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“Youareluckyyouboughtthenewtires,otherwisewemighthave
skiddedofftheroadandcrashedintothattree.”Lesremarked
inagloomyvoiceandpointedatanenormousoaktreeattheside
oftheroad.
“Butwedidn’t.Let’sgo.”Andoffwewent.
Leswasrighttomentionthetires.Inthe1970sand1980s,buyingnew
onesborderedonamiracle.Ifyouwantedtofacethechallenge,you
hadtodoalotofdetectiveworkbeforethepurchase.Itwasamust
tocallallcaraccessoriesstorestofindoutwhereandwhenthere
wouldbe,say,twentytiresonsale.Next,ifyoubelongedtothe
farsightedones,youmightfetchablanketandapillow,(somewould
eventakequilts)andspendanightinyourcarinthecarparkinfront
ofthemostlikelystoreyoudecidedtochoose.Whenyounoticedother
carsparkingnexttoyours,itmeantyourchoicewasgood.Ataround
foura.m.,thesleepyshopperswouldemergetotheopenandform
aqueuesoeverybodycouldseethemwellandnoonenewcoulddare
cutinalineinfrontofthem.
MarylaandImetalltherequirementsandmanagedtobuytwosets
ofFiat600tires,oneforeachofus.However,Iwasnotproudofthem
foralongtime.Onenight,ataround2a.m.,Iwenttothekitchen
togetabottleofmineralwaterfromthefridgeandIlookedthrough
thewindow.Tomyhorror,Isawfourindividuals,theirbodies
crooked,busilyunscrewingthewheelsofmyFiat.
Idashedontothebalconyyelling,“Thepoliceareontheirway!
Iknowwhoyouare.”
“Shutup,youbitch,”oneofthethievesroared.Theymusthaveknown
thepolicewerenowherearound.However,thenoisewoke
myneighborsup,who,onebyone,appearedontheirbalconyorinthe
window,dressedinpyjamasandnightgowns.Seeingsomanyeye-
witnessestherobbersthrustthetwowheelstheyhadalreadyunscrewed
intothebootoftheirvananddroveaway,leavingmewithamore
seriousproblemIhadhadbefore.Thetaskwasbuyingnewwheels.
Wehittheroadagain.ItwasearlySeptember,andthedayswere
alreadyshorterthaninsummer.Thedaywascloudy,andwewanted
togettothelakebeforeitgotdark.
“Sophie,passmethemap,please,”Lessaidtome“It’sbehindyou,
bytherearwindow.”Hestudieditforawhileandthenhadanidea.
