Years ago, LL and I decided to do a road trip around southwestern Ontario. I was going to sell my Mini Cooper, and we thought that before it went, we’d load the dogs and some luggage into the car and spend three days tooling around Woodstock, Ingersoll, and Port Dover (it was more fun that that might sound). We headed out in the morning: I was driving, Lori had the map/GPS, and a Standard Doodle and an Old English Sheepdog were settled in the boot. We had a lovely lunch on a patio in Woodstock, and then I reached for my wallet. (LL knows where this is going). No wallet. No wallet, no drivers license, no credit cards. Oops. For the next three days, Lori did all the driving, and paid all the bills. It really was an accident, honest.
My friends arrived yesterday afternoon. After having driven 800 miles in two days – and Mike only just got his UK licence after months of no driving and Cathy is still waiting on hers (all to do with the complexities of US/UK driving laws) – he was going to have to get back behind the wheel, as my car still wouldn’t start. I assured him it would only be for the afternoon, as the mechanics are very prompt here on Orkney. We drove (and by ‘we drove’ I mean ‘he drove’ to the Broch of Gurness where we wandered around, then drove across the island to see the Standing Stones of Stenness as the sun set. Then off to Tesco to pick up dinner and supplies for the week.
Got out of the car at Tesco – where was my debit card? I searched every pocket of my jacket, and down the sides of the seat, but no card. So Mike had to pay for my groceries. And, as there was no card lying around my house, I’ve had to cancel it and order a new one (5 days to arrive), and now Mike is paying for everything this week. I think it fell out of my hip pocket when I took my phone out to take some pictures at the Broch – it was an accident. Oh, and the mechanic can’t get to my car today. So Mike has to keep driving us around Orkney (he will also be driving 800 miles home later in the week).
What I have here is a life-long (well, six year old) system of testing and taking advantage of my friends’ good nature as a way of validating their love for me. As Freud said, there are no accidents.
Hilarious!