Hannah’s Story. Chapter One, Part Two.

The next day I was at work sitting in my office when your father called.  I thought: “maybe he is calling to know some details about my car so he can get ready for Saturday”.

Nope.

“What are you doing tonight?” he asked.

“Um… I’m not sure,” I said, but what I was really thinking was, “Again?  So soon?  Ahhhh!”

“Want to go off-roading in my jeep?” he asked, un-phased.

“Sure,” I said, realizing that this guy’s plan of getting the girl was way better than my plan of controlling this situation.

When the evening arrived I wasn’t feeling very well, so I sent him a text message asking if we could do something a little more low-key.  “Sure,” he replied, “I will just come up to your place.”

I had this brilliant plan to watch the new Pride and Prejudice movie, I mean… such a wonderful movie – set in early 19^th century England, and I mean, Mr. Darcy… come on!  It is a perfect movie to watch on a low-key Friday night.  So after he arrived we put the movie on.  Fifteen minutes in, your father leans over to me and says, “I have to be honest.  I don’t understand anything they are saying.”  Turns out I was striking out on the entertainment front.   He must have really liked me to be willing to go to the She Daisy concert and then watch Pride and Prejudice two days in a row.

“Oh!”  I said laughing, and quickly swapped out Pride and Prejudice for Hitch.

The next morning was the day we planned on working on my jeep.  At ten in the morning, he pulled up in his jeep and got out wearing a white t-shirt and some ripped up blue jeans, carrying a big tool box in one hand and some orange juice in his other.  “Here, I thought this might help you feel better” he said.

This guy was winning my heart.

We went out into the garage and he quickly diagnosed the problem.  “It is your power steering pump,” he said.  “My what?” I replied, having no idea what he was talking about.  “You need a new pump,” he said.  So we called the Jeep dealership, ordered the part, and drove to the other side of town to pick it up.

After we returned, he realized he needed a tool he didn’t have, so we made another trip to Sears and searched for what he needed.

Then, after we returned from that I started to worry.  What he didn’t know is that I had another date that evening that had been planned far in advance.  I was watching the clock realizing that this might not work out so well, and I started to get nervous.

“These newer jeeps have their parts all crammed in tight,” he was saying as he was trying to fit the new pump into its place.  “Here, let me try – my hands are smaller,” I offered, so he coached me as I attempted to fit it.  As my attempt was failing, I realized that I was soon to be in a real mess as one guy was about to come pick me up while your father was in my garage.

“I will be right back,” I said.

“Alright,” he replied.

And I went off and shamefully canceled a date last minute.

I had no idea that I was canceling the last date I would ever have with another guy.

I returned just as your father was finishing up.

“Hungry?” he asked.

“Sure.”

Hannah, let me tell you what I learned months later as we were discussing this day he fixed my car.

“I never told you that I had a date with another guy that night,” I told him.

“I knew that,” he said.

“You did?” I asked.

“Yeah.  I figured a girl like you would have a date.  What you don’t know is that I had your car fixed much earlier in the day, so I unfixed it and kept working on it until I knew you had changed your plans.  I wasn’t about to let another guy get my girl.”

To be continued.