“Maybe he likes country living,” I answered while stepping forward and shielding my eyes against the sun. The car was making its way down the road and toward our shop, but it was still too far away for me to identify its make and model.
“Well, I’ll be damned.” Dad took off his ball cap and slapped it against his knee. “I’d bet all of my life savings that car is an Alfa Romeo.”
“An Alfa Romeo?” I raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure? Those cars are some of the rarest ones on the market. There’s no way one’s cruising through Elk Haven right now. We’d both have to be dreaming.”
“Ten dollars says it's a Romeo.”
“I thought you were betting your life savings,” I countered. “Or has your confidence faltered?”
“My eyesight is not what it used to be and I know better than to make a gamble I’m sure to regret.” He held out his hand.
I shook it, sealing the deal. Honestly, I still didn’t know what exactly was coming our way, but the odds were in my favor and when I gamble, I like to gamble with an ace up my sleeve.
So, we waited, trying to act as casually as we could, which was easier said than done because we were both anxious to know which one of us was right and which one of us would be forking over ten dollars.
I went back to my truck but I kept looking over my shoulder. It was only a minute or so before the vintage beauty rolled up to our gas pump, but it felt like an eternity. As casually as I could, I walked up to the vehicle, waiting for the owner to step out and tell me to fill her up.
The stranger did not keep me waiting for very long. He emerged, rolling to his full height. He was much taller than I was but that wasn’t saying much since I had graduated puberty at the five-foot mark. If I had to guess, he was 6’2 maybe even 6’3. But what got my tongue tied was not the fact that he towered over me. It was the brilliance of his eyes. They might be described as hazel, but when he smiled down at me they seemed golden, shining from within. “Mind filling her up?” he asked with a honeyed voice that matched the warmth of his eyes. “I thought I was going to run out of gas before I saw you guys on the map. It must be my lucky day.”
“Premium?” I asked even though it was obvious that a car of this caliber was probably fuel injected.
“If you wouldn’t mind.”
“Of course,” I said. “Most of the time I’m fueling pickup trucks and dirt bikes. Can’t say I’ve ever had the pleasure of something this nice dropping by. Might I ask what it is you’re driving?” I caught my dad creeping toward the car at the very edge of my vision, ready to pounce on my ten dollars, but I was sure he wouldn’t get a dime out of me.
“It’s a 1939 Alfa Romeo Lungo Spider.”
“Aha!” My dad jumped forward. “What did I tell you? I might be getting old but I still know what I’m talking about. I know an Alfa Romeo when I see one and this one — oh, baby — this looks like it just came off the showroom floor and that makes me ten dollars richer.”
“I’ll pay you later. My wallet is in the shop,” I answered a little begrudgingly. I couldn’t believe that he was right. The odds had to have been a million to one.
The owner of the car looked quite confused. He was scratching the side of his head by the time his tank was full. I returned the fuel dispenser to its holster and explained the situation because, clearly, my dad had no intention of doing so since he was too busy gawking at the car. “We had a bet,” I said. “My dad said it was an Alfa Romeo and I told him that it couldn’t be because Romeos aren’t exactly a dime a dozen. I think one just came off the auction block after being sold for twenty million dollars or thereabouts. A car worth that much money just doesn’t come rolling through a town like this one, but I guess I was mistaken because here you are.” I leaned against the gas pump and kicked my foot behind me for support, semi-conscious of the fact that I looked like a grease monkey while this guy was wearing designer labels. “Where’d you happen to come across her? A barn find or something?”
“Would you mind popping the hood?” My father had surfaced from his dreamlike state just long enough to say those words before he went right back to his open-mouth gawking. Sometimes he could be so embarrassing, but I guess that’s just what dads do — they embarrass you.
“Sure thing,” answered the stranger. “I have a lot of people wanting to look at my car, but it seems you two actually know what you’re talking about. Have you guys been here long?”
“Pops worked here with his father just as soon as he came back from the army and then he got me into the family business just as soon as I could walk. So, yeah, we’ve been here a while. Dad loves the shop and I do, too. It will never make us rich or anything, but hey, we’re happy doing what we do and that has to count for something.” I joined my dad at the hood. With an audience, he began rattling off all his observations like he had suddenly inherited the vehicle. “Dad, I’m pretty sure he knows all this.” I had to nudge him with my elbow to get him to stop. “So, again, I have to ask, where did you find this beauty?”
The stranger ran his fingertip along some of the chrome like he was caressing a lover. “Well,
