Road Trip
G race’s parents agreed that having a float in the Fourth of July parade was a wonderful idea. “Maybe you could do a float that looks like a shopping cart,” Mom said. “I saw one in a parade once.”
“I think it would be too hard to make a shopping cart float,” Grace said. “Alex says we can use the trailer from the farm. I was figuring we would hang streamers or something from the edge and put something to signify the things we sell at the store—maybe big cardboard food boxes? I’m not the best at designing things.”
“I’ve helped out with a few floats,” Dad said. “When I was a boy we always had a big Fourth of July parade. My Boy Scouts troop would do a float. One time a guy lent us a huge deer head to put on it. I was terrified somebody would ruin it and we’d have to pay for it.”
Grace laughed. “I don’t think we’d better use any deer heads on this float. What if we had some baskets of food and big signs advertising the grocery store?”
“You want it to be exciting,” Dad said. “What you want in a parade float is something eye-catching. Something the town is gonna remember.”
“You’ll have to go into Cadillac to get supplies,” Mom said. “There’s no place in town to buy that kind of stuff. If you want to do anything with tissue paper, you’ll have to find someplace that sells a lot of it cheaply. And you’ll want floral sheeting and fringe and stuff.”
“Or,” Dad said with a grin, “she could get it at the dollar store.”
Grace made a face. “I refuse to darken their door.”
He laughed. “All right. Cadillac it is.”
§
For the next couple evenings, Grace and her parents worked on the float design and looked up materials and pricing. It wouldn’t be any use to advertise with a spectacular float if it cost more than they could afford. Grace’s sister Katie gave them some suggestions over the phone. She had always liked crafts and was happy to help.
On the Thursday before the Fourth of July, Grace prepared to take Dad’s old van into Cadillac. Normally she would take Mom’s car, but Mom needed it tonight.
“I don’t feel good about you going all that way by yourself,” Mom said, when Grace popped into the store to ask if she needed anything from Cadillac. “What if something happens?”
“Mom, nothing’s going to happen,” Grace said. “And I have my phone.”
“You’d better take your phone charger. And keep your ringer on.”
“All right, Mom. You know, I drive all over the place in California all the time, and they have much worse traffic.”
“Well, you be careful,” Mom said. “As long as you stay safe, and your father doesn’t try any dangerous projects while I’m gone at the Ladies’ Guild meeting, we should be in good shape.”
The evening was clear, with a brisk wind. Grace appreciated the warmth of her jean jacket.
The road to Cadillac passed farms and woods—mostly woods—without much of anything alongside the road. Cars driving past were infrequent. Once Grace got to Highway 115, which went through Mesick to Cadillac, it got busier, but not by much.
Still a few miles from Cadillac, Grace heard a noise.
A scraping sound came from underneath the car. That couldn’t be good. Either the car had picked up something from the road—Grace didn’t remember running over anything—or a car part was dragging on the ground. Either way, she needed to stop and check.
Grace pulled over, grateful for a wide road shoulder. She put her hazards on and jumped out of the car.
Oh, no. A car part was dragging, all right. Two things, in fact—the exhaust pipe and a boxy metal thing Grace couldn’t identify.
Why did all the cars she drove have to break down? And why did this one have to break down in the middle of nowhere? Tears of frustration sprang to Grace’s eyes, but she got back in the van and pulled out her phone. First things first. She’d better call Dad.
“Howdy, Gracie!” Dad’s voice was jovial. “What’s going on?”
“Dad.” Grace took a deep breath. “The van just broke down. I was driving along and heard this horrible scraping sound, and I’m stopped by the side of the road. The exhaust pipe and this big silver boxy thing are both dragging on the ground.”
“Oh, no,” Dad said. “Are you in a safe place?”
“Yes. I’m way off the road and it’s in the middle of a straight stretch, so nobody’s gonna come around a corner and hit me.”
“Good. Do you have your hazards on?”
“Yes.”
“That thing dragging on the ground is your muffler. You’re gonna have to get the van towed. I’ll see if I can get a hold of your mom at that Ladies’ Guild meeting, and she can come pick you up.”
It was bad enough having one wasted trip almost all the way to Cadillac. Grace didn’t like the idea of Mom driving out there too, especially when she was in a meeting. “No, I’ll be fine,” she said. “I’ll call AAA and have them come with a tow truck. Thankfully I’ve had practice dealing with tow trucks recently.”
“You’re sure? You might have to wait a long time.”
“I’m sure.”
“Well, you call me the minute you’ve gotten off the phone with AAA,” Dad said. “It’s the worst feeling in the world, having my little girl stuck at the side of the road only a few miles away and I can’t drive to pick her up. You sure you don’t want me to call your mom?”
“Absolutely sure,” Grace said. “Just because I’m having a bad evening doesn’t mean Mom has to. I’ll call you as soon as I’ve got the tow truck lined up.”
She had to wait on hold with AAA for a while. What a waste of an evening—no supplies for the Fourth of July, a broken-down car, and a long wait for a tow truck. Grace was almost ready to cry when a representative answered the phone.
She gave her approximate location. Her phone GPS said she was seven miles from Cadillac on Highway 115. The van would need to be towed to the garage in Fraser’s Mill. The garage was closed for the night, but the attached gas station wasn’t, so it wouldn’t be a problem having the van towed in. The representative said the tow trucks were busy, so it might be about an hour wait. Maybe a lot of Fourth of July travelers had broken-down cars. Grace called Dad with the update.
“About an hour? That’s not too bad, considering you’re in the middle of nowhere. You’re sure you’re safe?”
“Yes—I’m all the way off the road, my hazards are on, and my phone’s got plenty of battery,” Grace said. “I have the car charger in case it starts running low.”
“Do you have any water?”
Grace looked over her shoulder to check the backseat for water bottles. “No, but it’s not hot. I won’t get thirsty that fast.”
“Well, I wish I’d thought to keep the car stocked with water bottles and snacks,” Dad said. “If you get cold there’s a blanket in the back.”
He was the best dad. “Thanks.” Grace smiled. “I’ve got a jacket too. I’ll be totally fine.”
“All right. Well, I won’t feel better until you’re safely home.”
After Dad hung up, Grace pulled up an e-book on her phone. Good thing she had cell service here. It wouldn’t be fun to be stranded seven miles from town without a phone. Whatever people had done in the days before cell phones, Grace had no idea.
Cars went by occasionally. One middle-aged woman in a red sports car stopped and asked Grace if she was okay. Grace assured her she was all right and a tow truck was on its way.
Over half an hour passed since she had ordered the tow truck—going on forty-five minutes. Grace wished the truck would hurry.
In her rear-view mirror a blue car was coming down the road. It slowed down. Probably another person asking if she was okay. Grace rolled down her window, preparing to explain that she already had help on the way.
The car pulled up alongside her. It was an antique car, looking strangely familiar. The passenger window rolled down. “You okay?” a male voice asked.
“Yes, I’m fine,” Grace called.
That voice was familiar too. Wait a minute. Grace peered at the car. The guy driving the car was tall with dark hair. It couldn’t be—yes, it was.
The car pulled ahead and parked in front of Grace’s van, and Doc sauntered toward her, hands in his pockets.
“Doc, what in the world are you doing here?” Grace asked. “I’m all right—I called AAA and they’re sending a tow truck. The exhaust pipe and the muffler broke apart.”
Doc stooped to look under the van. “You’re right,” he said. “The only thing you can do is get it towed. Your tailpipe’s gonna need replacing too.”
He straightened up. “Your dad told me you were stranded out here.”
Why did Dad have to send Doc, of all people?
“You mean you drove all the way out here because I was stranded by the side of the road? I’m perfectly fine—there’s already a tow truck coming!”
Doc grinned, folding his arms over his chest. “I thought you could use some company while you waited for the tow. And I can give you a ride into Cadillac.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Grace said. “It’s all right. I’m fine. I can ride back in the tow truck.”
Doc raised an eyebrow. “Without any of the supplies?”
Did Dad have to tell Doc so much? This felt like payback for the time Grace hadn’t let Doc help her with the flat tire. If she accepted his help, she’d be stuck with him all evening. On the other hand, she really needed the supplies.
Grace sighed. “All right, I surrender,” she said. “Yes, I could use a ride into Cadillac, after the tow truck comes. Thanks.”
“Good,” Doc said. “Mind if I get in?”
“Sure.” Grace unlocked the doors, and Doc swung into the passenger seat.
His long legs barely fit in the space in front of the seat. Wow, he was tall. He was wearing khakis and an orange sweater of a shade Grace had always assumed looked terrible on everybody. For some reason it wasn’t bad on him.
“You can move the seat back,” Grace told him. “The lever’s underneath.”
Doc slid the seat back. “Thanks. Nice van—where did your dad get it?”
“Oh boy, I don’t even remember,” Grace said. “He’s had it a long time. He found an ad in a newspaper. Maybe fifteen years ago? That was when the town still had a paper newspaper. It shut down a few years ago. Everybody just gets their news online now.”
“Or they hear it through the town grapevine.” Doc chuckled. “That’s faster than the Internet.”
“Like the news about me being stranded in the middle of nowhere with a broken-down car?”
“I got that from a reliable source.” Doc grinned. “I was checking on your dad’s foot when you called.”
“He didn’t need to send you out after me,” Grace said. “I would have been all right.”
Doc shook his head. “He didn’t send me,” he said. “I wanted to go.”
“Oh.” Grace stared at him, her face reddening. “Well—thank you.”
Instead of spending a relaxing evening at home, Doc had chosen to sit by the side of the road waiting for a tow truck with her. That was a kind thing to do.
“My pleasure,” Doc said. “How long did the tow truck say they’d be?”
“They’re supposed to be here any minute,” Grace said.
“Then where do you want to go after that? Your wish is my command.” Doc’s eyes, blue and mischievous, seemed to be laughing even when his face was serious.
“I have to get things to make a float for the Fourth of July parade,” Grace said. “Floral sheeting, metallic fringe, and big pieces of cardboard—that sort of stuff. It’s to advertise the grocery store.”
“Uh-huh. What’s it gonna look like?”
Grace dug in her purse for the folded paper on which she and Dad had drawn their idea for the float. “Something like this.”
Doc looked at it. “Hmm. That’s pretty ambitious.”
“Does that mean you think we can’t do it?” Of course he would think that. He probably thought she had no talent for anything useful. Maybe she didn’t know anything about fixing cars, but she wasn’t incompetent in every other aspect of her life.
Doc shook his head. “No, but it’ll take a lot of work,” he said. “You have to decorate all those boxes, put sheeting and fringe on the trailer, and paint a banner. You’re not gonna do all this yourself, are you?”
“I was figuring I could get Alex to help since I’m borrowing her family’s trailer.”
“You need more help than that. I’ve got an idea. When are you putting all this together?”
“Saturday.”
“Where?”
“Alex’s place.”
“I’ll bring some people to help with it. Charlie will be down, if he can get out of work.”
“What? You don’t need to do that.”
“I want to. It’ll be fun.”
Then Grace would be even more beholden to Doc. On the other hand, it would be fun for Alex to have Charlie around, and the project would go quicker with more people.
“All right,” Grace said. “As long as the other people don’t try to take over the project and change everything, that’ll be great.”
Doc held out his hand. “It’s a deal.”
“All right.” This time Grace let him shake her hand. His handshake was firm, his hand big and strong around hers. Flushing, Grace pulled her hand back.
The tow truck approached, its lights flashing. Grace hopped out of the van and waved, and Doc went to move his car out of the way. The tow truck driver parked in front of the van and lowered the ramp. As he drove the van up, the muffler and exhaust pipe scraped against the metal ramp with a sound that sent shivers down Grace’s spine.
“Your dad is probably gonna have to get that muffler replaced,” Doc told Grace, as they watched the tow truck driver fasten the van with chains and straps.
Rats. That was bound to be expensive.
The tow truck made a U-turn—Grace had never seen such a large vehicle do a U-turn before—and headed toward Fraser’s Mill.
“Shall we go?” Doc waved a hand toward his car. “She’s not a flying carpet, but she’ll do.”
Doc lowered himself into the driver’s seat, his head almost touching the ceiling of the car.
“What kind of car is this?” Grace asked, buckling her seat belt.
“It’s a Chevy Chevelle. 1970. I got it at an auction two years ago. Best car I’ve ever had.”
Doc must like cars. Many times over the last few weeks, Grace had seen him out on the driveway, half underneath the car, tinkering with something. It was a greasy job for someone who spent the rest of his time making sure other people were staying healthy.
Dad would be wondering what was going on—Doc said he hadn’t told him he was going out to find Grace—so Grace called home. On the phone, Dad sounded jovial. He said to tell Doc thanks from him.
They got into Cadillac, and to her surprise Grace learned Doc was a good shopper. He had a sense of where to find things in the stores, and he walked fast enough that Grace almost had to run to keep up with him. Grace had always been quick in grocery stores, and it frustrated her when she had to go shopping with someone slower. Her roommate Jen was much slower. Grace could go through a store three times in the time it took Jen to go through it once.
They found poster paint, brushes, and cardstock. They still needed supplies to make the big food packages Grace wanted to put on the float.
“Does it count as taking things over if I suggest that a 55-gallon drum would make a great soup can for your float?” Doc asked as Grace picked out a vinyl shower curtain liner which would become a banner.
“Where on earth would I get a 55-gallon drum?”
“Borrow it from somebody in town,” Doc suggested. “A bunch of people have them for rain barrels. I think Ed’s got a few down at the garage. You can dress them up like big soup cans.”
“That’s actually not a bad idea,” Grace said. “Then we’ll just have to figure out the other big foods for the float. I wanna do some that look like cereal boxes and some that look like fruits and vegetables and stuff. I was thinking we could get posterboard and draw a front and a back for each thing and then sandwich them together. You can use tissue paper to fill in the space between them. I’ve seen pictures of it online.”
Doc shook his head. “That sounds like a lot of work. Why don’t you just use regular cardboard boxes and decorate them to look like food packages?”
Did he have to immediately dismiss the idea she’d researched? “Where would I get all the boxes?” Grace asked, her voice sounding shrill in her own ears. “We hardly have any at the store right now. Everybody else in town who has boxes is probably already using them for the Fourth.”
“I mean, you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to,” Doc said. He spread out his hands conciliatingly. “It’s your project. You can do whatever you want. But I’m sure we can find some if we ask around.”
Grace relented. It wasn’t fair to be cross with someone who had given up his evening to help her.
“I’m sorry. I’m just stressed. This whole thing is a much bigger project than I thought it was going to be.”
Doc surveyed her, arms folded. “I know what you need,” he said. “After we’re done shopping, we’re gonna get something to eat.”
“What? It’ll be like nine P.M. by that time,” Grace said. “And I already had dinner.”
“Well, I didn’t,” Doc said. “And you’ve had a tough evening. The good effects of your dinner have probably worn off. You could use a milkshake or something.”
Grace crossed her arms. “Is that your professional diagnosis?”
“Nope. I’m out of the office, and you’re not my patient. That’s an attempt at persuasion.”
He looked down at her, his eyes serious for once.
Her dinner did seem to have worn off. And it would take a while to finish shopping and get food, so she’d be hungrier by then. Besides, she was tired. It would be nice to sit down somewhere and decompress.
“All right then,” she said. “After we finish getting the supplies. And I’m paying for whatever I eat.”
He raised his hand in a salute. “Yes, ma’am!”