Count the Headlights
Luanne Platter grunted as she turned the crankshaft of her Uncle Hank's truck. She smiled to herself, knowing the satisfaction of having done something well.
Funny how she only felt confident in two places: with her head under the hood of a car and with her hand up a puppet.
She carefully closed the cover, then walked around to the front door. She carefully turned the keys in the ignition, and, to her delight, the truck purred to life. Withdrawing the keys, she met her Aunt Peggy at the door.
"All fixed, Aunt Peg. The fan belt needed to be tightened."
"Luanne, honey, you are a mechanical genius! You must have gotten that from me...though I don't know how you would get it from me exactly, considering that I am not your mother." Peggy hugged her niece before running out the door.
"Oh, it was no..." She watched her Aunt rush out the door with a wave. "Problem." She concluded on a heavy sigh. Once more, she was alone.
Back in the garage, she was careful to return her Uncle Hank's wrench to precisely the same spot from which it had been removed; he had a tendency to notice when things were amiss, and, usually, he didn't approve of her touching his truck. Peggy had rushed home from class, frantic that something was wrong with the truck. Good thing that her niece had been home.
For Luanne, who had fantasized for years that her uncle might, one day, want to be a father to her, disappointment was infringing on her emotions. She still had few friends, and she certainly couldn't call her roommates friendly.
With a sigh, she trudged out of the garage and headed to her own home for a long shower.
"Luanne!"
She turned sharply at the sound of her own name. To her surprise, there stood Mister Dauterieve, his left hand bandaged and his right hand filled with beer.
"Afternoon, Mister Dauterieve." She continued on her way, but instead he rushed as quickly as he could to catch up with her.
"The other guys aren't here, and I've got an extra beer, and I was wondering if you might want to have it?"
She thought for a moment, realized she was thirsty, and said, "Okay!"
"Are you sure? I know it's not cool to hang out with old Mister Dauterieve..." He added sheepishly.
"Oh, no...I don't have anything to do today." Not that it mattered, but she was aware that there was probably no chance that any of her acquaintances from college could recognize her.
"All right then!" He handed her the beer and they both stood before the fence. He sipped his. "Yup."
She cracked hers open and took a swig, repeating the pattern she had learned from her Uncle's closest friends. "Mmm-hmm."
An entire afternoon passed away like that. And only when she returned to her full but distant household did she realize that she felt less lonely now then she had her entire life.