On the way back to the far side of the park, I called the auto parts store to get the fuel pump for the Daniels car. I also ordered the other stuff to tune and service it. I asked about the shaft and housing and they said they could get it, but it would not be available until tomorrow. I told them to order it for me, along with the service materials for the car. I pleaded, "Could you bring me the fuel pump and the other goodies. Tell the gate guard that I'm at the Daniels and Kelly places. They'll direct the driver."
"The guy said, "No sweat, you order enough for delivery anyway. The driver will be right there."
Up at the two cars, I began pulling the tank loose to replace the pump. This was a tough job, but I used a piece of plywood between the tank and the little bottle jack that would hold up the tank while I pulled the fuel pump.
I should probably have had the garage that charged the lady to come get the car, but I was wasting too much time today. It was almost noon and I had not accomplished anything except get a bitch in trouble. I had the old fuel pump out and found it to be the original equipment pump. This just proved the garage did nothing. I would have to see about them. The parts driver arrived and unloaded everything into my cart, had me sign for it and split, fast, and efficient.
I had the new pump in the tank and jacked the tank up so I could bolt the straps back on. I connected the tubing I had pulled loose and turned the key on. I heard the pump fill the line and turned the ignition. The car started instantly.
I changed oil and filters, tuned it up real quick, and gave Mrs. Daniels the old fuel pump. I told her, "Take this up to the place who said they replaced your fuel pump and tell them you want your money back. They did not replace your fuel pump. That's the original equipment fuel pump. Your car runs fine again, all tuned and serviced. She thanked me and said, "Are you going to be able to fix Mrs. Kelly's car. She's been so unlucky with it since having the car stolen."
"I'll get it done tomorrow."
I did go tell Mrs. Kelly I would be back after lunch to service the car and the parts to fix the rear axle would be here in the morning.
Up at the patio, I was sort of dirty and used the outside hose with some degreaser to get clean enough to eat. Hap came in and began telling everyone about the poor excuse for a claims adjuster that been there this morning.
Steve said, "You know, they have had an attitude lately. I think I should call my original agent and see if I can rattle some bushes."
Hap said, "You have help shaking those bushes. Mark told the head claims people to go tell underwriting that you were looking into finding a friendlier company."
Steve laughed, "That's pretty perceptive of you, Mark. Ruth and Sue have already been looking. I was the one to tell them to take it slow. When Sue comes over, she'll hear this and won't want to be slow."
Sue came in right after that and when the incident slowly came out, Sue was pissed. She picked up her cell phone and called someone important. She said, "You have exactly four hours, until five o'clock, to get a real claims investigator out here to look at the damage to Mrs. Kelly's car from when it was stolen. One little tiny claim and you're going to lose multiple millions of dollars in business. Dumb, huh?"
Sue smiled at me and said, "I hope you haven't fixed it yet. I want them to see it."
I said, "I had to order the parts. They won't be here until tomorrow, so the car is still in pieces. The damage is easy to see."
Steve said, "Show me after lunch, I want to see it, too."
After lunch, Steve followed me over to Mrs. Kelly's place. I showed him the gouge and the bent housing. He said, "Ray Charles could see that. Hap said you were working on another car up here."
Pointing across the street, "Mrs. Daniels' car had a bad fuel pump. She paid to have a new pump put in a month ago and of course didn't have enough for another repair. The pump I pulled was the original equipment pump. I gave it to her and told her to go get her money back from the shop."
Steve was ticked, "Let me get her bill and the pump. I'll go talk to them myself. This is ridiculous. These old people don't have the money to be overpaying to get nothing done. Hell, I'll have the TV people do the work." Steve went up and knocked on Mrs. Daniels' door.
I serviced Mrs. Kelly's car and was finishing when a white Chevy Tahoe pulled up with the insurance company name on the side. A very nice looking lady got out of the car and smiled. She asked, "Is this the Kelly vehicle with the problem?"
"Yes, Ma'am. I will get Mrs. Kelly and we'll show you where the problem is."
She smiled as I knocked on Mrs. Kelly's door. The older lady came out, wringing her hands. She said, "I can't believe the problems after having the car stolen like that. Let Mr. Robins show you what happened."
I spread a cloth on the ground so she could look up under the car. The lady did get on her knees and I showed her where the housing was gouged and bent explaining that the shaft was bent inside the housing. She asked, "Why are the wheels off?"
"I took the wheels off to see if the rear brake drums were seized since the rear tires were skidding. When I tried to turn the shaft it wouldn't turn so that's how I came to get the car up off the ground farther to find the problem."
The lady asked, "If the car is so badly damaged, how did it get here? Most of the tow companies use flat bed trucks and roll them on and off."
Mrs. Kelly said, "A regular tow truck came with the car hooked up to it. They were pulling the car by the back. I'll bet that's why they were pulling it that way. They rolled it in front first, right up under my carport and that's where it's sat."
The lady asked, "Do you have an estimate for the job?"
Steve had walked up and said, "Why don't you just pay the claim on the standard dealer amount for changing the parts he's ordered. If he overruns that, he's willing to eat it."
Gee thanks, Mr. Moneybags. But then, Steve is giving me good money for doing this. At least, I think so.
The lady frowned and said, "This man isn't a dealer and is doing the work as if he were a shade tree mechanic. Are you even a licensed mechanic?"
"No, Ma'am, I am not. I will put the car back together, have it towed to the nearest dealer and have them do the work. I'm sure you would be happier that way. I have other people to help."
"Well, that's a very smart alec way to answer."
Steve said, "He only offered to resolve the problem after your insult. Oh, I think you should know that your other claims adjuster did all the rock damage to his cart today, too. I want you to estimate the repainting of it."
"You'll have to file a formal claim for it. It probably won't exceed your deductible."
Steve was smiling now, but a nasty smile. "You don't understand, your person, your employee, is responsible for the damage. It was done while in the act of maliciously trying to harm Mr. Robins. That's why your rep is in jail."
The lady became alarmed, "Our claims representative is in jail? Why did that happen?"
This time it was my turn. "She became angry because I wanted her to look at the damage. She denied the claim and said she would have me arrested for fraud if we brought it up again. That's when she spun her tires while leaving, showering my cart and me with rocks. She was detained at our front gate until the Sheriff's department could respond. The park has charged her with malicious property damage and intent to commit bodily harm."
You could see this woman wilting by the second.
Steve said, "I personally, through S&S, pay your company multiple millions of dollars annually to insure my properties, vehicles, and businesses. I would think we could get a little more respect for that kind of business."
The lady said, "The owner of S&S is Steve Sharp. I'm sure he will enjoy you having impersonated him. His wife will like that as well, as she insures all of her companies with us."
Steve pulled his wallet from his pocket and handed her his driver's license. He took it back from her while her mouth was still open and said, "Now, I want you to complete the claim on this car right this instant. Either do as I previously asked, or deny the claim. When you get back to your office in the main building, I want you to go see Howard and tell him you are responsible for potentially losing the company millions in premiums. Do it now, Ma'am, or I will have you removed from my property."
The lady broke down and was crying, trying to fill out the claim form and look up the amounts in big manual. Steve just shook his head, got in his cart and drove off. The lady asked me, "Would you mind using my camera and take pictures of the housing for me. I also need pictures of the cart that was sprayed with rocks. Are you personally going to sue us for damages?"
"Probably not, Ma'am. I'm not into that sort of thing. Fair is fair, you take care of my boss and this lady and I'm fine with it."
I took the pictures of those things she wanted and gave her the camera. She flipped through the frames making sure she had what she needed. She said, "We had a crank call that told us we should come get the representative's car before it was impounded. That wasn't a crank call then, was it?"
Shaking my head no, I said, "I made that call, Ma'am. I thought it would be better for your people to take the car rather than have it go to an impound lot where it costs around,,,,, "
"Two fifty to get it out," she said. "You also advised us the rep was going to jail. I wonder if they have given her an opportunity to call for help yet. I wonder if we even provide an attorney for that."
I suggested, "You probably should use your attorney and funds to bail her out, since the felonies were committed in the process of her carrying out your business in the manner she felt you would want it completed."
She said, "Oh shit." She covered her mouth and apologized. " I'm sorry for the language."
Mrs. Kelly said, "You'll probably hear a lot worse before this day is over, and not one curse word from Mr. Robins. I think he needs to say a few."
The claims lady smiled at that. She ripped out a check that she had written and handed it to Mrs. Kelly. She said, "That is the dealer amount to repair what was indicated to me, plus the cost of an alignment. If there are additional charges, please advise me. Here is my card."
She turned to me and said, "You tried to warn me several times and I didn't take your hints. Thank you for trying to warn me and if we are in this situation again, kick me or slap me, but get my attention. I have no idea how much the cost of repainting this side of your cart will be. Please have the work completed and use this piece of paper for reimbursement. I need to go find out if I still have a job and if my big boss still is my big boss. We need to do some big butt kissing."
I said, "You want to know how to resolve this issue?"
"How?" The lady actually looked expectant.
"Get your big boss and both of you change into some casual clothes and be here just before five. Talk to Steve and Sue about how you made mistakes and how you will resolve them. Have a drink with them. Have a beer or two. If you have to keep talking, have supper with them. As you drive out of here right now, go down his street and look at the big patio on the side of the enormous manufactured home. That is where you will make this right. It's up to you, be there and fix it, or let it simmer overnight long enough for them to make up their mind to cancel. If there are other problems, get underwriting to work on them. If I know this company, I'll bet they have very few claims."
"You're right about claims. This claim isn't even on them. This is a personal auto claim. Your claim is against the insurance company, so that isn't even against their revenue. I'll tell the boss. Hopefully he sees the value of your suggestion."
"Don't be misled by Steve and Sue living out here. This is a great place to live, full of happy people who are propped up by Steve, Sue, and all the people of S&S and this park."
She nodded and got into her SUV and drove off.
Mrs. Kelly looked at the check and handed it to me. I told her, "Put it away. I'll find out how to handle this tomorrow when I'm done. I'm doing this to help people. Steve pays for the parts, so if it's anyone's, it's his or the company's."
Mrs. Kelly brought her round self up to me and gave me a kiss and a hug. "Thank you, Mr. Robins, you are a sweetheart. I heard you took Caroline to Wyoming with you to see your son and his family."
"There are no secrets out here, are there? Call me Mark, please."
"No, Mark, there are no secrets. All of us ladies go up to the pool after lunch and hear all the good gossip. You treat that lady nice, Mark, she's a good person."
"I know, Mrs. Kelly, I know." I put my tools back into the little box on the cart and said, "I'll be back tomorrow when the parts come in. I should be able to get this done tomorrow."
It was almost four, so I looked at the address of the last person on my list and saw that it was just down the street from Steve, all the way at the end. I drove over there and knocked on the door. I heard some scraping around inside and waited. I knocked again and heard the scraping again. I hollered, "This is Mark from the park. I fix cars and heard you needed help."
More scraping, so I tried the door. It opened so I looked inside to see an old man lying on the floor trying to wave his hand back and forth. Shit. I called 911 and gave them the address and that a man was on the floor with what may be a seizure or a stroke. They told me to check his pupils. He looked normal and his pulse was in the high sixties. I told them he was moving his mouth and nothing was coming out. They told me to look for any other signs of damage. I couldn't see any. I told the man, "Lay still, don't try to move. The ambulance is coming with paramedics."
I heard the sirens already, knowing they would be here quickly. I pushed the door open and moved my cart so it wasn't blocking the walkway. I went back inside to find the man lying quietly, almost smiling. I told him, "Please just stay calm. Help is coming."
A fireman came in the door and began checking the old man lying on the floor. He asked me several questions and I told him what I had found. The fireman said, "It looks like a massive stroke. I need to get him to a hospital fast. Let me get a board."
The other fireman standing, waiting for instructions left quickly and two more men came in with a board to carry the man out. They slid the man onto the board and strapped him down. I held his hand and smiled at him as they loaded him onto the gurney before putting him in the ambulance. I leaned down and said softly, "Get well, Sir. I'll lock up your place and have Martin look after it." He smiled, giving me encouragement that he would be all right.
Outside, there was a crowd of neighbors trying to see what had happened. I saw Martin and waved at him. He came over and I told him what had happened and what I had promised the man. I told Martin, "Go in and find his keys. Make sure everything is turned off, then tomorrow we'll check the place to see if anything needs to be done. I'll fix his car, but he probably won't be able to drive again."
Martin nodded, "Old Willy is getting up there. He's damn near ninety. He probably shouldn't be driving anyway. Fix the car anyway. He may be leaving it to a great-grandkid."
We waited for the crowd to dissipate, and then locked up the house. Martin said, "I'll go get a hasp and lock and bolt it on right now. That way no one can break in while he's gone. Call security and tell them to check on the house a few times tonight."
I noticed that there was about a ten foot path all the way across the back of the property. My area had more than ten feet, but it was a good way for me to get home quick. I drove my cart over to my trailer and went in to strip off my coveralls and clean up. My hands were taking a beating and were getting permanently ingrained with dark grease that I couldn't get out. I decided I would ask the diesel truck mechanics how they kept their hands clean.
While I was in the shower, I thought I heard someone come in and finished up quick to get done and get up to the patio. When I walked out with a towel around me, Sue and the insurance claims lady were sitting at my table. I said, "Pardon me, ladies. I'll get dressed and find out how to help you in a second. You surprised me."
I held up my hand for them to just let it rest until I was dressed and out with them.
When I was dressed, ready for a drink and supper, I went out to see what was up. Sue said, "Lily, the claims supervisor says you told her to come and talk turkey with us. She said you told her to bring the big boss. Is that right?"
I nodded and said, "Yes, Ma'am. I thought that would be a good idea considering how seriously their people screwed up today."
Sue said, "You did good, Mark. That was the best advice you could have given her. Her boss didn't believe we lived in a trailer park, no matter how hard she pleaded. What do you think, Mark, is this lady salvageable?"
"Don't ask me those questions after the day we've had out here. I don't know. I don't know her or what her capabilities are. She's a little uppity, but she's learning. What would you use her for, Ma'am?"
Sue said forcefully, "I'm Sue, not Ma'am. I know you're just trying to be courteous, but just call me Sue. My goodness, you're one of the family, just relax."
Sue looked at the lady and said, "We need someone to help with some of the claims that come in. Some of our warranty claims are big business. The company is so big anymore it's hard to know everyone and difficult to get everything right. We manage to make things work by having the right people." Sue turned to me and said, "Since she'll probably get fired, I think we might have a place for her. It will be a lot of work, as she'll have to take the job and build it from scratch. Do you think she can do it, Mark?"
"She has a lot of grit, Sue. She's tough, but seems to jump to some conclusions. I like her because she does resolve to fix a problem quickly. My recommendation is to see what happens to her and give that guy Howard another call. If he doesn't show, screw him. Do what you need to do, Sue."
The lady was shaking her head. "You people don't mess around do you? You came straight to the person that gave good advice to me to see what you should do. If you decide you want me to work for you, I want the job. I've seen your "Is it Perfect" signs on your doors out here. I want that. I want the chance to work with people to make it perfect."
Sue said, "Come on, let's get back to the patio, I think tonight is a booze night. Give Howard another call. I'll talk to him, but I'm not going to beg."
They left while I was still standing there in my living room kitchen, or whatever. I looked around and saw the place looked dust free. I wonder who did that, Betty, Shirley, Caroline, or maybe even Prissy. I went back to my clothes hamper to get my dirty clothes and it was empty. Someone was here and someone gave my clothes to Prissy. Some clean stuff was hanging in the closet. That makes it easy, give everyone a key and they can just come and go as they please.
I was laughing as I closed and locked the door. Caroline and Shirley were sitting in the cart waiting for me. Shirley said, "We saw you had Sue and another lady in there, so we waited out here for you."
"Is Betty alright? She should come with us."
"She's already over there," Caroline said. "We need to say something to you before we go, though. Betty says that she doesn't think she really wants to have sex any more. She says she wants to be held at night sometimes and to be kissed, but she doesn't think she wants sex."
I said, "That's fine. Sex is to be enjoyed, not forced, or something that someone should feel is required."
"We told her you would feel that way, but she wanted us to talk to you because she was the one to bring up the blue pill first, or at least she thought she was."
I asked the ladies, "So who managed to get the pills we experimented with?"
Caroline blushed and said, "I did. I asked my doctor for some samples. I told him the man I wanted to have as a lover was having some serious problems. He gave me four and told me to ask him for more with a report as to how they worked."
Caroline showed Shirley two pills and said, "See, I didn't hog them all for myself."
Shirley laughed, "I might have. I thought about sex all the time when I didn't get any, and when I did get some, I was all content and didn't think about it as much. Funny how that works."
Caroline said, "That's called satisfaction. Just like our man here, satisfaction guaranteed."
At the patio, I found Betty and hugged her. Whispering in her ear, I said, "Never, ever, think you have to have sex with me. We are friends first. If you need to be held, I'll hold you. If you need to sleep with someone holding you, I will love doing it. Betty, you and I are buds. We don't need sex to stay that way."
Betty had some watery eyes. She just smiled and gave me a very tender kiss. I went over to the bar to make Caroline and Shirley a drink and found Martin already acting the part of bartender. Martin was telling the girls, "Did you hear how Mark saved old Willy's life? He found him on the floor suffering from a bad stroke. If Mark hadn't looked for him, Willy would have died."
Caroline gave me a hug and said, "We all need to look after each other and our older folks. We need to organize so that we have communication with everyone at least once a day. We might even work on more often than that."
Shirley said, "That's a good cause for us, Caroline. We'll get this started and work throughout the park. Even the young folks that live alone should have a neighbor contact them every day. We're supposed to be a friendly park, so let's make it that way."
I noticed a guy in a dress shirt and suit pants sitting with Steve and Sue. He was gesturing with his hands and arms trying to get a point across. You could tell that Steve and Sue were not impressed. The claims lady wasn't sitting with them, but nearby. I don't think she wanted to be considered in the same pot as that guy.
My drink went down too smoothly. When the two ladies didn't stop me, I figured no blue pill tonight, so I had a second. That was enough. I had beer with the delicious pot roast they had. Martin said, "Tomorrow night is meatloaf night. That is always one of my favorites."
I was interested in meatloaf, but I play pool on Wednesday nights. Perhaps the girls can save me a plate. I wondered if they made enough for sandwiches the next day. I couldn't remember whether I had eaten on the patio on a Wednesday yet. When it was time to go home, I ran Betty and Shirley home and went back for Caroline. When I stopped at her trailer, she said, "Put your cart away and I'll be right there. The other two ladies don't want to come tonight, but I sure do. I'm getting used to having you next to me."
In minutes, while I washed and brushed my teeth, Caroline was in the house and in bed. When I came out of the bathroom, she said, "I locked up. Come snuggle. I need to feel you next to me."
When I was laying there with her on my shoulder, Caroline said, "I miss Suzy waking you up. I woke both times you got up with her. She sure is a sweetheart and you are obviously her special guy. I want to go see those kids again soon. Let's start planning on it so we can look forward to going up there."
We did some kissing, but just that, kissing, no pawing, and no petting. Just some sweet kisses until Caroline's breathing became regular. My mind was racing with everything that had happened today. This had been a squirrelly day. I thought that perhaps I could find a little Light Sport plane to buy. Hopefully, S&S would keep the Skycatcher. It was a nice plane.
I drifted off to sleep, picturing Caroline and me flying back to Cheyenne.
Primary editing by Pepere
Proofing by Sagacious