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| BROKEN HEART by Enola Morning. While Tina is driving back home after spending the weekend in London, she notices a car parked on the edge of the road. She slows down a bit and when she overtakes it she sees a man rising the bonnet. She understands he's in trouble so she decides to stop to help him. She asks him if she can have a look, then she tells him to start up but he appears really sceptical. He manages to start his car up and she tells him he should go to a mechanic's as soon as possible if he wants to avoid bigger damages. Then she leaves. Afternoon. Tina is working in her workshop when a man arrives. At first she doesn't manage to see him, then after a while she realizes it's the man she met in the morning, that of the broken-down car. "Good, you followed my advice!" she says smiling in amazement, "I'm looking for T.C. Bailey" he says apathetically, "Well, you've found her, T.C. Bailey that's me! Tina Carol Bailey precisely!" She replies smiling, "I'm sorry, I can't shake your hand because mine is greasy!" she adds showing him her dirty hand. He seems quite surprised, "Well, I didn't expect you to be a…" "Woman!" she cuts him off, then she goes on, "Don't worry, you're not the only one who thinks that." After a short pause she adds kindly, "I'm sorry for you, but I'm the only mechanic of the town, so I think you should content yourself with me." He shakes his head a bit, "Great!" he replies sarcastically with a deep frown of disappointment. This doesn't amaze Tina at all because she got used to strangers reactions, so she knows that they find hard to trust in a mechanic who also is a…woman! Strangers are not like her fellow citizens who have known her since she was a child when she enjoyed spending her time in that workshop with her grandpa. She didn't give a shit about dolls or playing with the other children, she didn't like anything more than observing her grandpa while he repaired cars. That was her dream, being a mechanic like him! At first her parents didn't get worried about that because they thought it was just a childish infatuation, but with the passing of time they realized it wasn't just a tantrum. She kept on spending her spare time with her grandpa, then after school she studied mechanics at college and finally, she graduated. At that point, her parents thought she had reached her aim and that she'd done a *normal* job…and they got furious when she told them clearly she just wanted to be a mechanic!!!! On the contrary, her grandpa was pretty proud of her and she has to admit that she wouldn't have ever managed to do it without his support. He died almost 3 years ago and now she's replacing him wonderfully. Her fellow citizens know she is a clever mechanic and she has all their respect. "Anyway, the Yellow Pages are over there" she says pointing a table, "look for someone else" "I'm sorry, but the fact is I don't trust in women" he replies, "You don't trust in those who are mechanics or in all?" she asks, "All!" he grunts, then he opens the Yellow Pages and takes his cellphone. Some minutes later, he tells her the other mechanics of the neighbourhood are too busy and nobody can mend his car before the day after, but as he has to go back to London by the evening, he begs her to repair it at once saying he'll pay her twice the cost of its repair. She accepts and tells him with a hint of irony, she'll do her best!! She adds it'll take her a couple of hours, so she tells him that in the meantime he can have a walk, but he replies he prefers wait there provided that it's ok for her. Tina says that's not a problem at all and tells him there are some beers in the fridge so he can help himself. He thanks her and goes away from her, so she starts to mend his car. In the meantime, she can't help glancing at him every now and then. She has met lots of weird people, but he's the weirdest! He doesn't trust in women, or rather in *all* women and that probably means something bad happened to him and the emptiness in his eyes seems to prove that. She finishes to mend his car just a couple of hours later. "Your car is ready" she says going close to him, "Oh fine! May I pay by credit card?" asks him getting up, "Sure! Just a minute, I make you the invoice" she replies, so he hands her his credit card, then she inserts his name in her computer and prints the invoice and gives him it together with his credit card. "60 pounds? That's the normal cost, isn't it? But I told you I'd have paid it twice!" he says looking at the bill, "Yes, but you know, I'm a woman after all and maybe I didn't repair your car properly…so, if you'll have any trouble with it, come back and I'll give you back your money" she replies. He thanks her again then leaves. A week later. Tina is closing her workshop when a car stops just in front of it. It's the car she repaired a week before, that of the guy who doesn't trust in women! She's sure he's there for his 60 pounds, but he replies his car is working well, so she doesn't understand why he's there then. He says he's there for a couple of reasons: the 1st one is because he wants to thank her once again for mending is car immediately that day and the 2nd one is because he's aware that he behaved really badly with her while she was even too kind with him, someone else would have sent him to the devil and he'd have deserved that. Tina is a bit amazed because she'd have never expected that even because he could have phoned her to tell her those things, but he says he preferred do that personally and he would like to buy her a drink too. Tina accepts and tells him to wait for her at the pub at the end of the street because she needs to change into something decent. He goes away from her slowly putting his hands in his pockets, but she calls him, "Hey?" he turns at once to look at her, "I don't even know your name, and I think I should know it before" says Tina, "That's not true" replies him going close to her, "You read it from my credit card" "Well…I forgot it" she smiles, "then I introduced myself while you didn't" "You're right this time, my name's James" he says stretching out his hand to shake hers, "Well James, see you later then!" she says smiling at him. Tina joins James at the pub about one hour later and as soon as James sees her he gets up and greets her, then they both sit down. James asked her what she'd like to drink and she replies she'll have the same he's drinking, so he orders another pint for her. As he keeps silent, Tina tries to start a conversation, but he says just few words, so she tries again and again changing the subject, but at the end she realizes that James is not particularly talkative and she also knows there's something which makes him feel miserable. "James are you ok?" asks Tina worried, "Yep, I'm fine!" replies him glancing at her playing with his glass. In spite of his answer, his voice seems to betray his words and his vacant look. "I have the impression you're not fine at all. I mean…we've been sitting here for almost a half an hour…and you just spoke 4 or 5 words…" says Tina, "Let's say I've been going through a bad patch recently, but I don't feel like talking about that, sorry" he replies speaking softly and slowly, "I understand, don't worry" says Tina, then she finishes her beer and adds, "Ahem…I'd better to go now". She's about to get up when James grasps his wrist gently, "Tina I'm sorry, please stay!" he says looking at her with the saddest look Tina has never seen before in anyone's eyes, "James, you feel very bad and I think you should talk about that. You can't keep all inside you!" says Tina grasping his hand, "please, tell me everything." James breaths deeply, then he starts to speak and tells Tina everything. He tells her how happy he was till 3 months before, he thought he was the happiest man in the world. He had everything to be happy, a good job, but above all, he had a wonderful girlfriend who he loved madly. He became even happier when she confessed him she was expecting a baby. He didn't manage to believe that. They planned to marry at once, he didn't want to waist any time because he was impatient to have his family. Everything was perfect, but some weeks later something started to change in his girlfriend and a couple of weeks before their marriage she told him she couldn't marry him. He didn't understand why and she finally told him all the truth. She had been having a relationship with another man for 4 months and that man was her baby's father. He got shocked. He didn't manage to understand how he hadn't managed to realize she had been betraying him for a such long time. He didn't understand how she managed to lie to him and he didn't understand why she had betrayed him. He loved her more than everything, she was the most important thing he had ever had, but probably that wasn't enough for her. He finally says, with tears in his eyes, she broke his heart, and for that reason he won't be able to trust in a woman anymore. Tina listened to him carefully and she feels unable to speak. She's deeply sorry, she understands he has every reason to be angry, to hate her and not to trust in anyone else. She tells him it's true that a lot of women are bitches, but it doesn't mean he won't meet someone different. She invites him to dinner, so they'll be able to talk again. Some hours later. "I wouldn't have ever betrayed you." Tina says handing James a whisky, then she slumps down in the sofa, "you know, I have only met bastards in my life, but you are different" she says looking him in the eye, "you are so sweet." They look at each other for a while, then Tina glances at her watch, "Oh, it's very late" "You're right!" says James glancing at his, "And I have to go back to London." Tina gets up to go to her bedroom and says, "It's too late and I don't want you to drive at this time, you can sleep on the sofa, you'll go away tomorrow. Goodnight." She says smiling going away from him, then she stops when James calls her, "Thank you for everything, goodnight" says him kindly, "Oh, one more thing" says Tina, "Tomorrow is Saturday so I'll probably wake up a bit late, so feel at home." When Tina wakes up in the morning, she leaves her bedroom and goes to the kitchen. When she enters she sees James who's preparing breakfast, hair still wet and barefoot, "What the hell are you doing?" she says aloud just to frighten him and in fact he shudders when he hears her voice, "Oh god…" he mutters, "Ahem…I'm just…ahem…preparing breakfast" he adds a bit nervous, "I see" she replies laughing, "well, go on…don't worry, in the meantime I'll have a shower." After having breakfast James gets up to take his shoes, but he doesn't manage to find them, "Have you seen my shoes? They were here before" he asks her while he looks for them under the sofa, "Nope! Ahem… I mean… they were there…I think…" Tina mumbles while he keeps on looking for them. "Don't worry, they'll be here somewhere…and you can stay here all the time you like…I don't have to do anything special today after all…" she smirks looking at him quite amused while he keeps on searching for his shoes in the room, "Tina…I understood what you are trying to do, but please, give me my shoes" says him a bit serious, "James don't get angry, I'm just trying to cheer you up" she justifies herself to him going closer to him, "I know, and I thank you for this" he says brushing her hair, they stare at each other for a bit while Tina's mouth goes closer and closer to his, she tries to kiss him but he stops her, "Please, don't do that" he whispers going away from her, "James please, give me a chance. I can't stand seeing you so sad," she says going close to him again, "I can't. I'm too scared" he replies with a trembling voice. "I know you're scared, but please, trust in me. Leave your bad memories out of here. I won't hurt you" she whispers cupping his face in her hands looking him straight in the eye, then she leans her lips on his and kisses him gently throwing her arms round his neck and holding him tight, then she takes his hand and walks towards her bedroom. Tina pushes James gently on the bed. He lies on his back while Tina lies on him kissing him sweetly and undoes his shirt slowly uncovering his muscular chest. Her fingers and her lips brush his soft and smooth skin, then her lips stops just below his left nipple and feel his heart beating fast. "I'll heal your heart James. I don't care how long it will take me" she whispers kissing his chest. James pulls her head towards him and kisses her slowly, then he pushes her on the bed on her back and kisses her passionately. They make love to each other so sweetly forgetting everything. Later James lies on his back while Tina's head rests on his chest and listens to his quiet heartbeat. She turns to look at him and in his face she finally sees the sweetest smile she has ever seen in a man. <<< Enola’s stories |