A Family Thing. Randy Beal

out for Christmas.

      Without telling me, Charlie let Tony in on our little secret. Tony was a guy my dad had hired fresh out of trade school and we hadn't known him very long. It annoyed me that Charlie recruited him without consulting me, but his enthusiasm won me over in the end, and I began to align more with Charlie's vision of a big reveal.

      Charlie did, in fact, invite the mayor to my dad's surprise, as well as a local reporter to chronicle the opening of the new wing. We planned it for the Monday before Dad's birthday. My mom scheduled a fake doctor's appointment for that morning and asked Dad to come with for support. She vaguely mentioned it was something related to her "girl guts" as she put it, and that was all Dad needed to hear. He agreed to go, no questions asked. This gave Charlie and us the time to spit-shine everything and set up a ribbon in front of the door to the new wing for Dad to cut. We had invited some of our regular customers, a few relatives, the mayor, and the reporter, so there was a good sized group of about 15 or 20 people.

      Mom called Charlie from inside the doctor's office (yes, even the doctor was in on it) to notify him they were leaving. She insisted on driving Dad to work after her "appointment," saying he could ride back with me that evening. Dad just nodded in his usual "keep Mama happy" way. When they arrived at the shop, Mom insisted on dropping in for a minute to say hi.

      They walked into the front of the shop, which was eerily quiet and empty, but a second later the group jumped up from behind the service counter and yelled, "Surprise!" Dad's face went red and lit up with a smile. I think he figured it was a birthday surprise at that point and commented about John being out of school. Mom said, "Don't you worry about that—it's taken care of." As Dad surveyed the crowd, he gave a quizzical look toward the mayor. Mom took charge then and said, "Come right this way, Don. We have another surprise." My aunt handed her an oversized pair of scissors as she passed by and Mom handed them to Dad. "You'll need these." She led him to the ribbon stretched across the door to the dormant wing. That's when my part came in. I had prepared some remarks about how Dad was always giving to others and that we finally wanted to give back. We knew he had been wanting to get the full shop up and running, but didn't have the time. And now, thanks to Charlie, Tony, and some other people, we were proud to present the new and improved Automotive Advantage.

      Everyone applauded and Mom motioned to Dad to cut the ribbon. He opened the door and stepped in. "Wow!" was all he could say as he surveyed the room and took it all in. He spoke in sentence fragments after that . . . "fully stocked . . . lifts going? . . . how did? . . wow!"

      Someone produced a sheet cake, and the celebration followed. Dad was totally surprised, and we could tell a little proud of us for pulling it off. As much as Charlie made it his project, he was quick to point out that it was 'them boys' idea, and Dad tousled our hair and slapped our backs in appreciation.

      I was taken aback when the reporter asked to interview me for his article. I thought for sure he'd be talking with one of the adults, though I was legally an adult myself. He called me the mastermind of the plot and methodically ticked off his questions. At one point while we were talking, I looked over to Dad and saw him talking animatedly with Charlie as they plotted out how to incorporate the new wing into the daily operations. A sense of intense happiness settled over me.

      For the most part, I was happy working at the shop. It sure beat flipping burgers at the Golden Spoon. I felt like I was learning a lot and had that mechanic title in sight. When John started part-time in his senior year, it highlighted the differences between us. The shop was only ever a part-time job and a stepping stone for him. He knew exactly what he wanted to do. He'd always wanted to teach and was planning on going to a local university and teaching at the local school after that. So he'd save up all his paychecks toward that goal. I was proud of him for his determination and jealous of him for knowing what he wanted out of life. Sure I was advancing as a mechanic, but I couldn't help but think there was more out there for me. I just didn't know what.