had no reason to doubt the mechanic, known as Mr. Bill, who’d been taking care of her little car for two years. He knew it inside and out and he was honest, if not terribly fast.
“You oughtta just get a new car,” Mr. Bill said. “I could sell you that sweet little Mustang over there for forty-five hundred.”
“Mr. Bill, if I had forty-five hundred, I wouldn’t be sweating the twelve hundred for the repairs! But never mind. Just fix my car—I’ll have the money for you.” Even if she had to run up her credit card. Again.
He required a down payment, so she drained her checking account.
What was she supposed to do for groceries? A couple of days ago she’d deposited her insurance settlement check and her paycheck, but they wouldn’t clear until Monday at the earliest.
Mr. Bill loaned her a clunker—an ancient station wagon in a peculiar shade of green—to use until her car was fixed. She had to doubt her mechanic’s abilities as she drove away from the garage. Her loaner sounded as if it might have hamsters in the engine, running on little wheels.
She’d rescheduled her afternoon appointment, but still she was almost late picking up Samantha from after-school care.
“Whose car is this?” Sam asked as she climbed in and fussed with the seat belt.
“Ours is in the shop. This is a loaner.” She didn’t want to dwell on that, however. “So how was your last day of school?” Kat asked, forcing some enthusiasm into her voice.
“It was good. We had a party with cupcakes, and I’m officially a second-grader. We played Red Rover and I didn’t have to use my inhaler even once.”
The good news cheered Kat considerably. “That’s great, Sammy. Maybe you’re outgrowing your asthma. Wouldn’t that be nice?” Kat could only hope. “I’m very proud of you for graduating from first grade.”
“Me, too. So that’s my good thing. What’s yours?”
Oh, boy. Kat usually had an answer ready, but today she was unprepared. “Mmm, let me think about it for a minute. Oh, okay, I know. I made every light on Jefferson.”
Samantha laughed. “You can’t do better than that?”
“Okay. I’ll try harder.” She thought a minute. “I know. I have a new StrongGirls group forming at Woodrow Wilson High.”
“You used that one yesterday.”
“I did?” She thought some more. Surely something good happened. She’d been in a good mood before her car had broken down. “Oh, oh, I really have it this time. I got a phone call from the mother of one of the StrongGirls. She wanted to thank me because for the first time in three years, her daughter had passed all her classes and doesn’t have to go to summer school.”
“That’s real good,” Samantha said. “Mommy, I’m proud of you.”
“Me, too.” She reached over and squeezed Samantha’s hand.
“So, what are we having for dinner tonight?”
Yikes. A trip to the grocery store was out of the question until Monday. She had some odds and ends, and they could get by, but she’d been planning to fix a nice meal.
Sam cocked her head quizzically. “Does this mean we can have frozen waffles again for dinner?”
She couldn’t do that to her growing daughter, not again. She could put her groceries on Visa, but she hated to do that.
“How about Everything Stew?” she suggested.
Sam wrinkled her nose. “It turned out kinda weird last time we made that.”
“But that’s the fun of Everything Stew. It turns out different every time.” She’d learned about Everything Stew from one of the foster families she’d stayed with briefly. When you had people to feed and not enough of any one thing to make a meal, you put it all together in one pot. As long as she had some canned broth to start with—and she did—it usually turned out pretty good. Except for the most recent batch. The eggplant had been a mistake.
“Okay,” Samantha agreed. “Can we put waffles in it this time?”
Hmm, waffle dumplings. Might not be as bad as it sounded.
Samantha giggled. “Ick, Mommy, I’m just kidding.”
“Oh.” Phew. She was glad to see Samantha recovering her sense of humor.
When they pulled into the driveway, they found Ethan trimming bushes in the front yard. Winnie was tethered to the porch railing. As little as she was, she still had a tendency to wander off.
Samantha barreled out of the station wagon and ran toward Ethan, then skidded to a halt just before ramming into him. They weren’t yet at the hugging stage. Sam had never been quick to trust new people