Ever since he was a small boy, Tom had been intrigued by how and why things worked. He had only been about five when he took apart the fine wooden clock that graced his family's buffet table in the dining room. Neither of his parents had been pleased when Tom's curiosity about the workings of the clock had shown Tom that it was easier to take something apart than to put it back together correctly.
It was only natural that Tom was drawn to motor vehicles even though his family was never able to afford one. At the age of ten, Tom could name every type of motor car and certain facts about them such as how fast they could travel, the size of the tires, and where they were built. It was his dream that one day he would not only be able to drive but that he would own a motor car.
Tom's father decided to channel Tom's curiosity and love of motor vehicles into his first job. At eleven, his father got him a job in a garage for three hours after school and all day on Saturday. While the job was basically as an errand boy, Tom was fascinated with watching the two mechanics do their work. He quickly learned the various tools needed for a particular job without having the mechanic tell him what was needed. Sometimes, to Tom's utter delight, he was actually able to help with the work. Tom took great pride in washing and polishing the cars to such a fine shine that he could see the reflection of his face in the car's chrome. He especially enjoyed cleaning the interior of the cars where he could sit in the driver's seat and pretend he was actually driving.
As he aged Tom's love of cars didn't diminish. He continued working at the garage until he finished school. Since there was no money for Tom to continue his education at university, he had to find a full time job. It was only natural that he'd look for something to do with cars. By this time he was an excellent mechanic since his natural curiosity of how things worked led him to try and solve problems and to work on cars that no one else wanted to.
After working full time at the garage, an opportunity to become a chauffeur appealed to Tom. He would be charged with not only driving the car but also maintaining it. However, he soon found the job was not as appealing as he thought since the old woman he worked for didn't travel much. Quite frankly Tom soon became bored.
Tom thought he had gone to heaven when he got the job at Downton. Not only were the cars newer but there were two of them both of which were very good cars. Because the family was larger and more social that his previous employer, he was much busier. Then there was also the appeal of the Downton library. Tom couldn't believe his good luck at being able to read any of the books it contained. And of course, most of all was the added bonus of Sybil.
Kiernan was working at the garage in Manchester when the owner died and his widow did not want to continue with the business. He asked Tom to go in with him to buy the business since he alone did not have enough savings to do so. He knew the garage was profitable, if barely so, but there was potential to improve it. There was a steady customer base and Kiernan thought since he was known to most of them, they would continue to bring their motor cars to the garage.
The widow was happy to sell the business to Kiernan and Tom. Besides Kiernan there was one other mechanic that decided to stay with the new owners and the now renamed Branson Brothers Garage.
With the war calling on more and more young men to serve, some of the other garages in Manchester had to close for lack of available mechanics. This worked to the advantage of the Branson Brothers and soon their garage had more work than the three of them could handle. They expanded their staff to include two more mechanics.
Because Tom and Kiernan were so involved in the actual work of repairing the cars, they brought a cousin over from Ireland to be the bookkeeper and office manager. Maud had been in school with Tom and she had done all she could to stay out of service. She had a natural ability when it came to numbers which led to her eventually becoming a bookkeeper. When Tom and Kiernan asked her to come to England, Maud was ready for a new adventure and jumped at the chance to work with her cousins.
When Sybil entered the small office she found a large wooden desk to the right of the door taking up about a third of the room. File cabinets lined the wall behind the desk. There were several mismatched chairs on the other side of the room with a coffee table in front of them. No one was in the office. A door led to what Sybil thought was the actual garage and after hesitating for a few minutes she decided to enter the garage.
The garage was much larger than it had appeared from the street. The back wall consisted of large windows that reached from the ceiling to half way down the wall so there was plenty of natural light coming into the garage. The left wall consisted almost entirely of two wide doors where the cars would enter the garage. These doors were currently open and Sybil could see there was space to park several cars outside of the garage.
There were two cars in the garage yet it did not seem crowded. There were wooden shelves filled with what Sybil guessed were tools and supplies on one wall. Another wide wooden shelf ran across the entire back wall just below the windows. The shelf was actually the top of a cabinet with several closed doors. Everything looked neat and clean. Sybil smiled as she thought that Tom was always so orderly with the garage back at Downton and obviously carried this trait to this garage.
Although there were cars in the garage, Sybil didn't see anyone working. However she heard voices from outside the garage. She stepped through the open garage doors to find two men sitting at a bench that rested against the remaining garage wall. They were eating lunch.
Sybil stood there for a minute or two before one of the men finally saw her. Immediately standing and wiping his hands on a cloth, the man approached her.
"May I help you miss?" the younger of the two men asked her in an unmistakable Irish accent.
"I'd like to see Mr. Branson. Tom Branson that is" Sybil replied.
"Mr. Branson isn't here at the moment" the young man Sean replied. Thinking she was a potential customer, he continued "I'd be happy to help you if I can."
Sybil smiled at him. "I'm afraid I need to see Tom … that is Mr. Branson. Do you know when he'll be back?"
Sean looked back to his co-worker. "Do you know when Tom will be back?"
"Probably not for another half hour. He took Maud to buy some office supplies and to lunch" came the reply from his co-worker.
Sean turned back to Sybil. Noticing the fine cut of her clothes he was curious as to who she was and what she wanted with Tom. "You could wait in the office" he said as he gestured for her to follow him back to the office. He pulled out one of the chairs, "It would be alright for you to sit here. I'm sorry we don't have any more comfortable chairs. I could get you a cup of tea for while you wait."
Sybil smiled at the helpful lad. "Thank you for you kind officer but I think I'll do some shopping and come back in a little while."
She wasn't sure why she didn't want to wait for Tom in his office. Spying a small café across the street, Sybil thought she'd get a cup of tea and wait for Tom there. She took a table by the window with a clear view of the garage office so she could see Tom when he returned.
Sybil was deep in thought as to what she would say to him when she saw Tom walking down the street. Sybil hurriedly paid and was in the café's doorway when Tom approached his office door. It was only then that she realized he wasn't alone. He was with a woman. He actually had his arm around her waist. As the two reached the doorway, Tom must have said something amusing because the woman laughed as she patted his back and said "Oh Tommy" and kissed his cheek.
As Sybil watch the two enter the garage office she felt her stomach tighten and her knees buckle. Tommy? How was this woman so familiar with him to call him Tommy?
"Miss are you all right?"
Not getting a response, the waitress tapped Sybil on the shoulder. "Miss are you all right?"
Sybil wasn't even aware of the woman touching her shoulder. "Honey I think you need to sit down."
Suddenly aware of the kind waitress, Sybil mumbled "I'm fine" before crumbling against the door. The waitress offered to lead Sybil to a chair but Sybil bolted out the door and walked down the street as fast as she could.
Tears in her eyes, Sybil walked aimlessly until she found a bench. Sitting down to catch her breath Sybil wiped away her tears. How could he have found someone else already? Is this why he left Downton? He had said he'd wait forever for her answer but then he didn't. Was it all a lie? Had he taken advantage of her naivety? A thousand thoughts flew through her mind.
Should she just go back there and confront him? And give him the satisfaction of knowing she had come looking for him? Then she remembered that the mechanic had said Tom had taken Maud to lunch. Well their relationship was certainly out in the open if his coworker knew Maud. I've been a fool thought Sybil. He didn't care enough to say good-bye. He didn't care at all.
Tom was back for twenty minutes or more before the two mechanics realized he was there.
"Tom there was a lady that came to see you. I told her you were at lunch and she could wait but she said she'd come back." Sean told him.
Tom asked what the lady wanted.
"I don't know but it seemed personal rather than business since she didn't come in a car and she called you Tom."
Puzzled Tom couldn't imagine who the woman could be. He certainly hadn't made any female acquaintances in the short time he'd been in Manchester. Well if it was important she'd return.
Tom got busy on a particularly vexing problem with one of the cars. He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't realize how much time had passed until the young lad told him he was finished for the day.
"Did the lady come back?" the Sean asked.
Tom had completely forgotten about his mysterious visitor. "No one came looking for me." Suddenly Tom recalled that one of their important customers had asked him if he would give driving lessons to his daughter.
"Sir Corkle asked if I'd give his daughter driving lessons. Maybe that was the lass."
The lad looked rather disappointed. "She was quite beautiful. I thought you were a very lucky man" he said with a chuckle.
"Well if it's important she'll be back." Tom replied. He had to admit to himself he was curious about this mystery woman. If it was Sir Corkle's daughter she must take after her mother because no one would call Sir Corkle handsome. For just a moment his thoughts drifted to Sybil but he realized she didn't know where he was.
The first month he had been in Manchester Sybil had invaded his thoughts constantly. Wondering what she was doing, wondering if she missed him, wondering if he should have stayed. He still thought of her often and he doubted that he would ever totally get over her. He knew he would never meet anyone like her but he didn't want someone like her, he wanted her.
His thoughts of Sybil were interrupted by Kiernan. "Dinner's ready Tom. Maud's made a stew that smells heavenly."
Tom smiled at his brother. "I'll clean up and be right there."
As he watched Kiernan enter the doorway to their flat Tom realized he should count his blessings. The garage was flourishing. He was his own boss for the first time in his life. Above the garage and office was a large three bedroom flat that he shared companionably with his brother and cousin. Yes, he thought, his life was good. At least as good as it could be without Sybil.
A/N: You didn't think it would be that easy did you? Of course this isn't the end of the story so I hope you'll stay with me and enjoy the ride. Thank you to all who have left reviews. Special note to Tammyteresa –you paid attention to the summary of the story!