"Okay," she whispered. "I'll try."
"I'll see you later, Pinky. Drive safe."
Mac closed her door and walked back to his house. What was she going to do? Should she move so she didn't have to deal with this anymore? No. She couldn't do that. She loved the neighborhood and she would miss seeing Mac every day.
Janie pulled out of her driveway and made her way towards the main road. It took her about ten to fifteen minutes to get to the highway from where she lived. It wasn't a bad drive and she liked being out that far.
Open fields surrounding them. Well, big yards. If people drove ten minutes down the road from her house, they would hit more country. And that was what she loved. It was nice to be able to drive down the road and relax with not many cars going by or people around. Sometimes she took Eleanor out there to get her to fall asleep.
Janie pulled onto the highway and slightly relaxed into her seat. She didn't love driving, but it was necessary for her. There was no way else to get around.
Well, she could get an Uber but she didn't want to have to rely on someone when she was grocery shopping. Cold things needed to be put in the fridge soon after and she didn't want to have to wait on a car for ten minutes or more.
Granted, this time she could have taken one. She was getting pads, tampos, medicine, and candy from the store. Nothing that needed to be put in the fridge. But Janie loved having the freedom. She could take however long she wanted.
Janie stilled as she heard a weird noise. Was that her car? She waited for the car to make the noise again. Praying it wouldn't.
The noise was like a high pitch squeal. What could be wrong with her car?
Janie looked in her side view mirror and signaled she was pulling off to the side. This was not the day for this to happen.
She put the car in park, made sure her blinkers were on, when the car died.
"Shit," she whispered. Worry filled her as she tried to turn the car on.
No luck.
The car was dead. Didn't even make a clicking noise when she tried to turn it on. Janie put her head on the steering wheel. How could this happen to her? She took several deep breaths. Tears filled her eyes. Of course the day she needed to grab things from the store her car broke down.
It wasn't even a bad car either. She had bought it four years ago used, made sure everything was okay on it. Janie sighed and wiped away her tears. Who was she going to call? Hopefully her sister hadn't entered the museum yet.
Pulling out her phone, she called her sister.
"Please pick up," she whispered to herself. "Please don't be in the museum yet."
"Hello?" Joann answered the phone.
"Have you gone into the museum yet?" she asked.
"Yes, we have. What's wrong?"
Janie sighed. She could call an Uber, but would they pick her up on the side of the road? She had never thought about that. Janie also didn't know what mechanic to call to help her with her car.
Shit.
This was more than she wanted to handle. Her ex-husband, even though she never really loved him, always took care of the cars and made sure they were good. He had a reliable mechanic, but she didn't know who that was.
"What's wrong?" Joann said.
"My car died on the side of the highway. There's no way you can pick me up, right?" she asked.
"No, sorry. I mean unless you want to wait an hour, but I don't think that's a good idea."
Janie knew her sister’s husband couldn't pick her up either. He was at work and it wasn't anywhere near her.
"It's okay," Janie whispered. "I'll figure something out."
CHAPTER NINE