He reached in the Judy’s car and turned the key and shook his head. “Battery’s dead, did you run it down trying to start it?” It was almost as if he were indicting Judy for some serious crime. Actually he was beginning the diagnosis. It was important to know if the battery or starter was bad or if it was good and the problem was the engine.

“Yes,” Judy piped up.

To nobody in particular he said, “Get in the driver’s seat. Let’s hook up my jumper cables and try to start it.”

Dave started his car, pulled it up next to Judy’s and wound down the widow on the passenger side. Judy complied while Lynn stood next to the car and sulked. “Who did he think he was?”

He hooked up the jumpers between the batteries under the back seats. Then he went to the back of Judy’s car and pulled the hood open. “Turn it over.” Judy hit the key. After a few minutes and a few more orders to Judy he pulled his head out from under the hood and turned to Judy. “You need a set of points. The rubbing block blew into a million pieces. Do you have three bucks?”

“Yes. Should I get someone to tow it?” Judy asked.

“Not unless you want to. They’ll charge you over ten times the price of the part you need just to tow it then they’ll charge you to replace the points. I’ve fixed worse than this on the road with nothing but a screwdriver and a flashlight. I have the tools to do it but I don’t have a spare pair of points or I would do it here. These southern garage boys will take you for all they can.”

“Do you dislike southerners?” Lynn asked. This was the first time she had said anything to him. It was more of a reaction than a conscious act.

“Only those who take advantage of others.”

“A typical Yankee,” she said. The word came out with some contempt before she even thought about it.

“Yes, I guess that’s what you’d would call me.” He emphasized the “you”d’ and turned to Judy. “If you have the three bucks, you and Bill take my car over to the auto parts store on the other side of the interstate. They’re generally fair and their prices are reasonable. If you don’t I have a used pair I can put in, they will get you home but they aren’t in great shape. You’d have to get them changed in a couple weeks and that will cost you more money. This way you get new points, installed right and for free.” He pulled out a small box of tools and handed a point box to Bill. “Tell them this is what you need. I’ll get the old ones out and clean up the distributor while you’re gone.” Then he handed the key to Bill and pointed to his car. “Take good care of my baby. And don’t let them overcharge you or sell you anything else. All you need is the points.”