Crash

I was going to pop over to Petco tonight to pick up crickets for the gecko. I had a meeting at 6:30, so I needed to be efficient. I parked, and opened up my car door, and -- bang! An SUV was pulling into the space next to mine, moving quite briskly. It caught the door and yanked it all the way forward. We made shocked faces at each other through the windows.

First piece of good news: no one was hurt. Second piece of good news: the other driver was very pleasant and civil. The not-so-good news: our van is undrivable.  The driver's side front door can't be closed.

My insurance company said, "Of course you're not liable. You were parked!" The police officer said, "Your insurance companies are going to wind up duking it out because it's not clear who's at fault in a situation like this."

I wasn't sure what to do: the place where we'd normally have it towed doesn't have covered parking, and it's been raining all day with more rain in the forecast. It turns out that a towing company will wrap your vehicle in plastic in a case like this, and that the roadside assistance part of our insurance plan will cover it. Props to the people at Geico, who struck the perfect balance between sympathetic and efficient. 

I called home to see if someone could come. I thought I was going to have to wait for the tow truck with no book (THE HORROR), and I also thought I'd need a ride home. Elwood came right away.

He did three things that I want to remember. First, he brought me my knitting. He didn't just grab a random knitting bag. He gathered up the project I'd been working on most recently, popped it into a knitting bag, and brought that to me. Second, he produced a bungee cord and secured the door. At this point I had been holding it closed (or closed-ish; it doesn't close) against the wind for an hour, and I was cold and damp. And finally, he said, "Why don't you go home? I'll wait for the tow truck."

SNIFF.

I am still feeling a little angsty and adrenaline-y, but I am also feeling grateful. It just happened so fast, you know? And it could have been so much worse -- what if I had stepped out of the van just as the other car came barreling in too close and too fast? Here's hoping we get the repair sorted out quickly and cheaply.