As Taylor and Turtle drive through Tucson, Arizona, it begins to hail. The roads become icy and the car has no side windows, so Taylor pulls off the highway to seek cover and wait out the storm. Although she runs over glass on the off ramp and gets two flat tires, her spirits are not dampened. As she drives down the street, Taylor sees the Jesus Is Lord Used Tires shop.
Taylor stops her car and meets Mattie, a widow (another single woman) and owner of Jesus Is Lord Used Tires. Taylor finds out that both flat tires are irreparable; unfortunately, she can't even afford retreads. Noting her hesitancy, Mattie invites Taylor for a cup of coffee. Taylor accepts, and they go sit at a table in the back of the shop.
Kingsolver uses this scene in which Mattie initially greets Taylor and invites her to share in a cup of coffee to provide meaningful details that foreshadow the future. While Mattie gets Turtle some juice, a nervous-acting priest wearing blue jeans comes in looking for Mattie. He doesn't want to wait for Mattie and drives off in a car full of what look like "Indians." Mattie comes back with a spill-proof cup and, observing Taylor's inexperience with Turtle, casually mentions that Turtle could easily become dehydrated without enough to drink. When Taylor comments that Mattie must have grandchildren because she is so good with children, Mattie responds, "Something like that," without clarifying what she means. Here, Kingsolver presents Mattie as a somewhat mysterious person willing to help stranded travelers but unwilling to reveal much about herself. Only very late in the novel does Kingsolver better explain the reasons for Mattie's secrecy. However, note that Taylor doesn't seem all that alarmed by Mattie's unwillingness to explain herself. In fact, Taylor doesn't seem to notice the vagueness of Mattie's responses, perhaps because she already feels comfortable with this woman who unhesitatingly accepts her and Turtle.
