COMMITMENTS : An Eye-Opening Moment of Terror Brings a New Way of Life

There was fear in his eyes when I surprised Pete Neptune in his office six months ago--a fear I had not seen since I’d met him three years ago.

Then, I’d smashed into another car. Since my insurance covered only the other vehicle, I had guiltily driven my car to half a dozen auto body shops. Each repairman looked at me dolefully, shook his head, and scribbled out numbers that merely increased my guilt.

Pete, though, just laughed as he looked at my car, confided that he’d had his share of fender benders, and gave me a price half that of the others. He got my business--and soon, my friendship.

But today, the man who’d laughed away my guilt looked up, startled. Hadn’t the iron gate in front of the door been locked?

No, I replied.

Although he didn’t say anything more, I knew something bad had happened--and that, perhaps, it was my turn to help.

*

In dribs and drabs, I learned that a heavyset man had walked into the office at 10 one morning and put a gun to Pete’s head.

At first, Pete thought it was a joke. After C Auto Body Repair is on the Westside, which Pete had thought safe. The shop also has at least one Santa Monica police car under repair at any given time, a visual deterrent to any would-be robber. Besides, to be robbed in his own office in broad daylight was not something Pete thought could ever happen.

But the gun was real and the man a stranger, so Pete handed over the $90 in his wallet.

Money in hand, the gunman wanted Pete to lie on the floor. Certain he was going to die, Pete told the gunman that he had more money in back.

The gunman was accompanying him, the gun inches from Pete’s head, when Pete slammed a door on him and got away--although not before the gunman had fired a bullet.

It was only later that Pete started shaking. And now the husky 48-year-old who had helped me get past my fear had, himself, become afraid.

So I invited him out to dinner. He brightened up at the invitation and offer of friendship, although we weren’t quite sure just what we’d talk about for an entire meal. We never had that dinner, but perhaps the momentum of the old times and laughter helped pick him back up, for within the next few months, I witnessed a transformation that made me glad I’d stuck around.

Immediately after the robbery, Pete had thought of closing the business and returning to his native Caribbean island of Saint Lucia, with its lilting accents and sunny beaches. But auto repair was all he’d known for 15 years, and if he shut down, he’d have to lay off five people.

There was also the question of what would happen with Rose, his wife of 12 years, who works in a Los Angeles hospital, and how he would take care of their two daughters, Evie, 7, and Evonne, 2.

*

So, Pete went back to work--but on his terms.

First, he rented a room adjoining his repair shop. The room was three times the size of his original office, which had been up front and isolated. The new room also had better lighting, cleaner sight lines and glass doors so he could easily spot anyone coming.

Soon, Pete realized the new office deserved a new look. In came a new couch, royal red carpeting and a new counter--not dark and narrow like the old one, but six feet long and painted a bright white.

Shortly after Pete had set up the new office, customers coming in seemed to expect something better, so he bought a computer to keep track of his records and to order parts. Able to stock more parts at cheaper prices, Pete even started doing minor engine-repair work.

To keep up with the engine repairs, he hired another worker, then a receptionist/clerk to keep track of it all. And since more work meant longer hours in his new office, he bought four large plants for outdoors, which helped attract still more customers, so he had to hire yet another worker.

Now, Pete has eight people working for him; business has climbed to record heights, and he is laughing again. But this time the laugh is different, the look in his eyes deeper.

Having stared down the barrel of a gun, Pete said, “What else can you go through? Nothing else could be that terrifying.”

*

As a result, Pete has come to value his life more. The loose ends that used to scare him off now frighten him by their incompleteness, and his realization that his life could have been over.

“When I looked down the barrel of that gun, it was Rose and the kids I was thinking of,” he said.

And so, last Christmas, Pete, Rose, and the kids took off on their first vacation in 12 years.

Even after returning to work, Pete is aware of an anxiety that was never there before--that of wanting to make the most of his time with his family.

“Life is short, and work isn’t everything,” Pete says. “Now, I try to treat people better, starting with Rose and the kids.”

Pete, Rose, Evie and Evonne--have a good life together.