I choked on the fumes, spewing out of my car harder than I would have believed possible. The sheer amount of exhaust stunned me, as I pulled the stubborn sedan over to the side of the road, bursting from the driver’s door as I gasped for fresh air.
‘I ain’t never seen a car do that,’ Mary-Beth gasped from the other side of the car, her own escape plan actioned at the same time as mine. ‘Where is that much smoke even coming from?’
‘I have no idea,’ I wheezed, flat on my back in the hard dirt of Bentleigh. ‘But I sure hope there’s a car mechanic near Bentleigh that can have a look at it.’
‘A mechanic?’ Mary-Beth frowned. ‘Juniour, are you kidding me?’
‘What, honey?’ I asked, confused, propping myself up on my elbows to look at her, hazy in the heat being pumped out of my car. ‘She’s probably fixable, don’t you think?’
‘No, I do not think that!’ Mary-Beth protested, getting to her feet so she could stamp them. ‘It don’t need no bleeding mechanic or even a priest! It needs a wrecker!’
‘You know those wreckers’ll bleed us dry!’ I wagged a finger at her. ‘They ain’t got no good heart for business!’
‘Of course they don’t!’ Mary-Beth cackled. ‘They don’t need to, when they got you over a barrel!’
‘Maybe there’s a professional auto electrical mechanic in Bentleigh who could have a—’
‘Honey,’ May-Beth sighed, walking slowly around the still-smoking husk of our car to lay a hand on my shoulder. ‘I know you’ve been through a lot with that car, but… well, that’s just it, isn’t it? You’ve been through too much. It’s time to let her go…’
I gripped my wife’s hand tight, tears fogging my vision. ‘I suppose you’re right,’ I whispered. ‘I just wish I’d had more time to—’
The car promptly burst into flames, knocking us both back onto the hard ground.
‘Damn it, Junior!’ Mary-Beth growled, slapping me across the torso. ‘Now we won’t get anything from the wreckers!’