A friend of ours has a house, well not so much a house, but part of a building downtown in Palacios. He invited some friends down last Saturday just for fun. Preparing for the long car ride, I brought the french tapes and one of my art books on Cezanne. We got home rather late, and totally against my character, I left the tapes and book in the car instead of bringing them inside.
Sunday morning was harried, even though we all had an extra hour to get ready for church. Someone had forgotten to charge the moped battery, so Hilary couldn't remotely get to St. Paul's where she sings in the choir. As a non-morning person, I knew just how the moped felt. Empty. But that wasn't going to help Hilary get to St. Paul's.
Skipping a few essentials, such as using the restroom before leaving home because I could just as easily go once we got to church, Hilary, Joy, and I made our way to St. Paul's to drop off Hilary. Exacerbated by our drive to Palacios the day before, the gas gage was on empty. No worries, I thought. I can make it.
As we were driving west on Bissonet, Joy and I noticed a black cloud of smoke in the distance. It seemed surprisingly odd, especially since the closer we got to church the more the smoke seemed to be right where we were headed. Approaching the railroad tracks, the West University cops had the way blocked, and motioned for us to go left/south. Church was north/right, so I turned right, just as the last drop of gas was being consumed by the suburban. Empty. Guess what else? While talking to AAA on my cell phone, the battery started beeping like it was running out of juice, too. Then the tow truck driver couldn't get to me because the roads were blocked because of that smokey fire Joy and I had seen in the distance. To top it all off, I really had to go to the bathroom.
Joy, bless her heart, started walking to church, stopping at Shipley Donuts on the way. But I stayed with the car. And because I hadn't cleaned out the car from our trip to Palacios the day before, I had the french tapes to listen to, and a book on Cezanne to read, which was a huge huge blessing.
If Reese and I hadn't gone to Palacios the day before, and I hadn't been so exhausted when we got home, the book and tapes would have never been in the car in the first place.
