At work on Tuesday, I received a phone call from Grace at 3 p.m. I knew it was trouble when I saw her face pop up on my phone screen.

“Everything OK?” I asked without preamble.

“Dad, the car is overheating and I’m in an intersection.”

She was calm, which was impressive.

“Put me on FaceTime.”

The scene opened on the dashboard of the Jeep Cherokee, the 2018 Jeep Cherokee I originally bought for Bailey in 2017. The temperature indicator was red, all the way to the top. Grace had the foresight to turn off the car and call me.

“Where are you?” I asked, keeping my voice calm.

“Turning left onto Linder off State Street.”

She pointed the camera up. I could see a stopped pickup and, above it in the distance, a red light.

She was sitting in the turn lane, waiting for the light to turn green, when the Jeep started overheating.

“Turn on your hazards. Let’s give it a minute.”

“It won’t start.”

She started to sound a bit frazzled.

“Make sure it’s in park. It won’t start while it’s in gear.”

I saw her little hand go from the steering wheel to the shifter.

“Try it now.”

It started. The temperature had dropped.

“Let’s see what happens.”

“I don’t want it to overheat again.”

“I pray it doesn’t,” I said to her.

A minute passed. The light turned green.

“I’m going,” she said.

“I have no idea why it did that,” I said. “But it’s going now. Just keep driving.”

“OK.”

Grace’s hand reappeared on the steering wheel.

They drove for a minute. Then two. The temperature held.

“OK. Call me if it starts heating up again.”

“OK, thanks Dad!”

I could hear her smiling.

I hung up and got directly on a call with a prospect at Page One Power.

After dinner, Grace was at work. We spoke with Kimi about the situation.

She concluded, “Grace has more car problems than anyone.”

She said it with a little worry in her eyes, she might suffer the same fate.