Driving to work one morning, early enough that it's still dark, Ari hits something - some piece of junk, probably, although it's hard to say with the lighting.  She misses it with her tires, but it's taller than it looks and swipes her undercarriage, and there's a kind of terrible noise like something on her car maybe fell off.  It takes some effort to coast her way into the parking lot but she manages.

She waits till after her shift to call the towtruck, since it seems unlikely to get worse immediately.  A while ago, this would've been a financial disaster and she'd be panicking, but now she's stable enough that even if she has to cut back a bit she's not too worried about getting by.  Still, "cutting back" probably means she shouldn't get a taxi, and she doesn't know or trust any of her coworkers at the hotel well enough to ask for a ride, and it's not that far to her apartment, even if she definitely wouldn't want to have to walk it every day.  So she starts making her way home on foot.