When Your Words Come Back To Haunt You
From the way her headlights reflected off the snow coated grass on the side of the road, Pam had a hunch that her pickup was stuck. Beyond stuck. Years of driving in the Oklahoma back roads taught her how to get out of the worst of situations. This was not one of them. If that wasn’t bad enough, she could tell by the big chunks of snow sticking to her window that the storm was closer.
Jorgen opened the door of her pickup. With the light from the overhead cab, Pam found her cell phone. It fell in the space between the gas and brake pedal on the floor. She reached for the phone and her cheek collided with the deflating airbag. Pam rolled her eyes to hide her embarrassment. She shifted her position and tried again. This time she reached the phone. Brandishing it like a prize, she said, “Now I can call for help.”
“That’s what I’m here for.” Jorgen held out his hand in encouragement. “It is slippery out here.”
Pam scooched out of the seat intending to land on the steady ground. Except, two inches lower than her mind calculated, the ground failed to meet her. When her feet finally made contact, her ankle turned. She wobbled like a deer taking its first steps. Her arms flailed in front of her. As if to add insult to injury, the cell phone flew into the ditch. An indentation in the snow marked the spot where it landed. A sharp pain shot up the right side of Pam’s ankle and stopped somewhere in the middle of her calf. Somehow, Jorgen caught her before she completely fell to the ground.
His arms around her weren’t enough to distract her from the pain and embarrassment from the near fall. She hissed to soften the pain coming from her ankle. In her head, Pam prayed, “Mother of Mercy, please transport me to a different place.” She added, “if it is all possible can it have a huge warm tub filled with bubbles and a plate of fudge on the counter?” To Jorgen, she offered a forced grin. “I am so sorry. I hope I didn’t hurt you.” The pain was not enough to distract her from realizing that being in Jorgen’s arms felt good. Like being in a hot tub after a long day at work good. At least part of her prayer had been answered.
“I’m fine,” she said.
He eyed Pam with a hint of suspicion. The wrinkle in his brow was almost cute. “That was quite the fall. How are you doing?”
Pam stood a little taller. “Other than my ego being a little dented, I’m alright.” She might have pulled it off if she just stood still. But mid-sentence she took a step away from him to demonstrate her stability. This time her lips puckered in response to the shooting pain and her leg gave in to the weight.
The next thing she knew, he swooped his arms beneath her legs, and Pam was in Jorgen’s arms. As he carried her up the side of the ditch, she weakly argued, “I can do it by myself.” Secretly, she was thankful for the help. It would have taken her much longer, and a couple more near falls, to get to the sturdier ground on her own.
If her ex-boyfriend Mark were there, he would have let her try to get out of the situation on her own and then made fun of her every time she toppled. She tried to push away the comparison, but it was too late. It had been made and solidified her assessment of both men. Her mother was right when she said Mark was not good enough. It took being treated right by another man to make Pam understand her mother’s admonitions.
Jorgen set Pam down on two legs but hadn’t fully released her. He held her against him as her body slid to the ground and she readjusted the weight to regain a sense of balance. At this point, the adrenaline from the situation clouded Pam’s mind. Dizzy from all that happened, she kept a tight hold on Jorgen. She didn’t want to fall. But in a sense, she had. Her heart had fallen into his hands to do whatever he chose.
They stood there with her wrapped in his arms and gazing into each other’s eyes. The feeling that everything was going to be okay warmed her. Her mind perceived it the same way an astronomer knows the specific stars in the galaxy that she had found her one. Not the perfect one, but the one who was perfect for her.
A hint of a smile tilted the corner of his mouth. It encouraged her to remain in the safety of his hold. His lips beckoned her. “Why don’t you come a little closer?”
Pam held her breath and followed the invisible magnet that drew her to him. Their lips were a breath’s distance away when her heart exclaimed, “We are going to kiss!”
An authoritative voice broke in. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”
Pam startled, and Jorgen loosened his grip on her lower back. Their eyes traveled toward the voice. With his flashlight beaming directly into their face, the person said, “I should have known it was you, Backman.” Not only had the voice lacked condemnation, Pam thought she heard a hint of admiration from the man.
Jorgen shielded his eyes with his hand. “Can you please get the light out of my face, Zach?”
The man lowered the light to the ground in front of them. “Only you can find a woman on the side of the road and end up with her being all cozy in your arms.”
With the absence of light, Pam made out the bulky gear around Zach's chest. He was the police officer on duty.
“She hurt herself trying to get out of the ditch,” Jorgen replied. Pam noted that he hadn’t defended himself against the implicit accusation. Jorgen’s reputation for being a Romeo was common knowledge to everyone including himself.
“I need to ask her some questions.”
“How about we walk her to my pickup, and you can ask your questions there?” Jorgen offered.
Zach pointed his flashlight in the direction of Pam’s pickup that remained catawampus on the edge of the ditch. It looked like it wanted to fall in and a well-placed rock was the only thing holding it in place. He nodded his agreement and Jorgen held out his arm to guide Pam in the direction of his vehicle.
The snow continued to drift around them, and the temperature dropped. The change in the atmosphere was enough to form a mental thermometer. With every passing moment, Pam imagined the fluid dropping closer to the zero mark.
Every once in a while, she pushed aside a flake that landed on her while she slowly recalled the details that had her pickup stuck in the ditch. Zach echoed back what she said before writing anything and had her read through the report before having her sign it. As he ripped off her copy for her to submit to her insurance company, Jorgen returned.
Pam thought Jorgen left them alone to give her privacy. His grim face when he returned said otherwise. “It looks like your axle is busted. We’re not going to be able to drive your pickup out of that ditch.”
“I can call Nancy to come get me.” She didn’t want to make assumptions on how much help Jorgen had to offer. “I’ll have a tow truck pick it up in the morning.”
“Good luck with that,” Zach said. “This weather system is supposed to drop eight to ten inches of snow tonight. I imagine yours is the first of many cars that’ll get stuck on the side of the road tonight.” Zach pointed at the semi, “The department of transportation is more concerned about hazards than people’s folly.” He spoke to Jorgen, “When are people going to learn to stay home when a severe storm is on the horizon?”
“When the weather coordinates with the Weather Channel App,” Jorgen smarted. “They’re only right about half the time.”
Zach was quick to retort, “Half is better than none.”
The driver of the semi who had been on the phone beside the cab of his truck piped into the conversation. “My boss said the tow truck should be here in about five minutes to get this mess off the road.”
He stuck his hands in his pocket, “Speaking of. I’m sorry about all this ma’am.” He nodded
“Thank you for your apology.” It struck Pam as being odd that a person would apologize for causing a collision. Usually, people were so worried about being sued they avoided conversation. She saw it many times when she worked in the emergency room. Both parties to a collision laid in beds beside each other with only a curtain separating them. Neither party peeked through to make sure the other person wasn’t severely injured let alone apologize. It seemed that legal boundaries had taken precedence over courtesy.
“I overheard the officer say you couldn’t get a tow. If you need a ride to the hospital to get your injuries checked out, I’d be more than glad to help you get there.” He punctuated his offer with an apologetic smile.
She replied, “Thank you for the offer. From what I can tell, some ibuprofen and a good night's sleep should take care of them." Pam pat her pocket to find her phone. Once, I find my phone I’ll have my friend….” Pam cut herself off as she remembered that her phone had fallen out of her hands with her tumble. Her eyes scanned over the ditch that had to have at least a half inch of snow in it. They widened in horror with the realization that her phone had most likely been soaked with the moisture and was no longer usable.
“I might have to take you up on the offer,” she groaned. “My house isn’t far from here. If you wouldn’t mind.”
“I can take you home,” Jorgen interjected.
“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t realize that you two were together.” The driver stepped back making more room between himself and Pam.
“We’re not,” Jorgen cleared his throat and stepped away from her. Pam’s body whimpered at the absence of his touch. That was nothing compared to how deeply her heart sank when he threw back the words Pam had said earlier that night. “We’re just friends.”