Christmas DLFs (Delves?)

Remember the story of the DLF? It happened again! This time we’ll attribute it to the Christmas spirit.

So there I was, driving to Utah in my poor car that’s had five major parts replaced in the last four months. The last part replaced was done the day before, and I finally had a cleanish bill of health from the mechanic. As I was driving along the highway, the power started faltering. “Not again!” I thought to myself, flashbacks of my recent trip to Denver dancing in my head. Since I was in the middle of nowhere, however, I kept driving, hoping the car would last until I got to the nearest town half an hour away.

My first DLF appeared behind me when my car died in the middle of an intersection. Even though she was dressed in a skirt, the kind lady helped me push my car out of the turning lane and into a nearby driveway, where we let the car sit while she drove me to the nearest gas station to call for help.

The tow truck came a few minutes later, and the driver confirmed my suspicions: my car had no power. However, it wasn’t clear that the driver was another DLF in disguise until he towed my car a block away from where it died, dropped it off at a garage called Smitty’s, and told me that the ride was no charge.

I walked in to Smitty’s to be greeted by two rough-looking men with long, scraggly beards. I peered through the cigarette smoke and took a look around. It was like I was in a museum. There along the walls were two stuffed bears, two cougars, a lynx (?), an antelope, a pheasant, two animal skulls, two huge deer with baseball caps on their heads, and a smaller deer with a pinecone balanced delicately on his head. There were also a few trophies with men aiming guns posed on them. So, yeah, I felt right at home. I sat down and Smitty and his companion went to work on my car.

Awhile later Smitty came back into the waiting room. “Looks like they didn’t hook up your alternator right when they fixed your power steering yesterday. You’re good to go.”

“How much do I owe you?” I asked.

“No charge.” Smitty said, and that’s when I knew Smitty was a DLF too.

Can I tell you how lucky I feel right now?