[Sound of heavy rain and windshield wipers swishing rhythmically]
Mom: Ugh, this traffic is unbearable! We should’ve been there by now. [Pauses, tapping at the GPS screen] Let’s try... an alternate route. Come on, stupid thing, work! [Presses buttons more forcefully]
Vehicle Assistant: You are currently on the fastest available route.
Mom: Fastest available route? Are you kidding me? [Presses buttons again] Reroute!
Vehicle Assistant: You are currently on the fastest available route.
Mom: [Voice growing tense] I said, reroute! Just find me another way!
Vehicle Assistant: You are currently—[Abrupt static, then silence from the Vehicle Assistant]
Mom: [Sputters, voice rising] What?! Don’t just die on me! Hello? HELLO?! [Frustrated tapping, then silence from the Vehicle Assistant]
Favo: Mom, maybe I can fix it? I can try—
Mom: [Snaps] No, Favo! Don’t stress me out even more! I’ll handle it myself, okay? Just... sit back and don’t touch anything!
[Pause; background noise includes faint honking and muffled murmurs of people in nearby cars]
Mom: [Mutters, more to herself] This is ridiculous. First, this snail-paced traffic, now the stupid GPS… what next?
Favo: [Quietly, after a long pause] The honking sounds... different now.
[Background honking, less frantic, more spaced out]
Mom: [Voice tight, not acknowledging Favo] Just sit still. I’ll figure it out.
[A wave of silence washes over the honking, starting from the front and rippling to the back of the traffic. The sounds of cars moving forward begin to replace the cacophony, one by one.]
Mom: [Sighs, frustrated yet hopeful] Finally, it’s moving... took them long enough.
[As the car inches forward, rain continues to strike the windshield.]
Favo: Is it just me, or is it getting darker?
Mom: [Glances briefly at the sky, worry creeping into her tone] Maybe it’s a storm. Great. Just what we need.
[Pause. Distant sirens grow louder as the car moves forward, revealing police and firefighter teams ahead, directing traffic and cutting off signals to reach apparent emergencies.]
Mom: [Murmuring to herself] If this storm gets worse, we’ll be stuck at your father’s. There goes my brunch... and my meetings. Perfect. Just perfect.
[Everyone is pushed forward slightly as she brakes abruptly. Sirens wail in the distance.]
Mom: [strikes steering wheel] FUCK! What now?!
[Sound of police and firefighter vehicles cutting through the intersection ahead, their lights flashing as they speed by.]
Favo: [Quietly] They’re going to emergencies.
Mom: [Softer, but still tense] Yeah, I see that... Let’s just hope we don’t end up stuck here all day.
[Rain intensifies, drumming harder against the windshield. The vehicle crawls forward as the road clears slightly.]
