25I hung up on Renton and dragged my suitcase out of the arrivals hall. Gray clouds covered the sky above me, the air so thick with moisture that droplets beaded in my hair. I had to cross two lanes of traffic. Headlamps glowed on the cars and their wipers were busy, squealing and thudding through the mist that quickly coated their windshields. When I reached the boxy Avis office, I used my Visa to rent a navy blue Vauxhall with a four-cylinder engine and a manual transmission. I’d never driven on British roads before, but I’d been told that the adjustment wasn’t difficult because the vehicles were right-hand-drive and matched up with the roads. The amazingly resilient human brain reverses old habits. I expected I’d soon be whizzing down the wrong side of the road as if I’d done it all my
