The Age of Misadventure

She can’t open her door because it’s embedded in the hedge, so she swings her body across my seat and follows me out of the driver’s door. Although it’s dark, I know she’s frowning.

‘Where’s the spare in this one, Mum?’

‘That’s the point. There isn’t one.’

‘So how do you fix a puncture without a spare tyre?’

‘There’s a tube of squirty glue to inflate a tyre in the glovebox.’

‘Well, pass it over.’

‘It’s for nail holes, little punctures. We must have hit a pothole. The tyre’s completely flat.’

‘So call out breakdown.’

‘I don’t have any breakdown cover, Jade. It lapsed. I didn’t think I’d need it. I only use the car in town.’

Jade clambers back in and collapses in her seat with a huff. ‘What are we going to do now, then?’

Nanny’s voice comes from the back seat. ‘Are we stuck here? What about something to eat?’

Bonnie sniffs. ‘I want to go home.’

I climb into the car. ‘Don’t be daft, Bonnie.’ I’m not proud of the irritation in my voice.

‘Come on, then, Mum. What are we going to do?’

I breathe out. ‘Get on your phone and research local garages, Jade. Find someone who’ll come out and fix it.’

‘At this time of night?’

I shrug. ‘Best I can suggest.’

Jade grunts. ‘We could get out and walk to the nearest pub.’

‘With my hip? Don’t even think about it, Georgina,’ Nan says.

I check the satnav. We’re in the middle of nowhere, on the edge of the Yorkshire Dales National Park, up a hill.

Jade explores something on her phone for several minutes. It’s quiet inside the car, except for her tutting. Finally, she turns to me.

‘Right. There’s Nateby Motors. They open at nine o’clock tomorrow, Thursday morning. There’s another, Thomas Blake and Son, near Tebay. Open at nine. And one more. ABC Tyres at Orton – eight thirty tomorrow. That’s it.’

Bonnie taps my shoulder. ‘What shall we do, Georgie?’

‘Georgina, I’m thirsty. My backside’s stiff from all this sitting. And I’m so hungry I could eat a bear.’ Nan pokes me in the back. ‘What are you going to do about it?’

‘We’ll just have to sleep here until morning, Nan.’

Bonnie sounds tearful. ‘I need the wipes from my bag to cleanse my face. And I need my special night cream.’ She thinks for a moment. ‘What if Adie finds out where we are?’