Tomás had been up since 4 am. He had loaded his truck an hour early just to get ahead of the deliveries for the day. His eyes, though tired, were filled with determination to get done just in time for the father-daughter Valentine’s Day dance. He HAD to make it today. He couldn’t bear to see another look of disappointment on Nina’s face. Last time, he had missed her birthday party due to a bad accident on the highway. Not this time. He had alternate routes prepared.

        “Pshhhh…………..” Tomás’ heart sank. He could feel the right side of his truck start to sink. He leaned back in his seat holding his furrowed brows.

        “Of all the days…” Tomás sighed and pulled to the curb. Luckily, he was in a quaint neighborhood. Sadly, he had used his spare tire a couple of months ago and now he was stuck, stuck with a time limit. He could see that a large bolt had punctured his right rear tire. Tomás swiftly took out his phone and called Matt. Matt was another driver that he had bailed out a couple of times. Hopefully, he had a spare.

        “Yo! Tommy! What’s happening, man?”

        “I just got a flat tire from a bolt big enough for Frankenstein. Do you happen to have a spare?”