We Meet Again

The rain had kept me up all night, beating against the window panes and pinging off the metal chimney cover, so when Kathy knocked at the door, I was eager for company.

“I’m up, darlin’,” I said, sitting up and pulling the sheets tight.

“How did you sleep,” she asked, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.

I pushed a stray curl from my forehead.  “I didn’t,” I admitted.

“The rain?”

I sighed, knowing she could read the pain in my eyes.  I shook my head and blinked back tears but wept when she embraced me.  “Will I ever stop missing him?” I sobbed.

Kathy didn’t reply; she just held me.  I hadn’t wanted to take this trip but maybe it was a good thing to get away.  I’d barely left the house since Gary’s death and that was almost eight months ago.  Our children had reserved a romantic cabin by the lake in my hometown of Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin; it had been an anniversary gift but Gary passed before we had the opportunity to enjoy it.  They talked me into bringing Kathy, saying I needed some time away to think about other things.

“Let’s get some breakfast,” I suggested. 

Kathy’s eyes were just as swollen as mine.  “I worry about you, Lisa” she said softly.  “You’re like my sister and I know you’re hurting but I can’t do anything about it.”  Tears filled her big brown eyes and make me look away.  I hated that my pain was hurting her, but Gary and I had been married for almost 18 years.  I couldn’t just go on like nothing happened.

I sighed and offered a weak smile of thanks and apology as she turned to go.

“Guess we have to go into town,” I said, meeting Kathy in the living room after I’d dressed.  We had both been so tired from the drive when we arrived the night before that we’d stopped for take-out and headed for the cabin.

Seeing the town in daylight I was surprised at how little it had changed.  Oh, there were strip malls along the highway where there’d only been grass and trees before, and there were several more hotels and even chain stores and national franchise department stores, but the town itself was still strikingly recognizable.

The big clock still hung on the corner of the bank building at Main and Chestnut, it’s copper casing tarnished green, leaving a matching circle on the sidewalk below.  The town still hung autumn banners with fall leaves and the names of sponsoring businesses advertised at the bottom, and those businesses were places I remembered:  Hank’s Hardware, Pollini’s Five & Dime, Coleman’s Drug Store. 

Coming to a stop at a familiar intersection I carefully looked at the signs.  “This is the corner where Mr. Hansen failed me in driver’s ed,” I exclaimed.

Kathy laughed.  “Lisa!  You failed driver’s ed?” she asked.  “You’re only the safest driver I know!”

“It wasn’t my fault!” I insisted.  “Look right there,” I pointed.  “See that sign?” 

She nodded.  “Yeah.  ‘One Way’.”

“One Way; that way,” I emphatically gestured to my left.  “Well I was stopped right here at this stop sign and Mr. Hansen said ‘turn right’ and I said ‘no’.  He told me again and I wouldn’t do it.  He pushed some buttons, switched control from my steering wheel and petals to his own and turned the car to the right— right into the path of a semi-truck that had just made a delivery at Gordy’s IGA up the block!”

“What did you do?” she gasped.

“I ducked, silly.  What would you have done?”  We laughed and I continued, “Mr. Hansen slammed on the brakes and screamed ‘What are you doing?  Don’t you know your left from your right?  I said to turn left!’  The students in the back had heard him say ‘turn right’.  They’d heard me refuse, and saw him switch the controls over to himself, but he wouldn’t listen to any of us.  He failed the lot of us on the spot, made me get in the back seat with the others and drove back to the school, fuming and seething.”

“You’re kidding!”

“No, actually, I’m not.  That’s why I didn’t get my driver’s license until I was 22.”  Kathy and I laughed and joked as we parked and went into the grocery story.

“You push the cart, Lis, and I’ll handle the list,” she said.

A lot had changed in the store, but some areas were still familiar.  As we neared the pharmacy, I glanced toward the glassed-in pickup area.  “My boyfriend’s father used to work in this pharmacy,” I began.

“What happened to him?”

“To my boyfriend or to his father?” I asked with a giggle.  She just grinned and waited. I sighed, remembering another heartache, long since past.  “Well, after graduation Scott went on a mission trip to Thailand with his church youth group.  A month into their trip there was a devastating bus accident and all but three of the people on the bus were killed.”

Kathy’s arm slipped around my shoulders as tears welled in my eyes once again.  “I never saw him again.” I swallowed hard and looked back toward the pharmacy.

“May I help you ladies?” asked a man in a white lab coat.

I looked up into his eyes and time stopped—not a breath, a heartbeat, or a blink. 

“Ma’am,” he asked, “can I get you something?”

“Honey, sit down.  You look like you’ve seen a ghost!” Kathy maneuvered me to a bench but my eyes were riveted on the man behind the counter.

“Sc-scott?”  I gasped. “Scott?”

The man’s eyes blinked then opened wide.  As he came from behind the counter I noticed his limp, and as he reached for my hand I saw the scars.  He winced as he looked into my eyes, “I tried to find you when I got home,” he insisted.  “You were gone.”

“Tran-transferred,” I stuttered.  “My dad was transferred to Denver and your parents… well, your parents said…,” I couldn’t finish the thought. 

Scott dropped to his knees and clasped my hands in his.  “Will you have coffee with me?” he asked.  “We have a lot of catching up to do.”