I drove into work this morning because it was so cold. On the way in, trying to change lanes (on the little ring, if you know Brussels), I had my wing mirror clipped by a speeding large car. I glared at him balefully and adjusted my mirror which was undamaged. At the next junction an elderly and oddly dressed gentleman came up to my window and tapped on it crossly. “You damaged my car†he said. We pulled in and had a look. Alas, his wing mirror had a small dent. It is so typical of me that as we sat in my car, I decided that, really, it was all my fault. This, despite the fact that he was wreathed in alcohol fumes. He wasn’t drunk, but he wasn’t entirely sober either. He was retired. And despite his large car, which he confided was a hire car, he looked very poor and was wearing a strange assortment of tracksuit bottoms and tops. We filled in the accident form. This being Belgium, we ended up filling in the form in Dutch which neither of us understood very well because he had no copy in French and I only had an English copy. I dutifully marked that I had been trying to pull into his lane but refrained from remarking that he smelt of drink and had been driving very fast. Partly, it was my wishy-washiness but partly it was because I felt we could probably bear the cost of repair considerably better than he could. Anyway, we parted relatively amicably. However, after he had left the car, I noticed that there was a big damp patch on the passenger seat where he had been sitting. I suppose that we’ll all be old, drunk and incontinent some day.
Actually, by being so kind, you’ve just earned a whole lot of growing old karma, in which you’ll stay eternally youthful, admired by young men and envied by young women. There’s no chance of old, drunk and – I can’t say it – for you …
Are little angel wings already growing on your shoulders?
Did you check your wallet was still in your purse after he left your car?
you’re far kinder than i. i would have called the police, only to regret it bitterly later when i saw the wet spot on the seat.
perhaps it wasn’t incontinence, maybe it was just the spill from the beer he was holding between his legs.
As long as he doesn’t report you to the hire-car company for peeing on his seat …
You are a GOOD WOMAN.
I take the view that cars are lethal weapons and should be treated with an equivalent amount of respect. I tolearate sloppy and irresponsible behaviour behind the wheel to the same extent I would tolerate the sloppy and irresponsible handling of and AK47. I’ve got to stop typing now to wipe the spittle from my frothing mouth.
You are, as I said, a good woman.
Aphra.