Note: Thank you to the following people who left reviews on chapter 1: Erin Jordan, BMSH, max2013, Nemesis, BeeBee18, and sm2003495. We appreciate the feedback! Since this is a Thanksgiving story, we will post 2-3 chapters a week, with the final chapter posted on Thanksgiving Day.
The Path to Gratitude
Chapter 2
Joe climbed the stairs slowly and walked into the bedroom. He glanced at the clock on the bedside table and sighed, which quickly devolved into a coughing spasm. Sitting on the edge of the bed, it was almost two minutes later before the coughing finally subsided. Joe flopped backwards, laying across the bed and threw an arm over his eyes. He would have loved to just drift off to sleep but he'd promised Frank that he'd check the brakes on Callie's car and get them fixed tonight.
He pushed himself back up, took off his work clothes and changed into the t-shirt and jeans he reserved for working on cars. Vanessa had long ago tired of trying to get oil stains and the remnants of whatever was on the garage floor out of his clothes and strongly suggested he keep one or two shirts and a pair of jeans to wear exclusively while in the garage.
Joe walked into the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. He grabbed a plastic bottle, spun the top off, and measured out a capful of the cough suppressant. He didn't want to break into yet another coughing spasm with his head under a car. 'Just my luck I'd give myself a concussion.' Downing the liquid in one gulp, Joe made face and shuddered. "That is the most disgusting stuff I've ever tasted," he muttered. "Is there a law that says medicine has to taste like crap?" He twisted the cap back on, put it on the counter and hurried out of the bathroom, through the bedroom, giving a longing glance at the bed, and headed down the stairs and out to the garage.
A moment later, Joe flipped a switch as he walked into the garage. The fluorescent lights buzzed for a few seconds and then filled the room with light. Joe looked around and smiled with pride. Unabashedly messy in other parts of his life, Joe kept his garage neat and organized. Opening toolbox drawers and pulling items off the wall hooks, he gathered everything he would need to work on the brakes and lined them all up on the floor. He pulled blocks out from under a work table and put them behind the back wheels of Callie's car. Making sure they were firmly in place to keep the car from rolling backwards, Joe could still hear Biker Conway's voice in his head: "Safety first kid, especially when you're working alone." Biker had been the first one to see Joe's natural talent for working on cars and taught Joe almost everything he knew.
Stifling a yawn that seemed to come out of nowhere, Joe next got the jack and jack stands out. He jacked up the front of the car and put the jack stands under each side. Kneeling down next to the driver's side of the car, Joe removed the lug nuts from the tire and pulled it off, laying it under the chassis. Taking a seat on the floor, Joe wiped an arm across his forehead. When did jacking up a car and taking a tire off become so tiring? Joe pushed himself up off the floor, leaned in through the window and turned the steering wheel towards him. The caliper turned in time with the wheel, giving him easier access to the bolts holding it in place.
He grabbed a socket wrench and loosened the bottom bolt of the caliper then switched to a ratchet and removed the bolt. Next, he wedged a screwdriver into the caliper and popped it open and upward, removed both brake pads, closed the caliper, and put the bolt back in temporarily. He'd need to go back and put the new brake pads in once he changed the rotors.
Next, he used a breaker bar and socket wrench to remove the bolts holding the calipers in place. Expecting them to be tight, he put some muscle behind the breaker bar and was surprised when it flew up, almost striking him in the chin. Joe frowned. 'That's odd.' He pulled the bolt out and examined it closely but saw nothing out of the ordinary. Placing it on the floor, he reached back and picked up a small bungee cord.
He attached one end of the bungee to the strut and the other end to the caliper, the cord holding it up and out of the way. Mentally crossing his fingers, Joe tugged on the rotor, hoping it would pop right off. 'Of course not.' He reached out and grabbed the hammer he'd laid on the floor. Alternately hitting the top and bottom of the rotor several times, it finally loosened and popped off. Just as he thought, it had been rust welded to the hub.
Joe laid the rotor on the floor, stood and stretched. Stifling a yawn he walked to his work table and opened one of the drawers, pulling out a tube of anti-seize lubricant. He turned and almost ran into Vanessa. "Hey, Babe," he smiled. "What are you doing in here?" He stepped around her and sat down on the floor again.
"I just wanted to see how you were doing." She leaned back against the work table. "Did you have something to eat before you came out here?"
Joe stopped what he was doing for a second, not looking up. "Had something to eat before I left the office." Truthfully he hadn't eaten anything since breakfast. His appetite had disappeared shortly after the cough had shown up. He didn't want to lie to Vanessa but Joe knew she was already worried and didn't want to give her anything else to stress about.
"Uh-huh." Vanessa crossed her arms and watched him.
Joe squirted some of the lubricant on his finger and rubbed it on the hub. Next time it wouldn't be so hard to get the rotors off.
"How much longer will you be?"
He'd just started working on the first front brake and had three more to go. "Not too long," Joe hedged. He reached out and grabbed the new rotor. He laid it on top of the old one as Biker had taught him, making sure they matched up in size and diameter. "Can you hand me that can?" Joe pointed to a can of brake cleaner.
Vanessa reached down and picked up the can. She walked the few steps and squatted down next to Joe. He reached for the can but she pulled it away. "You look like the walking dead."
"Gee, thanks."
She reached out and ran her fingers through his hair. "I'm just worried about you. Do you really think I haven't noticed the way your appetite has disappeared? Between that and the non-stop coughing…"
Joe grabbed her hand and kissed it gently. "I know. And you're right. I haven't been feeling great lately. I promise I'll try and get in to see the doctor this week."
"Promise?" Vanessa was skeptical. "And don't give me any of that boy scout crap."
Joe laughed, which quickly turned into a fit of coughing. Vanessa sank down next to him, rubbing circles on his back. Despite the coughing, Joe could still hear her heavy sigh. As the coughing subsided, he reached out and took the can out of her other hand. "Doctor," he croaked. "Promise. But first I have to finish this."
"Never let it be said I can't take a hint." Vanessa gave him a quick kiss and left.
Joe watched her leave, wishing he could follow her. Right now he'd love nothing better than to curl up in bed next to Vanessa and drift off to sleep. Whatever this cough was, it left him feeling wiped out. Joe turned back to the shiny new rotor laying on the floor. He sprayed some brake cleaner on it to remove any oil the manufacturer put on the rotor to keep it from rusting and rubbed it with a soft cloth thinking of his promise to Vanessa. Normally he avoided doctors at all costs, but he didn't want to be sick during the holidays. It was his favorite time of year, but it wouldn't be much fun this year if he was dead tired and coughing every time he tried to breathe.
Putting the cloth aside, Joe popped the new rotor on. He put one lug nut on the rotor to hold it in place. He picked up the bolts he'd removed a few moments earlier and applied some thread locker on the bolts. It was an extra precaution to keep vibrations from loosening them up. 'Gotta keep my sister safe.' He put the caliper back on, slid the bolts back in place, and tightened them up. He tested the caliper for movement, expecting it to be rock solid, and frowned when it still had some give to it.
Joe sat back and stared at the caliper for a moment. He sighed, deciding to change the bolts out with new ones and realized he'd breathed a little too deeply. The coughing started slowly but quickly spiraled out of control. When it finally subsided, Joe leaned back against the car, exhausted and confused. 'What the hell is this?' Almost two weeks earlier, he'd woken up with a scratchy throat, but it had disappeared within a day or two. He'd felt fine until a week later when the coughing had started. Not much at first, just enough to be annoying, but each day it got a little worse. The past few days each cough would quickly turn into coughing spasms that sometimes lasted several minutes at a time. It had been accompanied by sudden fatigue making him want to do nothing but sleep, and a distinct loss of appetite.
Joe hadn't thought too much of it as he didn't have the normal signs of a cold or the flu. No sore throat, no high fever, no stuffy head, no sneezing or runny nose. But the cough was driving him crazy. He was definitely going to keep that promise to Vanessa.
Pushing himself up with great effort, Joe walked over and rummaged through his tool box. He found the right size bolts, glad he'd decided to replenish his supply, and grateful that his friend, Luke Malone, who owned a garage, was happy to order whatever parts Joe needed directly from the manufacturers.
Joe walked back to the car and changed out the bolts, remembering to give them a good dose of thread locker. He tightened them up and finished off with a torque wrench to make sure they were good and tight. Next, he opened the box of brake pads, taking out the pads and clips. He loosened the bottom bolt again, opened the caliper upwards and plied out the old clips. A metal wire brush cleaned the brake dust out.
Joe grabbed the tube of anti-seize and applied some to the clips where they would hold the brake pads. He put some of the lubricant on the back of the brake pads and then snapped the bottom and top clips in place. A jaw cracking yawn took Joe by surprise. He shook his head slightly then leaned back and grabbed the old brake pad and a compressor from the line of tools on the floor. He put the old brake pad against the piston and used the compressor to compress the piston, ensuring the new brake pad would fit snugly.
Joe rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and then lined up the wear indicator and slid the brake pad into place. He repeated the process for the other brake pad then removed the caliper guide pin and examined it for any cracks or excessive wear. It looked to be in good shape so he wiped it clean, put a layer of silicone paste on it, and slid it back in place. Finally he closed the caliper, put the bolt back in, and torqued it tightly. Joe sat back tiredly. 'One down, three more to go.'
By the time he was done, Joe felt as if he'd run a marathon. He was exhausted and couldn't wait to get to bed. Joe cleaned the tools and returned them to the toolbox. Walking to the sink, he grabbed the heavy duty soap and began washing his hands, using a brush to scrub under his nails. Once his hands were clean of rust, break dust, and lubricant, he dried them on the nearby towel.
Joe picked up the extra key Callie had given him off the work table. He stared at her car. He had to take it for a test drive, make sure the brakes were working correctly. Dead tired, he gave a fleeting thought to waiting until the morning to take it for a spin then thought better of it. Best to just get it done tonight. His desire to curl up next to Vanessa and fall asleep would have to wait a little while longer.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Two days later, Joe was walking through the parking lot of his and Vanessa's favorite local café, her hand held tightly in his. They had lunch here at least once a week. Joe stole a glance at Vanessa and smiled. They'd been together for almost seven years now, living together for two, and she still wanted to have lunch with him as often as their work schedules allowed. He was the luckiest guy on earth.
"What?" Vanessa smiled. She'd caught him staring at her.
Joe leaned over and kissed her. "Can't a guy admire his gorgeous girlfriend?"
Vanessa blushed and ducked her head.
'She has no idea how beautiful she is.' Joe's musings on the way his life was playing out was interrupted by a familiar song on his cell phone. Reaching in his pocket he pulled it out and lifted it to his ear. "Hey, Bro, what's up?" He listened for a moment, his blood running cold. "Frank, calm down. I can't understand… what?!" Seconds later the phone fell from Joe's hand…
