“Canwe get McDonalds on the way to the game, Beau? I’m tired of hotdogs and that’s all they ever have at the games. I’m starved,” Ty asks, climbing into the passenger side of the car.
“Sure. I could use a hot chocolate,” I mutter, starting up Amie.
“Beau, it’s eighty degrees outside today,” he laughs.
“Ty,” I whine. “It’s chocolate!”
He shakes his head we head toward the ball field. They’re playing at another school’s field this evening and it will take us a little over an hour to get there—and that’s without factoring in McDonalds. I don’t mind. I enjoy spending time with Ty. It actually makes my day. “Hey, how come Slider didn’t want to ride with us?” I ask.
“He did. His mom wouldn’t let him. She’s going to the game tonight with Gordo. Me and Slider keep hoping Gordo will wise up to how she’s using him, but it’s not working.”
“Shit, Slider knows?” I ask. Ty starts laughing and I spare a glance at him. “What?”
“I’m going to start charging you every time you say the word shit as a bribe not to tell Dad.”
“Shit,” I say without thinking making him laugh harder.
“Dad would love this,” Ty says gasping for breath because he’s laughing so hard.
“I’m suddenly feeling like eating Chinese instead of McDonalds,” I tease, knowing Tyhatesall Chinese food.
“Beau!” he whines. “That’s a low blow.”
“I’m kidding. We’ll head to Mickey D’s first. I’m hungry, too. Seriously, though, I don’t know what will wake Gordo up when it comes to Mary Ann, but you tell Slider if he ever needs a shoulder or a break to reach out to me. I’ll do what I can to get him for a little bit to give him a break.”
“Thanks, Beau. You’re awesome. I’m glad you gave Dad a chance. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so happy.”
“He makes me happy, too. Although, I’ll tell you a secret if you promise not to tell him. If he knew, it would hurt his ego and we both know how big that is,” I joke, making Ty laugh some more. I love his laughter, it’s so joyful and free. There’s an innocence to it that I’ve missed in my life.
“Hit me with it,” he says.
“I’m only nice to him so I can have you around to help me in the garage,” I say with a wink.
“I’m so going to tell him that,” Ty exclaims, full of excitement.
We drive for about ten minutes. I’ve just topped the large hill before you turn to go into town, while Ty is talking about the team he’s playing tonight. I listen to him list all of their soft spots on the field and who their leading batter is. The kid could be the coach with as much data as he keeps spouting off. We’ve just started going downhill and my brake pedal goes to the floor. My heart rate kicks up as I try not to panic. I pump it again, but nothing happens. I don’t slow down. Instead, my speed keeps increasing.
“Ty, sweetheart. You have your seatbelt on, right?” I ask him, double checking because I’m too afraid to take my eyes off the road.
“Yeah. What’s wrong?” he asks, trepidation leaking into his question as the vehicle continues to accelerate coming down the hill. There’s no traffic, most of the school traffic hasn’t been released yet because school in still in session. I just signed Ty out early. That’s one good thing at least. Still, I know the closer we get to town the worse this will be. “Beau?” Ty asks.
“The brakes don’t seem to be working. I’m going to need you to climb in the back really quickly and attach your seatbelt. I will try to use the emergency brake to slow us down, but if I crash, I want you to have as much protection as possible. Can you do that for me?”
“What about you?” he asks, real fear evident in his voice now.
“I’ll be fine. Now, hurry, we don’t have much time. I want to try to stop us before we get into traffic. Get on the driver side behind me. I’m going to try and make sure if we hit anything that it will be on the passenger side,” I explain.
Ty works quickly and with an ease that only a kid can maneuver. Before I know it, he’s in the backseat, on the driver side, and buckled in tightly. “Got it, Beau,” he tells me.
I take a deep breath, as I slowly apply the emergency brake. The car makes a groaning noise. My heart is beating hard in my chest. It fishtails a little but with some quick steering I straighten it.
“It’s going to work, isn’t it?” Ty says, sounding hopeful.
“It seems to be,” I respond and I’m even starting to feel better. Then, I hear the sickening popping noise as the car starts jerking and spinning on the road. I try to fight it by applying the emergency brake completely. That’s probably a mistake because the car careens even more.
“Beau!” Ty hollers, panic in his voice.
“I think the tire blew out. Just hold on, baby. I’ll get us out of this.” I pray I’m telling him the truth. I’m fighting the wheel with everything I have. We still end up going off the road because there are no guardrails on this particular stretch of the road. The car bounces as we drive over the different ridges and rocks that are hidden in the overgrown, wheat colored prairie grass. There’s a loud popping noise and the car fishtails to the right. I hear the sound of metal on metal, but the force of the blow sends my head forward, slamming into the steering wheel.
