The Girl who Crashed my Father’s Car
I lied - she didn’t actually crash my father’s car.
I did.
Actually, I was not being completely honest there either. My dad did, but it was totally my fault. Needless to say, he was furious, and I can never drive his car again. Ever. It’s been, like, 10 years since the incident, but every time he hears the words “borrow” or “drive” in the same sentence as “your car”, he turns a kind of gray colour and vehemently shakes his head. Sometimes, he even falls over and once, even when he was sitting down.
Well, you see that day was the end of the third month of her first job. So in celebration of the end of her contract (and beginning of a new one, you see she was so nice she extended her contract even though she “had every right and reason to walk away and never look back” because they couldn’t find anyone to replace her), she decided to have a McDonald’s Choco Wonderland McFlurry. She didn’t mind “living a little” because she had taken the bus that stopped further away from her house and she could “destroy the evidence” on the walk back. The bus that stopped in front of her house was taking forever to come and there was a McDonald’s near the further bus stop anyway. There was a McDonald’s next to the bus stop near her house too, but never mind, she’s funny like that.
I hadn’t seen her for a month. That was also my fault. I was avoiding her with the excuse that I was too busy to attend the same church service we went to regularly. We’d noticed each other about a year before the crash, and we’d look out for each other every week, but had never talked to each other before. Before I’d started avoiding her, we’d actually been within speaking distance with each other, but because of her innocence, shyness of boys and complete artlessness, she did what she thought was best for that moment - turn and walk in the other direction. I admit I was completely crushed she didn’t talk to me, but then, like she said later, I didn’t say hi to her anymore than she did, and she would have turned around again if I’d even made a sound, so in a way it was both our faults the car ended crashed a month later. I’ll tell you why I know her side of the story so well later.
So she was walking really slowly on the pavement when I saw her. I was seated in the back seat behind the driver. Like I said, I hadn’t seen her for like a month, and in my excitement and desperation to stop her I signalled my father to stop. By which I mean, I tapped him firmly on the shoulders with both hands. He insists I was doing more of a strangling action, but I don’t know. I was so flustered I kind of didn’t know what I was doing with my hands. Anyway, in my excitement and his - I use this word grudgingly - choking, he slammed the brakes and caused a pile up of another four cars. Winding down the windows and opening the door at the same time, I managed to get out of the car with my head through the open window to speak to her.
All the while, she was staring at the pile up with her McFlurry spoon frozen midway between cup and mouth. She took one look at me, put the spoonful of ice cream in her mouth, crunched the Coco Puff bits, swallowed rather nonchalantly and said, “You crashed 5 cars for me? You must really want to marry me.” And you know what?
I totally married her.
Labels: impromptu, personal, prose
POSTED BY Winter Frore ON Friday, April 29, 2016 @ 3:13 AM
