Charlotte pulled into Teller-Morrow Automotive Repair, her burnt orange 1970 Chevy Nova clunking into the lot. After the five day drive from Anniston, Alabama to Stockton, California the already struggling engine had taken a hit. She yanked her keys out the ignition and, pushing her shoulder into the door, opened it. Her four inch, nude wedges scattered gravel in all directions as she made her path to the open garage doors. She smoothed her faux silk blouse down into her pale grey, pinstriped slacks and shook her golden strands free of her sweaty neck as she took her aviator sunglasses off.

A young man with a short mohawk and tattoos on either side of his head walked up to her, wiping his hands with an already dirty rag and nodded at her "How can I help you today?" he asked, looking her up and down.

"Hi there." she replied with her voice jingling like a bell with her southern accent. "I need an oil change and probably some new belts" she pointed at the car behind her. "I'm also going to need you to check the ignition timing and the crankshaft sensor."

"You know some big words for such a little lady" a thin, muscular man said from underneath the hood of a car behind the young man helping Charlotte.

Charlotte ignored the man's comment and just continued looking at the young man helping her as he looked at her in silence, a bemused look on his face.

"I'm sorry" she said, adjusting her stance as her words continued to drip with a cautionary bittersweet tone and waved her hand in front of the young man's face "Are you havin' an episode or somethin' because I don't have a problem with a deaf-mute workin' on my car but I was told this is one of the best garages in town and I expect a higher quality of service than this."

The young man blinked multiple times and stuttered softly, "Yes-yes, ma'am."

"Yes ma'am, what?" she said cooly.

"We can fix that, ma'am."

"Now, that's good to hear." Charlotte responded, smiling condescendingly and slipping her sunglasses back over her eyes. She unclipped her car keys from her keychain and placed them in his hand. He smiled sheepishly and played with the keys. Charlotte waited a beat, "I have to do some paperwork or somethin'?" she asked, exasperatedly.

"Hey, why don't you go jerk off in the corner like the dumbass you are." the thin man working on the car behind them stepped up next to the young man and tapped him on the shoulder. The young man promptly scurried away out of view from Charlotte. "You a nun or some shit?" the older man asked as he gestured for Charlotte to follow him into the garage, past the cars and into the office.

"Do I look like a nun to you?" she asked, her words whipping out of her mouth; cracking like fire. The man stopped in the narrow hallway and turned to face her, his hand resting on the wall above his head as his ice blue eyes scanned her body up and down. Before he could speak Charlotte arched her shoulders in briefly then stood up straight and said purposefully, "What is your name?"

"My name?" he repeated, he stood up straight and held out his hand for her to shake. "Tig"

She looked at his hand, "Tig?" she repeated. He nodded proudly, "I'm sorry" she continued, "When I said 'What is your name' I wasn't asking for the name your middle school boyfriend gave your penis I mean, what-is-your-name." Her green eyes flashed and narrowed, boring holes into his blue ones until he blinked at her and swallowed.

"Alex...Alexander" he said before turning back around to continue leading her to the office.

"Alexander." she repeated, running her fingers through her long, blonde hair. "Lovely name your mother gave you." he tensed, "She know you treat women so boorishly?"

He was handing her a clipboard with a piece of paper for her to fill out on it and, when she reached for the pen, he slammed her hand down on it forcing her to look at him in the eyes again. "Boorish: coarse or bad-mannered" he recited. She blinked rapidly three times, "I know big words too." He winked at her.

The hair on the back of her neck stood up but she ignored it and filled the paperwork out. When she handed it back to Tig he looked it over and dropped it on the table next to the computer.

He spread his arms out on the counter in front of her and propped himself up on his hands in front of her. "So, based on what you said out there I'll send it up to do a full diagnostic on the car just to make sure-"

"Excuse me," she said, putting her hand in the air. "I can't do a full diagnostic. Please just check what I asked for. Any additional labor will be unnecessary."

"Listen, lady" Tig said, rolling his head on his neck to combat his impatience. "Like you said out there, we're the best garage in the county and we're not going to let you ride around in that classic bitch with a less than passable engine."

"Fine" she huffed finally, seeing as how coming back here once every two months wasn't something she wanted either "I should have my new credit card by then so that's...fine, I suppose."

"Oh, I-"

"So you got a phone book for a cab around here?" she cut him off again. It was infuriating to him but he reached down and adjusted his pants to hide the semi bulging behind them.

"I'll have one of my guys take you home." he said quickly and turned his head to shout over his shoulder. "HALF-SACK!" he hollered "HALF-"

"Hey Tig, yeah." a tall, skinny kid with a mop of hair on his head

"Take the nice lady home, okay?"

The kid nodded and held the door open for Charlotte to exit out of. She walked gracefully down the wooden steps leading down from the office and Tig watched her ass as she went. He stood at the door and watched as the southern belle she was walking down the stairs turned into a roadside hitcher when she hoisted herself into the cab of the tow truck.