Chrome valve covers sat beside it, polished to a mirror shine. I could see my own face in them: eyes red, mouth hanging open.
"No," I whispered, even as my knees gave out.
I sank to the floor. I reached out and touched the cold metal, half expecting it to vanish. It didn't.
She painted it in my color.
I realized that Grace hadn't forgotten me. She hadn't spent five years hating me.
Her time was spent finishing what we started.
A sound tore out of my throat, raw and ugly.
I leaned forward until my forehead rested against the engine block, and then I wrapped my arms around it. I didn't care about the oil soaking into my shirt.
I cried for Jean, Grace, and the years I thought were gone forever.
"I'm sorry," I said out loud, to no one and to everyone.
She hadn't spent five years hating me.
Eventually, the sobs slowed. My breathing evened out, though my chest still ached.
That's when I noticed something tucked into one of the cylinder bores. A white envelope, folded carefully, its edges smudged with grease. My name was written on the front.
My hands shook as I opened it. The letter inside was handwritten.
My name was written on the front.
"Dear Dad,
I know I'm five years late. I know I said things that I can never take back. When Mom died, I felt like if I let you be my father, I was admitting she was really gone. I was so angry, and I wanted to hurt you because I was hurting. I am so sorry.
I took the block when I left that day. I dragged it to three different apartments. I didn't know how to fix it, so I took classes. I learned to machine and polish. Every time I worked on it, I felt as if I were talking to you. It took me five years to get good enough to finish it the way you taught me. I needed to grow up and fix this before I could try to repair us.
I know you're selling the house. I saw the listing online. Please don't sell the garage tools yet. We have an engine to install.
Also, check the bottom of the box.
Love, Grace."
"I know I'm five years late."
I pressed the letter to my chest and laughed through tears.
My heart was pounding again, but this time it felt different. Lighter.
I leaned over the box and reached inside, pushing aside packing material until my fingers brushed against something flat and solid.
I pulled it out.
It was a framed photograph.
Grace looked older in it. Her face was thinner, and her eyes were tired but bright.
I pulled it out.
She was holding a newborn baby boy wrapped in a blanket patterned with tiny cars. The baby was asleep, his mouth slightly open, his small fist curled against her chest.
Clipped to the photo was a plane ticket for a flight departing the following day and a small note written on the back of the picture.
"Come meet your grandson, Vincent Junior. He needs his Grandpa to teach him how to use a wrench."
I sat there in awe. On the floor of the hallway, the photo in one hand and the letter in the other.
Clipped to the photo was a plane ticket...
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