Pillars of Love

ere dead. And she was all alone in the world. She rolled out of bed and almost screamed from the pain. Every muscle in her body hurt. She swallowed two Tylenol and s

who endured so much.” She felt more at peace now that she had put it in God's hands. It was noon by the time she got through the first wreck. She knew she should eat to keep her hypoglycemia under control, but she had no appetite. Grabbing a yogurt, she ate it and got on the road. She had to stop several more times before reaching a flat piece of highway. There she could drive off-road and around the wrecks. She was now driving a Nissan truck because it was the only car at the last stop with a full tank of gas. It had been a good choice because it had the power to drive off-road. At about 6 o’clock, she was exhausted and hungry. She spotted a Holiday Inn right off the freeway. Following Jillian and Tom's advice, she found several empty parking places together. Parking next to a tattered motorhome with Rhode Island plates, she looked for a clean room. On the second try, she found a room that was empty and had been made up by housekeeping. She brought in her suitcase and the ice chest, salty tears running down her cheeks. She remembered the last time she had been at a Holiday Inn. It was right before Chris was born. She and Jim had taken one last vacation before the baby. They had stayed in a Holiday Inn on the beach in Florida. They had laughed and played, ate and drank through the week. How could she stand it? There would be no more vacations with Jim. And Chris had never had a vacation. And then she realized she had forgotten the one thing she really wanted tonight - a bottle of wine. Knowing that she could find one in the bar, but dreading what else she might find down there, she deliberated. She wanted to unwind and get a good night's sleep. Being a light drinker, she knew one glass would do the job. She would do it. She would get several bottles for the entire trip. It was against the law to drive with an open container in your car so she wouldn't bring the rest of the bottle with her. She laughed mirthlessly. Who was going to stop her? She hurried to the bar, ignoring the dead bodies. From behind the bar, she put a bottle of Zinfandel, Merlot, Pinot Grigio, and Chablis in a shopping bag. Adding a couple of wine glasses, she hurried out. Halfway down the corridor when she realized she needed a corkscrew. When she went back to get one, she heard it — a baby's cry. She must have imagined it — a manifestation of her grief over Chris. Grabbing the shopping bag of wine, she went back to her room. After pouring herself a glass of Chablis, she put on her pajamas. Surprised to find that Netflix was still streaming, she ran through the listings and started watching an old episode of Blue Bloods. She couldn't get the baby's cry out of her mind. Grabbing her robe, she went back to the corridor where she heard the cry. There was dead silence. She started back to her room when she thought she saw a shadow behind her. Whipping around, she saw the outline of a man. She turned and ran back down the corridor. “Stop. I won't hurt you," he said. His voice was kind. It reminded her of Brother Miller at her church. “Where are you from? Do you have anyone with you?” Of course, she shouldn't answer those questions. She should say she was with her husband, a big burly dude and several of his friends. But she rarely lied, and for some reason, she trusted him. Was this the help she had asked God for? “I've been driving from Nashville. I'm going to California where there are other survivors. Where are you from?” “We were driving from Rhode Island to Arizona. We were sightseeing around the U.S. when suddenly everything went crazy. People were dying right in front of us. We still don't know what's going on. We stopped here to shower and get some rest. And air conditioning. The air conditioner in our motorhome is temperamental - and the heat has made the baby cranky. But I'm rambling now. Would you like to come and meet my wife? My name is...” He stopped, coughed, and then continued. “Please excuse me, my name is Mike and if you'd like to, I'll take you to meet my wife. Would your husband like to come?” A cloud of sadness hit Tan