Black Cat Weekly #18

STAYING COOL, by Hal Charles

STAYING COOL,

by Hal CharlesHazel Chrisman shook her head as she looked at the sedan’s instrument panel. Why had she been in such a hurry that morning that she forgot to stop by the service station to fill the gas tank before heading for her daughter’s? Watching the needle on the fuel gauge hover near empty, she had visions of herself stranded on the two-land state road that ran through the mountains between her house and Jenny’s.

It was a beautiful spring morning, and the worst case scenario involved a call to her auto service for some road-side assistance. Of course, she could call either Jenny or her son, Jake, and ask them to come to her aid, but that would be out of the question. Since her husband had died a little over a year earlier, her children had fussed over her as if she were a grade-schooler unable to handle even the simplest of tasks. No, a call for help would be an admission that they were at least partially correct.

As Hazel continued over the twisting blacktop, one eye on the gas gauge, she thought about the last few months. Her life with Carl had been a true partnership. During their nearly 50 years together, they had shared responsibilities, each giving the other support and freedom. Carl’s absence left a gap that she had struggled to fill. Jake had stepped into Carl’s shoes running the family HVAC business, and while, as through the years, she continued to work in the office when needed, she spent most of her time managing things around the house. And she did her best to show Jenny and Jake that she was entirely capable of taking care of herself.

The needle on the gauge rested solidly on E when Hazel spotted the small, somewhat run-down grocery store with two paint-chipped gas pumps in front. She granted herself a sigh of relief as she wheeled the sedan across the gravel lot.

Hazel was about to lift the hose from the pump when a voice from the store’s porch called, “I’ll get that for you, ma’am. Wouldn’t want you to get gas on that pretty blouse.”

Before she could react, a young man in jeans and a grease-covered t-shirt grabbed the hose. “Fill’er up?”

Hazel nodded with an almost startled smile.

“It’s starting to get a little warm already,” said the gas jockey. “Why don’t you wait inside till I’m finished?”

As Hazel headed up the rickety porch steps and into the store, she wondered how long it had been since someone had pumped gas for her in this self-service culture.

Inside, she wandered through the aisles of snacks and grooming items before she selected a bag of chips and a soda from the small refrigerated section. At the checkout counter she paid a teenager with long, stringy blonde hair for the items and the gas.

Approaching the sedan, Hazel heard the gas jockey’s voice. “Ma’am, I’m afraid we have a problem.”

She turned to see the young man shaking his head as he wiped his hand on his t-shirt. “While you were inside, I checked under the hood, and your air conditioner has sprung a leak. Looks like you’ve lost most of your Freon.”

“How could that be?” Hazel said, placing the soda and chips inside the sedan. “The car is barely two years old, and I have it serviced regularly.”

“My guess is one of the mechanics got in a hurry and forgot to tighten all the hoses. Those things happen even with new cars.” The young man smiled. “It looks like we’re in for a hot one today, and I wouldn’t want to send you on the road with no air.”

“Well,” said Hazel hesitantly.

“It won’t take long. You can wait inside. I’ll just tighten up everything, refill the Freon, and you’ll be on your way.”

Hazel smiled as she opened the sedan’s doors. “I think I’ll just roll down the window the rest of the way.”

What made Hazel refuse the young man’s offer of service?

Solution

Working for years in the family’s heating and cooling business, Hazel knew that the EPA had banned Freon for use in both home and auto air conditioners in 2010. Since her vehicle was a late model, the air conditioning unit would not contain the banned gas and the young man should have known that fact. Sure enough, after leaving the young con artist behind, when Hazel turned on the air conditioning, it worked perfectly.