“Shit,” I mutter under my breath. I try again, only to be met with the same sound, confirming the sudden turn of events. I reach for my phone and consider calling Andrew back. But I stop myself, knowing he has a busy night ahead of him. I try Jade but am met with an unanswered string of ringing. Defeated, I step out of my car after pulling the latch for the trunk. Though it could be anything, with the pathetic, rhythmic clacks it made with an unsuccessful attempt to start, I’m assuming it’s a dead battery. I push aside a few random things in my trunk, hoping to find some jumper cables, only to come up empty handed. I slam the trunk shut, and head back for the driver’s seat for my phone, hoping Jade will answer this time.
“Hi, Grace.” I look up to find Noah. He has his backpack hooked over his shoulder, his AirPods wedged into his ears, and the beginning of a smile starts to edge its way to his lips. But as soon as he sees the distracted state of my worried face, his smile falls. “Is everything okay?”
“Um, yeah,” I start to say, only to catch myself in the lie. “Actually, not really. You wouldn’t happen to have jumper cables, would you?”
He shakes his head apologetically. “No, I don’t.” He takes a few steps closer to me, examining my car like he would when treating a patient.
I sigh, my hand on my hip while a string of remedies go through my head. I guess I might have to call Andrew.
“But,” Noah says, interrupting the problem-solving mode my brain is in. “I have a friend who lives about five minutes from here who I’m sure has some in his garage. I can call him to see if he can bring them over.”
“Really?” I perk up, hopeful that my night hasn’t been ruined. “You don’t mind?”
He whips his phone out of his pocket. “Not at all.”
It’s quiet between us as he taps through his phone. I wait patiently while he talks, giving him some privacy by sitting in my car with the door left ajar.
“So, I have some good news and some bad news,” he says once he’s done on the phone.
“Oh?”
“He can bring us the cables.”
“Great!”
“But it’s going to be about half an hour until he can make it home,” he adds, delivering the bad news portion of his call. “Is that okay?”
“Yeah,” I tell him, my tone defeated. I leave out the part where I have to be somewhere, not wanting to sound ungrateful. I mean, thirty minutes isn’t too bad. I guess I can just catch up with Jade. I smile at Noah and add, “Thank you. I really appreciate it.”
We sit in a pause of uncomfortable silence. Me with one foot hanging out the car and him standing with his hand on his hip and an air of uncertainty.
“Did you want to go grab a coffee?” Noah suddenly asks.
“Oh.”
“I mean, if you know—you don’t want to, it’s okay. It’s fine,” he stammers.
“No, it’s not that,” I assure. “I just can’t drink coffee this late. I’ll be running laps around my living room.”
He huffs a nervous laugh. “I see.”
“But, maybe something else? There’s a smoothie shop nearby. My treat,” I say, reaching for my purse.
“No,” he protests. “I can’t?—”
“Please,” I interrupt. “To say thank you for saving me.”
He answers with a nod, ducking his head shyly. “Lead the way.”
I shut my car door, making sure it’s locked on the inside with the alarm system out of commission. I wonder if I need to replace the whole battery while trying to remember the last time it was done. Just as I’m scrolling through my mental catalog of recent auto repairs, Noah asks, “Did you have plans for Halloween?”
“I’m going to go trick-or-treating with my sister and my niece.”
“That sounds like fun,” he comments. “How old is she?”
“She’ll be one in a few months.”
“That’s a cute age.” When I look at him, wondering why he would know the six-to-twelve-month age of an infant would be the cutest stage. “I have a nephew.”
