All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright Mary Faderan and Colin Firth
It was almost five o’clock when Lauren found herself
driving through US 19 and espied a grocery at the corner stop.
She had a snack for lunch and then decided it was best to get
some additional food before finding a hotel to stay in. The
place seemed to be deserted, and then right as she slowed to a
stop, her car shuddered and listed toward the front right
corner. “Oh no!” Her face registered half panic, and she
got out and investigated her car’s problem.
A voice called out to her from the store, “Looks to me,
Ma’am, as you got yersel’ a tire flat.”
“Oh, is that what it is?” She tried not to sound anxious.
This was certainly not expected.
“I reckon so, Ma’am.”
“Is there any tire place around?”
“I don’t think we have one close by. Somewhere’s
closer to the city limits, I reckon. You got some lookin’ to do!”
The man was sitting by the grocery store, his face wizened in
years, his mouth chewing a wad of tobacco.
Lauren stood with hands on her hips. “Is there a hotel
around?” she asked.
“Oh, it’s somewhere by the other side of the county
road. About six miles or more.”
She decided it was not that far away. She called her
roadside assistance, and they directed her to the nearest hotel,
which was, in fact, six miles away. “I’ll be able to walk that
f“Kind of getting dark, miss,” said the wizened old man.
“I’ll be fine.”
He looked at her and rolled his eyes.
She hoisted her luggage out of the trunk and started
her pilgrimage to the hotel. She kept her cell phone on so that
she could be directed by the GPS to the hotel. The evening
was slowly creeping in, and her spirits sagged with each step.
Finally, when she was almost to the hotel, she stopped when
she heard a motor engine approach.
Lauren looked around and saw a black automobile
come down toward her path. She wasn’t eager to linger, so she
tried to avoid the car’s path and walked to the side. The car
slowed down and then came alongside her.
“Lauren?” A familiar voice came to her ears.
She stopped and dropped her luggage. She saw him,
and her face broke into a smile.”
Mike got out of the car and went to her, hugging her
close and lifting her to him for a long kiss.
She looked up at him with love in her eyes. “Oh my
god. You of all people. Here!” she said with a sob. “I’d no
idea!”
“They never told you?” Mike said softly.
“No. Dad didn’t say where you went. They all
conspired to keep me from learning where you would be.”
“Damn. I suppose it might be he was protecting you.”
“Oh, Mike, I’m so very happy!” Tears flowed from her
eyes.
“Don’t cry, dearest Lauren. I’m going to take you
home. You and I can talk about it, and then we will make
plans.”
“OK,” she said simply and watched as he took her
luggage and tossed it inside the car.
“Let’s get inside, my love. I’m driving us to the hotel.
My house is a hard one to live in.”
Lauren saw his lanky figure and started crying again.
“You have lost weight!”
“Not to worry. Just trying to get through the day.”
“Well, I will make it a point that you will eat good
meals every day.”
He paused and then looked at her. “How will you do
that? You live in Columbus. Are you sending me care
packages?”
“No.” She bit her lip. “I’d like to marry you, you silly
man. What do you think about that?”
He laughed and shook his head. “Not yet. When I’m
free of this sentence, you and I will be married.”
“Oh no,” Lauren said with her jaw set, “I’m not letting
you out of my sight. Mike, I’ve been thinking of us for a long
time. I know you think it’s better to wait, but I’m ready to give
up my job and be your wife. I want to help you with your job.
Maybe you need a second person there or third somebody. I
can be your nurse’s aide, whatever.”
“Wait, wait, wait. Why not let us take you to the hotel,
and we can have a meal and talk?”
She looked at him and then said “OK. We will talk.”
The hotel had a room to spare. It was not a big hotel,
and it had some cosmetic issues, but neither of them saw the
defects. Both were escorted to the top floor and then left with
their key in hand. “The dining room is open till eight tonight,”
the manager said.
“Good. Let’s see what they have tonight,” Mike said
with a happy smile on his face. Then as the door closed, they
fell into each other’s arms and kissed hungrily.
Once they were satisfied that the other’s ardor was real
and that neither would disappear from view, they decided to
take their meals downstairs.
Lauren looked across the table at Mike and said, “You
seem different now.”
“How?”
“You aren’t a restless soul anymore. It’s a good thing.”
“I’m happy now. I like my work,” he said. “I’m
thinking I’ll go into practice at one of the small private clinics
in Columbus maybe—that is, if that is where you want us to
live.”
“I’ll live anywhere that you want to live, Mike.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes.”
“What if we lived somewhere around here? Would that
be OK with you?”
She considered it and then nodded. “Yes. I could do
some legal work here, something to help the community.
Would that be OK with you?”
“Yes, I think that would work.”
They ate in silence, happily aware that their love was
secure and that their lives would never be apart again. Mike
uttered a silent thanks to God as he surreptitiously observed
Lauren. He loved her deeply, he knew now. It wasn’t just an
affair. He wanted to have a good life with her, and this was
where God had placed him. And she was open to the life that
he had started to lead there.
“It’s not the same life you had before,” she said as
though reading his mind.
“No.”
“Do you not miss it at all?”
“No. I’ve no desire to get entangled with the trappings
of success. I was made to want a lot of things, including being
a surgeon, not really knowing that this was what I wanted. I
had some talks with Mom, and she helped me think about
things—how sometimes life deals us a bitter hand but it all
comes out OK in the end. She said that she’s been praying that
I would find peace.”
“You didn’t have much before.”
“No.” He reached for her hand and held it. “I’ve known
how it is to fear the loss of love and of a loved one. I don’t
ever want to have that feeling again. I didn’t know if that man
had any way to get to you. I had to say things to him that
would distract him from getting you in his clutches.”
“You mean that mob guy.”
“Yes.”
“That’s all over with. He’s serving time, and everything
has been kept confidential about your case.” She returned the
pressure of his grasp. “You know you can come back and
work as a surgeon again when things get finished here.”
“No, I don’t want it. I am going to stay here and see
where it goes. If you want to live with me, I’d love it forever.”
“I’ll love being with you here or anywhere else in this
world, Mike.”
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