Mama’s BMW Maintenance

“He’s so cute,” a young woman said to Amy while pointing at Amy’s little boy. The woman sat across from Amy inside a luxury car dealership’s waiting room.

“Thank you,” Amy acknowledged the compliment the young woman gave to her son. “He’s my only baby,” Amy stated with a giggle. She gazed down at her son, Omar, who was sitting on his mother’s lap playing a video game on his phone.

“I have one of my own, but he’s grown up now,” the woman told Amy with her eyes still fixated on Amy’s son. She giggled when Omar looked up from his phone and waved at her. The woman, named Jenatrix, waved back at Omar while also blowing him a kiss.

“I was going to wait till tomorrow to schedule an oil change, but I decided to service my car today and get it over with," Amy told the woman while breezing her fingers through her son’s trimmed, curly haircut. She fell into a conversation with Jenatrix while reaching into her purse.

“Oil changes can be a bitch,” Jenatrix stated through a laugh, causing Amy to giggle while also nodding her head in agreement. “I drive a hybrid, so it still needs an oil change. I’m thinking about buying an all-electric Hummer. That’s my dream car.” Jenatrix crossed her legs, forcing her tight miniskirt to stretch across her shapely hips. 

“I have a second car and it’s all-electric, but I rarely drive it. My husband drove it more than me.” Amy lost some of the liveliness in her silky voice when she mentioned her husband.

Jenatrix stared at Amy for a moment. She slowly reached across, resting her long, lavender-painted fingernails on Amy’s knee. Jenatrix had a gift and she could see a deep sadness hiding behind Amy’s smile.

The smile on Amy’s lips never left, and she had a slightly puzzled expression on her face when Jenatrix touched her knee as if she was trying to console her.

“I hope this doesn’t make you uncomfortable, but I wanted to ask you this. Is your husband still alive? The reason I’m asking is that I sensed sorrowful energy when you mentioned him.” Jenatrix peered into Amy’s eyes, knowing that Amy was stunned but was still trying to hide it behind her smile.

“No, my husband passed away a few months ago,” Amy answered Jenatrix, not knowing what to say next.

Jenatrix took her hand away from Amy’s knee, smirking a little. “I’m so sorry.” She gave Amy a sympathetic gaze with the subtle smirk drifting from her lips.

“It’s fine.” Amy giggled uncomfortably. She wanted to ask Jenatrix how she could sense her husband’s death, but Jenatrix answered her question without her having to ask.

“Sometimes I can sense things from people, especially when they’ve gone through something traumatic,” Jenatrix explained. “Some people call it a gift, I call it a curse.” The young woman smiled a little, breaking eye contact with Amy and sitting back in her chair. She pinned her multicolored braids behind her ear.

“I think it’s a gift. You know psychics make a lot of money,” Amy stated, laughing softly. She fidgeted with her earring when her eyes reconnected with Jenatrix’s alluring but penetrating gaze.

“I’m sorry, but may I ask how your husband died?” Jenatrix never blinked as she studied Amy’s face, still maintaining her warm, sympathetic gaze.

Amy kept fidgeting with her earring while telling herself not to be uncomfortable with Jenatrix’s inquiry. She thought about reaching into her purse to get an e-cigarette, but changed her mind when she remembered vaping made her feel jittery. She wanted to maintain her relaxed state of mind in front of Jenatrix. Amy looked away from her purse while licking her lips, resisting her urge to smoke. She kept breezing her fingers through her son’s hair. “My husband was shot by a police officer,” Amy answered Jenatrix’s question. The mother gazed down at her child, feeling glad that he couldn’t hear the conversation about his deceased father, because the wireless earbuds he wore kept him immersed in his video game.

“I hope I’m not making you uncomfortable with all my questions. I just wanted to know.” Jenatrix wanted to apologize, and she was a little surprised when Amy revealed more about her husband’s death.

“No no, you’re not making me uncomfortable.” Amy lied. Her voice trailed down to an audible whisper after a nervous giggle escaped from her. “A police officer who had cocaine in his system shot and killed my husband. I was talking to him on the phone when it happened.” Amy paused for a second, licking her lips. “My husband was a paramedic and I would pick him up from work. On the night he was shot, he called me and told me not to worry about picking him up. I told him earlier in a text that I’d be picking him up late from work because I had to do extra scenes for a movie I was starring in. He called for a Lyft driver, thinking he was saving me the trouble of picking him up.” Amy felt emotionally naked, but she didn’t care.

“You were starring in a movie?” Jenatrix asked. She already knew everything about Amy and how her husband died, but she gave an Academy Award-winning performance, pretending to be shocked by Amy’s story.

“Yeah, I was the star of this low budget action film called Lady in the Black Camaro. I played a secret agent who finds out that her baby was switched at birth by a spy and a terrorist recruiter who turns out to be her husband. She has to find her real son who’s being trained to be a child assassin by a French terrorist group. It was another generic female action hero flick where one badass chick can beat up these guys. Which is totally unbelievable in real life, but the young fans love it, especially the girls. I drove a black 69 Chevy Camaro SS in the movie. The sports car was an extension of my character.” Amy laughed softly with her fingers still massaging through her son’s curly hair. “It’s funny that I played a mother who has to save her baby from French terrorists in the movie because I’m actually half French and half Korean.” Amy giggled before taking a deep breath. Telling Jenatrix about her movie and her mixed heritage made Amy feel a little awkward and she couldn’t understand why. She felt a little surprised that Jenatrix didn’t recognize her or was asking for her autograph. She assumed Jenatrix didn’t recognize her. “The director wanted to shoot extra kissing scenes with me. He demanded I stay and keep my job. He was an asshole. I told him I had to pick my husband up from work, but he didn’t give a damn. I was doing a sex scene too, so I had all my clothes off, lying in a jacuzzi with some young guy who was cute, but he wasn’t cuter than my husband.”

Jenatrix listened to Amy intently, and she giggled when Amy talked about her sex scene, but she quickly returned to her look of sympathy.

“So I was pissed off while lying in this jacuzzi with my arms around another man, kissing him. I feel like my husband’s death was my fault. If I hadn’t of told him I would be late through a text, then he wouldn’t have called for a rideshare.” Amy’s voice trembled a little, but she giggled to hide her pain. “My husband would still be alive if I had told the asshole director to go f#ck himself. I should’ve just gone to pick up my husband, not caring about losing my job. My baby’s death haunts me every single day. Not a day goes by where I’m not thinking about him. I wish I could go back in time to save Bryan. That was my husband’s name.” A lengthy, uncomfortable silence lingered behind Amy’s last sentence.

Jenatrix was about to say something else, but a serviceman interrupted the conversation between her and Amy.

“Excuse me, Ma'am, but your car is ready,” The young serviceman announced to Amy with a smile. He stepped into the waiting room, handing Amy her car keys. The serviceman focused all his attention on Amy, and he didn’t notice the murderous glare that Jenatrix was giving him.

Jenatrix wanted Amy to keep talking about her dead husband. She enjoyed watching Amy hide her pain behind a nervous smile. The serviceman ruined everything for Jenatrix and she wanted to break his neck.

“I talked to my manager, and I told him who you were. He gladly told me to tell you that your oil change is free.” The serviceman, named Tony Wilkins, took Amy by the hand, leading her out of the waiting room toward the service desk. He felt his heart skip a beat after he told Amy that her oil change was free. The young man had the hots for Amy, and he hoped that the good news would increase his chances of getting her number, and possibly a date.

“Thank you. You’re a sweetheart,” Amy said to Tony while adjusting the collar on her blouse. She gave the serviceman a flirtatious smile after he took her by the hand and walked her past the service desk toward the exit, where her BMW sedan was parked out front near the exit door with its engine running. Amy briefly gazed down at her son, who was holding her other hand with his attention still on his video game. The little boy walked beside his mom, not missing a beat as he used his machine gun to kill a woman zombie that was creeping toward him down a hallway.

Jenatrix left the waiting room, and she stood on the showroom floor watching as the serviceman walked out of the car dealership, holding hands with Amy and her son, who were both her targets. Jenatrix’s job was to follow Amy and Omar and alert two armed men about their every move. The young woman wasn’t human, and she disguised herself using the appearance of a woman she killed hours ago. The woman Jenatrix killed was a 35-year-old suburban mom who never showed up to her daughter's soccer practice.

“She’s leaving the dealership with her son. Remember, take her baby, but don’t kill her once she arrives at her home, understand?” Jenatrix spoke into her smartphone wristband, giving orders to two armed soldiers who were sitting in a muscle car outside Amy’s home.

“We understand. Take her boy, but don’t kill her. The boss gave us the orders directly.” A baritone gravelly voice emerged out of Jenatrix’s wristband.

Meanwhile, Amy was still being escorted to her car by the young serviceman. She walked around her car while holding her son, keeping her flirtatious gaze on Tony, who was walking in front of her like a queen’s servant, opening her rear door and helping her put her son into his child booster seat.

“I got this for you, little guy. Don’t tell your mom, okay?” Tony whispered to Omar as he reached into his shirt pocket, pulling out a small candy bar. He slid the piece of candy into Omar’s tiny hand after helping the child fasten his seatbelt. He made Omar break into a giggle after rubbing his hand across the little boy’s forehead. Tony re-emerged from the backseat, shutting the door and turning around to see Amy standing right behind him with her arms folded.

“Thanks for giving my baby more sugar,” Amy said, smirking at Tony after she watched him sneakingly slide the mini KitKat bar into her son’s hand.

Tony gave Amy a guilty grin as he opened her car door, watching as the woman he was infatuated with smoothly stepped into her car. Being a gentleman came naturally for Tony, and he told himself to stop fixing his gaze down on Amy’s busty cleavage, which was hard to miss beneath her low-cut, short sleeve, sequin blouse.

“Thank you for saving me back there in the waiting room. That lady I was talking to wanted to know all about my tragedies and it made me feel a little uncomfortable,” Amy explained to Tony, sitting her purse down on the passenger seat. She turned back to the young serviceman, giving him a suppressed smile and watching as he closed her door before leaning in to look at her through her driver’s side window.

“I overheard that woman asking about your husband and I know how much you don’t enjoy talking about that, so I rescued you, and also your car was ready.” Tony chuckled with his elbows resting on the car door’s bottom window sill. He gazed at Amy for a moment, waiting for the right time to ask for her number. Tony watched as Amy turned the volume down on her radio when she realized that her rap music had her car booming a little too much. After turning down the volume on Juicy J and Cardi B’s Kamasutra, Amy turned to look at Tony again, seeing that he wanted to ask her something. This wasn’t Tony’s first attempt. He had tried to get Amy’s phone number many times before and failed. But this time, he felt confident. For Tony, it was like playing the lottery.

“You saved me in the waiting room and you got me a free oil change, as usual. I can’t remember the last time I paid for an oil change.” Amy softly laughed while combing her petite fingers through her platinum blonde bangs. She took a deep breath while awkwardly making eye contact with Tony and trying to keep a pleasant smile on her strong and pretty face. Amy knew what Tony wanted. She knew that rejecting him again would be a tough move, especially after she just thanked him for his acts of kindness toward her.

Tony fixed his lips to ask for Amy’s number, but he spoke what was on his mind. “Listen, Ms. Cho, I know I keep asking you for your number every time you bring your car in for service. You keep telling my stupid ass that you’re not interested.” Tony paused for a second while giving Amy an embarrassed smile. “I want to ask you for your number right now, but I know what you’re gonna say. You’re gonna tell me I’m too young for you and that I should date girls my own age. You know I’m not that young. I’m 19 years old.” Tony placed his hand on his hip, keeping his elbow resting on the doorsill. “You’re a beautiful lady and I’ve always been attracted to you. You’re a superb actress and I love your action films. Forgive me if I’ve made you feel uncomfortable in the past by constantly asking you to go out on a date with...” Tony stopped mid-sentence. The young serviceman had to end his talking when Amy placed her fingers on his lips.

“Give me your phone,” Amy whispered to Tony, giggling at his lost expression.

Tony couldn’t believe it when Amy slowly took his phone from between his fingers. He watched as she began typing her phone number into his phone contacts. Tony wanted to pinch himself to make sure he was awake. Instead of pinching himself, Tony’s sensory perception received something more pleasant.

After giving Tony her phone number, Amy gave the young man a brief kiss near his lips, leaving behind a tiny smudge of her lipstick. She handed Tony back his phone, studying his clean-cut handsome face and his pristine short sleeve uniform shirt and necktie, which complemented his solid shoulders and arms.

“Thank you.” Those were the only words that breathlessly escaped from between Tony’s lips.

Amy flirtatiously smiled at Tony one last time before rolling up her window, shifting her car into drive and slowly pulling off. She glanced up at her rearview mirror, watching as Tony stood in the middle of the dealership parking lot, motionless. He looked like a statue at first, but then he did something in the parking lot that made Amy release a coughing giggle. She watched as Tony broke into a hip-hop dance move before doing a radical backflip, and almost bumping into a shiny new dealership car behind him.

“What are you laughing about, Mama?” Omar asked curiously when he took out his earbuds and paused his video game to hear his mother cracking up. The child broke into a smile himself while hearing his mom’s laughter.

"It's nothing, baby. You have a weird mama and she giggles sometimes for no reason,” Amy told her little boy while reaching into the back seat and caressing his knee. She watched as her son went back to playing his video game, and she placed her eyes back on her rearview mirror to see Tony in the distance still break dancing in the middle of the dealership parking lot. Amy turned at an intersection and she drove down a primary avenue. She put her eyes back on the road, softly laughing to herself when she realized she made an ambitious young man thrilled enough to break-dance.