Chasing Charli - Kat Mizera Page 0,1

was at the dentist.” Niko frowned. “And now I’m here but you’re leaving. It’s not fair.”

“I’m sorry, buddy.” She smiled at Dani, who was gently tugging Niko’s hand.

“Come on, Niko. Miss Charli has to leave and you have to get inside.”

“Bye, Miss Charli!” Niko waved, following his mother inside and Charli pulled out her keys.

She’d just gotten to her ten-year-old Toyota when she saw the rear passenger-side tire was flat.

“You have got to be kidding me,” she grunted.

It wouldn’t be the first time she’d changed a tire, but she was already running late so the timing sucked.

Pulling out her phone, she quickly called the optometrist’s office to explain she’d be late and was glad to hear they would wait for her. She put her purse and laptop in the car and got out the lug wrench and jack. It was February, so cold and dreary, but luckily it wasn’t snowing. She crouched down and attempted to get the lug nuts off. When the first one didn’t budge, she went to the next, finding it also stuck.

“Shit,” she muttered, wiping her hands on a towel she’d found on the back seat. She managed to get off the third and fourth, but the fifth was also stuck and she sat back in frustration.

“Come on, you bastard,” she hissed, getting to her feet and stepping on one side of the X-shaped wrench in the hopes her body weight would help turn the lug nut.

It didn’t budge and she growled in annoyance.

“Dirty, no good, rotten, ugly-as-fuck piece of shit!” she yelled, kicking the tire.

“Wow, that’s a lot of hostility for an innocent tire,” Dani said, coming up behind her.

Charli grimaced. “I stood on the damn thing and those three lug nuts aren’t moving!”

“Do you have a roadside assistance plan?” Dani asked.

Charli shook her head. “No. I can’t really afford it and I’m usually more than capable of changing my own tires… But I’m just not strong enough to get these lug nuts off.”

“Let’s see if we can do it together.” Dani crouched down and they worked side by side to attempt to release the lug nuts, but after another ten minutes with no progress, Dani sat back and shook her head. “I think we’re going to need reinforcements. Lucky for you, I have a team of professional hockey players at my disposal.”

“I feel terrible, putting you out like this,” Charli said, worrying her lower lip nervously.

“It’s no big deal.” Dani stood up and pulled out her phone, calling what appeared to be her husband. She spoke for a minute or so, smiled and hung up. “Okay, he’s in the middle of something but one of our friends is on the way. He’s bringing WD-40, so it shouldn’t be a big deal at all.”

“You’re a lifesaver,” Charli said gratefully. “I’m just annoyed I’m wasting half a day off to change a tire.”

“I’m sorry.” Dani looked apologetic. “I hope it wasn’t for something super fun.”

She laughed. “It was my yearly optometrist appointment. I was going to get fitted for contact lenses.”

“Oh.” Dani cocked her head. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you without your glasses.”

“It’s been a long time,” Charli said softly. “But I was hoping for a change. Not today, I guess.”

“That sucks. And unfortunately, I’m going to have to abandon you because I have an appointment as well.”

“Oh, please don’t miss anything for me,” Charli said. “I’ll wait for your friend to get here. And thanks again.”

“Let me know if you need anything!” Dani smiled and waved.

Charli watched her go a little wistfully. Dani was one of those women other women loved to hate. Tall, beautiful, married to a hot, rich guy, and nice too. Not to mention she had a great kid. Charli tried to never play favorites in her classroom, but there was usually one child every year that got closer to her than others and this year it was Niko. He was a well-behaved, intelligent kid with a quirky sense of humor and a tiny streak of mischief that made him delightful.

Whenever he was upset, he would revert to his father’s native language, Russian, and say “nyet” in the most insolent voice she’d ever heard. Luckily, that didn’t mean anything more nefarious than “no,” and she laughed about it to herself, though she always reminded him that saying words in another language wasn’t an acceptable way of dealing with things when he was upset. Unfortunately, many of the other kids in the class soon learned “nyet” as well and some days