The sun was still a good distance below the horizon, but a careful observer would see the lightening in the east. Down a street, still quiet and dark with sleep, the bright colors of a sign smiled, as if trying to awaken the air itself. Inside, as dark as the street outside, but a few comfortable degrees warmer, a single twin bed creaked against its occupant, as he shifted and sighed. His eyes slid open, though he continued to lay silently, staring at the ceiling.
His first thought of the day swirled in misty and heavy with dream. He thought of the ceiling above his bed the first day they moved in. Back then, it was only Turner, Rusty, Stretch, and a very young Dusty. Before he had even opened the shop, he had had to fix up the apartment above. He hated the long, hour drive from Matte Mesa where he lived. Waking before the sun rose, every day, even Saturday, (a habit he still could not break) and driving all the way to Sheetrock Springs in an old truck that complained before it hit 50 miles an hour. The temperature was often still cold from the night. But, the worst part was leaving the tools. He wanted more than anything to bring them with him. But, even though their very purpose in life was to fix that which was broken, the new shop he had spent his life savings on was too dangerous. It was condemned. That was the only reason he could afford it.
Now, in an apartment that could never be mistaken for the wreck it had once been, Manny rolled out of bed and slipped into his pants. He looked to his digital clock. It was blinking, displaying 4:37 PM. He shook his head. It may have been the fuses. Even in the three years he had worked furiously night and day, he hadn't worked out all the bugs. He sighed and stretched until an involuntary groan rolled out of his chest. As he walked to the window, he reach down below his old truck which held all his important papers and photographs. In a deep overlap of the bottom, sat hidden pack of Camel cigarettes. He only smoked one or two a day. Only when the tools were tucked in tight and cozy. He grabbed his desk chair and sat it square with the window, sliding it open. He lit the cigarette and watched the sky warm and pale.
A smile slowly broke through the sleep on his face as the swirling images of himself and Mr. Lopart fighting a toolbox up the stairs. It had only taken about eight months to get the building to the point that the inspector would deem it structurally sound. It had been a grueling, bloody eight months that saw him leave before his sister (who's tiny new family he shared his meager apartment with) had even woken to make breakfast for her infant son and the tools. An eight months that saw him breaking two fingers, receiving one concussion, and crawling home every night, exhausted and much too tired to eat a sparse plate of cold dinner his sister would leave in the oven, long after the tools were asleep. He remembered the day the inspector had handed him his slip of paper.
"You pass, Mr. Garcia. Good luck with those tools. Very good thing you're doing." the inspector extended his free hand to take Manny's.
"Thank you, Mr. Burton. Now, if I can ask a question." Manny returned the handshake as warmly as he could. His heart was dancing. Soon, his little family would be in a real home.
"Sure." the inspector motioned for Manny to follow him to his truck. After dropping his clipboards and PDA, he popped his glovebox open and removed a pack of cigarettes. "Like one?"
Manny graciously accepted the cigarette and then the lighter. His let his first puff of smoke slowly drift toward the evening sky and turned back to the inspector.
"Does this mean I can start plumbing and wiring the building?"
"Yeah, you're clear to do what you want with it. The zoning laws are pretty loose in Sheetrock Springs. And, I'm pretty sure that shop front would do a lot of business, being in the middle of the street and all. What kind of store you gonna put in?"
"Well, when I bought the place I wasn't sure, but while I was fixing it up, I figured putting in a repair shop would be a great idea. I was working for my uncle, doing construction. It paid well enough, and I was never out of work. But, then I got the tools and, well . . ." Manny trailed off, not knowing exactly how to finish.
"Yeah, I get ya!" the inspector laughed, "I was building bridges when my wife got pregnant. It wasn't long after I found out, I was begging my brother in the state department for a good job. Those were the days."
The phone rang, bursting Manny's reverie. He furrowed his brow in its direction, pondering for a moment of he wanted to take a call this early or not. Another ring and he was across the room in a second, quietly answering with one ear, listening down the hall with the other. He only heard soft snores and a soft mumble. Probably Rusty.
"Hello?" it was too early for company greetings.
"Hey Manny, it's Kelly."
"Well, hello there, Kelly. What's up?"
"You. I saw your light on. I was up, wondering why my alarm was sounding at 4:00 PM, when it's only 5:10 in the morning."
"The power must have gone off last night. My clock is off too." he took his last puff of the cigarette and flipped it out the window. he was going to have to get tin the shower before the tools woke up, hungry and eager to start the day. The others probably wouldn't notice, but Pat and Squeeze's noses were exceptional to say the least.
"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the beach later. It's suppose to be beautiful today, and I bet the tools need a day off."
"Hmmm. Actually, that sounds great. I was going to celebrate today with them, anyway. Did you know it is the fourth anniversary of the day I adopted the tools? Well, Rusty, Dusty, Turner, Stretch, and Pat, anyway. It's kind of a collective birthday."
"Wow, that's great, Manny. The nice weather worked out great then. Hey, you know, I remember the first day I met you and the tools. I felt so silly when I found out you had been working in that old building for almost a year, and we'd never met." She laughed. Manny smiled at the sound.
"Yeah, I was just sitting here thinking about that." a belated yawn snuck up behind him and attacked.
Kelly's laughter lit up his eardrums again.
"I'll let you go. Call me when you're ready to go. I should be ready by 10 at least."
"OK, Kelly. I'll see you in awhile."
Manny replaced the receiver on the phone and stood smiling at it a moment longer. the first day they had met . . . The memory played at the edges of his mind as he started the shower and slipped under the hot water.
In the dark, under the steaming stream of water, he remembered something that made him really smile. The relief he had felt that day. The crushing weight of worry that had lifted from him when he heard Pat's enthusiastic chatter to the infant Dusty raise.
"We're each gonna have our own drawer in the toolbox, and a big bathtub, and a real table to eat dinner on, and, and -" his excited rambling was cut short by Rusty's nervous question.
"Manny, does that mean we have to sleep in the room all by ourselves?" His puppy dog eyes stared up at Manny.
"Don't worry Rusty. I built your bathroom so that the light will shine in so you can see. But not enough to keep you awake." he turned to Turner and winked. The tool's sour expression seemed to crinkle a bit with a silent grin.
Manny watched the moving truck motor slowly toward their new street. He had not been able to keep from smiling since the moment he had opened his eyes that morning. He had finished the building three weeks before, and, with his newest friend, Mr. Lopart, had hustled to ready the apartment for the tools' "birthday". The last bit of his savings had gone for new furniture and paint and a three night stay in his new soon to be home. He stayed up until the wee hours, painting, moving furniture, stocking the fridge, writing his new advertisement in the Sheetrock Springs paper, and making the apartment as close to perfect as he could. The morning of their birthday, Manny had returned to his sister's apartment, just before the tool were awake.
His sister answered the door, still wearing her house coat, no doubt having just said goodbye to her husband as he left for his job at the university cattle barn. He was making his way up the ladder in Beef Research so fast, Manny guessed the family wouldn't see two Christmases before he was the head researcher. Or whoever it was that ran his department.
Manny's sister motioned him to the kitchen, where Manny could smell bacon, eggs, toast, and good hot coffee. He poured a cup and sat down at the table. He felt tired from the night before, too tired for the hour. But, his excitement rose high above the exhaustion. He felt like a kid waiting for his parents to wake up for the first day of a vacation.
"Hermano." she sat down with her own cup of coffee." Que bueno. The tools have missed you so much. Especially Dusty. Last night, I couldn't hardly get her to settle down. It seems like the moment I got Pepe to sleep, she would start up, and when she was finally done, Pepe would wake up and get mad about the noise. It went back and forth like that for almost three hours. If it wasn't for Turner, I don't know what I would have done." She sat down.
Manny's face fell for the first time that morning.
"I'm so sorry, Lola. I know it's been hard on you. You don't know how much I appreciate your help."
He slipped his hand into his jacket and sat his tiny bundle on the table in front of her. It was two hundred dollars, His last two hundred dollars. She had never asked him for money, though she cared for the tools every day like they were her own. He had always paid her what little he could and always bought the groceries for everyone, no matter the cost.
She smiled.
"No, Manny. Toma lo. You need it more than I do. You don't know how long it will be before you get steady jobs."
He wanted to tell her to take it, that he didn't need it. But, all he could manage was to stare at his coffee. Lola placed the money back in his hand, and clasp her hand over his.
"I am really proud of you Manny."
She smiled at him. he returned a smile, whole heartedly.
"Now, go take a shower, before the tools wake up. You smell like smoke."
He laughed as she crinkled her nose.
He stepped out of his shower and flipped on the lights. The breeze from his window was warm, so he removed his towel, ran it through his hair, and decided to air dry, while he brushed his teeth and shaved. He combed his hair and began a mental list of things he would need for the beach. Towels, the beach ball, the toys, Rusty's special floatie, extra juice for Squeeze. She would run around with Fixit until she nearly dropped. Apart of him was glad the tools actually needed to eat. He hated the thought of eating tiny, quick meals, alone at the table, til the end of his days.
He walked into his bedroom, closed the window, and pulled the blinds down, making sure to tie his towel tight around his waist, in case a curious set of eyes were staring in on him. He put on his fresh clothes, his favorite hat, and a new pair of boots. As quietly as possible, he opened his door and tiptoed down the hall, passed the tools' room, and into the tiny but respectable kitchen. He had painted his kitchen the same color of the kitchen of his childhood. His mother's kitchen. As he entered the kitchen, he picked up the receiver and dialed. The phone rang twice and then,
"Hello."
"Good morning, Mr. Lopart."
"Oh, hello, Manny. What can i do for you today?"
"I was wondering if you could do me a favor."
"Oh, sure, Manny! What'd you need?"
'Do you remember when I told you yesterday about the tools' birthday?"
"Huh? Oh yes . . . Oh yes! You wanted me to decorate and buy a cake and such."
"Yes, Mr. Lopart. Do you still have a key?"
"Oh, yes, Manny . . . I have it right-Hey, Fluffy! Bring that back here.'
Manny laughed and said goodbye to the constantly distracted Leonard Lopart. Manny turned to the kitchen and stretched again.
The bright pale yellow and milky blue caught the light perfectly and made the kitchen seem much bigger than it really was. He opened the refrigerator, hoping for inspiration. Suddenly, the smell of bacon, eggs, toast, and coffee wafted through his memories and his decision was made. He fried the bacon and made a plate of jellied toast. After he set the coffee on, he snuck back up the stairs. In front of the tools' bedroom door, he took a deep breath and silently opened the door. He walked as slowly as possible towards the big tool box in the corner. In the top drawer, he gently lowered his hand in, slid it under the tool and returned to the hall way. Turner squinted against the light, allowing Manny to walk him down stairs and place him on the couch.
"Good morning, Manny."
"Good morning, Turner. What kind of eggs do you want?"
"Squeeze likes scrambled eggs and cheese." Turner mumbled, half falling back to sleep..
Manny smiled down at him and walked back to the tools' room. By now the sun was creeping up the horizon, morning had now hit the point of no return. He walked in and lifted the blinds on the two big back windows. Felipe groaned and Stretch yawned, sticking out a least half a foot of tape. Dusty sat up and bent her blade back and forth, stretching. The haunting, musical sound stirred both Pat and Rusty forth from their dreams and made Squeeze giggle.
"Good morning, tools. I'm making scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast."
"With cheese?!" Squeeze began to bounce with excitement.
"Yes, Squeeze, with cheese." Manny chuckled.
He followed a bouncing, cheering Squeeze, careful not to trip on any of his beloved tools.
He walked down the stairs and began to make fresh scramble eggs with cheese. The bustle of the tools hummed the brightening kitchen to life. A tiny tick-tick across the floor told him Turner had joined the rest of the tools. He was glad. Turner like to wake up alone. He was a bit of a meanie when he had to wake up to the noise and motion of his adopted brothers and sisters. Then, again, he had a bit of a mean streak all the time. Or at least, he pretended to.
Breakfast was, as always, an event. Pat and Dusty played music until even Turner was laughing and Felipe played 20 Questions with a slowly frustrating Stretch. Manny cleared the table. While he washed the dishes, he listened to the tools in the tiny livingroom.
"I want to watch Looney Tunes!" chirped Squeeze.
"I want to watch Slam the Super hammer!" Pat yelled.
The tools fell to squabbling about the channel. Soon, Dusty could be heard over everyone.
"Let's vote! Come on, everybody, calm down,"
"Tools! Take a vote on the channel. It's only fair."
The noise level lowered. He could hear Turner grumbling, probably counting votes. Manny drained the last of his coffee and walked into the livingroom and sat down to watch the last of Looney Tunes.
"I have a surprise for you guys today. We are going to the beach with Kelly. Happy birthday!"
The tools all gasped and began to dance around. Manny laughed. He rose to go and pack their bag while the tools continued to celebrate wildly in the livingroom.
