Watch That Gas Gauge - 2nd Half

This is, as indicated, the 2nd HALF of this fairly lengthy poem. Due to Poetry Soup's file-size limitations, this piece had to be posted in 2 parts. The 1st HALF can be accessed, of course, by going to - "Poems by Mark Stellinga" - on the Soup. Sorry for the inconvenience... I noticed, as we tried to sleep, Denise was working hard. She spent a lot of time with wrenches, underneath the hood. Somewhere close to 6 a.m., she garnered my attention by tapping on the window, then she said, “This isn’t good. “I performed a diagnostic test on this here motor. Changed your oil, an'…while it drained…I even got it greased. But what I found ‘ll blow your mind. My woman’s intuition tells me it will cost you folks a thousand bucks…at least.” My mind was turning cartwheels. I severely banged my head. I started screaming, “Susan, this is more than I can stand. This wrecker-driving, girl mechanic…here in no-man’s-land…says what we need fixed is gonna cost at least a grand.” “Take it easy, Bobby boy,” Denise abruptly quipped. “I’ll save you folks some money with a rebuilt water pump. Once the ‘juice’ is on again, I’ll fill my tank with gas, and buy the best one Howard has. She lives out by the dump. “I’ll get you guys a bargain on a carburetor too. I found a great old radiator. Man…it fit just right. By the time I’m done with it, your car will run like new, but it’ll be expensive. I’ve been fixin' things all night!” Tired, starved, and mad as heck…an angry Susan snarled, “Don’t you touch another thing. Just take our car to town!” Then softly whispered in my ear, “I’m having her arrested the very minute we arrive. I’m going to take her down!” “Fine with me,” Denise complied. “At nine, I’ll fill the wrecker, then pull ya’ down to Sagebrush. You can ride the way you are.” Man…were we relieved when her dilapidated tow truck fin’ly hit the highway with our mutilated car! Ninety minutes later, we were pulling into Sagebrush. The town was very tiny, but they actually had a cop. On the edge of town there was a fairly modern station, and this was where, to our delight, Denise would finally stop. Sue jumped out and said to me, “Try to keep her busy. I’m going to find an officer, and have her put in jail. Denise belongs in prison, and I’m sure they will convict her, and I swear to God, I’ll kill her if they let her out on bail!” This was not at all like Sue…she’s usually sweet and mellow, but she would disappear behind the door that said, “POLICE.” And I would try my very best at making conversation to give ourselves a fighting chance to crucify Denise. Then I caught a break when Mother Nature called her name. She headed for the restroom, so I found the man in charge. I explained the problem, as he listened very closely. He quickly understood that our predicament was large. We added up the cost of having all the things repaired this grimy, girl-mechanic had assaulted on our car, And when the station owner told me what the total was…he added, “Let me tell you, sir, how fortunate you are. “I’m sure you noticed all the cars around Denise’s station. Those are actually ones that people simply…left behind! Most mechanics wouldn’t tow your car to someone else, but - long as she gets paid for what she’s done - she doesn’t mind. “What a shame the three of you were stuck there overnight. With zero food, and zero rooms…a paradise it ain’t.” “Actually there are four of us,” I filled the fella in. “My wife slipped in to see the sheriff. She’s filing a complaint.” “Oh my God, you’re kidding,” were his very frightened words. “I’m sure your wife is angry, but…she’ll wish she never had. He’s an ornery devil…and he’s got an awful temper. And, man…I hate to tell you this, but....he’s Denise’s dad!” Well…by the time the car was fixed, and all the bills were paid, (including Susan’s fine), we had to borrow from the bank! The lesson that I learned from this is…always try your best - to never let your fuel supply fall under half-a-tank! PS: I've now got 4 new Audio-CDs - @ 4 1/2 hours each = (62 diversely varied pieces). They’re listed on EBAY - under - “Mark Stellinga Poetry” - or available by simply contacting me at -- mark@writerofbooks.com -- should those of you who enjoy listening to poems as well as reading them - and particularly those of you that travel - care to be so entertained. (We use safe and simple - PayPal) Cheers, Mark