(It's another Thursday night in a college town. Fndr is hunched over a laptop, and Lynn is watching Bones, laughing at how intellectuals on TV are hard to get along with. Fndr's phone rings, and he steps outside to answer after he sees the caller ID.)
Fndr: Hello? Doc?
Doc: Yeah, man, how's it going?
Fndr: Pretty good, how are you?
Doc: Oh, I'm alright. Listen, I need a favor.
Fndr: Sure, what's going on?
Doc: Well, thing is, I'm moving, and I was wondering if you could lend a hand.
Fndr: Sure. If you need an extra trailer, I've got one over at the shop. Why the move?
Doc: Well, I got a new job. There's a lobbying firm in Tallahassee, and they want me for some of my ins with engineering firms over here on the space coast. Officially, it's a part time gig; kind of a "friend of a friend" deal. Anyway, I closed on a house, and was wondering when would be a good time for us to get together. The house stuff is being moved by a company, but I don't want a couple of couch-haulers handling the equipment in my tool shed. I basically re-stocked everything after you moved. I'm putting some of the toys in the truck, but extra room would be handy. There's a steak and a beer in it for you.
Fndr: After the week I've had, I might hold out for two, but that sounds good. Lynn's got a trip planned this weekend anyway, so I could use an excuse to get out and about. Colloquium gets out at five. The shop's sort of in between things right now, so I can sneak out. I'll just have to keep my phone on.
Doc: Yeah, I heard you ran a couple of pro series. How did that go?
Fndr: Well, I managed to run a rotary in an endurance series, and it never blew up. That's gotta count for something, right?
Doc: Yeah, you ran an old seven, right?
Fndr: Yeah, a heavy, naturally aspirated, wide-geared, rotary-powered car. We kinda went against type for that one.
Doc: Guess so. What did you do with the car?
Fndr: The series was retired. I sold the car to some guy who wanted a turnkey racer, a guy with more dollars than sense. We did a little work to make it fit the class he wanted to run, but it was already most of the way there. When you figure in the winnings from the series, I actually turned a profit racing, which is kind of amazing, really.
Doc: You sold it? Why? I know times are tough, but if you needed something...
Fndr: Oh no, nothing like that. The pool table place next door to TTR went under. I got the space for a song, one of those big empty corners of a dead shopping center, used to be a Hills or a Kroger or something, I think. Had to sell most of my inventory to do it, but I figure that will replenish with time. We're turning it into a real storefront. We'll be able to show off our race cars and high performance jobs a little more easily that way. Customization business has slowed down a little, but the performance stuff is still doing fairly well. I've got enough capital left over to start running showroom stock. It's not the best tinkering class, but it should be a lot of fun. It's little FWD cars on what's basically a tarmac rally track. I'm trying to get ahead on my work here so that I can make the trip; it's in Europe. I figure the exposure could do the shop a lot of good. I know the last couple of years, I've had a rough time trying to get hold of certain parts, even certain cars sometimes. I jumped through a ton of hoops to get those Jags we tested out, and they were pretty much useless for what I wanted. I figure if I get our name out there a little more, maybe I can spend more time under the hood and behind the wheel, and less scouring craigslist.
Doc: So you're moving up in the world, eh?
Fndr: Well, sideways, anyway. With this economy, I figure just the fact that we kept our heads above water means we're doing better than most. The storefront is more to help us expand and play toward our strengths. I'll do whatever somebody wants to a car, but if I have to install carbon fiber stuff in one more car just to turn around and put the tires on huge, chrome-dipped rims and put a giant, silly wing on the back, I'll really want to strangle some poor kid who doesn't know any better. I really prefer working with the enthusiasts who want the car to drive well, so we're trying to position ourselves to do that. Luckily, I've seen people advertising cars for sale with "mods done at Tiny Terror Racing" as a selling point, so maybe we're getting somewhere. We're doing good work, and people are noticing.
Doc: Well, look who's turning into a businessman!
Fndr: I don't know about all that. It's still a side business, but it's fun, and I get to do things right.
Doc: Well, sounds like you're doing OK, anyway. And frankly, you should be proud of what you've got going on.
Fndr: I guess. So I'll see you Friday night. I can bring the hauler, but we've got an E350. I can put the trailer on the back. Think that will give us enough room?
Doc: Sounds good, man. I'll get some of that highfalutin' beer you like.
Fndr: Alright, man, see ya then.
(Fndr hangs up and goes inside)
Lynn: So Bones found a cut on the third sacral vertebrae that couldn't be from an axe. Who was on the phone?
Fndr: It was Doc!
Lynn: You haven't heard from him in a while. What's he doing these days?
Fndr: Come Saturday, about 70 miles per hour, headed our way.
Lynn: So you get him in town while I'm gone? That's good.
Fndr: Well, something like that. He got a lobbyist job downtown, and I'm helping him move. I'll be leaving from the shop tomorrow night.
Lynn: Oh, that's good. Do you think he'll want to play crew chief at the shop, like before?
Fndr: It wouldn't hurt my feelings at all.
Lynn: And you're willing to leave the shop alone all weekend?
Fndr: This weekend is just construction stuff anyway. I've already got our passports and everything set up for the trip next week, and the cars are being delivered on-site, just to make sure they're all spec. Tickets are already bought and everything. I'm assuming you're still coming?
Lynn: Sure. Unless you want me to stay here and keep an eye on the crew.
Fndr: Nah, Lee's got that under control. I'll get together with him tomorrow morning and make sure things are on schedule, but at the beginning of the week we just had about half the flooring and the furniture left to go on the customer side. The back half is basically just going to be extra storage anyway.
Lynn: I almost wish I could go with you; I don't want Janice stuck listening to you two go on about cars we've never heard of.
Fndr: I wouldn't worry too much. I think I'm making the trip solo in the van, just putting the trailer on it.
Lynn: OK. Have fun. And sit down and watch this with me. I call quality time!
Fndr: Yes, dear...(laughing)
