An innocent day. The sun shining. Her old Civic rolling along with no more than the accustomed rattles. She was talking to herself because there were things she needed to work out and anyway the radio didn't work.
Then the crack. Like gunfire under the car.
``Damn,'' she said.
It took a quarter mile before she knew she had a flat tire. No doubt.
``Damn,'' she said. Late to work again.
She was in the new suburb. Big grey homes. At least not the freeway.
It was a good tire. Almost new. She got out the funny little spare and the jack. She looked at the jack. She held it this way and that. It wasn't all there. Something was missing. The handle bit that was also the lug wrench. Now what?
She had been there about two minutes when the big new pick up stopped to help. Parked by the side of the road behind the Civic.
``There's a piece of my jack missing,'' she said.
``No problem. I'll get ours.''
He was young and good looking and so was his wife. The truck jack would not fit under the Honda.
``That's OK,'' she said, ``don't worry about it, I'll figure something.''
``No, no, I think we can get your jack to work, let's give it a try.
But the jack would not work, he could not turn it with the truck equipment.
Then his wife said ``Try it this way hon,'' and it kind of worked but it was slow going.
The young man was sweating, occasionally repressing a curse.
``This is really kind of you - you don't really have to do this I'm sure I'll work out something - ''
``No no this won't take a minute. We were just going to work out - ''
``Would you like to use my cell phone?'' his wife said.
``No that's all right. I'll be late for work but they can manage for a while.''
When the wheel was finally off the ground they realized that the truck lug wrench wouldn't work either.
``It'll strip the bolts,'' the young man said.
``Tell you what,'' the woman said, ``I'll go back to the house and get the lug wrench off the BMW. That should be the right size shouldn't it?''
``You really don't have to do this, I'm sure I can manage.''
``No no don't worry it won't take long, it's just ten miles. Won't take a minute.''
The woman got in the pick up and drove away. The man worked to get the wheel a little higher.'' They talked. He said they were both between jobs at the moment. The new truck. The BMW.
In a few minutes his cell phone rang.
``She's having one of her spells,'' he said, ``she's OK she's got her pills.''
``Oh God!'' She sat down on the curb.
``No don't worry. She's fine. Don't worry.''
Eventually the truck returned. The woman got out. She was holding a lug wrench and a puppy. She put the puppy down and handed her husband the lug wrench. The puppy ran out into the road and got run over.
``Oh God!''
``Oh Puppy!'' The wife held the bleeding scrap to her grey tee shirt.
``I'm a nurse, let me look -'' the puppy was dying.
``Oh God,'' she said.
``No don't worry its not your fault. He didn't suffer much. Don't worry.''
The young man removed the flat tire and picked up the spare.
Just then a high school kid in an old Dodge hit the pick-up. The kid sat at the wheel and cried.
``Don't ask, don't ask. No I ain't insured - ''
``No no don't worry,'' the young man said, ``it's OK we have insurance...''
The boy drove away, his Dodge dragging wounded bits of itself along the road.
The young man went back and looked at the truck.
``It's not drivable,'' he said, ``we'll have to get a tow truck.''
``I'm so sorry,'' she said.
``No, no, don't worry - ''
``I'm going to drive on the flat to Schwab's. They're just a couple of miles.''
``You sure you'll be OK?'' the wife asked. She was getting an inhaler out of her purse.
``Are you sure you are? Can I get any help?''
``No. He's calling a tow truck. That's OK. Don't worry. You're already late.''
She drove away slowly with her flashers on. In the rear view mirror she saw the woman standing in the road with the inhaler in her mouth, the dead puppy on her arm. Behind her her young husband stood by his ruined truck and talked on a cell phone.
They didn't wave.