The door closed with a solid thunk. *I love the smell of a new car!* Dustin thought to himself as he turned out of the dealership parking lot. The tires squealed, leaving a cloud of tire smoke wafting in the breeze. Dustin glanced in the rearview mirror and saw the salesman, standing in the sun, the wind blowing his ugly tie across his body, shaking his head incredulously as he turned to walk back inside. The Firebird was a vast improvement over his last vehicle, an old beat up Honda which had over 500,000 miles on the odometer and a busted passenger door, which did not open. Dustin had driven that piece of junk for five years while saving every penny he could, just so he could buy his dream car, an Apple Red Pontiac Firebird Trans Am. *What a beautiful machine!* He thought as he turned onto the interstate, the exhaust roaring. He cranked up the disco music blaring on the eight-track, and the V8 effortlessly pulled him past 100 mph. The freeway was wide open, and he was pushing the car as fast as it would go as he crested a small rise in the road. It was holding steady at 125 mph. As the exhilaration hit him, he knew all those monotonous years of selling health insurance had been worth it. *This is exactly what I need after last night* the balding middle aged man thought as he rolled down the window and rested his arm on the windowsill the wind blowing his neatly pressed thinning hair into a wild mess. Last night’s event had been rough. Elisa, his girlfriend of two years, had left him. She was tired of his lack of commitment, how he was obsessed with his writing, and she said did not care for her. *She wasn’t wrong*, Dustin thought to himself. He had no intention of settling down with her and starting a family. Much like his job though he stayed around for the benefits. His job paid well, but he hated the work and Elisa was not wife material but she could fuck like a champ. When he wasn’t working or sleeping with Elisa he wrote, which mostly happened on the weekends. *I can’t believe I’m almost finished with my first novel!* Dustin inner monologue giggled with glee as a particularly noisy growl from his exhaust commingled with the joy he felt at becoming a published author. Just last week he had gotten an acceptance letter from an agent. It was a relief because he had been working on the novel for almost five years. His next-door neighbor was a retired newspaper editor from Chicago. She had helped edit the manuscripts for him. In exchange he pruned her hedges and mowed her lawn twice a week. She said his novel was great, which had given him the confidence to continue. After a few minutes of full throttle fun weaving in and out of traffic Dustin was getting closer to the city and as such the freeway was getting a little too crowded. So, he opted instead to take the long way to the theater. The winding country road would give him a great chance to test the agility and nimbleness of his new machine. *I cannot wait to show mom my new car. She is going to love it! It would be nice to take a break from writing this weekend and visit her.* As he came over the rise, Dustin was lost in thought and did not see the ladder a utility truck had dropped in the middle of the road. Until it was too late. He swerved to miss it but clipped the ladder with his front left wheel at over one hundred and twenty miles an hour. The tire disintegrated, and he began sliding towards the guard rail. When he overcorrected, it was all over, and he knew it. The Trans Am hit the guardrail at over one hundred miles an hour and flipped over it, careening down the hillside, flipping end-over-end, crashing into several trees on the way down. The car came to a rest at the bottom of the hill, shredded. A moment later the beautiful candy apple red Firebird burst into flames with Dustin still inside. It did not matter though because he was already dead. --- Deputy Worthington pulled into Heather's driveway around 6 pm. She was a bit surprised to see him. He normally did not visit her when he was on duty. *Maybe it's been a stressful shift and he needs to unwind.* Heather thought to herself as she straightened up her hair and scampered to the door. Heather's cottage overlooked the bay. On the far side of the water she could see the tall buildings of downtown standing stark against the oranges, golds, and reds of the setting sun. They had met each other for the first time only a few months ago at the local grocery store. Heather was on her way home from work, at the town library, and had stopped at the grocery store for a few things she needed for dinner. Ed was there to buy a can of beans and a six pack of Coors. When he saw Heather in the pasta aisle it took him several minutes of walking the aisles aimlessly to work up the courage to talk to her. When he finally did they hit it off right away. The way she looked at him with her hazel eyes made his heart leap and he smiled. He felt his face go beet red and the butterflies in his stomach made his heart race. She giggled at all his bad jokes and kept fiddling with her shiny brown hair. Encouraged by her warm response Ed made another bold move and asked her for her number. Heather bit her lip and stared at the floor. For just a moment his heart sank and his mind raced. *Had he overstepped and gone too far?* Then she looked up into his eyes and reached out, pulling a pen from the breast pocket of his uniform, grabbed his hand, and wrote her number on the back of his left hand. Next to her number she drew a big smiley face. Ed was smitten. He knew in an instant she was his kind of woman - bold, confident, and sexy as hell. A few days later at the local diner, he escorted her home and kissed her goodbye on the doorstep. It was a great first date. They had a lot in common. Both had recently gone through bitter divorces because their spouses had cheated on them, they were both vegetarians, loved dogs, both had grown up in Indiana, and attended college in Seattle. He had no kids, where she had one, her son Dustin. After their first date they both knew there was chemistry between them. A few days later on their second date, he kissed her goodbye but as he turned to leave she grabbed his neck tie and pulled him inside. Heather opened the screen door and smiled. Ed did not smile back. He had not come over to see her for a quickie, as she liked to call them – he made her feel like she was eighteen again, not forty-eight. He had bad news. ![[sunsetCity-ii7.jpeg]] Heather’s ex had flown into town with his new wife when they found out. Seeing her with him wasn’t as hard as she thought it would have been. He seemed happy. Happier than he had been with her in a long long time. She was happy for him. She might have said so too but the pain of losing her only child was more than she could bear. All she could do for days was sit and stare at the wall. She was too old to have any more kids, even having Dustin had been a miracle. Now she was destined to be alone for the rest of her life, a middle-aged divorcee with no children. She had given up hope; everything she loved was gone. Dustin’s landlord called the day after the funeral to inform them Dustin’s rent was overdue and they needed to get his personal belongings out. Her ex had offered to stay after the funeral and help go through Dustin’s things. Heather felt it would be better to do it on her own though. She didn’t want to be with him in their son’s apartment. The part of their life they spent together was over and the thought of having to navigate this impossible task with him on top of her grief was too much. He had been strangely kind to her in the days leading up to the funeral. *Perhaps his guilt from the affair combined with the death of their son had made him want to try and patch things up between them. Maybe he felt he had made a mistake?* Heather wondered to herself as she pulled her soft hair into a ponytail and stared at the wrinkled, makeup-less, disheveled figure staring back at her in the mirror. Thankfully he had acquiesced to her pleas to just go home and let her handle it. His new wife seemed relieved when he agreed. She had been very uneasy around her. Mercifully there was a knock at the door before Heather's thoughts could descend any further. “That must be them” Heather flung the hair brush onto the vanity. Two of her closest girlfriends, Barbara and Yvonne, had come to help her with cleaning out Dustin’s things. They had met when their kids became friends in first grade. Their friendship blossomed during those years as their sons grew and played together. Their love and support, along with the blossoming relationship with Ed, had coaxed her through those terrible weeks as she processed and came to terms with the loss of her child. “Hi dear.” Yvonne sobbed as she wrapped her arms around Heather and buried her face into her neck. Heather wrapped her arms tightly around her and squeezed her tight. “We brought bagels.” Barbara held up her hands to show the bags brimming with warm bagels and oodles of flavored cream cheese. “You’re not eating enough lately. So, we brought a lot...” Yvonne wiped the tears from her cheeks. The three of them sat quietly in the kitchen and ate a bagel. Heather managed to finish her bagel, which was more food than she had eaten in one sitting all week. “Are you ready?” Barbara asked tentatively as she reached for Heather’s hand. “No I am not but it has to be done…” Heather was grateful for their support, it would have been an impossible task if she had to do it alone. --- When the landlord unlocked the front door Heather stood outside staring into the dark apartment. “I’ll leave you three alone.” he stuttered before scuttling away awkwardly. Heather began to sob and Barbara and Yvonne scurried around her and wrapped their arms around her in a tight embrace. “We are here for you,” they whispered in unison. Invigorated by the support Heather reached into her purse, pulled out a tissue, blew her nose, and stepped through the doorway. Heather rummaged through the kitchen. There wasn’t much food, and the sink was full of dirty dishes. Barbara took one look at the mess, set down her purse on the counter and began to wash the dishes and toss half empty pizza boxes and beer bottles into the trash. Heather moved to her son’s study. There on the desk was a thick yellow envelope closed with a bit of twine. Heather picked it up. She recognized the address - it was the agent Dustin had reached out to see if they were interested in helping him publish his book. Gingerly she untied the twine and opened the large envelope. Inside was her son’s manuscript and a short one page letter. It read: <ul style='font-style: italic'>Dear Mr. Kingston. After careful consideration I would be honored to represent your book. Your novel is a phenomenal literary work. I know you will have no problem finding a publisher, especially with me working as your agent. I have included your original manuscript with a few bits of feedback on how I think you could make it better. You will also find a contract. Please sign, date, and notarize at your earliest convenience. I look forward to working with you!</ul> <ul style='font-style: italic'>Sincerely, Bob Ghanston</ul> Heather gasped. The envelope had been opened. So, obviously Dustin knew but he had not said anything to her. She tucked the letter back into the manilla envelope and clutched it to her chest. There was a knock at the door and Heather could hear a deep strong voice ask “Hello ladies. Where is Heather?” Her heart leapt - Ed was here. “I am back here.” Heather called as her voice cracked. Ed had taken the day off to help with the heavier boxes and family furniture, which she had given to Dustin to help furnish his place. Barb and Yvonne watched Ed walk into the back room both lost in thought gazing at his cute butt and big muscular arms. Ed’s short blonde hair was starting to show a few wisps of gray but he was very handsome. He was cute and they were happy for her. She needed a strong partner - especially now. With Ed carrying the heavy stuff the job went fairly quick and after less than an hour Heather had removed all of the heirlooms and items of her son that she wanted to keep. “You can come in now” Ed growled at the three men who had been hired by the estate auction company to empty the apartment. They had been hovering like vultures by the front door the whole time Heather and her three friends had been working. Sheepishly they scuttled into the apartment and began packing up what remained. “Get me outta here.” Heather whispered to Ed as she slipped his arm around her shoulder. Ed didn’t respond. He nodded at Barbara and Yvonne and then taking Heather’s hand helped her down the stairs to his Bronco. Heather put on her seatbelt and looked out the window and watched the three men carrying out what remained of Dustin’s belongings. *So, that's it. Forty years of life relegated to a few boxes and memories that will disappear when I die...* Ed’s voice snapped her back to reality. “Where would you like to go?” Heather was clutching the manilla envelope to her chest. Little did she know that one day it would save the world and that thousands of people would read his work and marvel at what he had foretold. She turned to look at Ed and then she blurted out “I need a drink.” “Are you sure?” Ed asked, placing his hand on her thigh. He knew that it had been five years since her last drink and he was hoping she would change her mind. “I am.” Heather did not care anymore, she had lost her son. She had never felt so hopeless, lost, and angry. Ed started up the truck and began to pull out of the driveway. After a moment he stopped, unbuckled his seatbelt and turned to face Heather. "I love you," he said simply. "I don't expect you to answer today. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I don't want you to ever be alone again because I want to be with you forever." It had only been nine weeks since they had met, but she had never felt this way before about anyone, even her first husband. The feelings of love interwoven with the anger over her son's death, the hopelessness of being an old childless maid overwhelmed her and she began to sob. Ed reached over the center console and gave her a big bear hug. Heather buried her face in his chest - she loved him too. She wanted too tell him that she needed to spend the rest of her life with him, but she could not speak through the sobs of grief and relief welling up within her. Heather could feel his arms tightly wrapped around her. She felt safe - and for the first time in a long time, she felt love. “Maybe I don’t need a drink after all.” Heather said as she wiped her nose with the back of her hand. ### Next Chapter: [[16 - Armagedon 🏔️]] ### Previous Chapter: [[14 - The Sky Is Falling ☄️]]