Ray Gorham - 77 Days in September

“You say that so calmly — ‘survive through the winter’. How bad do you think it’s going to be?”

Jennifer tried to smile at her son, but she could feel her lips start to tremble so she looked away, hoping he wouldn’t see the fear she felt. “I don’t know, David. I don’t think anyone does. That’s what makes this all so difficult. But we’ll make it.”

“Mom, where do you think Dad is? You haven’t said much since yesterday. We’re going to need him.”

Jennifer’s stomach sank. She had avoided talking about Kyle and had tried to stay busy with the kids to keep Kyle off of all of their minds, but it hadn’t worked. “Well, David,” she started, choosing her words carefully. “We don’t know where he is. He was supposed to leave Texas just before this thing happened, and now we don’t have any phones, so I can’t call him. I’m sure he’s fine. He just isn’t going to be home when we thought.”

“Do you think he’s dead? The guy on the radio said that airplanes crashed.” David’s voice cracked, and Jennifer turned to see that he was fighting to control his own emotions. Her son was so much like his dad, she thought. Not just in the physical sense, but also with his direct way of dealing with things and not finding any value in trying to hint his way around things.

“I don’t think he is,” Jennifer said, reaching out for his hand. “I worry about it too, but we really don’t know. The broadcast didn’t say every plane crashed, just that there were reports of airplanes crashing. I choose to think that he’s alive, and that he’ll be home to help us as soon as he can. That’s how we need to face this, so we’ve got to be sure and be here for him when he gets back, whenever that is. You understand?”

David smiled at his mom and nodded. A tear ran down his cheek, but he didn’t wipe it away. “I miss Dad,” he said, his voice quivering. “He’s been gone for a long time already. I hope he gets back soon.”

“I’m sure he wants to be here. He really loves you kids. He told me…,” she caught herself and changed her wording. “He tells me that all of the time.” Jennifer paused, looking at David until his eyes met hers. “You know, until he gets home, you’re going to have to be the man of the house.” She waited and let the statement sink in. “Am I going to be able to count on you?”

David nodded. “I’ll do what I can.” He thought a minute, then added with a half smile, “Does that mean I’ve got to get a job?”

Jennifer laughed. “No, not for the time being at least. But you never know what tomorrow might bring. Speaking of which, I told Mrs. Anderson that we would come over and help her with her garden in the morning. She thinks she can get some more things planted before the season’s over.”

David rolled his eyes and laughed as he wiped at his tears. “Farming me out already, huh. I hope you’re getting good money for me.”

Katy, Texas

Riding low and sluggish, Ed backed his jeep down the driveway and onto the street, the suspension straining under the load. Kyle looked at Ed and raised his eyebrows.

“We’ll be fine, Kyle. Your worrying isn’t going to help us get there.”

“I didn’t say anything.”

“But you were thinking it. Just kick back and relax. Enjoy the sights of Texas. You never know when you’ll be back.”

Kyle grinned and tried to adjust himself to get more comfortable, but the boxes of food stacked around his feet made that difficult. “This should be interesting. I hope the freeways are passable.”

Ed mumbled a reply, and Kyle could see Ed’s knuckles go white as he gripped the steering wheel tighter. After a couple of turns they approached the intersection where the Wal-Mart they had visited the day before sat. Kyle turned towards the building as Ed slowed to make the turn onto the freeway on ramp.

“Think there’s much food left?” Ed asked, glancing over his shoulder at the store.

Kyle peered at the building. “I don’t think so. It looks like all the doors are wide open, but I don’t see many people. I can see a couple of guys coming out, but it doesn’t look like they are packing groceries. I think they’re carrying a TV or something.”

“A TV?” Virgie asked from the back seat.

“Yeah, it looks like a TV. Either the foods all gone, or they don’t understand the situation. Hope they don’t have a long walk home.”

“Maybe they know something we don’t,” Virgie volunteered. It was obvious from her tone she was questioning their decision to pack up and leave.

“Let’s just do this, okay, Virgie?” Ed caught his wife’s eyes in the rear view mirror. “I’m scared too, honey, but I think we’re doing the right thing. If I’m wrong, we’ll come back home as soon as we can. Is that a deal?”

Kyle heard Virgie agree as they accelerated towards the highway. A mass of cars filled the road, looking normal other than the fact they were frozen in place. Kyle let out a low whistle. “This looks worse in the daytime. You can really see the extent of the disaster.”

“It’s not any worse than the airport. At least there’s no one being burned to death.” Ed shifted gears and angled towards the center lanes where there were fewer cars. “This all had to happen on a long weekend at rush hour. Not that there’d ever be a good time for it, but there are sure a lot of vehicles.”

“Watch out for that man up there!” Virgie yelled as she pointed at a figure 30 yards in front of them, her voice on edge.

Ed slowed and steered the jeep to the extreme left side of the roadway. The man waved his arms over his head, so Ed slowed even more.

Kyle rolled down his window and leaned towards the man. “Can we help you?” he asked as Ed drew to a stop.

The man was wearing denim shorts, a Rocket’s t-shirt and a faded Longhorns ball cap that was wet with sweat. His neck was sunburned and red and he wiped the sweat from his face with the back of his hand. “Do you have any room in there? I’m trying to get home.”

Ed motioned towards the boxes stacked to the roof in the back seat. “We’re stacked full. I’m really sorry. Where are you headed?”

“Columbus. My wife’s home with our two little girls. I need to get back home.” He scanned Ed’s Jeep. “Could I ride on the hood or something? It’s going to take me all day to get home otherwise.”

Ed bit his lower lip. “Alright, I’ll give you a ride, but I’d rather you stood on the back bumper, it’d be too hard to see with you on the hood.”

“Thank you so much,” the man said, relief washing over his face. “You saved me a day of walking.” He hurried to the back of the jeep and climbed on, then tapped on the side window to indicate he was ready.

“Don’t drive too fast,” Virgie directed from the back seat. “He could fall.”

Ed ignored the comment and shifted back into gear. They covered the 33 miles in just under an hour’s time and let their rider off at the highway exit. Ed was watching him in the rear view mirror when Kyle spoke up.

“Heads up, Ed. There’s another guy flagging us down.”

Ed swore. “At this rate we’re never going to make it. When do we quit stopping to help?”

“That’s your call, Ed. I’m just along for the ride.”

The man stood in the middle of the highway about 50 yards in front of them, blocking their way and waving his arms over his head. “I’ve got a bad feeling, Kyle. Open the glove box and get my gun out. Hurry!”

“What was that, Ed?”

“I said get my damn gun out of the glove box.” Ed came to a stop about 10 feet in front of the man, and leaned out his window. Kyle opened the glove box and grabbed the handgun. His heart was pounding, and he could hear Virgie breathing hard in the back seat. “What can I do for you?” Ed called to the man.