One
Spring 2008
“We’ve setthe weekly appointment for Monday afternoon at 2:30,” the lady at the desk told Angela in a friendly, upbeat voice.
“Is that good with you?”
Angela was speechless for a second or two, thinking it over. “That should work. I’m pretty open actually.”
“You’ll be reading with Dot,” she chuckled. “We’ve had quite a turnaround on her. She doesn’t seem to keep her reading pals for too long.”
“Um... why?”
“Well, the word is...” she whispered, leaning towards her “and don’t tell anyone I told you this… I hear she can be a little difficult.”
“Oh well, I’m sure it will be fine,” Angela assured the librarian, not quite convinced
herself. She started to wonder if she had taken on more than she could handle.
An ordinary piece of blue paper pinned to a corkboard had started it all. It was just another boring Monday when Angela Jenkins spotted it in the distance. She had been in the habit of coming to the library every week to get out of the house, and for the occasional chat with some fellow bookworms.
The heading‘Share your love of Reading’caught her eye. She inspected the rest of the copy carefully:
‘The‘Readers & Friends’ program is looking for volunteers who would like to donate their time to the mobility challenged and to those in need of companionship. We are looking for people with free time, a vehicle and a passion for reading.’
Well, that fits me to a T,Angela thought.Why not?
She hadn’t had too much to keep her busy since leaving her job; which was one of the reasons she wanted to volunteer in the first place. If she had so much time on her hands, why not do something beneficial and help someone.
And the following Monday, not knowing what to expect, she was on her way. She hated Mondays. Bad things always happened on Mondays; she would lose her keys, her pantyhose would run, her cat would escape, her new expensive white blouse would turn pink, thanks to a rogue red sock. She was hoping this Monday would be different but... there would be no such luck to be had.
She snuck a side peak at her map; she seemed to be going in the right direction. There were no major landmarks; mostly farmland, horse farms, landscaping companies, corn fieldsand the occasional old quaint farmhouse. The countryside is beautiful in mid spring but she didn’t take the time to notice.
She had just passed a small town and wasn’t quite sure where she was. She tried to focus on the road, tucking a long strand of golden blond hair behind her ear. She finally saw the sign forMajesta Road,far in the distance. She mentally patted herself on the back for wearing her glasses; bookish tortoise glasses with a small prescription for distance.
“There it is. I’m almost there.” She turned on to the paved road. She wasn’t lost after all. She felt good.
But... it was Monday after all…and an end to that good feeling soon came when she heard a sudden loud bang and thumping from her front left tire. She felt a pull and wasn’t quite in full control of her car. She almost began to panic but took a breath, held the steering wheel tight and managed to drive to the shoulder and park the car.
She got out of the car and as she suspected, she had a flat tire.Yes, definitely another Monday, she thought and kicked the tire a few times.
“This is just fantastic,” she told herself, extremely frustrated. She kicked the tire one more time, hard. Her first instinct was to call Robert. She was impatient as his phone rang three times before he answered.
“Hello, Robert Walsh.”
“Robert... Hi, it’s Angela. I’m parked on the side ofMajesta Road, offStouffville Road...” she said, not quite sounding like herself. “...and I have a flat tire.”
“Yeah...and?”
“Well, can you come help me out?
“Listen Angie, I’m in the middle of work here. Just call a tow truck. Why are you even bothering me with this? You can handle it, you’re a big girl.”
The conversation had not completely surprised Angela. Robert wasn’t exactly the most considerate man on the planet.
She went into her car and reached for her purse. Leaning against the car door, she rummaged through it but couldn’t seem to find her AAA card. She kicked the tire again; a few times for good measure.
She turned when she heard a car coming close; a large black shiny SUV. Great! She figured she must have looked the complete idiot, standing there, stranded on the side of the road. She got a little apprehensive when the SUV slowed down and parked behind her on the shoulder.
