Page 6 of Mr. Principal

“Are you guys still friends?”

“I think so. We just fell out of touch—”

“Because you married Daddy?”

I shrugged. Could I really blame my marriage for falling out of touch with friends?

“Sometimes life just takes people in different directions, hon. I got married. Carter went to China or Cambodia. Somewhere. People just fall out of touch when they get older.”

“Well, Principal Knight is nice. You should be his friend again.” She paused and then her eyes grew large in sudden excitement. “I know! I know!”

“What?”

“You should invite him to Auntie Piper’s birthday party.”

“Dammit,” I mumbled under my breath.

“Mom, don’t say bad words.” Of course she’d heard me.

“Sorry,” I mumbled. I’d completely forgotten about Piper’s party. It was this weekend. I didn’t have a gift and I didn’t have anything to wear. Piper had been working out of the country for the past two years but before then, her birthday parties had always been a huge affair.

“We need to find Piper a gift. I forgot to go shopping. We should—”

I didn’t have a chance to finish my sentence because I heard a loud sound that sounded like a gunshot and then, the unmistakable sound of a flat tire.

“Grrreeat,” I groaned, doing my best to pull over to the side. Traffic wasn’t too heavy, but I wasn’t the best driver. In fact, driving sort of scared me and I tried not to do it too often. I thought it had too many unknowns and I was right. A flat tire was definitely proof of that.

I wondered if I had a spare in the trunk. I didn’t think I had a spare in the trunk. If I did, I didn’t put it there. Tom had always taken care of all the car stuff. The car I was driving was about five years old and Tom had been the person to keep it maintained. I’d gotten the car in our divorce.

I crossed my fingers a spare would be in the trunk. And then it dawned on me: I didn’t know how to change a tire. I was definitely winning the mother of the year award.

After a lot of swearing under my breath and frustration, I managed to get my car to the shoulder of the road. With a feeling of foreboding, I opened the trunk and looked inside. Nothing. Today was just not my day.

Sighing, I reached for my cell phone. I would have to have it towed. I didn’t know how much it would cost, but I was pretty sure it would be more than I could afford.

I placed my hand on my forehead, trying not to get upset in front of Meredith who was watching me with wide eyes.

“I’m going to have to call a tow truck, okay? Just sit tight.” I hoped my voice sounded reassuring and confident. I didn’t feel very confident.

I was dialing the number to a toll service I saw on one of my neighborhood forums, when suddenly a car pulled up behind us.

I instantly tensed up. All sorts of scenarios ran through my head. None of them good. I’d heard about people killing people on the highways all the time. Okay, maybe they were just urban legends, but all urban legends had to come from somewhere, right? Even an urban legend had a grain of truth.

But then I noticed the person behind the wheel and sighed in relief.

“Flat tire?” asked Carter, stepping out the car and coming towards me.

“Yeah. And no spare.”

“Well, that’s a problem.”

“No kidding.”

“Hi again, Principal Knight,” Meredith shouted looking at us through the back window. She was having a fun time apparently.

He waved to her and then turned back to me. “I have a spare.”

I shook my head. “I’m not taking yours. What if you need it?”