Chapter 4: S&W Automotive Towing & Recovery
It had been over a month since Wayne had moved in with the Sevilles and he had yet to obtain a job. While Simon was busy working on schoolwork and writing papers at the computer, Wayne occupied himself with sleeping on the living room couch. When he wasn't busy working on schoolwork, Simon enjoyed writing and drawing in his spare time. Unfortunately, given that he was busy doing schoolwork constantly, to the point that it was affecting his sleep schedule, as well as his social life, he didn't have any time to work on his stories or his artwork. So, naturally, when Dave came in the living room and told him that he was going down to Cost Cutters to get his hair done, Simon jumped at the chance to tag along. Surprisingly enough, Alvin and Theodore were coming along as well, if for no other reason than so they had an excuse to get out of the house and away from Wayne for awhile. To keep himself busy, Simon brought his laptop and tablet along with him.
Cost Cutters was part of a chain of stores not far away from the Seville household. Not far down from Cost Cutters was Kroger, along with a Sally Beauty Supply, Rent-A-Center, as well as several other stores. The interior showed a front desk and six stations in two pairs of three. When they entered the hair salon, a short frumpy brunette approached them with a smile. "Hey, welcome to Cost Cutters. What can I do for you today?"
"Hey, Heather," Theodore said, waving.
The woman indicated as Heather looked past Dave's shoulder and gave the Chipmunks a friendly smile. "Hey, guys." To Dave, she added, "Brought the whole gang today, I see."
Dave nodded. "Yeah, the boys just wanted to get out of the house for a couple of hours."
"Okay, so what are we doing today?" Heather asked.
"Just a haircut, please," Dave said.
"Just for you or . . ." Heather gestured towards the Chipmunks.
"Uh, you know what? Why don't you just put all four of us down for haircuts?"
"Alrighty. That'll be forty-eight dollars and eighty cents." She was handed fifty dollars by Dave and told to keep the change. "Okay, so who's going first?"
"Uh, I guess me," Dave said, raising his hand.
Heather turned her head and called, "Hey, Shelly, you think you got time to do a quick haircut?"
The woman indicated as Shelly was a short bespectacled brunette who was currently busy cutting the hair of a blond-haired woman with glasses. "Just a minute, I'm just about done with Cilicia."
Dave withdrew some money from his wallet and handed it to Simon. "Here, why don't you guys go down to the store and get yourselves something to drink? If you're hungry, feel free to get something to snack on."
"Are you sure?" Alvin asked uncertainly.
Dave nodded. "Yeah, go on."
Simon turned and handed the money to Alvin and Theodore. "Get me a Mountain Dew and some Combos, would ya?"
Alvin nodded his head. Turning on his heel, he and Theodore made their way out of the store and down the paved walkway towards Kroger.
"Alright, Simon, honey," Heather said, "if you'll follow me, we'll get you all set up."
Nodding, Simon followed her to what he presumed was her station, seeing as how it was the only one that was empty. He climbed up onto the seat and sat down while Heather raised the seat up. He was suddenly staring at himself in the mirror.
"Shelly, you wanna go ahead and get started on Dave while I'm workin' on this one?" Heather asked.
"Sure," Shelly replied. "Okay, Cilicia, my dear, you are all done for today."
While the woman indicated as Cilicia wheeled her wheelchair out of the store, Dave got into the salon chair at Shelly's station. She put a cape around him and grabbed her scissors and comb. "So, what are we doin' today, my dear?"
"Just a standard haircut, if you please," Dave replied.
"Alrighty." She began spraying his hair with water.
"So, tell me, Dave, honey," Heather spoke up, "what's been goin' on in your life as of late?"
"Well," Dave replied, sighing, "we have run into some financial issues, so we have this guy living with us."
"Oh, really, now?" Shelly asked.
"What guy?" Heather asked.
"Some guy named Wayne Watkins," Dave said.
"Oh, God, Dave, why?" Heather asked.
"Oh, you know him?" Dave questioned.
"Honey, I was with him for eighteen years," Shelly said. "And Heather's my best friend, of course we know him."
"Really?" Dave inquired.
"Oh, yeah," Shelly replied. "Believe you me, I know Wayne Watkins."
"Why in the world do you have that man living with you?" Heather asked, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Well, he's supposed to be helpin' with the bills," Simon told them.
Shelly laughed. "I can tell you right now, he ain't gonna be helpin' y'all with nothin'! Again, I was with him for eighteen years and I had to pay all the bills on top of going to school, going to work, and takin' care of my kids."
"Hmm, sounds familiar," Simon said.
"Yeah, not fun, is it?" Shelly said.
"No," Simon replied.
"No, uh, I would, uh, I would get up at five-thirty in the morning, shower, get dressed, drop my kids off at school, go to work, work from nine to five, come home, cook dinner, help my kids with their homework, and then I would work on my homework from college, and I wouldn't get in bed 'til around two or three o' clock in the morning," Shelly said. "And the whole time I'm workin' on schoolwork, Wayne's throwing a bitch fit because of the lamp keeping him awake."
"Mm-hmm, I know the feeling," Simon said, nodding his head. "I'm right there with you, sister. What was your major in college?"
"Criminal law," Shelly replied. "I work for the state; I'm a paralegal. I'm involved in child protective services."
"Oh, yeah?" Simon quirked an eyebrow. "So what are you doing working here?"
"I'm just filling in for someone," Shelly explained. "No, uh, this used to be my main job, cutting hair, but a few years back I got into a major car accident that really screwed my neck up, so I couldn't really cut hair anymore. Well, I could, but I couldn't do it without, you know, it putting a lot of strain on my neck and back."
"Right," Simon said, nodding his head.
"So I went back to school and got my degree in criminal law and psychology."
"Where do you go to school at, Simon?" Heather asked, clipping some hair around his ear.
"Me and my brothers go to West Eastman High, and I'm currently studying creative writing with a minor in music at Lincoln Heights College," Simon told her.
"Really?" Shelly asked. "Now, see, I studied law there, and I graduated top of my class with a 4.0 grade point average." She grinned. "Not bad for a chick who's been out of school for over thirty years."
"When did you graduate high school?" Simon asked.
"1989."
"So, wait," Heather said, "if you're going to West Eastman High, how can you be going to college?"
"This special program my high school has set up," Simon explained. "I leave my high school right after lunch, take forty-five minutes to get to the college, and I'm in classes 'til around seven or eight o' clock at night."
"Mm-hmm," Shelly said, nodding her head. "Welcome to adulthood, my dear."
Heather just missed cutting Simon's ear as he turned his head upon hearing the bell above the door ring out, seeing Alvin and Theodore enter. They sat down at the row of chairs that were to the right of the door and began looking through some magazines. Simon suddenly had his vision facing the mirror in front of him. "Okay, Simon, honey, I can't cut your hair if you're constantly moving your head. You're gonna have to keep your head still."
"Sorry," Simon replied.
"So how long is Wayne livin' with y'all?" Shelly asked.
Dave shrugged. "Don't know, to be honest. He's been living with us for . . . how long would you say it's been, Simon?"
"Mm, it's been about a month or so."
"How do the boys feel about him?" Heather asked.
"Oh, Alvin and Simon can't stand him," Dave told her. "Theodore, he goes out of his way to avoid Wayne as best he can."
"That's the best thing you can do," Shelly said.
"Well, I wish you the best of luck, honey," Heather said. "You're gonna need it."
"Hey, guys, come 'ere for a minute," Dave called on a Saturday afternoon. When the Chipmunks walked into the kitchen, he looked up at them from the kitchen table and said, "What sounds good for lunch?"
"Uh . . ." The Chipmunks all looked at each other.
"What's nearby?" Theodore asked.
"Well," Dave said, "there's Sonic, Burger King, McDonald's, KFC, take your pick."
Once more, the Chipmunks all looked at each other.
"Is Sonic okay?" Alvin asked.
"Whatever you guys want," Dave said. He lifted himself up, reaching back to take out his wallet. "Here," he said taking out his debit card, "take this and go with Wayne to get us something to eat."
"Do what now?" Wayne asked, walking into the room.
"Would you mind going into town and getting the boys something to eat?" Dave asked.
"I guess," Wayne said. "I gotta go into town anyway, get some car parts from Clifton's."
"Thank you."
"Where am I headed?" Wayne asked, taking Dave's card and putting it in his pocket.
"They said they wanted Sonic," Dave said, "so I guess we're doin' Sonic."
"Alright." He turned to the Chipmunks. "Well, come on."
"Alvin, Simon, Theodore, would you mind going with him?" Dave asked.
"I'd rather not," Alvin said.
"Please, Alvin," Dave said, "he's going to need help getting everything inside."
Alvin sighed. "Alright."
"Is it okay if I just stay here instead?" Theodore asked.
"It doesn't matter to me," Dave said.
Theodore sighed. "Thank you."
"Well, y'all come on if you're goin'," Wayne said, heading towards the door.
They didn't go to Sonic straight away. To both Alvin and Simon's surprise, Wayne stopped at the local bank to make a withdrawal. Upon getting the money from the ATM, Wayne turned around in his seat so that he was facing Simon, who was sitting behind Alvin, who was sitting in the passenger seat. "There's your goddamn money," he said, throwing the money in Simon's face. "Now shut the fuck up about it!"
Simon picked the money up from off the floor to discover that Wayne had thrown eight hundred fifty dollars at him. Sneering up at Wayne, he stuffed the money into his wallet.
Upon arriving at Sonic, they ordered their food. As they were waiting for their food and drinks, Alvin received a text message from Theodore.
What's taking so long? Are you guys on your way home yet?
Alvin began typing back his reply.
We
"Alvin!" Wayne yelled. "Get off the goddamn phone and help me with this! Shit!"
Alvin jumped, dropping his phone in the process, and he turned to see Wayne holding out a drink carrier. He took it and set it in his lap while Wayne turned to grab the bags containing their food. He set them beside Alvin and said, "Hold on to them drinks. Hold 'em good and tight." Alvin bent over to retrieve his phone and continued typing out his reply.
We're on our way home now.
Upon getting home after a quick stop at Clifton's, the Chipmunks got out of the car. Having his hands full with bags of food and drinks, Alvin nudged the passenger door open with his foot.
"Alvin!" Wayne barked. "Don't be kickin' that door like that!"
"Well, Wayne, he has his hands full," Simon snapped. "What do you expect him to do!?"
After getting in the house, Dave and the boys ate lunch with Wayne. Wayne gave Dave his debit card back. Both Alvin and Simon made it a point to sit next to Dave while Theodore sat on Alvin's left.
"Wayne," Dave said, pointing at Simon, "did you ever give him his money back?"
"Oh, yeah, he gave it back to me, alright," Simon said, "after he turned around, cussed at me, and threw my money in my face!"
"Excuse me?" Dave bellowed, sneering at Wayne.
"I got fuckin' fed up with him throwin' a fit about it," Wayne said, "so to shut him up, I took him and got him his money so he'd leave me alone about it."
"Then he turns around and cusses at Alvin!"
"Why, what was he doing?" Dave asked.
"Sittin' there on that fuckin' phone," Wayne said, "knowin' I got a drink carrier in my hands!"
"I was trying to reply to a text message," Alvin said.
"That wouldn't happen to be mine, would it?" Theodore asked, popping a fry into his mouth.
"Mm-hmm," Alvin said, nodding his head as he took a sip of his drink.
"Simon," Wayne said, "as soon as you get done eatin', I need you to get started on them dishes."
"Uh, no," Simon said. "I'm busy."
"Doin' what?" Wayne asked, chewing a bite of food.
"I have an essay to write for school that's due by five."
"No, that's a fuckin' excuse." Wayne shook his head. "You're gonna stop usin' that fuckin' school as an excuse. It might work on your daddy, but it don't work on me, buddy. Y'all are gonna start helpin' your daddy out around here. Y'all ain't gonna be like Shelly's kids and be on your fuckin' phones all the goddamn time."
"Uh, really, because I just spent all day yesterday cleaning the bathroom," Alvin said with a glare, "on top of doing the laundry and washing the bed sheets."
"And for the record, I'm all on my phone all the time because I have to be," Simon said.
"Oh, bullshit," Wayne said.
"I'm either emailing my professors, turning in assignments, or doing research for papers," Simon said.
"Uh-huh," Wayne said in a disbelieving tone. "I know what you're really doin' on that phone."
Simon raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?"
"Simon, I ain't stupid." Wayne turned to Dave. "Did, uh, you know he was watchin' porn on that there phone and jackin' off to it?"
"Wayne, really?" Dave cried, glaring.
"He thinks I don't hear him and he thinks that he's alone and no one's not around when he does it," Wayne said. "I hear better than what you think I do, boy."
"Mm-hmm," Simon said, dumping his empty wrapper and boxes in the bag before getting up. He made his way to the trash can and dumped the bag inside.
Simon gently rapped on the doorframe of Dave's bedroom. "Hey, Dave, are you busy?"
Dave was sitting on his bed reading a book. He looked up and said, "No, not really. Why, whatcha need?"
"I want to talk to you about something," Simon said, making his way into the room and closing the door.
"Is it about Wayne?" Dave asked as Simon sat down on the bed.
"Mm, well, sort of. When should we be getting our tax refund?"
"Mm, in a couple of days, why?"
"Because I had a thought. How would you feel about me starting my own business?"
Dave raised an eyebrow. "What kind of business?"
"A repo business."
"A repo business? Simon, you've never shown much interest in cars. Why in the world would you want to start a repo business."
"So we can hopefully get a little bit of extra money coming in here."
"No, no, no," Dave said sternly. "You listen to me and you listen to me good. Don't let him get to you like that. It is not your job to worry about the finances. That is my job. You've got enough on your plate as it is. The last thing you need is worrying about bills and running a business. But, if you're serious, I'll let you go ahead and get it started it up if you really want to, provided that Wayne puts in the work."
"Oh, you don't have to worry about that. I'll make sure of that."
"So here's the deal," Simon said to Wayne. "You either put in the work to keep this business running or you can pack up your stuff and hit the door."
"Excuse me?" Wayne asked, standing up and getting in Simon's face. "Does your daddy know about this?"
"Oh, he knows. He even gave me the go-ahead to get started on it."
"Where you gonna get the money to start this business?"
"Our tax refund."
"No, no, no," Wayne said, shaking his head. "You ain't gonna use your daddy's money. Your daddy needs that money to pay bills, otherwise y'all ain't gonna have a place to live."
"I've already talked to him about it, thank you very much," Simon replied with a smirk, "so as soon as we get our tax refund, I'm going to get started on this business. You want to help bring in some money, don't you?"
"Simon, do you even know the first thing about running a business? It's more work than you're gonna want to put in, son."
"I'm smart enough to figure it out." Smirking, he turned on his heel and walked out of the room.
Within a couple of weeks, Simon's repo business was off to a good start. He and Wayne settled on S&W Automotive Towing and Recovery as the name. They partnered with Clifton Parsley, who ran the local automobile shop in town called Clifton's. Every so often, Clifton would give Wayne a job to do. While Wayne would be out repoing cars, Simon would take care of the business side of running the business: handling invoices, taking calls, and so on and so forth. Slowly but surely, money from the repo business started coming in. This too Simon took care of because, as he put it, "I don't trust Wayne with money." Dave considered this to be not only quite smart but also incredibly responsible and reasonable on Simon's part. Unfortunately, both he and Wayne had set up a joint bank account that was in the name of S&W Automotive Towing and Recovery, which had the unfortunate side effect of meaning that Simon wasn't fully in control of the business's finances unless he kept the money hidden away. Given that Wayne's name was on the bank account, this was easier said than done. All of this on top of going to two different schools at the same time.
It was just a good thing that he and his brothers would have a break from school coming up soon, but even then, Simon wasn't completely free of school because over the break he would be busy writing papers. This suited him just fine, as he enjoyed the process of doing research and compiling it all into coherent essay. Simon was grateful for the time off from school as it would give him a chance to work on his artwork and stories in between working for the repo business, as well as working on schoolwork.
A/N: By the way, for those of you who would like to give Wayne an earful, you can call/text him at 270-579-1939.