Room for You(5)

That’s when panic hit me. There were no other stoplights anywhere around.

“You’ve gotta be f*cking kidding me!” I yelled out loud, startling a sleeping Diesel on the passenger seat. Out of all the damn exits I passed, I picked the only one without a returning entrance back on the highway. I angrily pulled a U-turn and sulked back into the gas station then left as fast as I could with my tail between my legs.

A few minutes later, we were back on track, I hoped. “Ok, Diesel, that dude said the road should be coming up here on our right, but honestly, I have no idea where the hell we are. If you ever let me leave the house again without grabbing my GPS, you’ll sleep on the porch for a week.” Diesel cocked his head to the side and lifted one ear at me. I reached over and patted the top of his head.

Suddenly, I slammed on my brakes and jerked my truck to the right, almost missing the road we needed to get back to the highway. Thunder crashed so loud it shook my truck, and lightning lit up the gloomy sky. My truck splashed and pounded its way through deep puddles on the country road. I was never so thankful for my truck lift than at that very moment. An orange blinking light up ahead caught my attention. As I got closer to the wooden bridge, my hands gripped the steering wheel tight in frustration. I took a deep breath and counted to ten as I watched the blinking light on the orange saw-horse in front of me. The saw-horse had been stenciled with the words BRIDGE CLOSED and had yellow caution tape all over it.

“Well buddy, that damn blueberry pie joke might just turn around and bite us in the ass, huh?”

Once again, I turned the truck around and started back where I came from. On my right, I noticed another dirt road that looked like it led further into the middle of nowhere.

“Eh, what the hell. Why not?” I said out loud as I turned the wheel and followed it. At this point, I was so lost I didn’t really care where I ended up. I drove a couple hundred yards in thick mud and sighed as I pulled up to a house. This wasn’t a road after all; it was a f*cking driveway. Go figure.

“So, do we knock and ask for directions or just turn around and go at it on our own?” Diesel got up, stretching his front legs out as far as he could and leaned over and licked my face. I pulled back and playfully pushed him away. “You’re right, we don’t need help, damn it.”

I put the truck in reverse, turning to look out my back window and heard the unmistakable sound of tires spinning. My chest tightened as I pushed the gas pedal again. My entire truck shook as the tires spun round and round, digging deeper into the mud.

“No, no, no, NO!” I slammed my fist down hard on my steering wheel. My chest heaved in anger as I scanned the property for any sign of a vehicle that might be able to pull me out.

Nothing.

Squeezing my phone, I had to fight the urge to throw it as I looked down and saw the battery light slowly fade. Dead. I laid the side of my head down on my steering wheel and stared at Diesel, who was wagging his tail with his tongue hanging out, happy as can be. The ridiculousness of my situation overcame me as I started laughing deliriously until there were tears in my eyes.

“Okay, you hang here and be a good watch dog. Make sure no one drives off, and I’ll go check it out.” Diesel yawned and laid his head down on the center console as I hopped down from my truck and made my way through the muck toward the front door.

A wooden sign hanging next to the front door read Cranberry Inn. I had no idea what town I was in or if I was even still in f*cking Minnesota, but ironically this might not have been the worst decision after all. Hopefully we could hang here for the night and head home tomorrow morning. A deafening clap of thunder rattled my chest as I reached up and knocked on the door.





“Ow!” I rubbed the spot on my forehead now sore from being poked over and over by a tiny finger.

“Mom! Mom! Wake up! Look at all the rain!” Lucy and Piper jumped up and down on my bed like it was Christmas morning. I wish I shared their enthusiasm. I was cocooned in my warm quilt, dreaming about palm trees, sandy beaches and fruity drinks with little umbrellas in them. I had no desire to get out of bed and face the day, the rain, or my mom. However, duty called and my girls were asking for breakfast. I sat up in bed, pulled on my slippers and robe and glanced over at my two angels looking out my bedroom window, giggling about all the rain.

“Come on, you two, I’m starving.”

While I got busy making monkey bread, the girls’ favorite treat, Fred kept them preoccupied playing Candyland in the family room. Mom’s eyes were glued to the TV, not wanting to miss the latest storm update. A fire was blazing in the fireplace, and other than the house being empty of guests, it felt like a normal day.

I was standing at the counter, mixing melted butter and cinnamon in a bowl, when my mom came up next to me and rested her head on my shoulder.

“I love you, you know that, right?” she asked.

“I do. I love you too, Mom.”

I leaned over and kissed her cheek, knowing that was her way of apologizing for last night. We didn’t argue often, and I can’t remember a time where she made me cry. It wasn’t really her that made me cry though; it was more the painful memories of my relationship with Zach and doubt that I’d ever find the perfect man for me and the girls.

Suddenly, there was a loud knock at the door. We all looked at each other, wondering who would be out in this weather. Before Mom could even make a move toward the door … another loud knock. She hurried out of the kitchen, with Fred right behind her. The girls and I hung back. I heard talking and a few minutes later, Mom reappeared in the kitchen with a beautiful redhead who looked to be in her early 40s and a little girl who I guessed was about the same age as Piper and Lucy.