Cheerfully, she replies, “Great, will that be all?”
This entire experience has left me speechless. I get my drink, take a sip, and place it in the cup holder. I then pull out of the parking lot and onto the side street to turn right at the light and then I get into the far-left lane and head back to the interstate.
It is now completely dark and has begun to rain. As I drive, the rain comes down harder, lashing against the windshield of my car. It’s difficult to keep the car steady, but I do okay. The rain is coming down in torrents, blurring my vision. I should pull over and wait for the rain to stop, but I want to get home.
In the distance, I notice two blinding white lights suddenly appear and head directly toward me. It’s dark, and with the rain coming down as hard as it is, it takes me a while to realize those lights belong to car driving the wrong way on the road. I check my mirrors and swerve to my right, trying to avoid the oncoming car. The road is slippery from the rain and my car spins out and stalls.
I know in that moment I am not going to survive this.
My driver’s side door is facing the oncoming car, and in less than a minute, it will hit me. There is no time for me to get out of the car, and if there were, I think it would be worse.
At least the car gives me some protection.
Images of my life flash before me. I see my family, friends, and my beloved Jake in clips that enter my mind like a slideshow on fast-forward.
I quickly move to the passenger side of the car and brace myself for the impact.
A huge blow hits the car, and I feel like an immense weight has been thrown on top of me. There is waterfall of glass cascading onto my body. My last coherent thought before everything goes black is Jake.
The immense weight lifts, and I float into darkness.
I love you, Jake.
Chapter 8
2008-2013
Jake
When I got the news that there had been an accident, I couldn’t think straight. I had just gotten back from a mission, where we had been in the air for over eight hours. When we landed, the CO’s secretary was waiting for me with the message. Our neighbor, Roger, had called and explained to them what happened. All they said was she was in the hospital and that it was critical.
I arrive at the hospital and am greeted by Sharon, Roger’s wife. “Oh, Jake, I’m so sorry!” she exclaims as she runs up to me and gives me a hug.
Sorry? Has Jayden died?
Before I can ask questions, Sharon continues with what happened. “Oh, Jake, it was a terrible accident. Jayden had gone to the District to work at her publisher’s office. You know how she would do that from time to time.”
Yeah, Sharon, I know.
“The construction going on around the house is nerve-racking, and she needed the peace and quiet.”
Sharon, I think you’re terrific, but please, get to the point and tell me what happened to my wife.At this point, I have no idea how serious Jayden’s condition is. “Sharon, I would really like to see my wife.”
“You can’t go in now. The doctor is with her. They just shooed me out.”
“Oh, okay, so what happened?”
“Like I was saying, Jayden had been driving home from the District. It was around seven when she left the publisher’s office and stopped at Starbucks on the way home. She must have been at Starbucks longer than normal, maybe fifteen or twenty minutes. If she had not made the stop at Starbucks, she could have driven past before the drunk driver had even gotten on the interstate.” She cries and wipes a tear from her eye. “The drunk driver came out of nowhere, crossed the median, and headed straight for her. Jayden stayed in the car and tried to swerve to the right. The driver hit her dead center in the driver’s side. Her car slammed into the retaining wall on the passenger side. She was squished between the two.” She grabs a tissue and blows her nose. “Frankly, after looking at the car, I’m surprise she even survived as long as she did.”
I need to know if my wife is alive.Sharon, you are not helping right now. Is my wife alive or dead?
Finally she gives me the answer I have been waiting for.“She is alive, Jake, but in a coma. She was brought in unconscious and hasn’t woken up yet. They have her on a breathing machine. She’s on life support, and they don’t expect her to wake up!”
The bottom drops out of my entire world.Is my wife, my Jayden, gonna die?Suddenly, I hate the air force and everything it stands for. If I had been here, none of this would have happened. And then there’s all the red tape I had to deal with to get home. It took me four days to get here, while my wife lay in a coma on life support. I’m angry and scared.She can’t die. She can’t. I won’t survive. I won’t be able to go on without her. If she dies, I might as well die with her.
“Sharon, how did you know Jayden went to Starbucks?” I don’t know why I find this curious, but I do. I guess perhaps because she said if she had not stopped, she would have passed the accident scene well before it happened. Oh, how I wish that were the case.
“There was a Starbucks cup found at the scene. Amazingly enough, the contents were still in it, and it was still cold.”
