Hero Single Mom
The day the car died
When she was young Sophie had big dreams. She was going to win a gold medal at the Olympics then she would become a TV star then she would buy a fancy penthouse in the city and a huge farm in the country. Her memoirs would top the bestseller charts. She would be a guest on all the late night talk shows. And, of course, she would have the most incredible husband ever.
The kids were already in the car waiting for her as she stepped out of her mobile home, locking the door behind her. As she walked down the steps and proceeded to the car Sophie looked at her watch. She was only about five minutes behind schedule. After dropping off the kids at school she might actually get to work at the diner on time — if she drove fast enough.
Once in the car she inserted her key and turned it but nothing happened; not even a sound from the engine. She pulled the key back then turned it again. Nothing.
Sophie flew into a rage. She banged the steering wheel with her fists and began screaming and cussing. It lasted for several minutes.
“Mom!”
Sophie stopped screaming and looked at Becky, the oldest of her three children, who was sitting in the passenger seat.
“Mom, I just texted my friend Robin. Her mother is going to take us to school so you can stop freaking out now.”
The three children exited the car and went to stand at the street curb to wait for Robin’s mom.
So who is going to pick me up and take me to work? She thought to herself. Sophie dropped her forehead down onto the steering wheel and began crying. After several minutes she leaned back in her seat and once more turned the key in the ignition. Again nothing.
Once again she flew into a rage, banging the steering wheel and screaming.
Then suddenly she was overcome by a very intense calm. Looking over the dashboard of the car Sophie realized that the car was a perfect metaphor for her life situation. It was a car that she never wanted. She hated it. It was an old undependable used car that she bought for $500 after the divorce. She never felt comfortable in it. If she had back all the money she had spent on repairs over the years she would have a nice chunk of money to go towards Becky’s upcoming college tuition. Because of the car it was impossible to save any money.
And now the car was dead. That is how Sophie felt; dead. Her life never came close to matching her childhood dreams. Her life had been like an old run-down used car — one that no longer worked. She wanted to drive the car off a cliff and she wanted to then jump off that cliff. Her life situation was futile and she just wanted everything to end. Taking a deep breath, Sophie gave up. She surrendered.
She then called the Diner and called in sick. Getting out of the dead car she began walking down the street. She had no idea where she was going; she just had to walk away from everything.
Still wearing her waitress uniform, Sophie walked and walked. Eventually, she found herself downtown walking down the sidewalk past the local TV station. In front of the building was a woman with a microphone in her hand and a man holding a television camera. The woman was interviewing another woman.
Sophie stopped and listened. The woman being interviewed was talking about the horrors of being a single mom. After the interview was over Sophie resumed walking down the street but the interviewer stepped forward and spoke to her, “Excuse me, but would you happen to be a single mom?”
Jesus, she thought, do I look like a single mom? Swallowing, she replied, “Uh… yeah… I’m a single mom.”
“We’re doing a segment for the morning show called, Hero Single Moms. Can I ask you a few questions?”
“Uh… I guess.”
“Roll,” the woman said to the man holding the camera. The microphone was suddenly in Sophie’s face, “You’re a single mom. How many kids do you have?”
“Three.”
“What kind of heroic things do you do as a single mom?”
“Uh… I don’t. I’m not a hero. I’m a failure, a complete and total failure. I’m not a hero because nothing I do makes life any better. I…”
“Cut! This is too good. Listen, instead of a two or three question interview on the street would you like to come inside and let me interview you live on the set of the morning talk show? I think you’d be great.”
“Uh… really? I… uh… guess so.”
The next thing Sophie knew she was sitting in a comfortable chair next to a desk on the set of the morning talk show with cameras pointed at her. The woman who started to interview her on the sidewalk was sitting behind the desk, “So you’re Sophie and you’re a single mom to three children.”
“Yes.”
“So could you tell our viewers about the struggles of being a single mom and the heroics you have to pull off in order make it through each day?”
Sophie let loose. Words came pouring out of her mouth. She talked about how balancing a full-time job and raising three kids left her with no time for herself. She talked about her worthless scumbag ex-husband. She talked about her car that kept breaking down. And about how it was impossible to save any money for her kids’ college costs. Then suddenly the eight-minute interview was over.
As Sophie left the studio and was walking through the lobby towards the front doors she thought to herself, Holy crap! I was just on a talk show for the first time in my life! And damn it to hell, I was wearing my goddam waitress uniform!
“Sophie!”
She had almost reached the doors when she heard her name called out. Turning, she saw a man holding a telephone and waving for her to come over.
“There’s a phone call for you,” the man handed her the phone.
“Hello. This is Sophie.”
“Hi Sophie. This is Richard Lancaster. I just saw you on TV and I think I can help you.”
“Wait a minute… Richard Lancaster of Richard Lancaster Ford & Toyota?”
“Yup, that’s me. Listen, my dealership is just two blocks down from the TV station. Why don’t you mosey on down here so we can talk. I think I know how I can make your life easier.”
It turned out that Richard Lancaster was a regular customer at the diner, although she never knew his name when he came in to eat. She was always glad to see him come into the diner though because he was a very generous tipper.
He showed her into his office, offered her a seat then closed the door and sat down at his desk, “Sophie, how would you feel about selling cars?”
“What? Uh… I have no idea what I feel. Selling cars is something I have never, ever even thought about my whole life. I’m not a salesman. I have no experience in sales.”
“Nonsense. I’ve watched you at the diner. You’re a very good salesperson. Heck, I remember the time you sold me a slice of peach pie a la mode when I was desperately trying to stay on my diet.”
“Yeah but I don’t know anything about cars.”
“Oh, I think you know more than you think. You seem to know what everyone does NOT want in a car and you probably know exactly what you DO want which is what everyone wants. I am convinced you’d make a great salesperson.”
“But I’m female. Aren’t all car salesmen male?”
“That may have been true in the past but we’re living in a brand new world. Things are changing. I’m willing to bet you can out-sell all of my other salesmen. So I’m offering you a job — and you’ll be able to make more moolah than schlepping pie. What do you say?”
Sophie was speechless.
“I’m offering you a way to change your life situation. I’m totally confident you will be great. Take a day off then you can start the day after tomorrow. I’ll start you out just shadowing Dannyboy — he’s our number one salesman. Everything you need to learn about selling cars you can learn from him. Plus I’ve got a book you can read about the art of selling cars. We offer a medical insurance plan and a retirement plan. I bet you don’t have any of that at the diner.”
“No, I don’t.”
“Oh, and next month we’re having our big Go For the Gold Promotion. We’ll be offering a lot of incentives to customers but whatever salesman — er, uh, salesperson — who sells the most cars during the promotion gets a three thousand dollar bonus. I’ll bet you can use that. So anyway, you’ll have a chance to win the gold. What do you say? Are you onboard?”
Sophie began laughing, “Sure, what the hell. Count me in.”
“Okay then. You’re hired. Now I’ll need you to fill out an application and sign a few forms but you can do that in a minute. First I want to show you something.” He picked up some keys from his desk and headed for the door.
Sophie followed him. He led her outside to the back of the lot. After handing her the keys he pointed at a brand new shiny red Toyota, “This is your company car. You don’t actually own it but I will provide it to you for your use. You don’t have to worry about repairs or insurance. We take care of that. But it’s yours to use. All you have to do is put gas in it.”
Speechless, Sophie’s jaw dropped.
“With this car I know you’ll be able to show up for work on time and you’ll be able to get your kids to school or soccer games or whatever. You don’t have to worry about transportation any more.”
When Sophie arrived home she pulled the new car into the driveway next to her old dead car. It felt so good to be inside the new car that she did not want to get out of it. She sat in the car for about fifteen minutes before she finally got out and went inside.
Once in the trailer she called the diner to tell them she quit. She then ripped off her waitress uniform and took a long hot shower after which she put on fresh fun clothes. After she walked past her computer she got the strange idea that maybe she should write her story.
That is when she began laughing uncontrollably. She was not only laughing about how drastically and suddenly her life situation changed but she was also laughing because she was picturing the look on her kids’ faces when their hero single mom picked them up from school in a brand new car.
Copyright by White Feather. All Rights Reserved. This is a work of fiction. Stories by White Feather
Speaking of cars…
