He drove north to Emil's repair shop a new man. Just hours before he was leaving a dark past still in the darkness and now he was out of it, heading into the sun. Peg had given him a new life that had possibilities she could not know. Heck, Wheeler couldn't imagine what those might be, but the fact there were now possibilities had him giddy. If his radio worked he would have turned it up and sung along.
He pulled into Emil's parking lot just before quitting time and he found Emil inside poking a lawnmower engine with a screwdriver.
“Wheeler!' he noticed as soon as Wheeler cleared the entrance. “You come to stay more than weekend?” He pulled Wheeler into a bear hug like he was family, which was almost true. Wheeler had spent many a weekend in Emil's loft, accepting his hospitality.
“A place to stay and free beer? Why would I leave?” Wheeler said and they both laughed.
“Not free, I work you hard, get my money that way” he smiled broadly. “Come, sit, I get beer.” He wiped his hands with a shop rag and grabbed two bottles out of the fridge.
“So, tell Emil everything, it been two months” Emil demanded. His English wasn't any better but his enthusiasm had not diminished a bit.
They sipped a bit and Wheeler mostly skipped over the retirement plans Emil knew all about, so there was not much there to tell. He did replay the story of Peg's truck and surprisingly, Emil beamed.
“What's that all about?” Wheeler asked.
“I know you find flower in cow pie. It there all along” laughed Emil, ever the cheerleader. Wheeler should not have looked confused but he did, so Emil continued “Wheeler,” he said more seriously, “you have ability to know things before they happen. It save you in Middle East, it save somebody else now. What is big deal?”
Wheeler should have not been surprised, Emil evidently knew him better than he knew himself. “You have known that for a long time, haven't you?” Wheeler accused.
“Of course, I not just fix broken lawnmowers” he thumbed his nose at Wheeler with a smirk.
“Of course” Wheeler feigned exasperation at his friend and they drank into the night enjoying each others company.
After nearly a month of tuning lawnmowers and fixing leaf blowers together, Emil finally initiated the first serious talk about Wheeler's future.
“So Wheeler, you going to fix this junk with me forever?” his words were pointed but his tone was soft.
Wheeler stopped moving his tools but did not look up. He had been slowly turning into a civilian working with Emil, letting his buzz cut turn to long fuzz and getting used to jeans.
“I'm not sure I'm ready” he answered, unsure of himself.
“What you mean 'ready'? You wait for post card?” Wheeler laughed, he couldn't help it. Emil was a subtle as a brick. He continued “Get coffee, sit at table, we talk.”
Emil finished bolting on an air cleaner and joined Wheeler at the table, taking the cup he poured for him. “Look, Wheeler” he began seriously, “you good mechanic, you fix more than you break. You could stay and be partner, maybe open shop and compete with me.” Emil couldn't stay completely serious. “But your talent be wasted on machines, you need to help people or you not be happy.” Emil sipped, waiting for Wheeler to get it.
“That's just the thing, Emil, I know that too, but I don't know exactly how to start” Wheeler said, retreating into himself a bit.
“You know just before moment of danger, to do something or go somewhere, right?” Emil said to his friend.
“Of course, I've been able to do that since I was a kid” he replied.
“And you have learned to trust this knowing when you get it, true?”
“Sure” Wheeler said, not certain what Emil was leading up to yet.
“Just use that trust to lead you to where you need to go, where you need to be. Is it not the same thing?” Emil explained.
“Emil! That's it!” Wheeler blurted out. “I don't have to know. I've been wrestling with figuring out where to go and how to start. I don't need to know now, I need to know later, when the time is right.” Wheeler felt the last predictable, orderly strings of his old life just get cut. The order and rigor of the military no longer held him, the structure of it all was no longer necessary.
He was no longer Wheeler, Jules (none), he was just Wheeler, civilian, free man.