Hope It Comes Soon

Chapter One

A month later

I cringed when I heard the sound my car made when I turned the ignition.

“That is so not good…” I muttered, and made a mental note to call the mechanic later today. But in the meantime, I needed to get to work. I knew my car had been having issues – it’d been in the shop twice this month already, but I couldn’t really afford a new car. I hoped it would last through the winter at least.

I let the car sit for a moment, softly sputtering, before taking a deep breath and muttering a prayer, then shifted it into drive and proceeded to drive to work.

I made it about three blocks before it sputtered for a final time and died.

“Damn it, Audrey.” I muttered as I quickly looked behind me. Thankfully, there were no other cars in sight at the moment on the small side road I was on. I shifted the car into neutral and coasted it to the side of the road.

I quickly tried to start the car again with no luck. I sighed and checked my watch. I was scheduled to be at work in 15 minutes. I sighed as I unbuckled my seatbelt and reached into the backseat into my purse for my mobile.

I took it out and after fruitlessly trying to make a call, realized I was out of credit.

“Damn it!” I muttered again, my mother’s voice in my head, instructing me to always keep my phone with credit in case of an emergency.

Well, here I was in an emergency, and I wasn’t ashamed to admit my mother had been right.

I sat in my car and thought for a moment, trying to decide what to do. I looked around and saw a few houses. I weighed my options. I could get out of the car and knock on a door and ask to use the phone. Or I could walk to a nearby service station and use the pay phone. I decided on the later.

Then, I suddenly remembered that Dad had signed me up for roadside assistance.

“Thank you Dad” I mumbled, taking my wallet out of my purse and locating the card with the toll-free number on it. I decided to go to the service station and use the payphone to call for roadside assistance.

I zipped my jacket up, put on my scarf and was pulling my gloves on when I looked up to see a man walking towards me.

“Thank the Lord,” I muttered, my desire to get to work on time overriding my healthy wariness of strangers. I hoped he had a working mobile phone I could use. I rolled the frosty window down, and flashed my best smile.

“Excuse me, do you have a phone I can borrow?”

I found myself face-to-face with an alarmingly attractive guy who looked strangely familiar, but I couldn’t place from where.

“Uh, yeah, of course.” he said, flashing me a tiny, cautious smile, and I could tell he was wary of strangers as I was.

For whatever reason, I felt immediately at ease. He had a kind smile and eyes so blue they were almost the color of a perfect blue sky. He rummaged through his pockets and found his phone, handing it to me.

“Thank you so much,” I replied, eternally grateful in that moment for the kindness of strangers. “Mine’s out of credit, and I need to call the NRMA…” I flipped it open and started dialling. “I won’t be long.”

“Take your time.”

The phone call had taken longer than I had hoped – they’d put me on hold, and once I got through, the questionnaire involved was surprisingly long. While on hold, I kept stealing glances at the guy, who stood there outside my car awkwardly. I mouthed “sorry” to him. He waved his hand in a gesture that said “No problem.”

I tried to think of where I knew the guy from, but couldn’t place it.

Finally, around fifteen minutes later, the call was complete and my roadside assistance truck was on its way to bail me out of this supremely embarrassing situation.

I flipped it closed, and handed his mobile back to him. “I know I said it already, but thank you. I really appreciate it.”

He smiled and pocketed his mobile. Then a look of recognition crossed his face. He snapped his fingers, clearly proud of himself.

You were at the open mic last week!”

I realized then where I had seen him; at Cooney’s last week for their open mic night. He’d performed.

“I was wondering where I’d seen you before!” I said, laughing. “Taylor Hanson, right?”

He nodded. “Yeah, that’s me.”

“I’m Audrey Carmichael.” I opened the driver’s side door, and stepped out of the car onto the street. “It’s nice to see you again.”

“You too.” he replied, and it seemed genuine.

I got out of the car and walked around it, sitting on the bonnet. I studied him. He looked cold, but he wasn’t walking away, so that was something. Maybe he was even going to keep me company as I waited for my tow truck? If so, I admired how gentlemanly that was – there was no denying it was cold out, and I was sure he had someplace to be. I wondered why he’d want to wait here with me.

Not that that I was complaining. A guy that good-looking? Any girl stranded on the side of the road would be lucky to have for company.

“So what are you doing on Gipps Road?” I asked conversationally.

““I live on this street,” Taylor replied. “A few doors up that way, just past the nursery.” He pointed down the street, towards an apartment complex. “I just dropped my daughter off at school.”

I thought back on that night at Cooney’s, and remembered that he had mentioned during his set that he had a daughter. That had surprised me.

“Oh right,” I said. “I remember you mentioning you were a dad. How old is she?”

“She’s six,” Taylor replied. “She’ll be seven in the middle of September.”

I quickly did the math in my head.

“You look a little young to have a six-year-old.” I said as casually as possible.

It may have been my imagination, but he seemed slightly pleased by my comment, like he’d taken it as a compliment, and not just an observation as I had intended. “Yeah, I know I am,” he replied after a moment. “I was nineteen when she was born. She’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” he said matter-of-factly.

I nodded, unsure what to say to that. I didn’t have any kids, and it was hard for me to imagine what it must feel like to be a parent.

After a moment I spoke up.

“I shouldn’t keep you. You’ve probably got work or something, so…I’ll be fine here by myself – this isn’t the first time this has happened. More like the sixth time this year.”

To my surprise, he shrugged. “I don’t think I’ll be missed much at work,” he said. “It gets pretty quiet during school terms, so I’m probably not needed today.”

He took his phone out. “Should probably make sure, though.”

I stood by awkwardly while he made a phone call, presumably to his work, telling them his car was out of commission and he wasn’t coming in today. I was impressed. I’d have to have a better excuse to get out of my job like that. Or maybe not. I decided I’d try the same excuse he had.

““Well, I’m free for the rest of the day. Where were you headed?” he said as he flipped his phone closed and pocketed it.

“Just to work – I’m over at Dymocks in the Mall.”

“I could always give you a lift over that way. I mean, if you’d like me to.”

“No, it’s all right. I could do with a day off, anyway. It’s been hell the last couple of weeks, what with school holidays and all that. Can I…” I trailed off, hoping I wouldn’t have to ask outright to use his phone again.

He handed it back to me.

“Thanks.”

I took the phone from him and quickly dialed my supervisor.

Just as I was finishing my phone call, and flipping the phone shut, I saw the roadside assistance truck coming up the street. I sighed in relief, handing the phone back to Taylor.

I waved the truck down then turned towards him.

““I can take it from here. Thanks for staying with me. I guess I’ll see you around.”

““It’s no trouble,” he replied, and I believed him.

But instead of going on his way, he started hunting through his pockets.

“Look, if you need anything at all, give me a bell,” he said as he wrote down his name and and his mobile phone number on a piece of paper and handed it to me. “Even if your car’s broken down again and you need a lift.”

“Oh, thanks…you don’t have to,” I said lamely.

He smiled at me, and something told me he knew that, but wanted to anyway.

“I know what it’s like to not be able to rely on your car,” He said. “When I first moved down here, just after my daughter was born, all I had to drive was an old Falcon. It broke down so many times in such a short period of time you wouldn’t believe it, and I couldn’t afford to have it fixed until I was completely settled in. That wasn’t until she was about six or seven months old. And even then things were still messed up, so…”

He trailed off, realizing he’d revealed too much, or maybe he was thinking that I wouldn’t be interested in the details of his life. But I was.

“I understand, don’t worry,” I assured him, wanting for him to continue, but not sure why. I didn’t even know him, after all. “I’ve only just moved here myself. It’s hard going, I know.” I smiled at him.

“It does get better, though,” he said. “Once you get settled in and everything, you know?”

“Let’s hope it does.” I agreed. “I’ll see you later on.”

He gave me a little wave and walked away.

I cringed and wondered why I’d said I’d see him later on. I had no way of knowing if that were true. But a big part of me wanted it to be.

I shook my head, trying to get Taylor out of my head, and turned towards the driver of the truck.

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