Buffer and the Wife.
Chapter 1
"Stupid car!" Buffer exclaimed looking at his engine, shore leave and this is what happens. He didn't notice Spider and Charge come up behind him; Charge looked at the car and decided that there was nothing he could do to help, he needed a garage. "And what have my pay get stolen by a fat grease monkey?" He'd been ripped off in the past and wasn't at all eager for it to happen again.
"I know somewhere." Spider said with a smile, "And I swear on my life that you won't get ripped off." He added. Buffer looked at him for a second then said go on, and if he did get ripped off the young sailor would be buying his drinks for a month.
"And this place is legit?" Charge asked unsure as this wasn't something Spider had ever mentioned before and he seriously doubted that Spider knew much more about cars than he did girls.
"Trust me, and I'll show you the way if you'll tow us Charge." Spider said and the older man agreed curious as to where Spider was taking them.
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The boys were surprised when Spider directed them to a quaint little neighbourhood and pulled to a stop at the end of a road outside a huge showroom with a rather large garage area.
"No way Spider these places rip you off for real." Buffer said as Spider got out of the car and walked into reception indicating for the two older men to remain where they were. Two minutes later Spider returned and got into the car telling them to pull onto the driveway of the house directly across from them. Buffer and Charge shared a confused look before doing as asked, by the time they had done this they were joined on the drive by a woman in her late twenties; she was dressed smartly and was smiling.
"Billy here tells me you're having car trouble," She smiled introducing herself as Alex Webb, Spider's older sister, "Give me ten minutes and I'll get one of the boys to take a look at it for you, in the meantime Billy can make you both a cuppa." She then threw a set of keys to Spider before walking back across the road.
"Follow me." Spider said walking towards the front door, he couldn't help but smile at the confused looks on the faces of both older men.
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Spider led the way through to the kitchen and Buffer and Charge took a good look at the small house on their way through it, there were various pictures of Spider with another boy around his age, a photo of whom they assumed were Spider's parents as well as many showing a young boy and girl with their mother and with their uncle and other family members. Buffer noticed that the place had a very homely feel to it, you could tell that it was both lived in and well loved.
"This your sister's place then?" Buffer asked once they'd reached the kitchen.
"Yeah, she and the kids live here, handy for work and school's nearby. Although her old place was just above the garage but when they relocated she found this place." Spider replied beginning to make the tea telling them about the state the house was in when she bought it the previous year and how she'd made him climb on the roof to do some repair work. The three were sat drinking their tea when Alex walked into the kitchen.
"Kurt is just taking a look at it now for you, shouldn't be too long." She said heading to the fridge and getting a glass of juice.
"Where are the munchkins?" Spider asked suddenly realising that the twins weren't there and they should be home from school by now looking at the time on the clock above the oven.
"Out at a friends for tea, quite the little socialites now, I'm always having to buy a present for someone's birthday party." She replied sitting down.
"Well if you're stuck I can give." She cut Spider off before he could continue and told Buffer and Charge how good her younger brother was at helping her out. Neither man said anything as they watched the sincerity in the expression of the young man, they both actually admired him a little for the gesture.
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Alex was about to sit down when Kurt knocked on the door and walked into the kitchen and asked who's car it was, Buffer asked him what was the matter with it and Kurt gave him the bad news. And then it got worse, they didn't have the part they needed to fix it in the garage and didn't know how long it would take to get hold of a new one.
"And how much is this likely to cost?" Buffer asked already dreading the answer.
"Alex?" Kurt asked looking at the only woman in the room; she knew the price of pretty much everything that went through the garage, and roughly how long it took to do jobs to the nearest five minutes. The answer she gave Buffer shocked him with how cheap it was and he asked how.
"Billy is going to go back up on my roof to replace some more tiles as a thank you." She replied and Spider nodded in agreement.
"For that price I'll do it." Buffer added, "How soon will you have the part?" Kurt replied that he'd checked the system and they were getting a delivery in two days time, but they were pretty busy that day in the garage. Kurt then looked over at Alex who nodded before turning to Buffer.
"Stop by about 5 and it'll be done." She said.
"In that case I'll definitely do the roof." Buffer replied with a large smile.
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Spider and Charge were surprised when Buffer wouldn't stop raving about how cheap the garage had been, and how impressive the house was. He also started asking Spider about how she managed with a job and two kids on her own, Spider and Charge shared a knowing look before Charge asked Buffer where he wanted to go to eat to change the subject. When they got to the bar Buffer started on about his car to ET and Bomber who were sat waiting for them.
"You know I think someone might have a crush." Charge smirked and then laughed as Spider's face dropped and Buffer appeared to blush, which set ET and Bomber off laughing.
"So is she divorced?" Charge asked Spider when Buffer was at the bar.
"No, creep ran off the moment he found out she was pregnant. He ran into Tom's fist a few years ago, would have ran into mine and my dad's too if we'd have had the chance. He left her with a load of bills and no money." Buffer had rejoined them by this point and Charge encouraged him to continue with the story. "But she managed, found a job at the garage where it used to be doing reception and also the accounts, and it came with a flat above it so she had a place to live. Mum wanted her to move back home but she wouldn't, stubborn as a mule and tough as old boots." Spider smiled with pride. "But she did it, all by herself. Made a home, raised two kids and has a good job; she co-owns the place now and is a qualified mechanic." He was almost swelling with pride and Bomber gave him an encouraging smile.
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