For me, it began one night on a deserted country road, looking for a short cut I never found. Or something like that...
I'm Sam, in my late twenties, furniture maker (Samuel Wise Bespoke Furniture. My parents were fans of the books...), fairly fit and a bit geeky. I'm told that I'm no horror movie, apart from first thing in the morning. Anyhow, I had been away for a few days, delivering some chairs to a customer in Holland. (Did I mention that I make furniture for a living?). The Channel Tunnel trains had been delayed and now I was driving back to my home in the west country at a very late hour and in the pouring rain. Bad decision! I'd been driving for far too long and desperately needed a place to get some sleep. In the end, it became a choice; take a break from the road or take a trip into eternity. I chose the former and looked for somewhere to park up.
A lay-by appeared out of the rain and I rolled into it rather than into a ditch. Plenty of snacks and bottles in my footwell meant that I was able to eat something, even if it wasn't exactly healthy eating!. I slid the the driver's seat right back and by folding it as flat as I could, I managed to get my 6 feet 2 inches into a fairly comfortable position. Pulling the sleeping bag I always keep in the car over me, I lay there, listening to the rain beating on the roof and the wind whistling around. Cosy, eh? I drifted off into a fitful sleep.
Suddenly, I was wide awake. The storm was still blowing outside, but what had woken me up was the insistent knocking on the car window. I wiped the glass with the back of my hand and stared out at a hooded, yellow hi-viz anorak, dripping wet and gesturing for me to open a door and let this... whatever it was... in out of the rain.
For a second, I thought of sensational stories from the news. Knife-wielding, gun waving maniacs who preyed on people in remote lay-bys at night... I was tempted to start the car, put my foot on the floor and go, but before that thought was even half formed I knew I was going to let my visitor in and to hell with caution. Just a soft touch I guess. The front passenger door clicked open and the figure ran quickly around and climbed in, slamming the door and showering me with rain water. I braced myself for a knife-wielding, gun waving maniac, but instead the figure just slumped and took a deep breath.
The hood of the jacket was thrown back and a full head of reddish brown hair fell out around shoulders that were shivering with the cold and wet. The stranger was very obviously a woman and equally obviously, she seemed well on her way to hypothermia. I passed her my sleeping bag and rummaged around for any snacks and drinks that I might still have in the car. She shucked off her drenched jacket, pushed the seat right back and slid into the sleeping bag, removing more wet clothing once she was inside. She huddled down and ducked her head right down. A few little animal noises came from the bag and within seconds, she seemed to be asleep. I figured that she was completely beat and decided not to push her. I left the snacks on the dashboard.
Wrapping my coat around me I managed to get sort of comfortable again. Then it occurred to me that neither of us had spoken a word before she fell asleep. I decided to stay awake for the rest of the night, just in case this mystery lady turned out to be less than a lady!
Morning came with little let up from the deluge of the night. I guess I had nodded off at some point, because I came to and eased my joints to find a pair of hazel eyes looking at me around the head rest. She was breakfasting on left over crisps and some protein bars, washed down with flat sparkling water.
"Thanks. For everything!" she said, gesturing to the car and the food she was still working her way through.
It was the first time she had spoken. Her voice was pleasant, if a little husky, but I didn't know if this was a by-product of her ordeal or her normal voice. There was an accent to her speech that I couldn't quite place, but early days!
"You're welcome!" I replied, smiling a little.
She gave a bit of a smile in return. This was going well, wasn't it?
She looked to be in her mid twenties, mid height with what looked like an athletic figure inside the bulky sleeping bag. She had the air of someone who knew her own mind. I thought she was a stunner!
"I'm Sam," I said.
There was a tiny hesitation, then it all came in a rush:
Her name was Kate and she had been visiting friends down in Kent, had intended to drive overnight to miss some of the heavier traffic but her hire car had skidded off the road. She was fine but the car wasn't. She hadn't been able to get any phone signal in the storm and eventually, her phone's battery had gone flat. Luck had been on her side when she found me asleep in my lay-by and it stayed with her when she found that I hadn't murdered or raped her in the night. Today she would have to get her car sorted out and get on the road again, so could I drop her at the nearest place with a phone and she could take it from there. I just sat and listened with a bit of a grin at the corners of my mouth.
"What's the matter with you?" She asked when she noticed my smile.
"I've just never heard anyone talk without breathing in." I said.
It was her turn to smile.
"Nerves, I guess." and she laughed out loud, "Oh gawd, I am such a wreck!" She reached out to recover some of the drier bits of clothing and I ended up loaning her a T shirt and sweater from my bag.
"OK, this is the plan," I said, "I'll take you to the nearest cafe, we'll have a proper breakfast and tidy up and then we'll see if you we can get your car sorted. After that, I reckon I'll have the feeling of a job well done!"
She was suddenly concerned.
"Ahhh... I totally forgot how much trouble I'm putting you to! Of course you must need to get home yourself."
"Not really 'need to'," I replied, "My neighbour is looking after Ozric and my customers know that I will contact them when their work is ready. So my time is really my own."
"Who's Ozric?" she asked.
"My very furry and far too large cat. She'll be pampered and totally spoiled by the time I get home. The neighbours really don't know how manipulative a cat can be!"
"Ah. You might find a totally different pet when you do get there then."
"Oh, Ozric's not a pet, she just lets me live in her house." I laughed.
More small talk followed as we got on the road and found our way to an acceptable eatery out on the A303 just past Stonehenge. I discovered that Kate originally came from Ireland. That explains the hair and eye colour, I thought. The accent should have told me, but I can be slow sometimes... She seemed really nice and very easy to be with. I was already wondering how much time I could engineer together before our ways inevitably had to part.
While we were waiting for our food, Kate used my phone to call the hire company to explain what had happened. They would deal with everything and bill her accordingly later. Then we went out to retrieve her belongings. The car was a mess! It had come off of the road sideways into a muddy drainage ditch. The mud had saved her from a solid impact, but had crushed most of the car's offside bodywork in the process. We dragged her damaged luggage out of the boot, along with some personal things that were loose in the car and left it for the hire company to recover. It was going to cost her, but as she said,
"Money isn't everything!"
She was alive and unharmed, so being a few pounds out of pocket wasn't the worst outcome that she could imagine. I was impressed with her attitude. I'm not sure that I would be able to see a good side to this situation if it was me!
The downside - for her at least - was that she couldn't afford to rent another car to get her home as well as pay the as yet unspecified charges for the damage to and recovery of the hire car.
