Boys With Tattoos

Courtney.

"Hey, dingy! Hand me that wrench!" I heard my Dad call to my best friend, Donna.

She scoffed, "You're a dingy!" Which caused me to chuckle, making her slap my shoulder to shut me up.

Dad laughed lightly, "Just give me the god damn wrench."

"Here, happy?" She tossed him the wrench, which he caught and went back under the hood of the truck.

This was how I spent the evenings with my Dad and Donna, working on cars. Dad loves fixing up cars and selling them. He works at a little plant that makes car parts and he fixes cars on the side for extra money.

My Mom walked out on us when I was five. I barely remember her and I know that I'm better off without her. Dad is the only parent I need in my life. She calls every month for an update, but my Dad doesn't usually say much.

"Courtney, go start it." Dad instructed, while wiping his hands on a rag.

I went over to the driver's side and did what he wanted. I walked to the front of the truck to see my dad smiling at his accomplishment, "Now that's a beauty."

Donna butted in, "Can we take it for a drive?"

"You guys are driving it to school tomorrow." Dad informed us and I grinned. Trucks were my thing. I prefer them over cars, any day.

I watched as he shut the hood and then turned to me, "Clean the mess up and I'll cook dinner. Dingy, you staying for dinner?"

"Do you really have to ask, Tom?" Donna asked sarcastically.

That made me me chuckle and roll my eyes. Dad just nodded, "Yeah, yeah, yeah." He said, losing interest.

Donna helped me clean up the tools and rags. I hit the button for the garage door and Donna squealed, "Can you believe tomorrow is our last day of school?!"

"I know, I'm glad to get out of that hell hole." I said, feeling relieved that I only had one more day until summer.

She eyed the truck that we just fixed up, "That's a nice truck, do you think your Dad will let you keep it for real?"

That only made me stare at her, "Donna, you know my Dad. Every month I'm driving a different vehicle."

"True," She turned for the door leading into my house, "I'm hungry, let's see if he's done making dinner."

I laughed at her, knowing that she was always hungry. I followed her into my house and found my Dad cooking what seemed to be like steaks on the stove top.

"Yes!" Donna and I chorused together.

Steak was the best dinner Dad made and he only made it on rare occasions, which made me wonder what it was about.

"Dude we're out of cigarettes!" Donna brought me out of my trance.

Dad scoffed, "You shouldn't be smoking anyways."

Donna mocked him, "Same goes for you, hypocrite."

"Look in the cabinet over here." He grumbled out and pointed to his right.

He wasn't happy that we smoked, but he rather us not hide it from him and end up burning the house down. His words, not mine. You would look at this situation badly, because he buys cigarettes for his 17 year old daughter and her best friend. Honestly, if he didn't buy them for us, we would of just found some other way to get them.

Donna grabbed a fresh pack of cigarettes out of the cabinet and started packing them. She did that until it annoyed Dad and opened them.

We had a quick cigarette and I set the table. Dad put everything out on the table and we started eating. Half way through the meal, Dad cleared his throat, "I had a proposition for you guys."

I looked at Donna curiously and back at him, "We're listening.."

He put his fork down, "Well, I have some jobs lined up. Simple stuff. Brake jobs, new tires, and fixing a water pump. Now, my work at the shop is picking up, so I'm going to be working over time."

Donna got excited, "You're going to-"

"Would you let me finish?!" Dad widened his eyes at her. She rolled her eyes and he continued, "I'm going to let you guys do the jobs and keep the money. If you do them correctly, then I'll let you do more jobs."

"How much money?" Was the first thing Donna asked which made me laugh.

He stood up, picking up his empty plate as well, "Well I have two cars lined up now and that's 400 dollars all together."

"We'll do it!" I exclaimed, getting very excited.

Dad started laughing as the phone started ringing, "It's probably my sister."

Donna shook her head, "It's probably someone calling for Mechanic Tom."

I nudged her, "Hey they're going to be calling for us soon."

"Yeah if you don't fuck it up," Dad smirked while grabbing the phone.

Donna rolled her eyes, "Please, you wouldn't even let us try if you thought we were going to fuck it up."

Dad rolled his eyes, "Yeah, right." He answered the phone and stepped into the other room, probably so we wouldn't eavesdrop.

"Wow, I can't believe it. This summer is really going to be the best summer ever!" I exclaimed, feeling so good inside.

That only made smile, "Dude, this is why we're best friends. We always do stuff together and just laugh about everything."

"Like when you hit my Dad in the head with the hand cart?" I asked.

Both of us relived the memory for a brief moment and busted it out laughing.

Our laughter got short lived when my Dad came back into the room, slamming the phone on the counter.

I glanced at Donna worriedly and she shrugged. I took a second to slow my breathing from laughing so hard.

"Who was on the phone?" I finally questioned.

Dad turned around and crossed his arms, "Your mother."

I rolled my eyes, "What did she want to know this time? My favorite color?"

Donna laughed and nudged my shoulder, "Good one."

He shook his head, "Nope. She wants you to spend the summer with her in California."

I shook my head in disbelief, "She's funny. You told her no right?"

Dad scratched his head, "It's not that simple. She's been asking to see you for awhile now and I've always told her you have school, but now I have no options. She said that she just wants you to spend the summer with her and you can come right back home in August."

I got up from my chair, "Dad! I'm going to be busy! Hello?! You got us jobs! Tell her that! I am not going to live with that bitch!"

He cleared his throat, "Courtney, it's out of my hands. She's threatening to go to court. We have joint custody over you, but she never wanted to see you."

Donna butted in, "Exactly, so why does she want to start now?"

"I don't know, but I do know that if she did take it to court, I wouldn't be able to show up for anything because of work. Can you just at least give it a shot?" He asked, feeling desperate.

A sigh escaped my lips and I felt torn. I really didn't want to see my Mother. I also don't want to see my Dad go through all that stress.

I crossed my arms over my chest, "When do I leave?" I asked, feeling defeated.

Dad seemed a little relieved, "Friday."

"That's in two days!" Donna yelled in disbelief.

He nodded, "I know. It's going to be rough, but we'll get through it. I have to call her tomorrow with a list of stuff you like."

I looked at Donna, sensing she wasn't too happy about this. She looked angry and upset. That made me feel even worse.

"Well, there go our summer plans." Donna finally said.

She was right. No more perfect summer. I had to spend it with my mother in California.