A ride gone wrong

Today was destined to be a day of adventure.  I didn't know that when the jingle of the dog collars as they shook off the night's sleep woke me at the usual 6:30.  Really it was quite a normal morning. Slippers, glasses, phone in hand, heading down the stairs with my two mutts to give them their bowls, first her (Katie, the one in the snow photo), then him (Gravy, the one in the puddle).  Coffee and lunches were made with much the same perfunctory motions as they always are. Save that I drew a little hand on a post-it note and stuck it to my husband's burrito so he wouldn't hold it upside down, and made sure he had a piece of fruit. Lo sneaking up on me and poking me, even though she does it every morning, gave me that extra jolt again, and getting a kiss from Gary before he headed out for the day completed my morning. The worms were all over the gravel as we go to the car, they curl  and writhe after the rain, some have drowned in puddles. 

We pick up our two neighbor girls for a ride to school. Loren with her usual energy bounces out of the car and canters to their door (she canters everywhere, her little fists beating out the front strides), and soon we are winding our way down the road. Conversations in the morning are usually about dogs, horses, homework, or boys and the weird, awful things they do. Once I was able to hear the story of the boy in fourth grade who peed into a trash can.  As we come up a small hill the engine gets suddenly quiet and there is a faint shiver in the car's carriage. I look down at the panel, and the lights alert me that there is no power.... oh dear lord, we are out of gas. Thankfully I am able to coast into a driveway, which for the road we travel, is not an easy feat. It is more of a one lane paved path than a road. It is too narrow to be lined, and if something big is coming your way, it's really best to just pull over. I'm not very subtle about my feelings, and moan loudly, "Oh NO, this is NOT happening." But it has happened. I don't want to upset the girls' parents, so I call my partner at work and best confidante, who fortunately is able to come help me get gas. Another call to a parent later, and I have procured a ride for the girls to school. While all this is happening, it's raining, and the clock is ticking. Clearly to the girls, it's an emergency. I am faintly aware as I make my desperate rescue calls that there is a conversation happening in the backseat. I hear them discuss which classes they have first, and if it's math, do you like math? Or is it a fortunate turn of events that we are now possibly going to be late with a very good excuse. I hang up, and silently thank God that I have somehow averted disaster and might even be able to get them to school on time. As I do, I hear the oldest girl say, "Let's decide who will eat who".