Page 18 of What Did I Miss?

Makayla wanders through the Mustang Owners Club of New South Wales car show, which spans multiple sporting fields.

Beside her, Quinn runs through an eight-step approach to protect Gertie’s exterior.

Makayla checks the time on her phone. How much longer will she be held hostage?

It’s only been ten minutes, and she already has a headache.

‘ Hello. Earth to MK. Did you hear what I said?’ Quinn asks.

‘ Yep.’ She shoves her phone into her pocket. ‘Never go to an automatic car wash. Hand-wash only.’ Maintaining a vintage vehicle is starting to sound like a full-time job.

‘Okay, smartarse. Keep walking. I want to introduce you to someone.’

They zigzag through a clump of attendees and stop in front of a car that looks like all the rest with its long hood and short deck, except this one’s poppy red.

That must make it special, because Quinn’s eyes flutter like she’s reached the gate to Nirvana.

A bloke with a distinguished grey beard moseys over to soak in her admiration.

‘She’s a beauty, Danny.’ Quinn elbows the owner. ‘Come meet my niece, Makayla.’

‘Niece? You two could be sisters.’

Quinn accepts the compliment with a grin, while Makayla wishes they hadn’t rocked up in identical outfits of ripped jeans and crinkled-white tees. They look like the von Trapp family, only cooler. Quinn’s nose ring gives them an edge.

‘Danny used to know Mum … your gran. Isn’t that right?’

‘ Frances and I went way back. Before your old man turned up and swept her off her feet.’

Quinn’s face hardens. ‘Things might’ve turned out better if that scumbag didn’t come along.’

Danny removes his dusty Akubra and clutches it in his hands. ‘I’ll never understand why he skipped town and ditched her. Mick didn’t deserve a fine woman like your mother.’

‘Where did he go?’ Makayla jumps at the chance to fill in the missing puzzle pieces. Whenever she asks anyone about her grandfather, the conversation gets stomped out like a grass fire. Until now, she didn’t even know his name was Mick. He’s always referred to as ‘that no good so and so’.

‘Somewhere up north,’ Danny replies. ‘Had another family, apparently. It was a big scandal back in the day. Mick was in such a rush he left his Mustang behind, and Frances refused to hand it over.’

‘It’s the least he could do. The bastard never sent her a dime.’

‘I know, I know. But it all worked out for the best, Quinny.’ Danny pops his arm around her.

‘I’m not sure what this one’s told you, sweetheart,’ he says to Makayla, ‘but your gran was the first lady we let into this club. Not that it was much of a club back then. Just a bunch of hooligans who used to meet up in a parking lot every so often. Frances sorted us all out, took her spot as president, and turned things around. We didn’t mind; she had nice pins.

’ He smiles, like there’s a crystal-clear image of her legs in his mind.

‘She was an ideas woman. Frances wanted to turn this into the biggest car club in the country, and thanks to her, it is. This is all your gran’s doing. ’ Danny waves his arm around.

Makayla scans her surroundings, taking it all in.

Thousands of people have flocked here, and there are cars from all over the state.

There are even a few in a roped-off area that have voyaged across the Pacific Ocean.

Only the showgoers with lanyards swinging from their necks, like Quinn and Danny, can get near them.

Makayla baulked at the suggestion to upgrade her ticket.

The turnout is bigger than Makayla expected, with food trucks and stalls lining the perimeter and carnival rides scattered throughout.

Radio hosts with larrikin charm cover the event from one corner.

Their conversation competes with the excited chatter of the crowd.

If Makayla had known what a pioneer her grandmother was, she would have made the effort to attend when she was alive.

Maybe these gatherings aren’t as bad as she thought.

‘She’s a real showstopper, ain’t she?’ Danny follows Makayla’s gaze to the stage, where Gertie is deemed important enough to have been granted the coveted spot.

If she had bothered to read the e-newsletter, she’d probably know why.

‘I’m glad Quinny found someone who will love Gert as much as your gran did,’ Danny says, unaware that until a minute ago, Makayla thought of it as an expensive hunk of junk. ‘How long have you been into cars?’

‘Great question,’ a nasally voice says behind them.

Makayla gets her eye roll out of the way before turning around to see Warren standing behind them.

‘Are you stalking me?’ he asks. ‘Because the last time I checked, you said people who go to these things are old codgers with small dicks.’

Makayla flashes an apologetic smile at Danny. The moment she explains that they’re exes, he glances around for an escape route, latches onto a mate and leaves them to it.

‘It’s good to see you at one of these shows again.’ Quinn claps Warren on the shoulder. ‘You should stick around. I’m showing Makayla the ropes, and there’ll be an official handing over of Gertie.’

‘What?’ Warren and Makayla ask simultaneously.

Makayla didn’t realise there’d be anything formal going on. Is that why they’ve displayed Gertie on the stage? What if they make Makayla say something? In front of all these people? The second she opens her mouth, everyone will know she’s a fraud. They’ll want her head on a stick.

‘You can’t be serious,’ Warren says to Quinn. ‘When you came in for your last service, you told me you were considering your options. Never in a million years did I think she’d be one of them.’ He boots an innocent bucket nearby.

Makayla’s put up with his ridiculous tantrums for years, but this one brings about the kind of satisfaction that only sticking it to an ex can provide. A glorious buzz spreads through her. Headache gone. Revenge really is the best medicine.

‘Have you ever been in a car with her? She doesn’t even know how to drive a manual.’

‘So what?’ Makayla chimes in before he plants further seeds of doubt. ‘I can learn. If a donkey like you can do it, anyone can.’

‘Sorry, buddy, but Makayla and I have a deal. As long as she sticks to the agreement, it’s all hers when I leave. If not, you’re welcome to it.’

Makayla glares at Quinn, warning her to close her trap. Warren probably has wet dreams about Gertie – he’ll do anything to sabotage Makayla’s chances of owning her.

‘What agreement?’ he asks Quinn.

Quinn shakes off Makayla, who’s failing to drag her away. ‘MK has to stay single until her thirtieth birthday to give her time to process whatever the hell happened between you two.’

Warren nods to Makayla, looking relieved that she hasn’t told Quinn what he did. If they weren’t in public, she’d inform him it wasn’t for his benefit.

In a heartbeat, the moment’s over and Warren’s back to sooking like the man-baby he is.

‘Great. I’ll never get the car. Who’d want to go out with a bitter woman like her?’

‘I’m not bitter!’

‘Yeah, you are. Stubborn too. You let nothing go. People mess up and you cut them off immediately.’

The accusation worms its way in and settles in the spot where all of Warren’s unkind words gather. How dare he? When they were married, there were plenty of instances where she let Warren’s appalling behaviour slide. Holding him accountable for the last time he screwed up doesn’t prove his point.

‘Some people don’t deserve forgiveness,’ Makayla says, low and firm.

Warren shakes his head. The chorus of Cold Chisel’s ‘Khe Sanh’ blares from his phone. Taking the call, he holds up an I’m-not-done-with-you finger to Makayla. She wants to bite it.

‘Diamond’s crook. I’ve got to get back to her,’ he mumbles to no one in particular. ‘If you change your mind, Quinn, you’ve got my number.’ He pushes past Makayla and ploughs through the swelling crowd.

‘Me, stubborn?’ Makayla looks to her aunty for reassurance. ‘Since when is Warren the kind of guy who races home when his partner’s sick? He sure as hell didn’t do that for me.’ Makayla would know. The last time she needed him, he didn’t give two hoots.

‘Maybe he’s changed.’

It takes every ounce of self-control not to snap at her aunty. If Warren wasn’t obsessed with vintage cars, Quinn would never give him a pass. Talk about a blind spot.

‘I’m going to grab a coffee. Want one?’ Quinn eyes her exit.

‘I have to go to the bathroom,’ Makayla replies. ‘I’ll catch up with you later.’

They part ways, headed in opposite directions.

Makayla staggers off to the side to collect her thoughts.

Does she cut people off too quickly? She stews over Warren’s comments.

He’s just pissed about Gertie, and he should be.

Since learning about the car’s origin and what it means to her family, she wants that Mustang more than ever.

Teachers amble into the gym like zombies. None of them are thrilled about parent–teacher interviews, particularly on a Friday night. They search for their assigned tables, which are bunched together – safety in numbers. Some parents can’t handle the truth about their little darlings.

Makayla strides towards Beau’s table. Even if he wasn’t sitting there, stiff-backed, she’d know it was his by the neatly stacked folders. The rule-follower is also wearing his name badge. Jeffrey underlined that instruction in his last email.

Nerves catch Makayla by surprise as she thrusts a box into Beau’s hands. ‘Hey there, I’ve got something for you.’ She finds her voice again and projects it as Jeffrey walks past. Let him hear she’s taking her mentor role seriously. ‘It’s a survival pack for tonight.’

Beau removes the ribbon-covered lid and sifts through cellophane. Why did she pretty it up so much? If it were anyone else, a stinky shoebox would’ve sufficed.

Beau holds up each item, prompting Makayla to explain its significance.