On his journey the boy has "a chance encounter with a young woman in distress" and they spend a good deal of time together. I was convinced that she was out to snare a man (and got a boy instead), because she continually was playing to male fantasies about their automotive repair ability and the helplessness of women.
Spoiler:
First, her car is stopped in the middle of nowhere by the roadside with the hood up and she asks the wandering boy if he knows where there is a garage or a phone. He looks in the engine compartment, plugs some cable back in and starts the car! Did it just get detached all by itself, really? Or did she help it along? Later, as they keep running into each other, she somehow manages to jack up her car and remove a flat, then when she returns with it fixed later after hitching a ride she just can not figure out how to put it back on! "Oh my, I push and I push but it just won't stay put. Darn it!" She plops down in frustration and the boy takes care of it. Finally, it is clear she must be following him. She mysteriously runs out of petrol and the boy has to push the car to the fuel station. Isn't it the GUY who is supposed to say "Oh no, I ran out of fuel, we are just gonna have to park awhile, huh?"