Moral Support

I am not a big driver. It's not my thing. I would rather walk or take my bike. So driving a lot and taking freeways tends to freak me out. In this context, add using the cheapest car rental available and you can imagine my stress level.

We're driving up the freeway, on the way to a historical site 63 miles away. There's a little dinging noise. "What's that?" asks H.

"I have no idea," I say, concentrating on the road and the GPS which is nestled between the steering wheel and the speedometer. ("I'll give it to you for free," says the car rental guy, pulling it out a drawer. "It has no stand.")

H whisks away the GPS to reveal both the petrol light and the battery light illuminated.

"I think we should go back," he says.

"Really?" I ask, concentrating on the road but now throwing worried glances at the lights on my dashboard.

"Yes," he says firmly, "And we should probably fill up with gas first."

"Where do I fill up?" I ask, looking around and seeing hotels, exit ramps and offices. "There are no filling stations! Where's a filling station?" My voice is rising and I'm getting panicky as cars whizz by me on either side.

"I don't know," says H with a shrug, quite calmly. "How would I know?"

"There's nothing!" I say shrilly. "In South Africa there are petrol stations on the side of the highway, here there's nothing! This is a foreign country for me!" 

"Take the next exit," says H. 

I fly by it. I'm thinking. What to do? What to do? Both lights are still on.

"Look," says H, "There's a gas station. Take the next exit. And it's right next to the highway, what do you know? Just to make you feel at home."

"Ha ha ha, very funny," I say.

We fill up with gas and turn around, heading back into the city to the car rental place. 

After we've driven a few miles, H comments, "Look, another gas station, next to the highway," says H, "It's just like South Africa."

And now, every time we pass a gas station on the highway, H shakes his head in mock wonder and goes, "A gas station right next to the highway, just like South Africa." If I wasn't concentrating so hard on the road, I would hit him.

 

Comments

[Artblog]

:)

[goehde]

Can I say 'heh'.

:)

g