Thirty minutes into our road trip, my 7-year-old daughter whispered, Mom, the AC smells strange!
The highway stretched ahead like a promise—endless, smooth, sunlit. A perfect Saturday. Just good music, open windows, and my daughter’s laughter from the backseat. Emma, all seven years of curiosity and joy, hummed along to a soft pop song as the fields rolled past. Everything felt peaceful. Thirty minutes later, that peace shattered. “Mom?” Emma’s…