1 Flight of Wine Tastes and 1 Tow Truck

This past Saturday, Kevin & I were loading the back of the car with old paint cans. We loaded 23 cans to be exact. Why do I save paint? Do I think I will need to repaint a spot that chips. Like I’d ever really go to that trouble. Anyway, I decided it was time to purge the paint cans and reclaim some much needed shelf space in the basement for my hoarding of paper towels, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies. I find great deals on cleaning supplies. Now if only I’d use them.

Paint can only be dropped off on Saturday mornings, and I needed to be there in the next hour so I wouldn’t have to stumble over them another week in the garage.

I asked Kevin to jump in the car with me so he could help unload. The kids were all slumped over in front of the tube, and I didn’t think they even heard me mention, “running to the dump. Be right back.” Kevin grabbed a fresh cup of coffee and off we went. Car rides are a great way for us to catch up. Really it’s the only way we can talk without being interrupted.

After dropping off the paint, I confessed that I’d really like to run down to the farmer’s market for some fresh produce. Off we went. The kids? Awk, the kids won’t even know we’re gone. At the market we grabbed some fresh greens, scallions, organic eggs and we noticed a new seller of organic Ohio cheese. We soon realized that they were the same cheese makers, Blue Jacket Dairy, that produced the cheese that we had in a salad the night before. A grilled romaine salad, topped with caramelized red onions, grilled Gretna cheese and a Balsamic vinegar reduction. “We’d like a pound, please.”

While jumping back into car, I asked if we could make one more quick stop to The Wine Gallery and Cafe. The WG&C is a great wine bar in Dayton, Ohio that sometimes carries some interesting boxed wine. I always like to stop and see if they have anything new. Parking is always an issue in this area of town. We couldn’t find a spot on the street so we pulled around behind the building and Kevin said, “let’s park here.” I wasn’t comfortable parking in said spot because there were signs posted that read YOU WILL BE TOWED. Kevin felt that it being a Saturday afternoon, it would be “no problem.”

With it also being a hot humid day I didn’t feel comfortable leaving the eggs and cheese in the car so I grabbed the shopping bag and carried it with me. While in the Wine Gallery, we noticed they were having a Saturday tasting. “Yes, let’s share a flight of the tastes. MMmmmm something smells really good. Let’s just have a quick bite to eat.” After we shared a flight of tastes, a mixed green salad, and an olive pizza we talked with the very informational Jeff for a while. I procured a box of a mixed white blend from the same vineyard in South Africa, Darling Hills, of the mixed red blend we enjoyed immensely with friends and grilled pizzas a month prior.

We really needed to get home. We paid the bill and left with lovely memories of some great wines from France and get this Ohio. That’s another story though. As we turn the corner to the parking lot, it’s empty. “Oh, no. We’ve been towed.”

I need to let you know that Kevin rarely gets upset. He’s always cool and calm. He began walking around the gravel lot kicking the stones and mumbling (okay not screaming, but louder than mumbling) obscenities. I tried to hide my smile. I rarely am able to enjoy him being angry. It’s usually me! He immediately dialed the number on one of the signs. Yes, he was even brutal to the other person on the phone. He became even more brutal as he screamed, “What do you mean? You can take my car on a Saturday, but I can’t get it until Monday.”

At this point Grace called. “Where are you? You’ve been gone for 3 hours. I thought you were just taking paint to the recycling center?” It took me a few minutes to calm her down. I didn’t mention that we were stranded downtown.

All we can do is call for a ride. First we call Kevin’s sister Kelley. Sure she’ll come get us, but she’s on the other end of town and it will be a while. We hate to bother Kevin’s father, but we decide it’s that or a taxi. As we’re waiting for the ride holding a box of wine and a shopping bag of items from the farmer’s market, I see a different sign in a window with a different towing company’s name. Hmmm. I better call and see which company actually took our car. Yup, towing co. #2 has our car and sure enough if we can be there in 30 minutes, we can retrieve our car. “Don’t forget you need $109.14 in cash.”

Cash? I never have cash. I know that I don’t have that much cash. Kevin robbed me last week. And Kevin? He’s no help. He was wallet-less. He never leaves the house without his wallet, but remember we were only dropping off cans of paint.

Along came both Kevin’s father and mother. They love to tease us when we do something stupid. We explain we called the wrong tow company and that we can actually retrieve our car today, but we need to get cash and be there in the next 20 minutes. We had no idea where we were going, but they were happy to give us a ride. First we needed to find an ATM. Kevin’s mother all of a sudden opens her purse and says that she has plenty of money. Yes, she did. We borrowed the money from her, but then realized that it probably wasn’t a good idea. This is another story too, but to fill you in, Kevin’s mother has Alzheimer’s. She will remember that we owe her money, but will forget that we paid her back. And so she’ll remind us that we owe her money for the next few weeks. She’ll call reminding us over an over. Oh well, we decide to take the money.

Rebecca is now calling. “Where are you? What’s going on? You said you’d be right back.” I’m not in the mood to explain our stupidity. I tell her to go on Facebook and she can read all about it. Of course earlier, I immediately reported on Facebook that our car was towed due to Kevin’s negligence. And btw, thanks for all of the offers for a ride.