It's a cold, dark, blustery night in January as we're driving back to our house in the country. The road is snow covered and the headlights bounce off a torrent of snowflakes. Suddenly, I notice the car start to slide on a patch of ice. I turn the car the other way but it's too late; the car slides into the ditch on the side of the road.
"Well what are we going to do now?" you reply bitterly. We are coming back from a friend's birthday party and you have had a few drinks.
"Hell if I know. Neither of us have cell phones do we?" I ask to myself.
I put the warning flashers on and trudge back up onto the road in hopes of flagging down an oncoming car to take us into the next town. We wait for what seems to be eternity; numb and frozen to our bones. Suddenly, you think you see someone coming and tug on my sleeve quickly.
"Honey I think there's a car coming!" As the shivering and cold momentarily is unnoticeable in your tension.
"I think you're right Sam, it is!" I run to the edge of the road and wave the car down joyfully as the driver rolls his window down.
"Hey our car went into the ditch and its a long way to the next town, can you give us a ride so we can get a tow truck?"
"Sure hope in" he says. He says his name is Randall, and that his two friends asleep in the back are his buddies, Jeff and Frank, from work. They are on their way back from a trade show.
I take the front seat to guide Randall to the next town in the blinding snowstorm and you take the seat in between Frank and Jeff in the back. We drive slowly, edging our way closer to the next town when Randall says, "Um if you don't mind could you chip in some money? I mean we DID save you out there. You might have been goners in this weather, and I do need some gas money."
"All I usually carry is my bank card," I say.
"Well for carrying you two I want some kind of payment so you better hurry it up," he says a bit more forcefully.
By now Frank and Jeff have woken up to the drivers bitching and complaining, and you shoot a glance over to me as I shrug. It's the best we could do unless you wanted to freeze says my look back.
By now, Frank on your right has slowly started to caress your leg and I have caught glimpses of it. Part of me hates it, but if it gets us to the next town instead of being frozen here it has to be done, so I keep my mouth shut. Suddenly Randall says again "Well are you going to pay me or not?"