Never a Dull Moment...

Life has been hard lately (oh waaaa, I have a house, an amazing partner, three beautiful kids...I mean cats, a job, a functional family...but sometimes life still feels a little rough).

The Boyfriend and I found the strength to "get outside ourselves" for a few hours on Friday night to go see a movie (Da Vinci code, it was far less than we'd expected). Feeling relaxed and content, after stuffing our faces with ice cream, we began our drive back to the city. We were only 10 or 12 miles out, but became worried when his dash lights started coming on...such as the battery, temperature, check engine, etc.

We drove slowly, hoping if we didn't jostle the vehicle too much we would make it home. The headlights started dimming, the dash lights blinking...complete pandemonium.

We'd just passed Plaza Frontenac (a really hoity mall), thinking it best to stay off the highway and take back roads instead. As our brilliant idea of a back road became darker, our headlights and all interior lights shut off. We had to pull to the side.

Just as we were coasting into a gated community, the engine died. You have GOT to be kidding me! If I were to be honest, which I am right now, I would admit that I sometimes judge people in the back of my mind when they randomly get stranded on the side of the road. "Be responsible, maintain your vehicle, respond to warning signs...blah, blah, squawk". Ok, folks, cars break down for real...no joke.

Back to our story...

The Boyfriend did what every person would do, he called his father. He explained the situation and got his advice. We called one of our friends, H, who agreed to leave in two minutes to retrieve us.

I thought we should be polite since we were in this hotsy-snotsy community - I took off my bottlecap necklace with the shiny shull on it, and walked up to the nearest "compound" and rapped on the gate. No answer, although I maintain to this day that I saw a shadowy figure lurking behind the flowing drapes, illuminated by the blue flicker of a TV. I left a polite note:

I apologize for the inconvenience. Our car broke down at the end of your driveway. We will have it towed tomorrow (7/1). Carolyn (and left my phone number)

I walked back to the car and The Boyfriend and I sat inside, alternating between giggling, "I can't believe this happened", and outbursts of anger.

And then the police showed up.

The squad car pulled behind us and kept his lights on the back of our vehicle (we were hoping he wouldn't notice the expired plates). I bounced out, as I usually do, knowing that men are perceived as more of a threat than women, and not feeling submissive enough to wait patiently in the car to be approached (my brother-in-law would hate that...he's a police officer).

I told him our car broke down and we were waiting for a ride. He was very polite, admitted it was a strange place to park and make out, took down The Boyfriends info, and drove down the road (undoubtedly to calm the chicken shit in the fancy house that called them in the first place). Seriously, if we were any race but white, we'd have been chin deep in finely fertilized and manicured grass.

H showed up, we got home. Tired, frustrated. The Boyfriend called CarX in the morning and had it towed...they put in a new alternator and it was approximately one million dollars once the labor was included.

A Couple Thoughts:
1. Always have friends that are willing to come get you at 11:00 at night.
2. Be sure to pay attention to all blinky and flashy lights inside the vehicle.
3. We'd have been in a WORLD of inconvenience if the lovely Z hadn't called us to volunteer his Blazer for our use while he and M were out of town. That was so generous...it felt great to be able to get groceries and not be stranded and foodless.
4. I feel really butch in a Blazer.