Endings and Beginnings

Chapter 39

"Damn it." Meryl ended the call. "He's still not answering. This isn't like him, Suze. He wanted me to call him; right?"

Suzie nodded as she tried to stay focused on the road ahead of her. "He told the other kids to have you call but was afraid they wouldn't so I told him I would have you call him; which seemed to calm him down and assure him just a little bit. He wanted you to call if you needed anything then changed that to him wanting you to call when you woke up."

"He needed me." Meryl choked as Suzie looked at her in question. "You can't be married to someone for 34 years and not pick up on the signals. Then why isn't he answering?"

Suzie shook her head as she was trying not to get too worried. "I don't know; it's not like Uncle Don. Where should I go?"

"Turn left up here." Meryl pointed. "Maybe he went to the Marina? I don't know. If we were in New York or Salisbury or even Indianapolis or LA I would know; but I don't know here. Especially since he wasn't at the cliff."

Suzie nodded knowing she meant that was where she and Don were married. As Suzie turned her heart stopped when she saw a car that had hit a tree off the road, head on. "Aunt Meryl is..."

"That's his car!" Meryl exclaimed. "Stop the car. Call 911."

Suzie grabbed her mother-in-law's hand. "Let me get to him; you don't want to rip out stitches or anything."

"If it were Henry would you let someone else go?" Meryl got her answer by the look on Suzie's face. "Stay with our babies. Call for help. DON'T call my children."

Suzie nodded as she dialed 911. "Yes, my father-in-law has been in an accident...a bad one."

"Don!" Meryl ran to the car and got close enough to see him hunched over the steering wheel. She felt paralyzed but she had to get to him. She had to save him just like he always saved her. She ran to the door and tried to open it. "Damn it." She shakily reached into her pocket and pulled out the keys to unlock it but that wasn't the problem. "Come on, open! Fuck, open. Don, I'm here baby. Suze is calling for help. God, I hope you can hear me. I hope you can feel me." At just the moment her hands slipped off the wet door handle she fell back against the icy pavement and flames burst from the car. "DDDDOOOONNNN!"

Suzie had just called for help when she saw flames burst from her father-in-law and godfather's car as her godmother and mother-in-law was trying to get to him. She made sure she was parked safely on the shoulder and that the three babies were okay before she ran to her godmother. "Aunt Meryl!"

"Suzie Girl, stay back." Meryl cried as she felt a pain in her stomach but tried to ignore it. "I'm going to get him; you just stay with the babies...PLEASE, sweetie girl."

Suzie pulled her mother-in-law back. "Aunt Meryl, NO! He wouldn't want you to do this. You have to be careful. You have two tiny babies who need you."

"They also need their father; and whether or not their older siblings thinks so today, they need their father! I need their father." Meryl broke down hysterically. "Suzie, don't try to stop me. I am going after my husband!" Meryl was fighting frantically against her goddaughter and daughter-in-law. "Let me go! We don't have much time! I have to get him out of there before the whole fucking car explodes. PLEASE, just stay with my babies. PLEASE!"

Just as Suzie let go of her mother-in-law they saw Don's car explode right in front of them. Suzie was able to pull her mother-in-law back. "Aunt Meryl, NO! He's gone. There's no way he survived that."

"DDDOOONNN!" Meryl screamed as she tried to crawl to him. "DDDOOONNN!"

***

"DDDOOONNN!" Meryl tossed and turned and then sat straight up. "DON!"