7

THE BUTTERY SUNLIGHT cascaded down, lightly caressing Leah’s face and warming her. She closed her eyes and leaned back onto the worn quilt to take it in. As she lay in the meadow, sweet giggles tickled her ears, rousing her back out of her peaceful dozing. Smiling, she opened her eyes and watched the beautiful little girl skip toward her. She stopped at the edge of the quilt and stared at her mom with a mischievous grin. Leah watched as the warm afternoon breeze danced through the little girl’s golden-brown curls. Her light-blue eyes glittered as she jumped into Leah’s waiting lap and wrapped her soft arms around her neck. She playfully kissed Leah on her eyelids and cheeks and nose before whispering, “I love you, Mommy.”

Leah giggled and returned her daughter’s kisses in the same manner. “I love you too.”

“Will you braid my hair real pretty, Mommy?” she asked, scooting around in Leah’s lap.

“I’ll try.” Leah laughed as she tried to weave the curls into a braid, but the curls kept escaping. Her daughter’s curls were much tighter than Leah’s and had a mind of their own. Leah had to restart twice.

“Mommy, you have to hurry up.”

“There’s no hurry.” Leah continued to lazily play in her daughter’s hair.

“You have to hurry,” the little girl urged Leah once more.

“Why, baby girl?” Leah asked as she planted a kiss on top of her daughter’s head. She smelled of a perfumed mix of honeysuckle and freshly cut grass. Leah wanted nothing more than to spend the day snuggled up to her daughter and taking in the sweet smell of her.

“It’s almost time for me to go.”

“Go where, baby girl?”

“Back to Daddy.” Upon her reply, the little girl began to slowly fade away.

“No. Stay with me, and I’ll protect you from him.” Leah tried to pull the child closer to her chest, only to find that she could no longer hold on to her. “Please stay. I promise to take better care of you this time. Please, baby girl.” Tears seeped down Leah’s face.

“Silly Mommy. You’re too late.” With that, she kissed Leah’s cheek one last time and skipped to the edge of the field. She placed her tiny hand in Brent’s waiting one. Leah had not realized that he had been standing there, watching, the entire time. She watched helplessly as her daughter and husband walked away from her, giggling.

Leah woke up sobbing from the heart-wrenching dream. She had somehow ended up at the foot of the hotel bed with no blanket. She tried to right herself in the bed and was suddenly struck with a new ache from deep inside her pelvis. The odd heat coming off her body was a fever, just as the nurse had predicted.

It was her second night in the hotel. She had spent the entire time barely moving from the bed. She had been trying to rest so that her body could heal, but it seemed that she was getting worse.

She dragged herself out of bed and dug out the bottle of antibiotics from her purse. She also pulled out a pain pill and a pack of graham crackers the nurse had loaded her down with. It was the only sustenance she had eaten since leaving the hospital. Leah stared at the package of crackers. She wasn’t hungry. She weighed eating the unwanted crackers against the side effects of taking medicine on an empty stomach. She didn’t think she could manage any other form of sickness. She washed the pills and crackers down with a couple glasses of water before heading back to bed.

She repeated the routine of medicine, water, crackers, and restless sleep for the remainder of the next two days before the fever crept away for good. Leah knew she had to get moving, but she just couldn’t get it together enough to act on it. She knew she needed to eat to regain some strength and she needed to purchase a car. She needed . . . There was just too much to figure out and it left her completely overwhelmed.

After another day or so passed, Leah demanded her body get up and head out to take care of those tasks. After finishing the complicated task of washing and dressing, she called the front desk and requested a cab. She pulled her cap down over her eyes and grabbed her purse before heading to the lobby, where she got a much-needed cup of coffee, a muffin, and a banana from the continental breakfast buffet. She ate slowly and waited outside as her eyes tried to readjust to sunlight.

Leah was relieved that the driver knew where a pretty good car dealership was and gladly took her there. She thanked him and exited the cab to begin her automobile hunt. The car lot was a sea full of silvers, blacks, and shiny whites. Her eyes skimmed over them and landed on a beauty at the back of the lot. She fell in love instantly. It was a vivid teal-blue with a white stripe down the side. She had never owned a vehicle of any color and perked up at the possibility.

By the time she made her way to the back of the lot to get a better look, an eager car salesman greeted her. Noticing her injuries right away, he tried to act as though he didn’t.

“Good morning, ma’am. I’m Jim. Looking for a car today?” He enthusiastically stretched out his hand.

“Yes. I want that one,” Leah said, ignoring his handshake attempt. She pointed to the 1978 Jeep Wagoneer.

“You don’t want that bulky thing. It’s considered a collector’s car. Let’s me and you go check out one of those sweet little sedans up front with all the bells and whistles,” he said.

“Sir, I’m not sweet and I’m not little. I’m bulky. I need something with some room.” Leah walked around the Jeep, giving it a good looking over. It had been fully remodeled, with tinted windows and new tires with shiny chrome rims. Jim reluctantly unlocked it so she could inspect the inside. It had custom tan leather seats and a new radio with a CD player. It seemed quite retro with a few updated touches. She knew she had to have it.

“Can you pop the hood, please?”

Jim did as he was told. “Everything has been restored. It has a brand-new V8 motor and a newly upgraded transmission.” He droned on for a few minutes about the other upgrades.

Leah nodded as though she understood exactly what he was saying. He could have told her it had a new space engine and she wouldn’t have known any better. She continued the act for a few more minutes before asking about the price.

“This beauty will run you forty-five thousand dollars,” the salesman said without hesitation.

“That’s ridiculous.”

“I agree. This is intended for old geezers with more money than sense, who just want something to add to their car collection.” The salesman motioned back to the front of the lot. “I can put you in a brand-new car for half that, and it would be a lot better on gas too.”

Leah motioned to the Jeep. “You can do better than that, and you know it.”

“My boss is going to kill me if I go any lower than forty.” He shrugged.

“I’ll pay you thirty thousand, cash.” Leah couldn’t care less about the cost. It just felt good to stand up to a man and not worry about being punched in the face for it.

Jim stood there, shaking his head, while looking at the vehicle in question. Leah removed her hat so that he could get a good look at her. “Sir, excuse me for saying this, but I have literally been living through a hell you wouldn’t be able to fathom. I don’t have the strength to stand in this lot all day. Now accept my offer, or I’m leaving.” She turned to leave.

“Okay. Thirty thousand, cash, and you have yourself a deal.”

Within thirty minutes, Leah had paid the man. In return, he handed over two sets of keys and signed over the title for the Jeep Wagoneer.

“I would have paid forty-five.” She smiled slightly as she climbed into her very own vehicle.

“Figures.” Jim laughed.

Leah celebrated her successful purchase with a stop at a donut shop. Before returning to the hotel to pack, she stopped to fill the gas tank and grabbed a road map of the East Coast. It was time to pick a new beginning, and Southern coastal living sounded like a good enough place to start. A few hours after sunset, Leah struck out on her road trip to the unknown.

She had no clue interstate driving would take such a toll on her broken body. She stopped every so often to stretch her cramping legs and aching neck and shoulders. She couldn’t take her prescribed pain medicine and drive, so plain Tylenol had to substitute during the trip. Close to dawn, the pain became nearly unbearable. She spent the next hour driving through tears.

She begged her throbbing body to just hold out until she could make it to the Atlantic Ocean. The more she begged, the more the pain and fatigue increased. She finally gave in and took the next exit off the interstate. She knew she was less than an hour from the coast, but making even that short distance would not be happening.