Free The Wandering Island Factory by TR Nowry

or they would wear unevenly. Unfortunately, he had gained a reputation for being fast and accurate, something the maintenance logs bore out. It wasn't uncommon for blades he installed to last a week longer than those installed by others.
    He heaved one into location and snugged it before shimmying it into alignment and locking it down. Rotating the disk to confirm it was spinning true was about as hard as pushing a golf cart uphill, but vital to a proper installation. Verified, he signed the log and took his lock off the disconnect and proceeded to the next one.
    By lunch, his arms ached, but he was done with all the heavy lifting and the docks were buzzing with constant grinder sounds.
    He barely had the strength to open his Coke and unwrap his two ham and mustard sandwiches.
    "So, Jason, uh," David said, "where's this new Yaris you've been raving about?" sitting down next to him.
    "Gina's mom's got it. Running errands I suppose." He sipped the soda then crunched a fistful of chips.
    "So, let me get this right, you bought it and—"
    He swallowed hard, "Yeah, yeah, I know. But I've been borrowing their car for the last few months. You know, what can I do? Can't say no."
    David started laughing and making whipping sounds, "And she don't even have a ring on her finger yet. You got no chance, my man!"
    Part of him agreed, but what could he do. Fair was fair. He concentrated on eating instead of conversating. It wasn't like it was a brand new car anyway. Someone had already put 60,000 miles on it. It was just new to him.

    After lunch, he helped David position the template over the tidal slab, lock it down, and started drilling the mounting holes before boring out piston holes for the rest of the day.

    He waited in the parkinglot for twenty minutes before his car pulled into view. Climbing in the passenger side, he tried not to be angry over the situation while Nathan drove home. Only, they couldn't go straight home, Nathan had a list of things to pick up, in this case taking a full two hours and three stops before they actually got home.
    Five drivers using two cars was hectic, no matter how he did the math.
    But, it was no picnic for Nathan either. Nathan had to drive an hour out of the way, as did his mother that morning. And the car was stuck in the middle of their errand marathon. But it was what it was. It was what they had to do to get by.
    Ava borrowed it immediately after they unloaded it at home.
    Jason took a shower and passed out on Gina's bed. At least he didn't have to fetch her at work.

    The days blended together, with only the weekends standing out. He had weekends off, most weekends anyway.
    Weekends were all about laundry.
    Oddly, he found he rather enjoyed his time at the Laundromat. The closest one was open all night and next to a bar and a convenience store. When he went at night, he could watch the people pour into the bar and stagger out, usually while nobody was in the matt, or even get comfortably blitzed and sober up in time to fold. When he went there in the morning, as if it was his day job, nobody was there and he could have his pick of machines and enjoy a coffee and a paper in total peace.
    The Laundromat was quiet and peaceful, almost like a library in the predawn mornings, and was perfect for reading.
    He preferred the morning, Sunday morning was ideal, because it was cleaned Saturday night and generally cooler in the mornings.
    The kids had been doing their own laundry for years, but he was in the habit of doing Gina's too because her hamper was in the same room.
    It just kept thing simpler that way.
    He unloaded the two duffle bags onto the rolling baskets and started to sort them by color and cycle in front of his favorite three machines. He added detergent and went for his morning cup and paper at the convenience store.
    It would have been nice to have spent these next few hours with Gina in the peace and quiet of the matt, but it was a bit too early for her. She got off around three, home