HORROR/DRAMA part III
...I had successfully located the 'jack' thing for lifting up the car; I also had one or two pole things which could be perceived as screw remover twisty things. I had attempted to lift the spare wheel out of the boot but it was too heavy.
I had seen a good few cars pull up to the petrol pumps and nobody stopped to help me. Meanies! Anyway, this guy appeared out of the shop with a coffee and asked me if I knew what I was doing. I looked at him and said simply 'Well....I've never changed a tyre before...'.
He rolled up his sleeves, put his coffee on top of his car and asked me to show him what I had. I pointed at the spare wheel, at the jack which was lying under my car, and lifted up the pole thing pathetically. He took the pole thing and set to work. The sense of relief flooded through me, but at the same time, it was already half four.
In between all this, my Dad was preparing to leave the office and take the bus out to me, he told me to 'hold tight' and he'd help me with the wheel when he arrived. I stood around awkwardly as this new guy worked away.
But then, just as all was going rather well, he turned to me and said something that made me deny the situation could get worse. Apparently my car had the wrong instruments with it!!!! He couldn't remove the wheel because the bolts and the bolt remover didn't match! ...Yes, my eyes literally fell out and rolled away.
What could I do? I looked around and spotted a very old fella driving a Micra, just like mine. I'll go and ask to borrow some of HIS instruments, I thought. This fixing guy wasn't so keen on that idea. He sifted through his boot and talk about luck, he happened to have some magical 'fits all' bolt thing! So back to work he went.
When my Dad rang again, I explained that some lovely guy was helping me get the wheel off. My Dad at this stage was on the bus, so he then said he'd ring the driving company back and explain that to them (that my wheel was being fixed, not that my Dad was on the bus...obviously) Good.
So, wheel now had all the bolts off and was ready to pop off; all that was needed was to jack up the car, slide old wheel off and new one on. Splendid. What could possibly go wrong I hear you ask???
Oh, nothing!.....apart from part of the jack MISSING!!! Just as I had my eyes back in place, they popped back out again and rolled off, in different directions! It was now 4.35pm... Time was running out....as was my patience...
