Claire looked across the field.
"Then what exactly does priority mean?"
The dispatcher hesitated.
"It means your request has been flagged."
She closed her eyes.
"Can you tell me when somebody will arrive?"
"Not at this time."
He offered to transfer her to the regional service office.
Claire accepted.
The call disconnected after another nine minutes on hold.
She stared at her phone.
Then laughed once, sharply.
Not because anything was funny.
Because she could feel the first edge of helplessness creeping into a situation she was accustomed to solving with work.
She spent the remaining daylight inspecting her smaller equipment, preparing grain trailers, and checking the moisture of the wheat.
The crop was ready.
By sunset, she had done everything except the one thing that mattered.
Harvest it.
On the second day, she called before breakfast.
Renee answered.
Claire recognized her voice immediately.
"Renee, it's Claire Whitaker."
A pause.
"Oh. Your combine."
"Yes."
"I'm sorry. I thought they would've assigned somebody yesterday."
Claire looked toward the machine.
"So did I."
Renee typed.
Then stopped.
Her tone changed.
"Hmm."
Claire frowned.
"What?"
"There's a note on your ticket."
"What kind of note?"
"Just an internal scheduling note."
Claire waited.
Renee continued.
"It says regional approval required."
"Why?"
"I'm not sure."
"Who approves it?"
"The service manager."
"Can I speak with him?"
"I can request a callback."
Claire almost laughed.
"Please do."
She ended the call.
For the next three hours, she worked around the farm, keeping her phone clipped to the front pocket of her overalls.
It rang twice.
Both times, the calls were unrelated.
The manager never called.
By afternoon, Claire had begun investigating alternatives.
She contacted three independent mechanics.
One was working eighty miles away.
Another had retired.
The third, a former AgriTech technician named Maya Ortiz, was operating a small agricultural electrical-repair business in the neighboring county.
Maya listened carefully to Claire's description.
"What's the fault code?"
Claire told her.
"Does it appear immediately, or only when the drive is engaged?"
"Initially when I tried to engage the drive. Now it returns during the control-system check."
Maya was quiet.
Then she asked several technical questions about the machine's recent service history.
Claire answered.
Finally, Maya said, "Could be a few different things. I wouldn't order a component based on the code alone."
"I know."