Rescue

wheels. Fortunately it was mounted on a rim. When I got the tire out, I bounced it on the pavement.
    Eddie said, “Why are you doing that for?“
    I said, “Give me your hand.“
    He paused, looking at his hand, then did.
    I put it on the rubber at the rim. “Now push.“
    He did.
    I said, “What do you think?“
    “I don’t know.“
    “Do the same thing on the right tire.“
    “The good one?“
    “Right. The good one.“
    Eddie moved over to the wheel and down onto his knees, crab-walking carefully on the gravel. “I think it feels kinda soft.“
    “Which one?“
    “The one you took out of the trunk.“
    “I do, too.“
    Melinda had her arms crossed again, rump against the fender. “Can we drive on it?“
    “I think so. Once this spare’s out in the sunshine a while and rolling over a hot road, it should inflate enough if you go easy till the first station.“
    The wary look. “Station?“
    “Service station.“
    “Oh. Oh, right.“
    “There a blanket?“
    Suddenly more wary. “Why?“
    “Because I don’t have one, and it’ll be easier on my knees if I can cushion them against the gravel.“
    “Oh. Oh, sure, hang on.“
    Melinda went to the backseat, lifting a dingy knapsack with her right hand and yanking something with her left. She came back out with a blanket, but pretty quickly, as though no other luggage had to be moved to free it.
    Like everything else about the car, the blanket was old, a stadium plaid that once would have been handsome on a bed at a lake house or hunting camp. I folded it into a two-foot-by-two-foot square.
    Kneeling on the square and using the lug wrench, I loosened the nuts. Southeast first, then northwest, northeast, and southwest. The fourth one was the most trouble, but I finally got it to turn.
    Over my shoulder, Eddie said, “You ain’t gonna take them off?“
    “Not yet.“
    “How come?“
    “Because it’s safer to loosen them before you jack up the car, but safer still to leave them on so the tire doesn’t fall off as the rear end’s going up.“
    He didn’t say anything, but when I twisted my head around to look at him, he was nodding gravely.
    I set down the wrench and mopped the sweat from my eyes. “Okay, now comes the jack. If the car was on an incline, we’d have to chock the wheels.“
    Eddie looked at me vacantly.
    I said, “If the car’s facing uphill, what might happen if I raised the back end of it?“
    He studied the car, frowning, then lit up. “The Batmobile might slide on you.“
    “That’s right. So where would you put the chock?“
    “What’s the chock?“
    “Like a rock or a piece of wood, to wedge under the good tires.“
    The boy studied again, shorter this time. “Behind them.“
    “That’s right. You learn fast, Eddie.“
    “That’s not what my—“
    “Eddie!“
    He turned toward Melinda this time like she’d slapped him.
    Melinda looked from Eddie to me to him again. More softly, she said, “You can’t be bothering Mr. Cuddy while he’s trying to do his work.“
    Just the grave nod.
    To break the tension, I said, “This is where I need your help, Eddie.“
    He brightened. “What do you want me to do?“
    I spoke to Melinda. “I don’t suppose you have the manual that came with the car?“
    Just a shrug.
    To Eddie I said, “Can you get down on your knees behind the car, let me know when I have the jack centered under the axle?“
    “The what?“
    For a kid who sounded country, he didn’t seem to know much about how things worked. “The long bar that connects the left rear tire to the right rear one.“
    “Okay.“
    I got on my belly and crawled under the car, intentionally positioning the jack a little off. “How’s that?“
    Eddie’s voice said, “You want it in the middle, right?“
    “Right.“
    “I think it’s too far over.“
    “Which way?“
    “Toward you.“
    “How do you mean, Eddie?“
    “I mean, you got to push the thing a little more away from you.“
    I centered it this time. “How’s that?“
    A pause. “That looks pretty good. Yeah.“
    I cleaned away the gravel from the pavement to get a stable base. Recentering the jack, I worked the handle until the weight of the Swinger was just lifting, then slid out from under.
    “Good job, Eddie. But from now on, you have to remember one thing.“
    “What’s that?“
    “Don’t let any part of you get under the car. Even when it’s jacked up, the car can slip and come down on you.“
    The grave nod. “I understand.“
    I