Customers were leaving.
"You can't save everyone," she said.
"You couldn't save Jake. You couldn't save your marriage. You won't save this kid."
Eli heard every word.
Later that night, he stood in the corner of the garage.
"Maybe I should leave."
Henry turned.
"No."
"But your business—"
"My business was failing before you arrived."
Henry walked to the Impala.
"You know what I see when I look at this car?"
Eli shook his head.
"Something worth fixing."
He looked at Eli.
"That's what I see when I look at you."
Eli's eyes filled with tears.
Henry held out a wrench.
"Are you with me?"
Eli took it.
"I'm with you."
That night, they worked until midnight.
The engine grew smoother.
So did something inside both of them.
The Boy Who Walked Away
Three days later, Eli left.
He didn't want to.
But he believed staying would destroy Henry.
Before sunrise, he wrote a note.
Mr. Henry,
Thank you for everything.
You gave me food when I was hungry, shelter when I had nowhere to go, and something more important than either of those things.
You made me feel like I mattered.
I can't stay if it means destroying your life.
You taught me that broken things can be repaired.
Maybe one day I'll be able to prove that I learned the lesson.
Eli
Henry found the note at seven.
He knew exactly where Eli would go.
The abandoned gas station.
He drove through the rain.
There he found Eli, freezing beneath the old canopy.
Henry sat beside him.
"You think running away solves anything?"
"I don't want to ruin your life."
"You already changed my life."
Eli looked at him.
Henry put a hand on his shoulder.
"Come home."
Eli began crying.
"Okay."
They returned to the garage.
The next morning, they finished the Impala.
Eli turned the key.
The engine started.
Not roughly.
Not painfully.
Perfectly.
It purred.
Henry smiled.
"That's what peace sounds like."
Eli listened.
And for the first time, he understood.
The Mercedes
Two months later, a silver Mercedes stopped outside the garage.
A wealthy man stepped out.
His name was Richard Douglas.
He owned twelve dealerships across three states.
His car had a strange clicking sound.
Three dealerships had failed to diagnose it.
Henry listened.
Nothing.
Then Eli stepped forward.
"I can diagnose it."
Henry looked at him.
"This is a Mercedes."
"I know."
Eli listened.
He felt the vibration.
He asked Douglas to raise the engine to 2,500 RPM.
There.
A tiny click.
Eli identified the problem as a sticking variable valve timing actuator.