Spring and Spanner

by CodenameOne

5 - Whole

Sunday had come and gone, the day spent in play and fun, and at the end of the day Spanner had returned Spring to Small Steps. Fostering was a temporary process, to help the adopter and adoptee see if they'll be good fits for each other, but it was clear to Spanner that Spring Blossom enjoyed living with him, and he of course appreciated her presence. She was a kind, well-behaved, and cheery young filly. Spanner was sure that her presence brightened any room she was in.

Now that it was Monday, though, his mind had to be on work. A townspony had brought in a grill that was having trouble igniting, and while Spanner suspected it was just a dirty pilot he still needed to check the gas lines. He lied on his side, head craned up to inspect the underside of the grill, flashlight in mouth. Worst case scenario there was something wrong with the valves, which wouldn't be hard to fix or replace.

"Hey, Spanner, gettin' dirty?" he heard Socket Driver call, and he scooted out from under the grill. His coworker was standing by him, grinning down at him. Spanner rolled his eyes and turned back to his work.

"We wear the jumpsuits for a reason. Do you need something?" Spanner said, and Socket laughed.

"Isn't that true. But no, I don't need anything. I came by because I couldn't help but notice you've been smiling all day" Socket said, and Spanner stopped what he was doing. He was certain that Socket was messing with him, the way he always did, but he couldn't help himself.

"I'm sure you're mistaken" Spanner said.

"Ah, I see what's going on here. You met a cute young mare to spend your weekends with. What's she like? What's her name? Earth, Unicorn, or Pegasus?" Socket said, and crouched down to look Spanner in the eyes. "She good in bed?"

Spanner glared at him. He meant well, but Spanner had little patience for such foolishness. "Her name is Spring Blossom, and she's nine" Spanner said, and Socket nodded.

"Mmm, I see. I don't think that's entirely legal, but I guess at your age you've gotta find some way to get going."

Spanner stood so fast he knocked the grill over, the machine loudly clattering across the cement floor of the shop, along with some tools. He grabbed Socket by the collar of his jumpsuit and shoved him to the ground, holding onto him the whole way, his face inches from Socket's and his gaze boring into the other stallion's wide eyes. "Say something like that ever again and you'll be eating your meals through a straw for the rest of your life, you little asshole."

"Alright, alright, holy crap, friend, relax!" Socket shouted, and Spanner roughly released him. Socket stood, dusted himself off, and blew out a breath. "Geez, didn't know you could move that fast. Or be so damned scary. I'm sorry."

"Just go back to work."

Socket quickly scurried off and now Spanner could focus on his job again. He lifted the grill up and looked it over. It was undamaged, so he crawled back under it and went back to work. The valves and hoses all looked alright, so Spanner was pretty convinced it was just the pilot light. He got to his hooves and pulled the grill's cover off and took a look inside, finding it pretty dirty. Strangely enough, the light actually was clean, so now Spanner was pretty well stumped. The pilot light was just a valve that expelled gas from the propane tank, and had to be lit by hoof using a match or lighter, so if it was anything the hose was probably blocked on the inside.

Spanner retrieved a thin brush from his jumpsuit and pushed it through the nozzle. It was hooked on something, so he pushed a little harder. Suddenly a blackened crumb clattered out the other end and onto the floor. Spanner hooked up a tank and tested the light, and it ignited without effort.

Amazing what one bore snake can do Spanner thought, and wiped his hooves off. He'd get this one tagged and ready to send back to the customer, which would likely be his last task for the day. The tags were usually kept near the office, so as to avoid getting them dirty, and he plucked one off the ring. He filled out his name, what the problem was, and how long it took him to fix it, and slapped the tag on the grill with a piece of tape.

With work done for the day Spanner headed for the lobby, eager to get back out in the fresh air. As he neared the door to the lobby he could hear Socket Driver talking with somepony, likely their boss, Hammer Strike.

"So I asked him if she was good in bed, and he told me she's nine. Then I said something about how some ponies are into that, and he nearly turned me inside out, he was so pissed."

"Pfft, I probably woulda done the same thing, you moron. Socket Driver: good worker, bad thinker."

"How was I supposed to know!?"

Spanner pushed the door to the lobby open, and both Socket and Hammer turned to look at him. "You didn't hurt this nimrod, did you?" Hammer Strike said.

"Not permanently. I imagine his ego is the most bruised."

"Good," Hammer Strike said. "Clueless as he is, I still need him to work."

"Hey!"

Spanner rolled his eyes and turned towards the clock. "Make sure you don't put him in charge of anything that requires critical thinking." He clocked out, nodded to each of them, and headed for the door.

"Hey listen listen" Socket said as Spanner stepped outside, his coworker right behind him. "I was thinking that once your daughter gets settled in that she could meet my foals. Drill Bit's ten, and Belt Sander is eight. Could be fun for the three of them."

Spanner thought about blowing him off, but he wasn't really that pissed anymore. Socket was actually a decent stallion, but despite being 29 he still acted like he was in high school sometimes, and Spanner had little patience for it. "I haven't officially adopted her yet, Socket, but the orphanage let me foster her for the weekend and she had a lot of fun. I think she's happy that somepony in town is considering adopting her; she won't have to transfer schools, she'll get to stay with all her friends, and she won't have to stress about moving. Not that a filly her age has much in the way of belongings" Spanner said.

Socket grinned. "I'm sure you'll change that. Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow. Later, Spanner."

"Goodbye."

The two stallions went their separate ways. Spanner made a quick stop at home to change to ditch his jumpsuit and wash his hooves proper, before heading back out for the orphanage. After making the short trek, he looked up at the sign above the door and put on a smile.

Spanner pushed the door open and the receptionist smiled at him. "Hello, Spanner Wrench. Come to see Spring Blossom, or Miss Ginger?"

"Miss Ginger. I've made up my mind" Spanner said, and the receptionist nodded. He disappeared into another room, and a moment later Ginger Snap opened the door to her office. She motioned for Spanner to come in, which he did. He suspected this would be the last time he'd set hoof in her office, but he was sure he would see her again. He had an idea to let Spring go to the orphanage to play with her friends after school and on weekends, whenever she wanted, and was sure that Ginger would like it.

"Hello, Mr. Wrench. Keeping well, I hope?" Ginger asked, and Spanner nodded. "I'm very happy to hear that. I'm told that you've made up your mind, so let's hear it. I don't think I'll hear anything new, though; Spring was very excited when she came back Sunday evening, so I suspect that everything went quite well."

"Yes, indeed. I'd like to make it official" Spanner said.

Ginger Snap smiled. "I'm so happy to hear that. Spring will be even happier, I know that. The paperwork's a bit of a process, but I'm sure there'll be no troubles at all."

Ginger produced the various forms that Spanner would have to fill out, with details like his medical history, his income and tax rates, his education level, and a whole litany of other details about himself. Both he and Ginger signed each form, as her signature was required to prove that an official caretaker was signing off on him and approving the adoption.

When it was all said and done it had taken nearly an hour, and Ginger organized the forms into a neat stack. "I'll get these mailed off to Canterlot, and when it comes time for you to take Spring Blossom into your custody I'll have all of her important records like birth certificate, medical history, all that, prepared for you" Ginger said. "Will there be anything else?"

"May I see her?"

Ginger's smile turned toothy. "Of course, Mr. Wrench." Together the two of them left the office and headed down the halls to the fillies' wing of the orphanage, and a short time later were standing in front of Spring's door. Ginger knocked gently on it and called out "Spring? You have a visitor."

A few moments later the door opened, and Spanner Wrench was quite convinced that the hall had gotten much brighter in that instant. "Hi Spanner!" Spring exclaimed, and rushed forward to hug his leg. He placed a hoof on her back and smiled down at her.

"Hello, Spring. Did you enjoy school today?" Spanner asked, and the young filly nodded.

"Yeah! I told Patchouli all about your coin collection, and he couldn't believe it! I even showed him the bit you gave me!" Spring said, and quickly grabbed it off of her desk. "I decided I'm gonna keep it forever! You're just so nice to me, I couldn't spend it."

Spanner smiled. "I'm happy to hear that. Looks like you're busy with homework right now" he said, and nodded towards the papers and book on her desk. Spring looked over her shoulder at them, but her smile never went away.

"Yeah, that's my history homework! We learned all about the countries across the Sea of Harmony today, and how they were all created" Spring explained.

Spanner felt his smile falter a little, but kept it up. "History is a wonderful subject, full of things to learn. It will take your whole life to learn it all, if you're so interested" Spanner said.

"I like it! It's so cool to learn about other countries and the ponies that live in them" Spring said.

It won't be long, she's getting old enough. I'd like to think they won't teach her about it, but I know better.

"Indeed it is. Well, I'll let you get back to your homework now. Goodbye, Spring."

"Bye, Spanner!"

Spring went back to her desk and Ginger gently shut the door. "She's such a nice filly" Spanner commented, and Ginger nodded. "For a long time I wondered what was missing from my life. It was her. I've done things I'm not very proud of, and things I outright regret, but here's a chance to finally do something meaningful. To change a young pony's life. It's a true privilege to behold such joy and innocence... We don't deserve it."

Ginger Snap smirked. "It's not all sunshine and rainbows, Mr. Wrench."

"I know, but there are things harder than raising a foal." I would know.

"Mmm, is that so?" Ginger said with a grin. "Well, if there's nothing else then I won't keep you, Mr. Wrench, but I'm afraid I must get back to work."

Spanner nodded. "I'll be going now, as well. I'm sure this isn't the last time we'll be seeing each other, though. Spring will likely want to come by the orphanage every so often to play with her friends, if that will be alright with you" Spanner said as the two of them trotted back the way they'd come.

"Certainly, Mr. Wrench. We let foals stay over at friends' houses for sleepovers and such, and any adopted ponies are always welcome to return no matter how old they are. The bonds made here between the kids, they go deeper than just friendship. They could all be old and gray like I am, and they'd still stick up for each other."

"I'm glad to hear that" Spanner said as the two of them neared the lobby. "Goodbye, Miss Ginger. Don't work too hard."

Ginger Snap laughed at hearing another adult call her 'miss.' "Have a good evening, Mr. Wrench."

Spanner nodded, trotted through the lobby, and stepped back outside. Faintly, from behind the orphanage, he could hear the foals who had already finished their homework playing, chasing each other and screaming excitedly. Laughing, enjoying life. He envied them, in a way.

It would be a hard wait, but in a few weeks the paperwork would go through and be finalized, and Spring Blossom would be released into his custody. Despite what he'd told Ginger Snap he knew it would be hard. There would be difficult times, there would be mistakes, and there would be a lot of blood, sweat, and tears.

But Spanner Wrench knew he was making the right choice. Whatever it would cost, it would be worth it. A short time later he was home, and he locked the door behind him. He stood in the entry hall, the house as silent as a grave. The dishes were all clean, just needed to be put away, but Spanner couldn't find the energy to do it. Instead, he trotted back to his living and sat on the couch.

Alone again.