THE BOLAN CHRONICLES: Reading #36

36. Approximate Minutes Reading (AMR): 14

Introduction to Characters
Murphy Elwood and Calvin Byer: Service Station Employees

THE BOLAN CHRONICLES

Chapter 3

A House

**A Wiper Incentive**

Jake kept his promise to Ken. He never gave any less than one hundred percent at work. Business flourished at the station. Ken appreciated the trust that had developed between the two of them. He had a night manager who provided him with peace of mind, and because of that, Jake was awarded another fifty-cent raise within a matter of months. He hired two new employees, a middle aged guy named Murphy Elwood who worked full-time by day, and a high school junior named Calvin Byer. Jake had met Calvin at a five-and-dime and had encouraged him to apply for a ‘’real’’ job at Ken’s service station. Trusting Jake’s judgment, Ken hired Calvin immediately, who worked part time on the weekends. 

Murphy, the middle-aged full-time hire, had wavy blonde hair and a thick mustache. Jake thought he looked a lot like Mickey Rourke, an actor whom he and Donna had recently seen in a movie called ‘Body Heat,’ so he addressed Murphy as Heat Man. “People have said that I look a lot like Mickey Rourke, but Heat Man—now that’s a first!” Murphy said.

Jake liked Murphy because Murphy seemed to like him, and Murphy also showed him respect without looking like he was trying to show respect—respectful without sucking up. Jake thought that Murphy would have done well as a cop, a semi-tough demeanor, swayed by very little, hardworking. Murphy also listened well. He laughed at Jake’s stories and his antics, and Murphy knew when to keep his mouth shut.

One Friday evening, just as Jake was clocking in, Murphy walked through the large garage door opening and greeted Jake with a pat on the back. “Another day, another dollar, boss.”

Jake sighed, “Yep. Here we go again. Same shit…different night.” He stepped over to the register at the end of the counter and waited for the total sales report to finish printing. “Damn! Looks like things were fairly busy today?” 

Murphy replied, “You got that right. Sons of bitches just kept on rollin’ in. Never seen so many cars lined up for gas since I’ve been here. Shit! Like everyone was leavin’ town at once.”

“First week of the month,” Jake replied. “And July to boot.”

“Yeah, I suppose.”

Jake tore the strip from the register tape roll and looked at it closely. “Holy mackerel!”

“What?”

“Remember last month, about three or four weeks ago, when we had that blow-out day? The day I just about wanted to choke that old son-of-a-bitch who claimed that I somehow put a scratch on his car door?”

Murphy laughed, “Yeah. Yeah, that was a busy day, for sure.”

“Well,” Jake said, “It was nothing compared to this.” He held the totals up for Murphy to see. 

“By god! That’s a whole shit-load of money right there!”

“About three hundred dollars more of a shit-load, to be sure.”

“Be nice if we could see some of that cash, wouldn’t it?”

Jake paused for a moment before he replied, “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. I’m just sayin’ it would be nice if the money man would give us some kind of bonus on the busy days…maybe some kind of incentive for us, you know.”

Jake said coldly, “We’re not salesmen, dude, we’re attendees at a two bay service station.”

“That we are, Jake, but there’s a reason for those totals today, and I think it has something to do with more than just the start of a new month.” 

Jake replied, “What do you mean?”

“Well, take a look at the charge totals.”

Jake studied the numbers. “Every fifth or sixth one looks like a wiper blade charge,” He looked up at Murphy, “What the hell?”

“I talked more people into believin’ that their wipers were old and dried out than you can shake a stick at.”

“Hell,” Jake laughed, “Don’t the idiots know they’ll be old and dried out in four or five months when they really need them! Shit! You’re a genius, Heat Man!”

By the end of that week, Jake had convinced Ken that rewarding additional sales with a bonus would be beneficial. “You’ll just have to split the earnings evenly at the end of each week,” Ken had said. “I don’t want to have to worry about my employees arguing over numbers.” Then he added, “And let’s put a period on this at the close of the summer months. We’ll make August 30th the last day of this wiper incentive thing.”

Between Jake and Murphy, wiper sales increased hugely. One out of five customers purchased wipers prior to the incentive. By the end of the July, nearly three out of every five customers purchased wipers, whether they needed them or not. When Calvin Byer, the high school employee who worked part time, mostly evenings, asked what all the wiper fuss was about, Jake told him that the boss had requested they push sales to increase revenue. But Jake didn’t tell him about the bonus part. 

So Calvin did push wipers. At first, he wasn’t nearly as convincing as his two older counterparts, but he learned quickly. It wasn’t long before Calvin’s wiper sales exceeded both Murphy’s and Jake’s. The two of them acted as if it was the most amazing thing they’d ever seen. “Geez, Calvin, how do you do it, man! You are really good at that! Calvin the Wiper King!”

Calvin wasn’t often recognized, so this newfound talent brought a sense of pride. He bragged to his parents about it after he’d come home from work, and when his dad, grinning from ear to ear, told him he’d reward him with a dollar bonus for every pair of wipers he sold, it spurred him on even more. Before long, Calvin’s sales exceeded the sales of both of his coworkers. But all along, Calvin knew nothing of the bonus that was offered by Ken.

One day in early August, seven or eight weeks after the first bonus was awarded, Jake and Murphy were tidying up the convenience store. Murphy asked Jake, “How long you think we’ll get away with swiping Calvin’s earnings before he finds out?” 

The comment startled Jake. “What do you mean, ‘swipe?’”

“Swipe means steal, Jake.”

“No shit, Heat Man. That’s not what I’m asking.”

Murphy stopped, ran his fingers through his wavy blond hair and looked up. Jake stared at Murphy and waited for a reply, but Murphy said nothing. 

Jake continued, “And I don’t see it as swiping. I see it as…I see it as a kind of benefit.”

“Benefit?”

“Yeah. I’m benefiting from my recommendation to hire the boy. If it wasn’t for me, that kid would still be standing behind a counter at the five-and-dime, ringing up Jolly Rancher Apple Stix for pimple-faced 7^th graders.”

Murphy kept working.

Jake added, “And by the way, Heat Man,” At this, Murphy stopped and looked up, “You too are welcome…for the bonus.”

“What the hell are you saying, Jake?”

“Well, the way I see it, any bonus that results from the silvery tongue of Calvin ought to be mine, me recommending him and all.”

Murphy paused a moment and said, “Jake, I respect you for a few reasons, not the least of which includes the fact that you’re my boss.”

“And?”

“AND, I don’t think you want me to take common sense from that list.”

 “What the hell does that mean?” 

“What THAT means is that what you just said makes no sense. And by the way, I’d tongue kiss my dog before I thanked you or anyone else for my own hard work.”

Jake laughed.

“What?” Murphy asked.

“I’m picturing you tongue-kissing a dog.”

Murphy smiled. “Look man, can we drop this? It’s really a stupid conversation not worth discussion.”

“You brought it up, Heat Man, but I’m with you. Let’s just drop it.”

“And what about Calvin?” Murphy pressed the matter more, “Do we tell him about the bonuses?”

“What you do is your call,” Jake said, “But I’m leaving it be. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

Murphy did drop it. He chalked it up to bad timing and random chance. But Jake couldn’t let it go. He lay in bed that night unable to sleep. The ‘common sense’ comment left a mark, and he grappled over what needed to be done to undo the unacceptable charge.

At 4:00 PM on the last Sunday of August—the day before the close of the windshield wiper incentive period—the young Calvin walked into the garage to start his shift.

“Evenin’ Calvin!” Jake called out from behind a stack of cardboard boxes.

Calvin lifted a hand but said nothing.

“Cat got your tongue?”

“Nope.”

Calvin said very little throughout his shift, and Jake began to wonder, so he asked again, “Everything okay?”

Calvin replied, “Yeah. Everything’s fine.”

“I don’t know, Wiper King. Looks to me like somethin’s botherin’ ya.

“Okay, yeah. Something is bothering me.”

“Lay it on me, brother.”

“Okay, it’s the windshield wiper thing.”

“The windshield wiper thing?”

Calvin sighed and looked down. “I know about what you guys have been doing. I know about the bonus money.”

Jake’s jaw tightened. Under his breath he murmured, “What the fuck…”

“And please don’t ask me how I know. I just know, and that’s all that matters.”

Immediately, Jake replied, “You don’t know everything about it, Calvin. Let me explain. I’m keeping track of your sales, and when this wiper sales incentive thing ends, I plan to give you what you’re due.”

Calvin replied, “That’s not what I was told. I was told that you two have been collecting all of the bonus money, including what’s supposed to be mine, and splitting it.” Here he paused. He looked up at Jake. “And that’s just not right, man.”

“Are you going to choose to believe that, or are you going to believe what your I just told you?”

“I don’t know who to believe.”

Jake reached over and placed his hand on Calvin’s shoulder. “Calvin, do you really think that I’d do something as mean and stupid as that? Do you really think I would risk my reputation with my boss just for a few extra bucks?”

Calvin sighed. “Probably not.”

“Probably? I absolutely would not. Okay, I knew that I was taking a risk when I decided to wait until the end of the promotion, incentive, bonus thing to pay you what you earned, but I thought that the amount of money that you’d get, all at once, would be worth the risk. I couldn’t wait to see the look on your face when I handed you that wad of twenties, man!”

“Really? You weren’t just keeping the money for yourself?”

Jake laughed, “Oh my god, Calvin. That isn’t my style, man. I think you know that I’m training to be a cop, right? Does that sound like something a cop would do? And having your trust means a lot more to me than money.”

Calvin smiled, “Okay. I’m sorry Jake. And I AM grateful for the job, by the way, and thanks.”

Much to Jake’s relief, Calvin left that night without having asked when he’d see his bonus. But Jake despised the thought of talking with Murphy about it. What he wanted to deliver Murphy was a hefty ass whooping. When Calvin told Jake that he knew that the money was being split between just the two of them, it was a dead giveaway. Murphy had spilled the news, and Jake was pissed. 

The following day, the last day of the incentive period, Jake somehow found a way to keep his mouth closed about the issue. He worked as usual with Murphy, but he shortened the conversations he had with him. Jake had comprised a plan to deal with what he’d considered to be Murphy’s poor judgment, but it would have to wait. For now, his priority was to cover his own ass. He didn’t care to find himself sitting across from Ken Cale, excusing himself in one way or another, for what looked to be something suspect. 

Calvin started work at his usual 4:00 PM. He punched-in and turned to Jake. “Hey! Busy day?”

“Hey, Calvin. Not too busy. The usual.”

“Can’t believe this heat, huh?”

Jake looked out the window. “Hot as the devil’s ass, for sure.” Then he added, “Hey, Calvin. It’s the first of the month, and the wiper incentive thing is over.”

“Oh, yeah. Glad about that, for sure.”

“I told you I’d pay you when that time came.”

Confused, Calvin replied, “Huh? What…”

“You know! The money I told you I’d pay you after the windshield wiper incentive thing ended? I’ve got that money for you.”

Calvin produced a wallet from his own back pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. “I already got that, Jake.”

Confused, Jake replied, “From who?”

“I got it from Mr. Cale. He told me that…” Calvin paused. 

To Jake, Calvin looked like he’d been caught stealing cookies from a jar. “He told you that what?”

“Uh, he told me that I worked hard,” Calvin hesitated, then he mumbled a few indistinguishable words and finally managed to finish, “Then he gave me the money.” 

Stunned at what he’d just learned, Jake paused. He walked slowly toward Calvin. “Do you mean to tell me that it was Mr. Cale who talked with you about the bonuses?”

Calvin stammered, “But I told him what you told me…and… about how you were gonna…uh, how you were planning to give me the money all along.” 

Jake grinned, “Well, looks like you got your money, huh? That’s good. That’s really good, Calvin. Congratulations on a job well done, man.”

Calvin’s obvious relief at Jake’s reply was evident in his wide grin. “Look at this, Jake! Look at that roll!” He’d produced the roll of twenty’s that Ken Cale had given him.

“Lord, almighty, I know it, Calvin,” Jake pulled the wad of money out of his pocket that he’d planned to give to him and said, “It’s probably the same amount that I had for you.”

Calvin stared at the cash in Jake’s hand and asked, “One hundred thirty-five, right?”

Jake paused for just a moment, “Uh, yep. The boss-man got it just right.”

That night, Ken called the station and spoke with Jake. He wanted to discuss a few things. Jake knew exactly what Ken wanted to discuss, so he devised his plan that night in bed.

“You mean to tell me,” Ken said, “He took my money and he also took yours?”

“It seems that he did, Mr. Cale.”

Ken stared briefly at Jake then asked, “Exactly how much did you give him?”

“I gave him $250, Mr. Cale. Exactly the amount that he earned in bonuses.”

“Holy cow.” He breathed a hefty sigh and said, “I’m sorry about that, Jake. I thought all along that you were keeping his part of the bonus, and I was pretty pissed…more disappointed than pissed, and this meeting was likely going to end differently that it is now.”

“I understand, Mr. Cale. I can assure you that I would never steal under any circumstances, and especially when someone has worked as hard as Calvin did for that money.”

“I know that, Jake. My apologies for doubting you. And I’m going to see to it that I get that money back from him by tomorrow.”

“Calvin doesn’t work tomorrow, but I can wait. No problem.”

Stony-faced and solemn, Ken said, “Calvin won’t be working at all, at least not for me, Jake. You’ll get your money tomorrow.”

The following day, Ken made a trip to Calvin’s home. He told Calvin’s father that Calvin had been less than honest with him and that in no relationships, let alone employer-employee relationships, was he interested in dishonesty. 

“What the heck ever did the boy do?” His father asked.

“Calvin’s supervisor, Jake, didn’t know that I’d paid Calvin the bonus that he’d worked for. Jake had been putting Calvin’s bonus money aside so that he could give it to him in one lump sum.”

Calvin’s father looked perplexed. “I don’t think I quite understand what you mean, Mr. Cale.”

“Well, when Jake pulled the wad of cash out of his pocket and offered it to Calvin, Calvin took it. He took that money after he had earlier accepted the same amount from me.”

“You mean to tell me that he was paid double accidentally and tried to get away with it?”

“That’s exactly what I mean to tell you, Mr. Byer.”

Calvin’s father scratched the back of his neck and shook his head. “That just isn’t like Calvin.” Then he looked at Ken. “I do apologize for my son’s behavior, Mr. Cale. Unfortunately, he isn’t home right now.”

“That is unfortunate.” Then he turned to walk away but stopped and looked back. “I’ll expect to see two hundred seventy dollars in the next day or so.”

“Two hundred seventy dollars!” Calvin’s dad’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“That’s right,” said Ken, “One thirty-five from me and one thirty-five from Jake, Calvin’s immediate…or rather, Calvin’s former superior.”

Mr. Byer apologized once more and assured Ken that his son would personally make things right. “You can count on it.” He added.

Ken replied, “I won’t be at the station after we open tomorrow morning, but Calvin can return the money to Jake.”

The following day, a Ford Station Wagon pulled up and Calvin stepped out from the back seat. His hair was disheveled and a slight bruise shone on his left cheek. Jake waved goodbye to the customer he’d just served then he turned toward the garage. Calvin called out, “Jake! Hold on!”

“Hey, Calvin! What’s up?”

Calvin pulled the cash that he’d received from Ken Cale along with an additional one thirty-five that his father added to the total. 

He held it out to Jake. Jake smirked and reached for the money. Calvin gripped the bills tightly so that Jake couldn’t pull them from his hand, then he said quietly, “You’ll pay for this, Bolan.”

Jake yanked the bills from his hand and said, “Don’t call me Bolan, you little prissy bastard.” 

“Make sure Mr. Cale knows I was here with the money,” And just as he turned to walk back to his father’s car he mumbled, “I’ll call you whatever the hell I want, you fuck.” Then he returned to the back seat of the station wagon and his father drove off.

Jake returned the one hundred thirty-five dollars to Mr. Cale the following morning, and he happily pocketed the rest.