaper bag on the passenger seat. What I didn’t see was my wife and son.

  “That’s weird. Where’s your mom?” I asked them all.

  Sarge barked and Ophelia sat down, staring at me. Opus sniffed at each of them, his tail wagging.

  “Let’s go check and see if they’re still in the office,” I told the three fuzzy kids.

  I closed the side doors and looked at the almost empty lot. I decided to leave the radiators out and walked to the office. Even though the windows inside the shop were dark, I tried the door anyway. It was locked. I could see the blinking light of a security panel for the alarms. It was armed.

  “Where are they?” I asked.

  Ophelia whined and turned in a nervous circle. I pulled out my phone and started walking toward the van. I got most of the way there when I saw I had a text message from Tina.

  Owen was restless, and we got hungry. I cracked the windows and made sure the furry kids had food and water. I tried to take them with us but not dog-friendly business. Meet us up the road at the golden arches where we’ll be eating French fries and playing in the plastic jungle gym. Oh! I had the guys take the old radiator out to save you time. Parts are labeled and on the seat. Old radiator is next to dumpster if you need it. Weather seems to be getting worse on the radar and news. Love you!

  “I love you too,” I said aloud as I thumbed the same words in my phone.

  I’ll pick you two up soon. Get food for me and Opus please.

  I opened the driver’s side door of the van, wincing at the fact it was unlocked. I reached under the driver’s seat and found the locked box. I pulled it out and put in the combination and opened it, to see my pistol was still locked up safely. So were the keys to the van. I nearly swooned in relief, then pulled the hood latch. Tina had a spare set of keys and might have thought I had my set with me. I climbed in and saw my computer bag behind my seat was untouche
d. I got out and went to the back with my keys and unlocked the back. I had a basic set of hand tools there, more than enough to change a radiator. I took my small kit to the front of the van and popped the hood.

  They really had done a lot to save me time. I saw Ziploc bags of nuts and bolts labeled on the air filter and the empty spot where the radiator was. I grinned.

  It took some finagling and busted knuckles, but I was mostly done with putting the radiator in when two things happened. The sun started going down and it started to rain again. This time, it wasn’t the warm rain, it soaked me and chilled me as the wind started to pick up. Opus and others had elected to get in the side door of the van and were sprawled out, watching and waiting. The last thing for me to do was to add more coolant. I had used up all I had getting here, but I knew I had enough water for sure. I knew water was actually a better coolant, but it could freeze. That’s why we didn’t run straight water up north, but as a temporary thing I wouldn’t hesitate. I probably had enough regular coolant in the system to survive a cold night without cracking my block, not that I had to worry about that.

  “Just have to pour some of this in, start it up and top it off,” I told Opus as I opened the back doors and got two gallons of water out. “Or I could just leave the cap off for ten minutes the way this is coming down,” I grumbled, closing it back up before all our stuff got soaked.

  I’d loaded the second radiator behind the back seat earlier when I’d dug out some tools. I couldn’t wait to pick up Tina and Owen and get on the road. There had been a steady sound of traffic and as I poured the water into the radiator, I saw a constant stream of red brake lights. I prayed I had every clamp on tight because as wet as things were right now, I’d never be able to tell if I had a major leak. I left the radiator cap off and went and started the motor.