The chill of the January morning still lingered in the speeding car. The heater had yet to warm up and the air vents were churning out tepid air. Bev could see puffs of her own breath with tiny crystals of ice, like suspended pixels, wafting toward the frosty windshield, threatening her view and her safety.
She dared to glance over at Mary in the passenger seat with her light blue unicorn shirt and cute brown pigtails. In all ways a typical six year old. Typical height; average weight. True, you’re not supposed to have your six year old in the passenger seat, and this was a particularly bad morning to do so, but…
Bev cut off that train of thought quickly, because she knew the next train car had “bad mother” spraypainted all over the side. She filed it under ‘hurry’ and shooed the thought away. Let the subconscious chew on it for awhile.
I just have to get Mary to school, she said to herself. I’ll be very careful. What are the chances anyway?
She was cruising at 45mph down Bevins when it appeared out of the misty air, like an image materializing from the fog of a video game. A semi truck had pulled out in the middle of the street, unable to complete its turn and clumsily attempting to back up. She slammed on the brakes, but a thin glaze of ice from the humid air had formed on the cold road and made stopping impossible. The 2021 Honda Fit was sliding.
Bev and Mary screamed in unison. Their fate was already sealed, but in the second or two that remained, time seemed to slow, allowing Bev to fully experience the torture of knowing that her foolish haste had doomed her beautiful little girl. Her scream sharpened...
Death, regret… horror on so many levels.
But there was still time for one more thought. Jared.
At least she’d had him. Such a kind man. Such a wonderful father. Fate extended a finger of pity and presented, as her final thought, the flash of a post-coital memory: her and Jared lying together in bed, his naked body holding hers, keeping her warm. Touching, caressing, and whispering loving things to each other.
Oh, Jared…
I…
love………..
Cold steel and broken shards pulverized tears and loving memories, arms, faces, brains and chests.
“Jared!”
“Yes? Come in. What is it?”
“I just came to tell you… Congratulations!”
“Your work… it’s so important, and so breakthrough. These new simulations have resulted in a further 12% decrease in crash fatalities for the Fit.”
“Behavior modeling of dummies? Who would have thought it could work? It’s genius."
"Frankly, you’re a hero. You’ve saved real lives. The lives of children…”
“Hey Tom” Jared cut in, “the thing about heroes… we don’t like being called heroes. It makes us feel awkward.”
They both chuckled.
Tom walked away, and Jared, still wearing the remnants of a smile, turned back to the glow of his computer screen.