The inside of the car was warming up nicely and I turned to her. “A few questions here. This thing behind us. Your car?”
“Yes.”
“Broken down?”
She shook her head as she held her shivering hands in front of the vent blowing hot air. “It started with a flat tyre. I got that off the car and was struggling to get the spare on when the skies opened. It was scary right from the beginning as it was on the side of the traffic with cars sometimes passing so close to me that they could have hit me. When it rained it was terrifying but I got it done. Although I am not sure how tight the lug nuts are. My hands were numb.”
I nodded. A modern woman able to change a wheel on a car is a rarity and I could not help looking at her with new respect. “And why are you outside the car?”
She sighed and then shook her head as if trying to erase a bad memory. “It’s a new car and the buttons on the remote are different from my previous one. When I closed the trunk after throwing the flat tyre into it I noticed the wheel spanner still lying on the ground. I pressed a button, meaning to open the trunk but I locked the car instead.”
“So?”
“I put my foot into a deep hole filled with water and as I fell the remote flew from my hand.”
“And in this deluge you can’t find it I suppose.”
She gave a rueful smile as she shook her head. “It fell in the road and I heard it shatter as a car went over it. A few bits and pieces were all I could find.”
I was incredulous. “You went into the road?”
She laughed. “The traffic was not all that bad all the time.”
I started laughing. “The spare remote is in the car?”
I got a look that would have killed Goliath on the spot. “I am blonde, not stupid.”
“So, where is it?”
“At my office and another set at my parents’ house.”
“Ah. So can we go and fetch it?”
She sighed and then laughed while shaking her head. “The office is locked for the weekend and my parents are visiting friends and won’t be back until next Friday.”
I chuckled. “So, this means I have to take you home.”
She leaned forward and put her face in her hands. “This is becoming stupid.”
“What?”
She pointed behind us. “Keys to my house.”
“In the locked car,” I laughed. “And the spare is at the office or parents.”
“You learn quickly.”
“So, what will it be? Family, Guesthouse, Hotel or shelter for the homeless?”
She sat back and stared out of the steamed up windscreen. “Hotel or Guesthouse would be fine. Preferably close to a mall… Oh shit!”
I packed up laughing. “Your handbag is in the car! No money and no phone!”
She stared at me. Now that she had started to thaw I noticed that she was easy on my eyes but her eyes right then had a helpless look in them. “I apologise for that piece of commoner’s language. In seconds I moved from a Yuppy to a Dummy,” she said ruefully. “Its incredible!”
I shrugged. “I can draw money and then you can repay me whenever you get yourself into Yuppy status again.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You’ll do that?”
I shrugged. “I’m stupid that way.”
“You’ll never be rich.”
“I’ll be happy.”
She was thoughtful but nodded. “I can do an EFT if it makes life easier.”
“Your phone…”
“….is in the car!” she cried and we both laughed until tears ran down our cheeks.
I switched to defrost for the windscreen and as soon as it was clear I watched for oncoming traffic and moved into the road. “I have an errand to run. Once that is done we can decide what to do about this odd Friday afternoon.”
“Want to drop me somewhere while you run your errand?”
I laughed again. “Yeah. Like at a coffee shop and then leave you there with no money.”
“And no phone either,” she screamed in laughter and I joined her.
“You realise that you are at my mercy?” I chuckled as we recovered.
She nodded. “The thought had occurred to me.”
I nodded. “Scary isn’t it?”
She pulled a face. “The fear of getting out of my wet clothes inside a car with a man I had never seen before in weather conditions that would have led to no-one stopping was paralysing, but I was so cold I was willing to chance it.”
“You feel better?”
“Much.”
“I mean the cold.”
She nodded. “That too.”
“Thanks.”
Steffi gave me an odd look. “I am the thankful one Derek. I was really becoming desperate. There were a few instances where I thought about walking into the road and either force somebody to stop or run me over. Being so cold makes your mind fuzzy.”
I shrugged and smiled at her. “It was a small miracle that I saw you. I saw your car but never expected to see anybody outside the car in rain like this. The fact that you moved at the right moment made me see you.”
As it sometimes happens, a silence descended in the car. I carried on driving and as the silence dragged on I looked over at her. Her head was leaning against the B-pillar and she was fast asleep. I shook my head and concentrated on my driving. The rain was still bucketing down.
As I entered town I made a swift decision and turned to my house. Only when I drove into my garage did Steffi stir and jerked upright with a bewildered expression on her face.
“Where are we?” she asked with just enough panic in her voice to make me laugh.
“My house,” I chuckled. “I am going to dump you here, run my errand and then come back. From there we can decide what we will do about your situation.”
“Just like that?”
I shrugged. “If you have a better idea I may consider it but you seem tired and I think it may be from being so cold back there. I am in a bit of a hurry now and will be gone for about two hours or so. In the meantime you can have a shower if you like or you can crash in one of the rooms. You may even wash your clothes and have it dried.”
She shook her head but got out of the car. She groped around to get her sodden clothes into a bundle and then stood there looking at me like a lost puppy. I think she tried to hide it but a piece of lace sticking out from the bundle made it clear that she was naked under that blue overall. It made sense of course but somehow the idea appealed to me.
As we walked into the house I pointed towards the laundry. “There is a washing machine and everything you may need in there. There is a small bathroom just next to the laundry but if you want to soak in a bath to increase your core temperature you may want to use my bathroom upstairs.” I smiled and winked at her. “The door can lock, I think. There is a key.”
She simply walked towards the laundry and I heard the wet clothes splotch into the machine. A moment later I heard her setting it up and she came into the kitchen with a wide smile. “I put some of your clothes in with mine. Hope you don’t mind?”
I shrugged. “You’re welcome. Just dry it and hang it when it’s finished.”
“Yes sir,” she grinned while coming to military attention and I turned to leave.
“Have fun,” I chuckled and pointed at the door. “If it will make you feel safer you can lock the door to the garage but once I leave and the garage closes, the house is secure.”
She smiled and I pulled the door closed behind me only to barge inside again.
“Just a word of caution,” I grinned. “I have cameras that monitor the interior of the house.”
“And?”