Kyle felt blood rushing to his face and forced himself to keep steady.
"What do you say, Mr. Mechanic?" Gomer said, throw- ing his cigarette down and holding his hands out.
Maybe it's time to put Buddha on hold, Kyle thought, clenching his own fists.
And he might have used them, too, but he remembered his friends. The last thing they all needed was the added attention that a fight would bring… even if Kyle won. Still, the urge to knock that smirk off Gomer's face was strong.
Kyle forced a smile of his own and said, "Sorry, maybe another time. I've got work to do.”
Kyle caught Gomer's disappointed expression out of the corner of his eye as he wrestled with the transmission. He slid it toward the tailgate and took a deep breath. Though one person could lift one by himself, moving a transmission was really a two-person job. One person risked dropping it.
In one heave, Kyle lifted it, swung it a few feet over, and then lowered it into the cradles. He was relieved when the clang of metal on metal told him it was in place. He half expected Gomer to make a move on him, and Kyle was relieved when the other man just stood there.
By the time he reached the garage door, he found him- self relaxing and smiling at how quickly Gomer had almost baited him. Buddha would not be pleased, Kyle- thought. And neither would Max.
Before he pushed the rig inside, Kyle couldn't resist giving Gomer a wave and saying, "You have a nice day now.”
Smiling at Gomer's stunned expression, Kyle pushed the transmission into the garage. He used the hydraulic lift to raise the car about two feet, then he got underneath to drop the old transmission. For a few minutes, everything melted away. He was doing something he knew he could do well. And he was the only one of the guys in their group who had found a job.
Plus, there was something Zen about auto repair. His first introduction to Buddhism had come from a copy of a book called Zen and the Art oj Motorcycle Maintenance that he had found at football camp.
At first, he thought it was a joke, but the book had turned about to be serious. He read it cover to cover, and Kyle had never been much of a reader. Then, he had gone to the library to get more books on Buddhism. The next thing he knew, he was trying to walk the Middle Path. It had been almost as big a change for him as learning the truth about the aliens in his town.
Now he found the work relaxing him. His almost- confrontation with Gomer was forgotten, as was the fact that less than forty-eight hours before he had left the only life he had ever known. His worries were replaced by the work his hands did, his mind both concentrating on the task and drifting. Kyle wasn't sure if that was a true Zen state, but it was good enough for him.
Maria was glad to get out of Bell's, even though the morning had not been too bad. She and Liz had quickly settled into their old patterns, and the time had passed quickly. On the other hand, they still had lunch and dinner to get through. In the past, she had sometimes pulled twelve-hour shifts at the Crashdown, but they were tough. She knew she would be dragging her feet for the last couple of hours. Sleeping in the van hadn't helped. She doubted she had gotten more than four hours of actual sleep, and she had woken up sore and aching.
Well, tonight might be better if the guy from the garage let them use the room with the shower. Sleeping on a floor would be better than sleeping sitting up in the van.
Passing through Main Street, Maria was struck by how empty the town looked. Then she caught sight of another missing-person flyer. This one was new… or at least it was one that she hadn't seen before.
The woman in this photo looked older than the other two, maybe in her early thirties. She was outdoors some- where and she was smiling broadly. Maria looked at the picture for a moment before she realized that she was walking the streets alone. Hadn't Bell warned them not to go outside unless they were together? Maria felt a chill run down her back and started walking quickly toward the garage, which was still more than two blocks away.
More than two deserted blocks, Maria realized. Then there were a couple of hundred yards of open field. Sud- denly Maria was overcome with the strong feeling that she was being watched. It was a crawling sensation on the back of her neck. She tried to dismiss it as her mind play- ing tricks on her. Maybe she was spooked by the missing- person posters, or the emptiness of the streets, but she couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her.
Of course, she caught glimpses of people looking at her through windows, but those glances seemed mainly curious, benign. Still, she had the growing feeling that someone else was watching her, someone who meant her harm.
Maria picked up her pace.
By the time she reached the edge of the sidewalk, she was nearly trotting. When she reached the open field, she forgot about her pride and ran, barely keeping her grip on the plastic bags that held the takeout food.
The few seconds it took her to reach the garage seemed to stretch to minutes, but finally she was there. She slowed to a walk when she was a few yards away from the garage. Almost immediately, she began to relax. By the time she reached the garage office, she already felt silly for worry- ing. Nevertheless, she decided to have Michael walk her back to the diner.
Just as she was reaching for the door to the office, someone popped out from behind a pickup.
Maria jumped.
Then she saw it was a man, a large man. She almost screamed, and then she realized he looked familiar.
"Hey," he said, and she started again at the sound of his voice.
Then she realized who it was: Gomer, the guy who had towed their van. With an unpleasant grin on his face, he said, "You want to be careful, watch out for them aliens.”
Maria's stomach leaped. Did he know? How could he? "What?" she gasped.
"The aliens, the ones that take the women. Least, that's what they say. You shouldn't be out alone," he said.
Maria felt her stomach start to work its way back down from her chest. "I'll be careful," she said, pushing her way into the office. Inside, she saw a blond girl behind a desk. The girl looked up and gave her a tight smile. She also looked Maria over carefully.
"Hi," Maria said. "I'm looking for Kyle.”
Then the girl gave her a smile that Maria instantly didn't trust. "Oh, he's in the garage. Are you his girlfriend?”
Maria was taken aback for a moment by the directness of the question. "Um, I'm a friend of his. I brought his lunch," she said, holding up one of the bags. "Can I get in through there?" She pointed to the door in the rear of the office.
"You sure can," the girl said, through the same tight smile.
Maria headed for the door. "Okay then, bye," Maria said.
"Bye-bye," the girl trilled, and though Maria couldn't see her anymore, she was sure the girl was wearing the same smile as she said it.
She came out into the large garage, scanning it for Kyle. Seeing the owner, Maria walked right over to him and pulled a food container out of the bag she carried.
"Hi," she said, holding out the Styrofoam box. "Meat loaf with gravy, no mushrooms. Bell said it was your usual.”
He looked at her, confused for a moment.
"It's our way of saying thanks for the shower and oat- meal this morning," Maria said, handing him the food.
Then recognition bloomed on Dan's face, and then he did something Maria didn't expect: He smiled. "Thank you," he said.
"Is Kyle around?" she asked. The question was just out of her lips when Kyle appeared next to her.
"Hey," Kyle said.
"Lunchtime," Maria said.
"Why don't you take a break," Dan said, the ghost of the smile still on his lips.
Kyle came with her around back. They guys weren't in the van, so they tried the room in the back. Before they entered, they heard laughter from inside. Opening the door, they found Michael, Max, and Isabel sitting on the floor huddled around an ancient board game.