Ms. Mechanic

"Good morning!" Leah Healy stepped through the front door at the home where her mother, sister, Grandpa Dan, Aunt Darlene, and cousins Mark and Harris lived.

"Ugh how are you so cheerful this early in the morning?" 17-year-old Harris groaned from the kitchen table, after taking a gulp of orange juice.

"Nice to see you too, cousin," Leah chuckled and put her hands on Harris' shoulders. Harris shrugged them off and rolled her eyes.

"Hi, Leah," Mark said with a smile, looking up from his Cornflakes.

"Where's Mom and Little Bev?" Leah asked. Little Bev was Beverly Rose, her baby half-sister.

"Aunt Becky is feeding Little Bev downstairs," Mark said. "They should be upstairs soon."

As if on cue, Becky Healy entered the kitchen carrying Bev.

"Hi Mom!" Leah greeted her mother cheerfully.

"Hi, Hon," Becky greeted her eldest with a peck on the cheek.

"Come here, baby," Leah said in a ridiculous voice, taking Bev from her mom.

"So, what's on tap for today?" Leah asked the family, rocking Bev slowly.

"I'll be with friends far away from here," Harris said, without looking up from her phone.

"I'm going over to Joey's to play Fortnite," Mark said enthusiastically.

"I have to take Little Bev to the doctor, then we're meeting an old friend of mine for lunch. I don't think Grandpa Dan has anything going on. If you don't, maybe the two of you could spend some time together.

"Sounds great. I was gonna catch a movie with Kayleigh, but she's sick," Leah said, referring to her best friend and roommate.

Grandpa Dan entered the kitchen. "Good morning, everybody!" He greeted cheerfully. "Oh, hello Leah," he said, noticing his eldest grandchild. "How are you?"

"I'm good, Grandpa," Leah smiled. "Sounds like everyone else is busy – you wanna hang out for a while today? I have absolutely nothing going on whatsoever."

"I would like nothing more, Ms. Healy," Dan said, putting a hand on Leah's shoulder. "I have to work on a bike for a friend, first however – so it might be a little while –."

"Oh – could I help?!" Leah interjected excitedly, catching her grandfather off-guard.

"Well…sure," Dan replied. "I…didn't know you knew anything about fixing bikes."

"My dad showed me how to fix them – not a whole lot, but I know a little," Leah replied.

"Well I can work with that," Dan smiled. "How about, after everyone else takes off – we head out to the garage together?"

"Sounds like a plan!" Leah grinned at her grandfather.

Soon, the rest of the family scurried off to their own plans, and Dan and Leah went out to the garage.

"Hope you won't mind getting those clothes dirty," Dan.

"Oh, not at all. I hate this sweatshirt," Leah chuckled, and her grandpa joined in. The two began working on the bike – Dan was surprised at how much Leah already knew. After a few hours, the bike was good as new, and Dan and Leah celebrated with some of Dan's famous milkshakes in the kitchen.

"Thanks for letting me help you with the bike," Leah said taking a sip of her chocolate shake.

"No problem – it was nice actually getting to spend some time with you," Dan said, sipping his strawberry shake. "We don't really see you around these parts as much, now that you're an adult," Leah laughed at her grandfather's dramatic emphasis of the word "adult."

"I wish I lived closer," Leah said. "Although, now that the Wilsons won't need me to nanny on Fridays, I was going to talk to Mom about me watching Little Bev those days."

"That'd be great!" Dan exclaimed. "You sure have a way with kids."

"Thanks," Leah beamed at her grandfather's compliment. "But…now I'm not so sure if childcare is what I really want to end up doing with my life. I mean, I know I want kids of my own someday. But I'm thinking of changing my career path."

"Oh really?" Dan asked, looking up from his shake. This was news to him. "What do you think you want to do?"

"I'm looking at going to trade school and becoming a mechanic," Leah said excitedly. Dan was silent.

"Grandpa Dan…are you okay?" Leah asked, noticing the change in her grandfather's disposition.

"Wh…why don't you want to be a nanny anymore?" Dan finally asked.

"I don't know," Leah shrugged. "I've always liked fixing stuff."

"But you're so good with kids. I mean, Mark and Mary practically worship the ground you walk on, and –"

"You don't think I should be a mechanic? Why?" Leah was starting to get annoyed. Of all the people in the world, she figured her grandpa would be the most ecstatic about this news.

"I just…look I've been one for a long time, and I don't think a mechanic's garage is exactly the best place for a wom–"

"Because I'm a woman?" Leah could feel the tips of her ears get hot and her face get flushed. "Women drive cars and bikes and trucks all the time. Why shouldn't we be able to fix them too? Do you think women should stop driving too, Grandpa?" Leah's breathing was starting to speed up.

Dan put a calming hand on his granddaughter's shoulder. "Look, I'm sorry for upsetting you. It's just, back in my day, we –"

"Well, a lot has changed since then, Grandpa," Leah sputtered. "Like…the dinosaurs have died!" she got up and started to leave the room before the angry tears spilled from her eyes. Suddenly, her mother appeared in the doorway.

"What's wrong, honey?" Becky set Bev's car seat on the floor and put a hand on her older daughter's cheek.

"Ask your father," Leah pushed past her mother and ran upstairs.

"'Your father?'" Dan asked Becky.

Becky took Little Bev out of her car seat and sat down in a chair at the table, cradling the baby in her arms. "Whenever Leah would get mad at Mark or me when she was little, she would always refer to us in the third person to the other parent. Like, one time when she was five, and it was storming out, she got upset with me because I wouldn't let her play outside. When Mark came out of the bathroom and asked why she was crying, Leah told him, 'because your wife is being unfair!' I guess she still does it almost two decades later,"

Becky shrugged, then put Little Bev over her shoulder and began patting her on the back. "What happened, anyway?"

Dan sighed. "Well, she told me she's interested in possibly going to trade school, to become a mechanic, and –"

"Oh, really?" Becky exclaimed. "That's great!"

"Well, I sort of…I sort of made some sexist comments about women mechanics. I messed up big time," Dan looked down.

"Oh, Dad…why would you do that?" Becky asked, switching Bev over to the other shoulder.

"I'm…not sure. I guess I'm kind of 'old-fashioned.' I mean, remember how hard it was for me to let you join my drywall team?" Dan replied.

"Oh, yes," Becky nodded. "But I turned out to be pretty damn good at hanging drywall, didn't I – regardless of being a woman? I mean, I'd probably still be on your team if I hadn't gotten pregnant," she chuckled.

"Yes, you were good," Dan agreed. "And Leah – she helped me fix my friend's bike today…and she was like…great. Anyone would be lucky to have her as their mechanic."

"Mark taught her so much – even at just six, seven years old she was out helping him with our cars. There have been times where I've wanted to take my car in because something was wrong, but she told me, 'no, no – I can do this – Dad showed me this!' and she fixed it. I know it's something she likes to do, but I think fixing stuff also helps her feel close to him."

"Oh," Dan sighed. "I hadn't even thought of that."

"Go talk to her," Becky put a hand on her father's hand. Dan nodded and stood up. He went upstairs and found Leah and Mark and Harris' room.

"Hi," Dan said from the doorway.

Leah looked up. "Hey."

"Can I come in?" Dan asked.

Leah nodded. "Sure."

Dan entered and sat next to his granddaughter on Mark's bed.

"Look, honey, I'm so sorry about what I said. I can't use the time I grew up in as an excuse, the times are changing and –"

"Grandpa Dan – it's okay. And…I'm sorry about what I said about the dinosaurs…that was just uncalled for."

Dan chuckled. "That's okay, kid. It was nothing compared to what I said. And listen – I think you'd be a pretty damn good mechanic."

Leah smiled, "Thanks, Grandpa."

"But there's just one thing that would make you an even better one," Dan stood up.

"What's that?" Leah asked quizzically.

"Come with me out to the garage," Dan gestured for the door dramatically. Leah smiled a bit and followed her grandfather out to the garage.

When they got there, Dan began rummaging through some boxes.

"As a mechanic, you'll need the proper attire," he said opening one box, sifting through it, closing it, then opening another. After a few setbacks, he finally found the right box.

"Here it is!" He said excitedly, removing some dark blue fabric from the box. He unfolded it and held it up so his granddaughter could see it better. Once she saw it, Leah gasped.

It was the jumpsuit her father had worn when he worked in her grandpa's bike shop. There was his nametag, stitched in the corner. Leah's eyes brimmed with tears as she read her father's name.

"You…you still have that?" she choked down a sob.

"I do," Dan replied. "And now, I want you to have it. I think your dad would too.

Leah slowly and carefully took the jumpsuit from her grandfather. She stared at it for a few moments and then practically leaped into her grandfather's arms.

She couldn't wait to put it on.