Page 37 of Lost Prince
He takes a bite of his burger, lost in thought. When he swallows, he asks, “What happens if I don’t remember?”
“I think you’ll be fine.”
He shrugs. “I want to fit in here, to be a part of my family, but… if I don’t remember, I don’t see how that happens and yet, I don’t know that I want to remember.”
I reach out and put my hand on his. “No matter what, your family loves you. You’ll find your way whether you remember or not.”
He smiles at me, but I can tell he isn’t sure I’m correct in my assessment. He crumples up his empty burger wrapper and wipes his hands on a napkin. "Ready to get your hands dirty?"
Feeling that he doesn't want to talk more about his situation, I smile and nod. We clean up and head back to the garage. Iwatch as Lazaro pulls together a variety of tools. He moves with a relaxed confidence that tells me this is his happy place.
“Okay. We're going to change your oil. First, we need to put the parking brake on.” He opens the car door and lifts up on the parking brake. “Then we need to chock the back wheels and jack up the front.” He hands me a triangular looking device and shows me how to put it up against the back tire. He takes a second one and sets it behind the other back tire.
Next he shows me how to use jack stands to raise up the front of the car. Next thing I know, I’m under the car with him showing me where the oil plug is. Soon, oil is draining into a pan and then the plug is back in place.
“We should change the filter too,” he says as he shows me how to remove and replace the oil filter.
Then we lower the car, and we’re over the engine as he refills the oil, being sure to show me the type of oil Lola needs. I feel like I need to take notes and make a shopping list.
“It doesn’t look hard, and yet, perhaps I should take her in… I don’t have all this stuff.”
“Sure you do. This is all yours.”
I look at him, wondering what he means.
“I picked it up for you. You'll have to get the oil and filter, but the other stuff is yours."
I smile, feeling a little silly that tears are forming. It’s not that I’ve never been given anything. But I haven’t been given anything for no reason or with such generosity. “That’s really sweet.”
He studies me like what I said doesn’t make sense. “I don’t know that I’ve ever been called sweet.”
“Is that another thing that can ruin your reputation?” I joke with him.
He nods. “I’m pretty sure if you told anyone else I was sweet, they’d send you to have your head examined.”
It occurs to me how sad we both are, a woman getting emotional over getting jacks and a drain pan and a man feeling unworthy of being called sweet.
“Thank you for this. After the soda incident, Lola needed a big repair and it used up most of my finances. I've been trying to build them back up, but…" I trail off, shrugging.
Lazaro's expression softens. “It’s hard to be an adventurer without transportation. Have you always wanted to travel?”
The answer is no. At least, the goal wasn’t to explore. The goal was to find my place. "After aging out of the foster system, I didn't really have anywhere to call home. So I just… started moving."
Lazaro lowers the hood of my car. “Do you have a set time you stay somewhere?”
A part of me thinks he’s mining me for information, like he wants to know if I’ll stick around. But I know that’s just wishful thinking, a desire to have finally found my place.
"I don’t have a set time. I stay in a place for a few months, maybe a year if I really like it. But eventually, I move on."
He nods, his jaw tight. “Be sure to clean as you go. And you’ll want to bring the old oil to an auto parts store that will dispose of it.”
I nod, noting the change of topic.
“Why don’t you turn on the car?” he asks.
I climb into the driver’s seat wondering if he’s bothered by my nomadic life. Should I tell him I’d be willing to stay if I had a reason to? No. Even if he wanted me to stay, he’s still finding his own way. I don’t want to add to that stress.
I turn on the engine, and it runs for a few moments before he tells me to turn it off. Then he explains that I should check the oil again as I might need to top it off once the new oil cycles through the engine.