Unexpected change of plans

Last night Amy and I went to the apartment complex pool. It was very cool and relaxing. There were some kids there splashing around. Afterwards, we decided to go to Blockbuster and then for ice cream.

I pulled out of the parking lot to our apartment and my car made a very brief grinding noise. Odd, I thought. I began to turn left onto Main street and heard the grinding noise more prominently, and I decided that the muffler had become unhinged yet again and was now dragging underneath us. I pulled into the Jolly Pirate, a local donut shop, and called AAA. I called and was on hold for more than 20 minutes. Meanwhile, Amy also called and got in only minutes after she dialed. What the fuck?

She talked to the dispatcher and was given an estimated arrival time for the service truck of 11:14 p.m. It was just 10 p.m. So we waited for a minute in the car and decided to go in for some donuts. I had a peanut butter filled dount and a strawberry slushie. It was delicious.

Eventually the service truck arrived, probably a half an hour before the estimated arrival time. I explained to the man what had happened and how it had been fixed last time - the bolt holding together the bracket that held up the muffler had fallen out some time ago, and my brother and I used a wire hanger to reattach it. It had been holding the muffler up for upwards from 6 months. It apparently had fallen out. The service man seemed impressed and said that he unfortunately did not have a bolt to fix it with, but that we could, in his words, ghetto-rig something. Rather, we jacked up the car and left it, and the service man gave Amy and me a ride back across the street to our apartment so Amy could get another wire hanger and a pair of needle-nose pliers. While the man and I were waiting in his truck, we were talking, and he told me that this is merely his night job and that he has a B.S. in Criminal Justice and a M.A. in Human Services. His day job is a fraud inspector for a bank.

Amy returned a few mintues later with two hangars, an adjustable wrench and a pair of wire cutters, stating that she could not find needlenose pliers. We drove back to my car still jacked up in the Jolly Pirate parking lot. Amy mocked surprise at the fact that my car was untouche by vandals or thieves. I replied by saying that no one would steal a car that was jacked up and left in a lot.

The man and I then began to try to fix the muffler. He suggested that he hold up the muffler and I feed the hangar through and put it back together. For an instant I thought, "Shouldn't this be the other way around," but I then immediately thought, "fuck it," and continued unwrapping the hangar.

We sat for about 20 minutes, him holding up the muffler, me trying to put it all back together. Finally I said, "fuck it, this is fine until I can get it fixed properly." The man said that it looked like it would work, and then that this was the easiest call he'd had all night. I said thanks, and it was nice to meet him, and we drove back home.

I looked at my cell phone after we got out of my car at home to see what time it was, and noted that it was not yet 11:30 p.m. "Hey, we didn't miss 'The Soup' yet."

"It's not 11:30 yet?" Amy asked.

We went up, I washed my hands and she turned on the tv. "The Soup" was a repeat, but it was still very funny. They made fun of Tom Cruise and Katie Holme's alleged child Suri.